The Hollywood Romantic Comedy E-Book

Leger Grindon

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 415

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

The most up-to-date study of the Hollywood romantic comedy film, from the development of sound to the twenty-first century, this book examines the history and conventions of the genre and surveys the controversies arising from the critical responses to these films.

• Provides a detailed interpretation of important romantic comedy films from as early as 1932 to movies made in the twenty-first century
• Presents a full analysis of the range of romantic comedy conventions, including dramatic conflicts, characters, plots, settings, and the function of humor
• Develops a survey of romantic comedy movies and builds a canon of key films from Hollywood's classical era right up to the present day
• Chapters work as discrete studies as well as within the larger context of the book

Leseprobe

Contents

Cover

New Approaches to Film Genre

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

List of Plates

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1: Introduction

Conflicts

Master Plot

Characters

Masquerade

The Setting

Love and Laughter

Chapter 2: History, Cycles, and Society

The Transition to Sound Cluster, 1930–3

The Screwball Cycle, 1934–42

The World War II Cluster and the Home Front Romantic Comedy, 1942–6

The Post-War Cluster: Melancholy and Reconciliation, 1947–53

The Comedies of Seduction Cycle: The Playboy, the Golddigger, and the Virgin, 1953–66

The Transition Through the Counter-Culture Cluster, 1967–76

The Nervous Romance Cycle, 1977–87

The Reaffirmation of Romance Cycle, 1986–96

The Grotesque and Ambivalent Cycle, 1997–Present

Chapter 3: Thinking Seriously About Laughter and Romance

The Literary Heritage: Contribution and Contest

What's So Funny About Comedy?

What is the Shape of Genre History?

What are the Politics of Romantic Comedy?

Chapter 4: Trouble in Paradise (1932): What is the Trouble in Paradise?

Chapter 5: His Girl Friday (1940): Jailbreak!

Chapter 6: The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944): The Home Front Romantic Comedy

Chapter 7: Adam's Rib (1949): Anatomy Lesson

Chapter 8: Some Like It Hot (1959): Riding Sidesaddle

Chapter 9: The Graduate (1967): Counter-Conventions and Cultural Change

Chapter 10: Annie Hall (1977): The Trials of Partnership

Chapter 11: When Harry Met Sally (1989): Friendship, Sex, and Courtship

Chapter 12: There's Something About Mary (1998): Parody and the Grotesque

Chapter 13: Waitress (2007): Women's Ambivalence

A Chronology of Prominent Hollywood Romantic Comedies

The Transition to Sound Cluster, 1930–3

The Screwball Cycle, 1934–42

The World War II Cluster and the Home Front Romantic Comedy, 1942–6

The Post-War Cluster: Melancholy and Reconciliation, 1947–53

The Comedies of Seduction Cycle: The Playboy, the Golddigger, and the Virgin, 1953–66

The Transition Through the Counter-Culture Cluster, 1967–76

The Nervous Romance Cycle, 1977–87

The Reaffirmation of Romance Cycle, 1986–96

The Grotesque and Ambivalent Cycle, 1997–Present

References

Index

New Approaches to Film Genre

Series Editor: Barry Keith Grant

New Approaches to Film Genre provides students and teachers with original, insightful, and entertaining overviews of major film genres. Each book in the series gives an historical appreciation of its topic, from its origins to the present day, and identifies and discusses the important films, directors, trends, and cycles. Authors articulate their own critical perspective, placing the genre's development in relevant social, historical, and cultural contexts. For students, scholars, and film buffs alike, these represent the most concise and illuminating texts on the study of film genre.

From Shane to Kill Bill: Rethinking the Western, Patrick McGee

The Horror Film, Rick Worland

Hollywood and History, Robert Burgoyne

The Religious Film, Pamela Grace

The Hollywood War Film, Robert Eberwein

The Fantasy Film, Katherine A. Fowkes

The Multi-Protagonist Film, María del Mar Azcona

The Hollywood Romantic Comedy, Leger Grindon

Forthcoming:

Film Noir, William Luhr

This edition first published 2011

© 2011 Leger Grindon

Blackwell Publishing was acquired by John Wiley & Sons in February 2007. Blackwell's publishing program has been merged with Wiley's global Scientific, Technical, and Medical business to form Wiley-Blackwell.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Grindon, Leger, 1949–

The Hollywood romantic comedy: conventions, history, controversies / Leger Grindon. p. cm. – (New approaches to film genre)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4051-8266-9 (hardcover: alk. paper) – ISBN 978-1-4051-8265-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Romantic comedy films–United States–History and criticism. 2. Love in motion pictures.

I. Title.

PN1995.9.C55G75 2011

791.43′617–dc22

2010043498

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This book is published in the following electronic formats: ePDFs ISBN 9781444395945;

Wiley Online Library ISBN 9781444395969; ePub ISBN 9781444395952

For my daughter Blake, may her life be filled with heartfelt laughter and happy endings.

