Nothing beats the feeling of a Friday night watching a rom-com with your girls. You spend twenty minutes looking for the perfect movie to watch, and the mood seems just right. There are snacks on the table, the lights are low, and everyone is snuggled up on the couch. Then the movie starts, and you realize twenty minutes in that you’ve all wasted your time because the movie is a total clichĂ©, and as we all know, Hollywood loves its clichĂ©s. Most of the time we eat them up! However, there are some rom-com and romance movie tropes that just feel lazy, and it’s time we cleanse our palates.
Miscommunication
I think we all have a clichĂ© movie plot that we just can’t stand. I cannot sit through the miscommunication trope personally, and I have friends who straight-up refuse to watch anything involving fake dating. Too many rom-coms and romance movies utilize these tropes as their main point of contention, to the point it’s gone stale.
In the last thirty minutes of a movie, there is some type of miscommunication between the main love interests. In any normal situation, these conflicts would be solved by a simple conversation. When done right, this trope drives the plot and creates tension between the main characters. When done wrong, it feels insufferable to watch as characters make decisions out of character or engage in easily avoidable mistakes. One classic example of the miscommunication trope is Romeo and Juliet. I don’t think most people would consider Romeo and Juliet a romcom, but the exaggerated lack of communication between the young lovers is almost comical. They were so bad at talking to each other that they literally died.
A Bet
When a rom-com relationship starts with a bet, it always follows the same pattern. One of the leads pursues the other because of a bet. Eventually (as we all would guess), the bet turns into something real. Once the relationship starts to get serious, the origins of the relationship are revealed in a grandiose way. The person who was unaware of the bet ends up feeling betrayed.
The most frustrating part of the bet trope is that it’s obvious that despite how the relationship started, it became real. Afterward, it’s the first movie that comes to mind when I think of this trope. The male lead (Hardin Scott) makes a bet that he can get the female lead (Tessa Young) to fall in love with him. The movie follows the growth of their relationship, showing how they bond and fall in love. In the end, it is revealed that their relationship started from a bet. Tessa feels betrayed (rightfully so), and the movie ends with the couple splitting up. I actually think this movie did a good job at portraying this trope. However, it doesn’t take away from the annoyance that the audience feels knowing that the couple is in love and that the reason it started shouldn’t matter anymore. An example of a movie that doesn’t do this trope any justice is She’s All That. This movie has a similar premise, but the acting combined with pacing and random moments makes it plainly bad.
Age Gap
This one to me seems pretty self-explanatory. Any movie that romanticizes inappropriate age gaps is a big no for me. The same goes for movies romanticizing relationships with an inappropriate authority gap. To each their own, of course; it’s just not my cup of tea. I must admit that I did enjoy Call Me by Your Name, but mostly for the cinematic aspect, not the weird age gap. 13 Going on 30 is another age-gap movie that I just can’t get behind. I know for some, this movie is very nostalgic. Technically, Jenna Rink, played by Jennifer Garner, and Matt Flamhaff, played by Mark Ruffalo, are physically the same age, but mentally she is a 13-year-old girl in a 30-year-old body. The movie has the perfect early 2000s romcom charm. However, when you remember that Jenna is actually a 13-year-old pursuing a romance with a grown man, it definitely takes away from the charm!
I can’t say that I hate these tropes all of the time. These are just a few plots that I think are overused in romcom and romance movies. There are countless examples of the miscommunication trope: Twilight: New Moon, Notting Hill, Flipped, and so many more where it works. These are three of my favorite romance movies! So even though a movie might use an overdone trope, it doesn’t make it bad. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and honestly, sometimes the best part of rom-coms is how corny they can be!
Can’t get enough of HC UMass Amherst? Be sure to follow us on Instagram, listen to us on Spotify, like us on Facebook, and read our latest Tweets!Â