Teh gheys.
“Romance” in the theaters has been of the lavender variety for 2 decades now.
“Art films”, corporate “indie” films, and the major studio comedies.
The hook up mentality killed the romantic comedy.
faggery
There is no worse genre of movie.
A lot of genres seem to be dead. Movies are made for kids now and we have to endure one “franchise” release after another.
Romance is not a viable concept any longer. It is not politically correct and does not reflect reality. Now it is simply sex on the first date and sex every date. There is no romance allowed. Romance is sexist or something.
Mainstream films in general aimed at adults have gone out of style. You get a decent indie film every now and then, but the big Hollywood studios are mainly interested in either big budget blockbuster films that feature CGI and a lot of explosions, or animated films aimed at kids.
And besides, if you try to make a good film aimed at adults, you have to find a real screenwriter and then find someone who can act and not just pose for pictures in designer cloths.
Boring movies
“Explosions translate into every language. Snappy dialogue, not so much.”
This to the nth degree. CGI and explosions rule the day.
Almost every single movie trailer I see these days is exactly the same: lots of explosions, pulse-pounding music, a sudden silence, and then the name of the movie, occasionally with a final chord at the end.
They look exactly the same. They sound exactly the same. Political correctness has watered down plots to such a degree that they might as well all be the same.
I’ll tell you what, though: Hollywood’s complete lack of imagination has sure made cordcutting easy on me.
Boredom.
Honestly?
The low standard of Comedy has a big part.
Also, probably playing a bigger part than most realize, the misandric mentality in media in-general. (e.g. the Dad is stupider than the little kid; the man is able to be physically hit [but not the woman]*; etc.)
* — Apparently there is no action that a woman can take wherein she deserves it; she can insult, abuse, betray and even emotionally destroy, but the man has to sit there and take it.
There must be other “Outlander” fans out there in FReeperdom. These well-written long novels by Diana Gabaldon have lots of romance and humor and history and time travel and battles and heroism and sex and violence and something for just about everyone. The series begins in post WWII Scotland, goes back to the highlander era, and eventually moves to colonial and revolutionary-era America.
When Book 8 in the series was released a few weeks ago, it beat out the Hillary Clinton book for the top spot on the NYT Best Seller list.
Book One is currently being filmed as a sixteen episode television series for Starz. First episode will be televised in August.
As far as romantic comedies go, I also like "Kate and Leopold" and "Continental Divide."
-PJ
RCs need a little tension, a little bit of playing hard to get. Getting in bed right away for the obligatory naked scene removes that.
Nothing killed the romantic comedy, they’re still alive and well and still making serious bank sometimes.
The foulness of current comedy -- all fart and belch jokes, etc. -- plays a part in the decline. So does contemporary confusion about sex or gender roles. So does general stupidity (i.e. Richard Curtis, who showed some talent with the Blackadder series, but never grew up).
By the time we get to the crass and insipid “Love Actually” (2003), romance is presented as nothing more than a completely idiosyncratic spark of synergy between Romantic Partner A and Romantic Partner B. (We were mostly still into couples in those days, but obviously that too is subject to modification.) Although it tries to make up for its shallowness by weaving together multiple love stories, “Love Actually” is boring and (ironically) completely foreign to the actual human experience of falling in love. If people want their love stories to be completely individualized, they might as well write their own.
Crass and insipid!
You go, girl!
I’m of the mind that if you have to endure something yucky, you may as well pick something that’s “good for you”.
While not quite a romantic comedy, intelligent women seem to find the BBC mutipart “Pride and Prejudice” to have a comedic element to it.
And, at least it’s based on great literature. Unlike Hollywood, BBC doesn’t mock its great authors and authoresses often. It is also watchable and inoffensive. (An important plot point where the younger daughter shacks up with a rake was handled in a way that my younger children didn’t pick up on what exactly happened. Just as important, it was shown to be a complete disaster, where the character has to go to the land of fictitious British character rehabilitation . . . Australia. I hope she said “hello” to the Micawbers and little Emily.)