List of Plates

All images are the author's own screen shots:

1Greg Focker is interrogated by his prospective father-in-law Jack Byrnes in Meet the Parents (2000)42Viola is disguised as Thomas Kent listening to Will Shakespeare declare his passion for her in Shakespeare in Love (1999)173George and Tom convince Gilda to leave her rich husband and run off with them in Design for Living (1933)294Susan Vance tears the tuxedo off Professor Huxley in Bringing Up Baby (1938)365Marilyn Monroe was simply known as “the girl” in The Seven Year Itch (1955)496The transition through the counter-culture cluster produced wild plot variations including New Age encounter groups, “open” marriage, and group sex in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969)537Loretta and Ronny in Moonstruck (1987)608The unlikely matching of the ambitious, professional Alison with the slovenly, directionless Ben in Knocked Up (2007)669In The Philadelphia Story (1940) Mike carries Tracy back from the pool on her wedding day7210In It Happened One Night (1934) Ellie skeptically watches Pete teach her hitchhiking8011Gaston Monescu and Mariette Colet begin their mutual seduction in Trouble in Paradise (1932)8812Lily confronts Mariette and Gaston in Trouble in Paradise (1932)9313Hildy disarms Earl Williams in His Girl Friday (1940)10114Bruce Baldwin tries unsuccessfully to break up the alliance between Walter and Hildy in His Girl Friday (1940)10415In The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944) Trudy confesses to her sister Emmy that she forgot what happened11016Papa Kockenlocker attacks Norval for bringing his daughter Trudy home from a date at 8 a.m. in The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944)11217In Adam's Rib (1949) Amanda and Adam cuddle over cocktails in the evening after their contest earlier that day in court12218In Adam's Rib (1949) the post-trial confrontation between Adam and Amanda replays the opening scene in which Doris shoots her husband12619Wearing only part of his disguise, Joe raises the bowed head of Sugar and kisses her after the performance of “I'm Through With Love” in Some Like It Hot (1959)13620“Nobody's perfect” makes fun of a romantic cliché, the acceptance of imperfections in the beloved, and the commitment to self-sacrifice in marriage in Some Like It Hot (1959)13821“Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me … Aren't you?” accuses Ben in The Graduate (1967)14222On the bus at the conclusion of The Graduate (1967) Elaine and Ben gradually replace their smiles with uncertainty and discomfort14823Alvy Singer begins Annie Hall (1977) facing the camera like a stand-up comedian15124In Annie Hall (1977), though Annie is wacky and self-effacing, her behavior and dress identify her with the women's movement15425Rob Reiner needed over sixty takes to successfully shoot the second split-screen episode in When Harry Met Sally (1989)16526Six unidentified elderly couples appear at regular intervals in When Harry Met Sally (1989) to tell the story of how they met16927The closing shot in When Harry Met Sally (1989) finds a witty means of affirmation16928Pat Healy frantically tries to revive Puffy while Mary fixes drinks in There's Something About Mary (1998)17629Mary is surrounded by the various men competing for her love in There's Something About Mary (1998)17930Becky and Dawn, the work friends at the diner in Waitress (2007), call Jenna to the pregnancy test18331Teaching Dr. Pomatter to make a pie in Waitress (2007) prompts Jenna to recall her mother187

Acknowledgements

During this project I have sought recommendations for improvement. My family, friends and colleagues have responded with generosity. Their assistance has contributed grace and reason to the manuscript and rendered the shortcomings that remain less conspicuous.

Many have offered valuable help as this manuscript took shape. Middlebury College provided financial assistance through the Faculty Professional Development Fund and through a release from teaching funded by the Mellon Foundation. Jared Rosenberg, my student at Middlebury College, and Ethan Murphy, my staff colleague, have helped me select and process the illustrations for this book. My faculty colleagues at Middlebury College have listened to my ideas, offered constructive advice, loaned videos, and read passages of various parts of my manuscript, including Chris Keathley, Jason Mittell, Ted Perry, Hope Tucker, and Andy Wentink. John Bertolini and Ed Smith have been particularly generous in reading and responding to many chapters of my manuscript and offering me the perspective arising from their extensive knowledge of romantic comedies.

Thanks to Jayne Fargnoli, my editor at Wiley-Blackwell, for inviting me to contribute to the series “New Approaches to Film Genre.” Jayne has given me sound advice and continuous support, as has the series editor, Barry Grant, who, with an anonymous outside reader, offered vital suggestions on the development of the original manuscript which allowed me to include important improvements in the book.

Professor Celestino Deleyto of the University of Zaragoza gave me a wealth of advice and encouragement, including his review of chapters from my manuscript and assurance that my efforts were of value. I am particularly grateful for his invitation to teach and lecture at the university, presenting for the first time some of the ideas in this book. In addition, his gracious colleague Professor Marimar Azcona-Montoliu added her guidance and insights to help my thinking on this project.

Finally thanks to my wife Sharon Grindon, who watched many of these romantic comedies with me, in some cases putting aside her reservations, and offered her perceptive insights. In addition, she was the most valued reader of my work regularly offering me vital corrections, admonitions, and recommendations.

I thank all of these as well as the wider community of friends and associates who contributed to this book.

Chapter 1

Introduction

Romantic comedies, from classics such as Trouble in Paradise (1932) to recent hits like Knocked Up (2007), have been a cornerstone of Hollywood entertainment since the coming of sound. Success in romantic comedy has created stars from Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant to Julia Roberts and Ben Stiller. In spite of being popular movies with a long and continuous history of production, romantic comedies have won only a few Oscars for Best Picture: It Happened One Night (1934), You Can't Take It With You (1938), The Apartment (1960), Annie Hall (1977), and Shakespeare in Love (1998). Romantic comedies are often dismissed as formulaic stories promoting fantasies about love. But these comedies have a pedigree that includes William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and Oscar Wilde. Moreover, these films reward study because they deal with dramatic conflicts central to human experience. From those conflicts arise the familiar conventions that form the foundation for the romantic comedy and portray our social manners surrounding courtship, sexuality, and gender relations.

