Modern relationships are the kiss of death for rom coms

Unmarried, childless women are actually a very happy group in society, writes Victoria Hannaford. Rom coms playing to the idea a woman’s troubles will vanish when she falls in love just don’t cut it any more.

When was the last time you saw a really good rom com?

If you’ve been to the cinema in the last decade, it’s likely nothing you’ve watched during that time would make the grade.

The classics of the genre seem to belong to another era.

The British film Notting Hill is 20 years old this year. Its legacy, apart from the film itself, is that the London suburb it’s named after is now as famous as any movie star. Residents of the area recently complained that Instagram-happy tourists are invading their doorsteps in order to capture perfect snaps of social media content. It seems the inhabitants of Notting Hill and irritating influencers are destined for a very complicated relationship.

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Another exemplar rom com, When Harry Met Sally, is 30 years old this year. It defines the genre so completely it’s somehow both the rule of how a rom com should be, and the exception, as almost every other attempt falls short.

The deeply flawed leads in Nora Ephron’s script — played by Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan — still manage to charm, and the movie is a perfect match of rom com and meditation on relationship dynamics.

Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant would need to tweak their Notting Hill love story to appeal to today’s audience. Picture: Supplied

But there’s been very little in the way of satisfying rom coms to grace the big screen in the last decade or two. Even last year’s contender, the excellent Crazy Rich Asians, was more romantic dramedy than comedy.

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Is it possible the romantic comedy is actually — heartbroken sob — officially over?

The recent arrival of rom com Always Be My Maybe on Netflix seems to confirm the genre’s outdated status.

It’s not that the film is bad. It’s actually good viewing in many ways. Its stars, US comedian Ali Wong, and comic actor Randall Park, co-wrote the screenplay, and head an Asian-American cast — a noteworthy achievement when diversity is still a rarity on screen. The film’s comedy is also augmented by Keanu Reeves playing a douche-y version of himself.

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But while it faithfully adheres to rom com conventions by mirroring the structure of When Harry Met Sally, it also seems like the genre’s last hurrah, by highlighting its shortcomings.

In the context of a nostalgic viewing of flicks from decades past, a romantic comedy’s convention seems fine, but it’s a bad fit for our current era.

Always Be My Maybe seems to confirm the outdated status of rom coms. Picture: Netflix

The obstacles faced by the central couple, the realisation they’re right for each other, the OTT declarations of love and obligatory happy ending are not just unsatisfying or sickly sweet in a contemporary rom com; they’re hollow.

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With recent studies outlining that unmarried, childless women are actually a very happy group in society, it seems downright odd to keep playing along with the idea that all your troubles disappear when you meet a romantic partner.

Perhaps it’s time to create a new blueprint for the genre, and revisit the movie that derails the rom com trope and the love interests don’t actually end up together — My Best Friend’s Wedding.

In the film’s final scene, Rupert Everett’s character George lets his friend Julianne, played by Julia Roberts, know that while she isn’t getting the man she dreamt she would, her future is still going to be great.

“Life goes on,” he says, and they share a dance while Roberts laughs raucously.

It’s a brilliant final scene and offers a conclusion that truly feels full of promise and possibility. And that, in its own way, is the most romantic ending of all.

@vhannaford