Happy February lovelies! If you’re anything like me, you love love. Furthermore, you also love a good rom-com! While the romantic comedy isn’t new to the big screen, there is a newer film leading the revival. Enter Anyone But You!
Led by stars Sydney Sweeny and Glen Powell, Anyone But You is a new take on Shakespere classic Much Ado About Nothing. Before you groan in iambic pentameter, let us not forget the other fantastic film inspired by this play: 10 Things I Hate About You. After their first date goes south, Ben and Bea find themselves reconnected at a destination wedding in Australia. The respective families trick them into a relationship in an attempt to keep their feud at bay,. However, Bea and Ben are onto their game. They chose to enter the classic fake-dating trope to get everyone off their back. This is where I will leave you on the synopsis front as I don’t want to give too much away. But take my word for it, this film has it all: koalas, swims in the Sydney Harbor, LGBTQ representation, Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten.”
The average viewer tends to write off the romantic comedy genre as silly and unrealistic, but could there be other reasons for this disdain besides the personal preferences that heavily play into it? Rom-coms saw their peak during the early 2000s. Movies like 13 Going on 30 and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days‘ will forever be iconic, but their relevance decreases as time goes on. Viewers today may not be able to connect to references made in the last 10 years. The average rom-com also tends to depict unrealistic relationships. Fifty-one percent of polled parties decided that these portrayals lead them to have unrealistic views on romance.
But focusing on the negative wouldn’t be appropriate rom-com behavior! What could be the reason for their resurgence now? Well, that is a bit of a trickier answer. Perhaps it’s because films in general are becoming more inclusive. Love Again, Crazy Rich Asians, and Bros offer a wider variety of races and sexualities not commonly found in rom-coms of old. Maybe the resurgence comes as our society becomes more accepting of people sharing their interests. I know that I personally feel more comfortable discussing my likes and dislikes than I did 5 years ago. There is also the possibility that exposing younger audiences to the genre contributes greatly as well. Most rom-coms aren’t necessarily inappropriate for younger audiences. For example, I remember watching The Princess Diaries and Mamma Mia with my mom when I was little and they still are some of my favorite movies today. However, this content can be targeted as too mature. With movies and shows like To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and The Summer I Turned Pretty, younger demographics can be exposed in more age-suitable doses. No more sneakily watching Mean Girls at sleepovers when you’re 9.
Can we expect to see more rom-coms that better reflect today’s world? Undoubtedly yes! Screen Rant notes 9 releasing in 2024 alone! And if you need any further pushing to get out and see a rom-com with your friends this galentine’s day, see the many TikToks of everyone singing Unwritten after seeing Anyone But You! Definitely a core memory for me! Until then, I and make like me, will continue to sing the praises of the rom-com. It is the official-unofficial month of love after all.