An American Film Institute 2008 poll defined romantic comedy as “a genre in which the development of romance leads to comic situations.” Billy Mernit in his guide Writing the Romantic Comedy claims that the central question is “will these two individuals become a couple?” (2000: 13). He argues that the romance must be the primary story element. Film scholars explain that romantic comedy is a process of orientation, conventions, and expectations (Neale and Krutnik 1990: 136–49). The film industry orients audiences through titles like Lover Come Back (1961), by casting stars identified with the genre like Meg Ryan, and with advertising and publicity. Filmmakers adapt conventions from successful films in the genre, while adding new elements to keep the movie fresh. Fans select their entertainment by drawing upon their viewing experience to anticipate familiar story turns, such as flirtatious quarreling, and a particular emotional tone shaped by humor.

Gerald Mast explains that the films in the genre create a comic climate through a series of cues to the audience: subject matter is treated as trivial, jokes and physical humor make fun of events, and characters are protected from harm. Even though the drama poses serious problems, such as choosing a life partner, the process appears lighthearted, anticipating a positive resolution (1979: 9–13). The plot of most romantic comedies could be presented with the earnestness of melodrama, but the humorous tone transforms the experience. The movie assumes a self-deprecating stance which signals the audience to relax and have fun, for nothing serious will disturb their pleasure. However, this sly pose allows comic artists to influence their audience while the viewers take little notice of the work's persuasive power.

If humor establishes the tone, courtship provides the plot. In a broad sense the subject of romantic comedy is the values, attitudes, and practices that shape the play of human desire. Mernit claims that the transforming power of love is the overarching theme (2000: 95). More than sexuality, these films portray a drive toward marriage or long-term partnership. Indeed, romantic comedy portrays the developments which allow men and women to reflect upon romance as a personal experience and a social phenomenon. As a result, scholars, such as Celestino Deleyto speak of romantic comedy engaging in the discourse of love, representing the shifting practice of, and the evolving ideas about, romance in our culture.

In cinema, contemporary genre analysis has focused on evolving narrative conventions as a dramatization of pervasive social conflicts. As Thomas Schatz explains, genre criticism treats familiar stories that “involve dramatic conflicts, which are themselves based upon ongoing cultural conflicts” (1981: viii). Guided by the practice of Schatz among others, this study will explore the patterns of meaning in the romantic comedy genre by surveying its animating conflicts, the model plot, the major characters, the function of masquerade, the use of setting, and the viewer's emotional response. With this in mind, let us follow Rick Altman's principle that “The first step in understanding the functional role of Hollywood genre is to isolate the problems for which the genre provides a symbolic solution,” and turn to the conflicts that set the Hollywood romantic comedy film in motion (1987: 334).

Conflicts

These conflicts are as old as courtship, yet each film fashions them to contemporary circumstances. The three major fields of conflict are those between parents and children, those between courting men and women, and those internal to each of the lovers.

First, consider the conflicts between generations, that is, the parents or other authority figures versus their children as lovers and prospective mates. Parents, particularly fathers, represent the established order, reasoned judgment as opposed to the passion of the lovers. The older generation calls on social tradition, the power of the law, and the bonds of family to guide impetuous youth toward a proper and stable union. Lovers counter with the attractions of instinct, the force of their feelings, and the need for a fresh partnership which explores the unknown. In an implicit sense the confrontation between the old society and the new represents the struggle against incest: that is, the need to move outside the family toward a synthesis that will yield the unexpected and the original.

Romantic comedy has portrayed this ancient struggle since the birth of Western theater, as the works of Menander and Terence show us. Shakespeare follows this pattern in A Midsummer Night's Dream, which opens with Egeus petitioning the Duke of Athens to command his daughter Hermia to marry Demetrius, the man of his choice, instead of Lysander, who has bewitched her with verses, love tokens, and moonlight. Instead, Lysander and Hermia flee the law into the enchanted forest to realize their destiny. Rather than displaying the respect due to elders, romantic comedy is more likely to mock fathers as rigid tyrants who stand in the way of change. The contemporary cinema still finds this conflict compelling. In Meet the Parents (2000) Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) must endure the torments of his girlfriend's family before he can realize his engagement. The father, Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro), former CIA interrogator, turns his professional skills on the innocent young man and almost sabotages the romance. In My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) Toula Portokalos (Nia Vardalos) must cope with her father's ethnic pride in their Greek heritage when she introduces her Anglo-Saxon fiancé. Romantic comedy expresses its subversive social implications in that the conflict between generations results in the overthrow of the old by the young, but its counter-tendency toward stability results in the eventual reconciliation of the feuding parties in the creation of a new family.

Plate 1Meet the Parents (2000) poses the conflict between children and parents. Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) is interrogated by his prospective father-in-law Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro).

Second, the battle between the sexes establishes the central field of conflict animating romantic comedy. This contest evokes the distinct gender cultures within which men and women have been raised. Courting couples must struggle to find common ground upon which to build their union while also establishing sufficient knowledge of, and sympathy for, the opposite sex. In this sense lovers must struggle against the threat of narcissism and seek an identity in difference, an attraction to their opposite that complements and completes the self. As Brian Henderson explains, “Romantic comedy posited men and women willing to meet on a common ground and to engage all their faculties in sexual dialectic” (1986: 320). In darker terms, men and women need to overcome a fear of the opposite sex and embrace heterosexuality as a commanding force driving them toward union.

The genre testifies to the evolving qualities characterizing opposing gender cultures, whether it is the opposition between the rational man versus the intuitive woman in Bringing Up Baby (1938), the masculine sports world versus a feminine arts community in Designing Woman (1957), or competition versus cooperation in Jerry Maguire (1996). Romantic comedies portray the changing status of women in modern times. As a result, the negotiation within the couple over the woman's social role has become a prime feature of the genre (Neale and Krutnik 1990: 133). Kate's submission to Petruchio at the conclusion of The Taming of the Shrew offends many in the contemporary audience, which may be more comfortable with the legal victory of Amanda (Katharine Hepburn) over Adam (Spencer Tracy) in Adam's Rib (1949), but the contest, resistance, and compromise between men and women remain central to the romantic comedy.

