The depth of your audience's emotional investment in the central romance is directly proportionate to the size of the story's stakes.
This arguably way-obvious observation was brought home to me by seeing a current release that isn't a romantic comedy. The Adjustment Bureau is a romantic drama (sci-fi/thriller), but its featured couple, politician David and ballerina Elise (Matt Damon and Emily Blunt) have great chemistry, both on the screen and on the page (via screenwriter/director George Nolfi) - the kind of palpable, sparks-shooting attraction that a good rom-com couple should possess.
This is due both to the actors' charm and the script's adherence to basic principles (see the two Rom-Com Truisms below); we believe how things go on their "cute meet" because David and Elise are so clearly a great fit. Yet the reason we grow increasingly more involved in the fate of this couple has to do with what the story supplies as the obstacle to their happiness, the Thing That Threatens Their Union. It struck me, watching Bureau, that this is where a lot of today's rom-com specs and released movies alike go wrong.
Not wanting to be a Spoiler, I can't be as specific as I'd like to be, so let's just say this - you can buy into Bureau's premise or find it patently absurd, but the movie gets one thing absolutely right: It tells us that if David and Elise stay together, each will be denied the most important thing in the world to them - and the world's fate will be affected, as well. Now, that there's what we call stakes.
You'll see the same idea operative in the upcoming Arthur remake (unless they've entirely screwed it up): millionaire boy-man Arthur can have true love... or he can have the millions that keep him happily afloat in toys and booze - he can't have both. This clear and simple dilemma is the high stakes motor that keeps us on the ride.
Conversely, in a recently-bought studio project for which I just did notes, this kind of either/or is what was M.I.A. We had a guy impersonating someone else in order to win back the girl he loves... but the writer had neglected to provide the OMG-factor in what the guy stood to lose, if he failed. So the protagonist's wildly elaborate ploy, albeit comedic, didn't feel justified. Last year's Going the Distance had a similar flaw; Justin Long's character refused to relocate for his long-distance romance with Drew Barrymore's, but the movie never gave us a strong enough reason for why he couldn't move.
So why should we care? With casual sex a cultural norm, and marriage losing the statistical battle in America, whether one's protagonists roll into or out of bed together is hardly a matter of life and death. All the more reason why the contemporary rom-com screenwriter needs to design a better mousetrap for a movie's lovers to trip. Now more than ever, big screen love needs a truly big counterweight to hang in the balance.
I humbly suggest that romantic comedy writers follow The Adjustment Bureau's paradigm. Make both of your protagonists face such a choice: I can have the love of my life... or I can have the thing I've been wanting to have all my life. Put that kind of lose/get at stake, and you're loaded for rom-com bear.
And hey, while you're at it - get Emily Blunt to star in the thing, will you? If I've ever seen a romantic comedy heroine waiting to happen, it's her.
Very true- really for any movie- I think that is why Morning Glory, what genre was that?- fell so flat in the end.
Posted by: Julia Kelly | March 25, 2011 at 09:49 AM
Julia: I'd agree about MG - in its home stretch, you find yourself thinking, "So what exactly was all the fuss about, again?" Not the desired climactic effect. I'd characterize the movie as a comedy-drama (with a rom-com subplot).
Posted by: mernitman | March 26, 2011 at 01:00 PM
I'd like to see a combination rom com / end of the world script.
Since I have time with both genres, I figure mashing them together would equal them out and make something GREAT.
...Although if there's such a thing as impossible - that might be it.
Posted by: Just Me | March 27, 2011 at 08:58 AM
"Since I have a HARD time with both genres..."
It's early on a Sunday morning. Forgive the grammar. I could barely order coffee.
Posted by: Just Me | March 27, 2011 at 08:59 AM
Jess, you have your finger on the pulse, evidently - a fellow reader recently read and recommended a version of exactly that movie, and it looks like it may be in development with some interesting talent attached - the writer is Lorene Scafaria ("Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist"). I'll tell you more about it once they go public with the details.
The only extant take on that kind of mash-up that I can recall is the blackly comedic romantic drama-thriller "Miracle Mile." You might check it out, as it's an L.A. apocalypse movie (and thus may say "hello" to you) and has some great dark moments in it...
Posted by: mernitman | March 27, 2011 at 09:28 AM
Another great post by the master of all things rom-com. Haven't seen "The Adjustment Bureau," and have no plans too -- as I see it's premise as choice #2: absurd; as you so listed. "The Adjustment Bureau" needs a good trailer to see itself.
