We’ve all been there– sitting in your pjs on a Sunday night going through your list of romantic comedies on Netflix that you’ve already seen a million times. You know every line by heart and yet you still tear up when Jamie Sullivan tells Landon Carter she’s dying in A Walk To Remember. You waste away in day dreams of Noah Calhouns and Prince Charmings that will sweep you off your feet. You shout at the TV screen every time Gigi scares off another guy in He’s Just Not That Into You—knowing that if this was your love story…you could SO do better.
So you know all the grand romantic gestures. You know the entire plotline—the progression of these on screen couples that will ultimately end in a happily ever after. But what you might not have realized is that sometimes these romcom’s provide more than just substance to fuel your daydreams. Sometimes they can even offer you tokens of dating advice. With that being said, here are some of the dating advice we should’ve picked up along the way:
You are the rule, not the exception.
As Alex (Justin Long), puts it in He’s Just Not That Into You, sometimes you can’t always believe the stories we hear from our girl friends about the friend of a friend who was in a similar situation who ended up with the guy. If all signs are pointing to the fact that your relationship/flirtationship might not be going the way you want to, it’s time to be honest with yourself. Don’t find excuses, just do what’s right for you—let go.
You can’t always go running back to your exes.
I know, it’s easier said than done. It just seems so simple and natural to try to get back with your ex, especially after a recent break up. After all, they were once a huge part of your life. The end of a relationship often signifies a drastic change of the routine you were used to. But as Ally Darling (Anna Farris) showed in What’s Your Number, there’s usually a reason why it didn’t work out with your exes. Perhaps it’s best to just move on. And who knows? Now you might finally take a chance with a cutie in your life that you never noticed because you were too busy chasing after your ex!
Some bad boys never change.
Here’s probably once piece of advice that tends to against what we see in the movies. But from movies such as John Tucker Must Die and Ten Things I Hate About You, it seems tempting to be the girl that can change him. But more often than not, if he’s a player….he’ll most likely still be the player no matter how hard you try. (Don’t know if he’s a player? This might help: http://www.hercampus.com/love/dating-hooking/top-10-signs-he-s-player) So just do yourself a favor and play it safe. After all you don’t want to be just like the many girls who boys like John Tucker date and dump!
Don’t lower your standards.
What Viola Hastings (Amanda Bynes) does for her passion for soccer in She’s The Man is easily applicable to your dating life. If you’ve got that list of things that you look for in your ideal guy, why should you have to settle for anything short of that? Don’t lower your standards! There’s a guy out there that will fit your list. Plus being the girl that knows what she wants is more attractive than falling head over heels for every guy that walks by you. And when you do find a guy that you want to be with, don’t let anyone around you bring you down. Everyone will have their own opinion about what you should and should not do. But at the end of the day it’s still your decision. Stay true to what makes you happy. If Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling) and Allie Hamilton (Rachel McAdams) had figured this out, The Notebook would’ve been much shorter.
You might meet the right guy in the most unexpected way.
Honestly if this isn’t the premise for every single chick flick out there, I don’t know what is. From movies such as The Ugly Truth and 27 Dresses (yes, both Katherine Heigl movies…what romantic comedy list is complete without those?) are always centered around two people falling for each other in the most unexpected ways. Often times we’re distracted by pining after people we can’t have that we forget all the people around us who do appreciate us. So if you haven’t found your Prince Charming yet, don’t worry! As we’ve learned from Enchanted, he’ll show up and it might be in a way you never imagined. Just be open to the possibility.