The opposition between the gender cultures is frequently amplified by other inherited social distinctions which become a source of tension. For example, the difference in class between the unemployed journalist Peter Warne (Clark Gable) and the wealthy socialite Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) in It Happened One Night is a conflict widespread in the screwball comedies of the 1930s. Woody Allen's romantic comedies, such as Annie Hall, present the conflict between Jew and Gentile. Regional distinctions and their attendant mores can serve as the basis for conflict, as in The Quiet Man (1952). In most cases these inherited social differences embellish the opposing gender traits that serve as an obstacle for the couple.

Another widespread conflict is personal development versus self-sacrifice. Both men and women need to establish an independent and mature character in preparation for a healthy marriage. In many cases, such personal growth involves achieving career goals, such as when Lily Garland (Carole Lombard) develops into an actress in Twentieth Century (1934), C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) becomes a corporate executive in The Apartment, or Will (Joseph Fiennes) overcomes writer's block in Shakespeare in Love. On the other hand, putting aside one's personal interests for the benefit of the beloved is the crucial sign that the new partner can undertake the sacrifices necessary to form a long-term union. As Lord Arthur Goring (Rupert Everett) tells Mrs. Laura Cheveley (Julianne Moore) in An Ideal Husband (1999): “Love cannot be bought, it can only be given…. To give and not expect return, that is what lies at the heart of love.” Kristine Brunovska Karnick explains, “Both partners must make some sacrifice to reach the correct balance between professional and personal concerns” (1995: 132–3). However, in some comedies, particularly the “nervous romances” following Annie Hall in the 1970s and 1980s, the conflict between professional and personal concerns thwarts the couple. For example, in Broadcast News (1987) the romantic triangle between co-workers Tom (William Hurt), Jane (Holly Hunter), and Aaron (Albert Brooks) ends without generating a couple. Each of the characters departs in pursuit of professional goals, and in the epilogue years later, Jane still has been unable to find a partner because her professional ambitions hamper her personal life. This tension between personal development and self-sacrifice serves as a conflict pervasive in romantic comedies.

The challenge of monogamy poses the conflict between a long-term commitment versus a short-term liaison. The teen Tracy (Mariel Hemingway) tells her middle-aged lover Isaac (Woody Allen) in Manhattan (1979), “Maybe people weren't meant to have one chief relationship. People were meant to have a series of relationships of different lengths.” As will be discussed below, an important variation within the genre is the infidelity plot, in which one member of the couple strays and the film plays out whether the initial union will be reestablished. The sociologist Anthony Giddens writes of “confluent love” as a “pure” but contingent relationship presenting an important alternative to marriage in the late twentieth century (1992: 61–4), and this trend toward the temporary relationship rather than “living happily ever after” is evident in romantic comedies such as Semi-Tough (1977), She's Gotta Have It (1986), and Singles (1992).

Along with the changing nature of heterosexual partnership comes a shift from the family to the growing influence of friends. David Shumway notes that in the contemporary romantic comedies he calls “relationship stories friends replace relatives as the chief social grouping” (2003: 164). Friendship also offers an alternative to the couple that can develop into a conflict between sexual love and platonic fellowship. Chasing Amy (1997) clearly poses the conflict between loyalty to one's friend as opposed to pursuing romance. On the other hand, My Best Friend's Wedding (1997) finds Jules (Julia Roberts) jealous when her best friend Michael (Dermot Mulroney) decides to marry Kimberly (Cameron Diaz). Eventually Jules ends the film dancing with her gay confidant George (Rupert Everett) rather than in love. Deleyto has argued that in romantic comedy of the past two decades “heterosexual love appears to be challenged and occasionally replaced by friendship” (2003: 168). The increasing presence of homosexuality presents a related challenge. At least as early as Manhattan, the gay relationship has emerged on film as a threat to partnering between men and women. Other films, such as Chasing Amy or Kissing Jessica Stein (2001), develop homosexuality as a viable option.

The third field for dramatic conflicts within romantic comedy arises within the psyche of the individual. Mernit argues that, being character-driven, romantic comedies emphasize internal conflicts. The protagonist is emotionally inadequate until she or he finds the proper mate and becomes a more complete human being (2000: 16–17). For example, in The Truth About Cats and Dogs (1996) Abby (Janeane Garofalo), because she suffers from low self-esteem, sends her beautiful friend Noelle (Uma Thurman) to meet the handsome Brian (Ben Chaplin) rather than going herself. Finally Brian's growing attraction builds Abby's confidence, and she gains a partner who promotes her harmonious development. Motion pictures also strive to reveal interior, hidden conflicts. Rob Gordon (John Cusack) tells the audience of his secret desires in High Fidelity (2000), and the Jekyll-and-Hyde duality in The Nutty Professor (1963) portrays the split psyche of the scientist. Since the psychotherapy session has become familiar in the genre, this confessional mode has featured the expression of interior conflicts within the earnest Erica (Jill Clayburgh) in An Unmarried Woman (1978), the pathetic Ted (Ben Stiller) in There's Something About Mary (1998), and even the desperate Will in the sixteenth century of Shakespeare in Love. By now the therapy session has become a venue for internal conflicts and a staple source of humor in romantic comedy.