Billy, your rom-com point about "the stakes" between a pair in romantic situation is good one, BUT I wish you would have elaborated further into what "stakes" pertains to rom-com vs. movies in other genres (horror, sci-fi, action-adventure, rom-com). "Die Hard" or "Armageddon" had stakes. BUT those stakes are markedly different then the stakes in a rom-com. THAT'S what I was getting at...
Love reading that you're still putting your imprint on up-coming movie rom-coms. Can't wait for the day when I get some notes on an up-coming rom-com movie penned by E.C. Henry. One can always dream... Stay well my good friend. It's good to hear from you again!
- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA
Posted by: E.C. Henry | March 27, 2011 at 01:51 PM
Just Me: I haven’t seen this, but i understand that the Canadian film “Last Night” (1998) is an end-of-the-world movie with a strong rom-com subplot. FYI.
Posted by: Rob in L.A. | March 27, 2011 at 06:34 PM
@Rob in L.A. Thanks for the tip about "Last Night", never heard of it. Sounds interesting though, definitely going to check it out.
Posted by: Martin | March 28, 2011 at 07:27 AM
I agree that the high stakes in The Adjustment Bureau create high interest. But most romances aren't going to have that intensity. I find that the hardest part of writing romance. Creating a strong motivation for my characters to make choices the reader can get caught up in.
Posted by: Carolyne Aarsen | March 31, 2011 at 10:33 AM
EC: I'm actually suggesting that rom-com writers consider their stakes in the terms that other genres (like the thriller, action examples you mention) routinely do: the equivalent of life-or-death importance.
Ron & Mark: Add me to the LAST NIGHT queue.
Carolyn: Yes, that is the hard part! Though you seem to have dealt with it well in your romance novels. I'm suggesting that rom-com pre-pros take a good look at the stakes they're constructing for their spec scripts, since this is a factor that seems to get consistently overlooked, both in the work of my students and in the submissions at the studio.
Posted by: mernitman | April 01, 2011 at 08:49 AM
Anyone interested in “Last Night” should know that it’s now available for instant viewing (but not DVD renting) on Netflix. That’s not a plug for either the film or Netflix, but just to let you know that the movie is accessible.
Posted by: Rob in L.A. | April 01, 2011 at 03:24 PM
Well, inspired by Just Me, I just watched “Last Night,” and depending on how humorous you think it is, you could regard it as a full-blown end-of-the-world romantic comedy (“It Happened One Armageddon”). Although, since the world is coming to an end, the couple don’t have to give up too much to be together or not to be together.
So, this might be a better concept for an end-of-the-world rom-com: The world will come to an end only if the couple stays together. And in order for the world to be saved, the couple must part.
Posted by: Rob in L.A. | April 03, 2011 at 07:03 PM
Your point about obstacles made me think of "Wimbledon", which is a *terrible* romcom. The big obstacle to the central couple? Her authoritarian father (so far so good), who - won't let her see men? - hates the hero? - has her lined up to marry someone else? - no, "doesn't like her dating DURING TOURNAMENTS". He even likes the hero, who by the way has got together with the heroine on their second meeting, about 15 minutes into the film. Just... everything about the structure is so WRONG.
Phew. I feel beter now, thanks!
Posted by: Martin W | April 16, 2011 at 01:37 AM
Martin W: So happy to be of service.
Posted by: mernitman | April 18, 2011 at 03:13 PM
I happened to love the Adjustement Bureau so much that I 'forgave' the premise. Bill is so right about the magic - scripted and acted - between the two leads. A fab film.
Wish me luck, guys, just starting work on a satirical/sci-fi/romcom. Aaaargh! (though it did work well as a play)
Posted by: SashaCD | August 18, 2011 at 01:47 AM
Sasha: Satirical sci-fi rom-com sounds brave and bold to me, so indeed - good luck!
Posted by: mernitman | August 18, 2011 at 08:35 PM
Back to the subject that Just Me posted about. There appears to be yet another end-of-the-world rom-com: "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World," starring Steve Carrell and Keira Knightley, due out later this year.
Required scene: Both knowledgeable about the Earth's impending destruction, one character kvetches to another, who replies.
"Stop complaining. It's not the end of the world."
The other character gives him a look.
"Okay, that came out wrong."
Posted by: Rob in L.A. | February 22, 2012 at 06:16 PM