The conflict between repression and sexual desire has been central to romantic comedy and is a key to its internal struggles. As Kathleen Rowe writes, in comedy sex is part of an “overall attack on repression and [a] celebration of bodily pleasure” (1995: 104). Frequently this internal struggle becomes personified in the contending members of the couple. Whether it concerns the contest between the repressed David Huxley (Cary Grant) and the spontaneous Susan Vance (Katharine Hepburn) in Bringing Up Baby, the proper Jan Morrow (Doris Day) and the lecherous Brad Allen (Rock Hudson) in Pillow Talk (1959), or the contrasting sexual habits of Annie (Diane Keaton) and Alvy (Woody Allen) in Annie Hall, this conflict between sexual control and indulgence is a mainspring of romantic comedy. Frequently, institutional censorship, such as classical Hollywood's Production Code Administration, commonly known as “the Hays Office,” enforces repression, and so the genre has to work imaginatively to express desire through covert means. One pleasure of the romantic comedy arises from experiencing these discreet avenues to the erotic.

Warring gender cultures provoke men and women to exploit their suitors for personal advantage rather than embracing the bond of love. The internal conflict between exploitation and fellowship is portrayed in the mirrored opposition of the playboy and the golddigger, both of whom portray a negation of romance. On the one hand, the playboy's desire for sexual gratification without any emotional bond with his partner allows lust to prevail over love. On the other hand, the golddigger exchanges sexual favors for financial security without any heartfelt union. The battle of the sexes poses these negative types which are at war with a transcendent erotic impulse. For example, in A Letter to Three Wives (1949), Lora Mae (Linda Darnell) is a young working woman who flirts with her boss, Porter Hollingsway (Paul Douglas), but insists on marriage before intimacy. Afterwards, the couple become bitter because each senses a cynical exchange at the base of their relationship. Only in the unconvincing resolution do they freely declare their selfless affection for each other.

Finally, the internal conflict between skepticism and faith in love pervades the genre. Often a film seeks credibility with its audience by portraying the trials and disappointments of courtship before maneuvering the couple toward union. Splash (1984) opens with Allen (Tom Hanks) having just been left by his girlfriend, and he stands in contrast to his scoundrel playboy brother Freddie (John Candy). In an extreme case, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), Lucy (Gene Tierney) experiences a disappointing marriage and a deceptive suitor before finding a satisfying union with her amiable ghost after death. Moonstruck (1987) finds Loretta (Cher) in a pragmatic, loveless engagement before she meets her fiancé's passionate brother. Infidelity plots, like Twentieth Century or Unfaithfully Yours (1948), depend upon the unwarranted suspicions of one partner, who must be reassured of the beloved's commitment. Rowe has recognized this delicate “balance between belief and disbelief so essential to the genre” (1995: 161–2). This internal conflict convinces viewers to overcome their own doubts and renew a feeling that love is possible.

The three major fields of conflict in romantic comedy, between parents and children, between men and women, and within the self, depict vital problems widely experienced throughout the culture. The genre thereby addresses issues of fundamental concern and maintains an audience. Through engagement with these films the audience grapples, often subconsciously, with important issues. Equally important, the conflicts establish the discourse upon which the conventions of plot, character, and setting are constructed. In turn the conventions elaborate a framework through which the conflicts are expressed.

Master Plot

The central narrative framework in film genre studies is the master plot, a series of typical events linked into a causal progression that establishes the conventions of a particular genre's story by dramatizing the conflicts at the foundation of the genre. The master plot will be larger than most fictions in the genre, and individual films will select from, vary, or add to the routine formula. The master plot incorporates the general story expectations of the spectator, and often supplies background information assumed by any particular film. The master plot is similar to Schatz's genre myth or the folklorist Vladimir Propp's collection of “moves” which constitute a tale (Schatz 1981: 264; Propp 1958). There are frequently a few prominent master-plot patterns within a genre. For example, Rick Altman identifies the “fairy tale,” the “show,” and the “folk” as three plot variations marking the musical film; Noël Carroll posits the discovery, the complex discovery, and the overreacher plots for horror (Altman 1987: 127; Carroll 1990: 97–128). As Northrop Frye explains, the plot of the romantic comedy is ancient Greek New Comedy as transmitted by Plautus and Terence (1973: 163–4). A couple meets and falls in love. Obstacles intervene to separate the lovers. The body of the action involves wrestling with the obstacles until the couple can be united, usually in marriage. The nature of the obstacles becomes the distinguishing quality of these tales and the courtship practices, sexual mores, and gender cultures of every era establish the variables. Mernit has proposed a useful plot model which he argues follows “the intuitive logic of a credible courtship” (2000: 109–17). I adapt his model with variations and additions. The basic model bears in mind two important variations, the infidelity and the ensemble plots, which will be discussed in more detail at the close.

Move 1: Unfulfilled Desire. One or both members of the prospective couple are presented as suffering from disappointment in romance, or face a frustrating absence in their life. In There's Something About Mary Ted can't find a date for the prom. Infidelity comedies present a troubled relationship, as when Tracy (Katharine Hepburn) throws Dexter (Cary Grant) out of the house for drunkenness in The Philadelphia Story (1940). The opening frequently presents failure in romance and establishes skepticism toward the prospect of abiding love.

Move 2: the Meeting. The prospective lovers encounter each other and sparks fly in the celebrated “meet cute.” In Cluny Brown (1946), Professor Adam Belinski (Charles Boyer) meets the eponymous Cluny (Jennifer Jones) when she arrives to fix the plumbing and later she enjoys “that Persian cat feeling” after her first martini. The infidelity variation presents the rival suitor of one or both of the initial partners, as when Hildy (Rosalind Russell) introduces her fiancé Bruce (Ralph Bellamy) to Walter (Cary Grant) in His Girl Friday (1940).

Move 3: Fun Together. The couple confirm their attraction in initial dates, such as walking in the park, playing on the beach, candlelight dinners. The standard sequence may end in a first kiss or a declaration of love, such as the East River pier kiss in Annie Hall.

Move 4: Obstacles Arise. The prospective union of the couple is sabotaged by the central conflict driving the plot. Generally that obstacle is closely integrated with a parallel plot quest which establishes a competing goal and further complications for one or both of the lovers. After an impulsive kiss, Paul (William Holden) avoids any entanglement with the millionaire's mistress Billie (Judy Holliday) in Born Yesterday (1950), but his assignment to educate the “dumb blonde” throws them together. The interaction between the obstacle and the parallel quest becomes a key structuring device in developing the conflicts. For example, the trial in Adam's Rib sparks the dispute between Adam and Amanda because of their different concepts of justice and also because the case arises over a wife taking a shot at her unfaithful husband.

Move 5: the Journey. In trying to circumvent the obstacle, the couple move to a special place which takes them outside their normal surroundings and changes their routine perception. Here they undergo a transformation which prepares them for union. Susan brings David to Connecticut in Bringing Up Baby; Ronnie (Nicolas Cage) takes Loretta to La Bohème in Moonstruck; a time warp traps Phil (Bill Murray) in Groundhog Day (1993) until he sheds his cynicism and becomes worthy of Rita's love.

Move 6: New Conflicts. At the film's midpoint, the growing bond between the lovers provokes new problems. Earl Williams (John Qualen) escapes from his cell in His Girl Friday, and Hildy is back on the job as court reporter. She fails to walk out on Walter as she planned because the story needs reporting. In Chasing Amy Holden (Ben Affleck) and Allysa (Joey Lauren Adams) become lovers, antagonizing Holden's close friend Banky (Jason Lee).

Move 7: the Choice. The protagonist must choose between the alternative quest and the romance. In Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Annie (Meg Ryan) lies to her fiancé Walter and flies to Seattle in search of Sam (Tom Hanks). However, her failure to make contact leads her to chide herself as foolish and reaffirm her engagement to Walter.

Move 8: Crisis. The choice proves disastrous, placing the couple in jeopardy. In Working Girl (1988) Tess's self-esteem dissolves when her boss Katharine (Sigourney Weaver) exposes the secretary's masquerade as a financial expert. Tess (Melanie Griffith) must apologize and depart from the merger meeting. Furthermore, when Jack (Harrison Ford) discovers Tess's ruse he reconsiders his feelings for her.

Move 9: Epiphany. The process of courtship provokes a learning process in the couple which culminates in an epiphany. The insight prompts a personal sacrifice leading to the resolution. In The Apartment Baxter quits rather than allow Sheldrake (Fred McMurray) to meet Fran (Shirley MacLaine) in his apartment. Fran learns of Baxter's decision and runs to meet him.

Move 10: Resolution. The couple are reunited or they separate but the experience of their romance provides an important lesson for the future. A wedding, feast, or celebration marks the close. Tracy acknowledges her failings, turns down the proposal from Mike (James Stewart), and accepts Dexter's hand in The Philadelphia Story. The last-minute rescue from a misguided wedding to the wrong partner is a prominent resolution suspense device in films such as It Happened One Night or prompts compulsive repetition in Runaway Bride (1999). The happy ending is a well-established convention of the romantic comedy, but films increasingly cultivate a variety of resolutions. Deleyto outlines five common revisions in the resolution of contemporary romantic comedies, including the lonely hero, the uneasy couple, a nostalgia for a more innocent past, the uncertainty of changing gender roles, and the increasing visibility of homosexuality (1998: 12).

The model is broad enough to display an outline of the romantic comedy plot while allowing for enormous flexibility. It also can accommodate the two chief variations to this basic model: the infidelity plot and the ensemble plot.

The infidelity plot begins with an established couple in which one or both members are tempted to stray. The resolution can reestablish or dissolve the relationship. This variation includes what Stanley Cavell (1981) has called the comedy of remarriage and Kristine Brunovska Karnick (1995) the reaffirmation plot, but it is more inclusive because it includes works, such as An Unmarried Woman and Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), in which the initial couple separates. Shakespeare already used this pattern: for example, Oberon and Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream present an infidelity episode.

The other chief variation is the ensemble plot, in which the couples multiply. Again the pattern is widespread in Shakespeare, where many comedies follow a cluster of lovers and end in numerous marriages. Here the parallel romances emphasize a comparison between the couples, rather than the linear development of a single courtship. Films like Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Singles, and Love Actually (2003) are examples. The current trend in multi-protagonist narratives develops this variation.

“Though no single film can present the entire myth,” Rick Altman explains, “the system of generic variations creates a myth, a single coherent narrative mediating cultural conflicts” (1987: 331). So a work may select from, vary, or add to this narrative pattern, but still operate within the conventions of the genre. Sleepless in Seattle delays the meeting of the couple until the resolution; Knocked Up initiates the courtship with conception; Woman of the Year (1942) portrays the trials of early marriage. Nonetheless, the conventional pattern serves as a reference point for the filmmakers and their audience.

Characters

The conventional characters of romantic comedy are divided into two groups: the lovers and their helpers versus obstacle figures, typically the father or others in authority. The principal allies of the obstacle figures are romantic rivals, the “wrong partners” who fulfill the standards of class, wealth, race, or whatever yardstick authorities have selected. Emotion characterizes the lovers, as the instinctual forces of sexuality drive them forward in spite of their vulnerability, inexperience, and foolishness. Rigidity characterizes the antagonists, who use reason, tradition, and force as a means of protecting virgins, quelling the feelings of the lovers, and enforcing the rules keeping eros in check.

A distinguishing quality of the romantic comedy is the dual protagonist, the man and woman whose union becomes the principal quest. Though some films, like The Wedding Crashers (2005), may emphasize the man, and others, like My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the woman, the dynamics of the genre encourage a dual perspective. Sleepless in Seattle offers a vivid instance of the dual protagonist because the film is constructed along parallel tracks, shifting between hero and heroine until they meet in the final episode. The lovers in romantic comedy strive to find common ground. Characterization in romantic comedy moves away from extreme gender traits, whether the fierce warrior or the nurturing mother, toward behavior which allows for integration. Handsome and strong, actors like Cary Grant, James Stewart, or Hugh Grant can also be elegant, witty, and express their desire for intimacy while being ready to laugh at themselves. While beautiful and playful, stars like Katharine Hepburn, Meg Ryan, or Julia Roberts can also be aggressive, sassy, and independent. He is ready for tenderness, and she can handle adversity without wilting. Finally, they must overcome a fear of union and seek genuine fellowship rather than simply sex or financial security. If lovers in romantic comedy are resistant to modifying their gender disposition, they must change their ways. For example, Phil Connors in Groundhog Day has to relive that February day over and over again until he has shed his cynical selfishness and is eligible for marriage.

In order to be “meant for each other,” men and women need to distinguish themselves with unusual, often eccentric, behavior that complements their partners. As Jerry (Tom Cruise) tells Dorothy (Renee Zellweger) in Jerry Maguire, “You complete me.” The lover, whether the fast-talking dame of screwball or the sensitive guy of post-classical Hollywood, displays a personality that stands out from the crowd. Brian Henderson claims that “there can be no romantic comedy without strong heroines” (1986: 320). The individual, rising above the typical, needs to bond with a partner who folds his or her special qualities into the balanced harmony of a couple.

The trials of the primary couple are frequently shadowed by a secondary couple whose example serves as a guide or counterpoint. For instance, Jess (Bruno Kirby) and Marie (Carrie Fisher) in When Harry Met Sally (1989) serve as the confidants of the principal couple, and their wedding anticipates the final union of Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan). On the other hand, the growing alienation of Mr. Matuschek (Frank Morgan) from his wife in The Shop Around the Corner (1940) acts as a counterpoint to the initial hostility and eventual union of Kralik (James Stewart) and Klara (Margaret Sullavan). Multiple couples can even broaden the spectrum for comparison, so that the problems in a trio of marriages are examined in A Letter to Three Wives. Sometimes the parallel romantic escapades of two women, such as Dorothy (Jane Russell) and Lorelei (Marilyn Monroe) in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), or two men, like Miles (Paul Giamatti) and Jack (Thomas Haden Church) in Sideways (2004), function to shift the focus from the couple and develop a comparison within a gender. The character of the primary couple is given perspective and depth with these additions.

Occasionally the primary couple expands to a triangle when an attractive alternate partner enters the field. Here, the temptation to infidelity is stronger than the attraction to a wrong partner because the triangle figures are a genuine option which threatens the couple and leaves the audience with regret that their union was never realized. For example, in The Philadelphia Story George (John Howard) is a “wrong partner” for Tracy, but Mike is an attractive alternative who initially appears to replace Dexter as Tracy's beloved. In Design for Living (1933) Gilda (Miriam Hopkins) loves both Tom (Gary Cooper) and Charles (Fredric March) and the resolution leaves her unwilling to decide between them.

Allies of the lovers include helpers and friends. Perhaps the model for the helper is Puck, Oberon's fairy deputy in A Midsummer Night's Dream. The mischievous Puck is dispatched to administer his magic, but expresses the vicissitudes of love in mixing up the Athenians and making fun of their passion. Wise-cracking butlers, maids, and other servants act as helpers to struggling lovers, but often add to their complications or simply offer a sounding board for their woes. Thelma Ritter specialized in these roles in romantic comedies like A Letter to Three Wives, Pillow Talk, and Move Over, Darling (1963). Now that servants have faded from the social scene, these duties easily pass to secretaries, cabbies, bartenders, and others.

However, the most significant allies in contemporary romantic comedy are friends. As the workplace replaces the home as a stage of action and men and women live far from their birthplace, the diminishing role of the family, as noted above, is filled by friends – fellow workers, roommates, neighbors, college buddies. Similar to the helpers, these characters serve as confidants who allow the lovers to express their thoughts, desires, and hopes. Sometimes these friends are older advisors, like Pirovitch (Felix Bressart) in The Shop Around the Corner, the Reverend Mr. Playfair (Arthur Shields) in The Quiet Man, or Dr. Dreyfuss (Jack Kruschen) in The Apartment. Often they are neurotic sidekicks, like Pete (Tony Randall) in Lover Come Back or Spike (Rhys Ifans) in Notting Hill (1999), whose silly behavior offers another opportunity for humor. Recently, gay friends, like George in My Best Friend's Wedding or Simon (Gary Kinnear) in As Good As It Gets (1997), combine a detached sexual perspective with the insight of the advisor. In Friends with Money (2006) the circle of pals shifts the focus away from courtship, so the romantic union at the close comes almost as a surprise.

The father as the ruling patriarch is the prototype for the obstacle figure in romantic comedy. Other family members and authority figures can easily take over the father's role, such as the chairman of the board, Monsieur Giron (C. Aubrey Smith), in Trouble in Paradise, the older brother Will Danaher (Victor McLaglen) in The Quiet Man, or the royal attendants in Roman Holiday (1953). Policemen, bosses, priests, teachers, can all assume the blocking role as representatives of authority set on inhibiting passion. The ally of the authoritarian patriarch is the wrong partner or designated rival. He or she stands as the acceptable choice for a mate, but is usually marked by conformity which undermines any sense of freedom or individuality. Ralph Bellamy's roles as Dan in The Awful Truth (1937) and Bruce in His Girl Friday crystallized the genial but boring wrong partner who embodied the promise of a dreary life in which routine would smother any sense of adventure. But sometimes the wrong partner can be a demonic adversary, like Katharine in Working Girl, or a series of mismatches like Rob Gordon's former girlfriends in High Fidelity. The prevailing culture of divorce and spent relationships has developed the former spouse or ex-partner as a new variation on the wrong partner, such as Jill (Meryl Streep) in Manhattan, Joe (Steven Ford) and Alice (Lisa Jane Persky) in When Harry Met Sally, and Victoria (Jessica Hecht) in Sideways. As Steve Neale has pointed out, the wrong partner provokes the learning process which the protagonist must undergo in order to realize a successful relationship (1992: 289–90, 293–4). The mismatch reveals faults the protagonist must overcome and highlights the attractive qualities of the beloved. Sometimes friends can switch from helpers to obstacles: in Knocked Up the slacker lifestyle of Ben (Seth Rogen) and his mates stifles the maturity necessary for Ben to become a proper husband; in There's Something About Mary Ted's friend and advisor Dom (Chris Elliott) reveals himself to be a double-crossing rival, Woogie.

David Grote has identified three personalities prevalent in romantic comedy: the innocent, the fool, and the scoundrel (1983: 39–47). The innocent is childlike, unsophisticated and naïve, but open to education. This inexperienced youth is filled with feeling but unprepared for nature's cruelty and society's deceptions. Their ignorance makes them convenient straight men and their folly is a source of humor before their learning process takes over. The young lovers Hermia and Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream are classic innocents. Sometimes the innocent has a refreshing purity that enables others to renew their faith in goodness: for example, Charlie Chaplin's tramp in City Lights (1931). Innocents are conspicuous protagonists in most romantic comedy films, such as Marianne (Kate Winslet) in Sense and Sensibility (1995), Barry (Adam Sandler) in Punch Drunk Love (2002), or Andy (Steve Carell) in The Forty Year Old Virgin (2005).

The fool is an exaggeration of the innocent, an idiot whose incompetence sparks laughter. As Grote explains, he is “the innocent gone wild” and leads the romantic comedy toward farce (1983: 41). As a clown he is a butt of jokes, ready to take a fall. Though similar to an innocent, the fool is immune to learning and at a loss in society. Whereas the innocent often attracts the sympathy of the audience and possesses a purity that can contain wisdom, one keeps a distance from the fool, who creates a sense of uneasiness because he is stupid and unpredictable. Bottom from A Midsummer Night's Dream is a fool. The fool's extreme personality seldom fits the lover, though Norval Jones (Eddie Bracken) in The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944) and Jerry Lewis in The Ladies Man (1961) and The Nutty Professor are examples of fools as lovers. Frequently the fool is an ineffectual helper, like Spike in Notting Hill, or a friend and rival like Jerry (Jack Lemmon) in Some Like It Hot (1959). The fool appears less frequently than the innocent. Though the fool is conspicuous in “comedian comedies,” many romantic comedies resist the tendency toward physical humor and extreme behavior generated by the fool.

The scoundrel is the third and most prominent personality among the comic types. The rogue makes things happen with his schemes and disguises. Constantly preying upon innocents and using fools to carry out his dirty work, this trickster breaks the law, punishes the rigid, and mocks society's pretense. His ready wit and powerful insight make him almost invulnerable until love convinces him to give up his unbridled license. While disreputable, the scoundrel attracts our affection because of his cunning, freedom, and charm. Even if his reform is unconvincing he ingratiates himself with the beloved as well as the audience. Oberon and his deputy Puck are scoundrels in A Midsummer Night's Dream, as are Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew and Benedick and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing. The Wedding Crashers is based on the scoundrel code of John (Owen Wilson) and Jeremy (Vince Vaughn). Female scoundrels include the seducer Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft) in The Graduate (1967), and the con artist Jean Harrington (Barbara Stanwyck) in The Lady Eve (1941).

The play among these three types is central to comedy. There's Something About Mary features a lively interaction between the trio with an innocent couple in Ted and Mary (Cameron Diaz), a fool in Mary's dim-witted brother Warren (W. Earl Brown), and scoundrels in the various rivals: Healy (Matt Dillon), Tucker (Lee Evans) and Dom.

Masquerade

Masquerade is so widespread and significant in romantic comedy that it warrants analysis as an important aspect of characterization. Considering masquerade as the numerous disguises and deceptions employed in these courtship tales leads us back to Shakespeare. Among the most famous instances are the cross-dressing masquerades of Viola as Cesario in Twelfth Night and Rosalind as Ganymede in As You Like It. But Bottom's transformation into a beast in A Midsummer Night's Dream and the masked ball in Much Ado About Nothing are among the many other masquerades central to Shakespearean comedy. Masquerade in Hollywood romantic comedy takes many forms. There is the cross-dressing of I Was a Male War Bride (1949), Tootsie (1982), and Shakespeare in Love; women assuming an alternative self in Desperately Seeking Susan, Working Girl, and The Truth About Cats and Dogs; and men using a disguise to seduce women in Pillow Talk, Groundhog Day, and The Wedding Crashers. Alternatively, partners can create a joint deception which unites them against the world. For example, in It Happened One Night