Is the romcom dead?

20 years ago, a romantic comedy would have been seen as the bread and butter of the film industry. Easy viewing, quick money and a surefire way to prop up a budding star’s career. However, since then, the structure of the film industry has been forever changed by a variety of factors, including Hollywood being at the mercy of Wall Street’s whims and studios no longer prioritising home video releases. The romantic comedy has been subject to years of debates on whether or not the genre has officially died. A new film will come out using tropes of old romantic comedy favourites, and the news cycle ponders if this film will be the one to fix what’s wrong with our cinematic ecosystem.

The truth to whether or not the genre is dead is more complicated than a straightforward yes or no because, like any film genre, the answer depends on its preservation and how filmmakers drawn to the genre can find funding to make more movies. The world of cinema is in a weird place at the moment, with a rise in independent films and filmmakers thriving alongside a hostile studio system hellbent on shelving films for tax write-offs without even viewing them. Mid-budget films have not been a priority for studios for a while now. Instead, they’ve spent the better part of a decade focusing on blockbuster hits and tapping into our collective obsession with nostalgia.

There is still an undeniable appetite for romcoms, however. Surprisingly, Anyone But You, the 2023 Sydney Sweeney-produced romcom, has become a sleeper hit and globally grossed $170 million dollars, a rare achievement for a romantic comedy in theatres. But when speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, director Will Gluck proclaimed that Anyone But You was an attempt to make “the last romcom in the history of cinema and theatricality”. His statement reads like a eulogy to the genre, one that the diehard fans of romantic comedies may not agree with. Unfortunately, it’s true that Anyone But You is a one-of-a-kind movie in the current cinematic landscape. However, this doesn’t mean that the genre has ceased to exist entirely. In fact, it’s the opposite. We’ve been inundated with hundreds, if not thousands, of romantic comedies. They’re just not in cinemas anymore – they’re on streamers.

Netflix, notably, is a leading producer of romantic comedies, with titles like Someone Great, Set It Up, and To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, not to mention their widely successful romantic comedy TV shows such as Never Have I Ever, Emily In Paris and Heartstopper. Netflix revamping the genre has done what most major production companies have failed to do for years, not to mention attracting younger audiences clamouring for more films like The Holiday, How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days and 13 Going on 30, all of which have gained cult-like popularity over the past two decades.

The 2000s romcom has had a renaissance of sorts on TikTok, where audio snippets, the aesthetics and swooning over their male leads are a key factor to achieving virality. Perhaps it’s just good old-fashioned nostalgia, but it points to the fact that whilst we have more than enough romantic comedies produced by streamers, rarely do we get good romantic comedies that live up to the films of the 80s, 90s, or early 2000s. Last year, it was reported that Netflix refused to cooperate with romantic comedy phenom Nancy Meyers for her project that had an asking price of $130 million – even though years back, they had spent around $175 million on Scorsese’s The Irishman. One might ask why investing in a film with a director like Meyers who has a proven track record of making hit movies with star-studded casts seems to be a no-go for the streamer. But like all streamers, the answer is that Netflix is cheap and has only one goal – making as much profit as possible. It doesn’t matter that the quality of most romantic comedies on the steamers are questionable at best and forgettable at worst. They’re a quick fix meant to satiate our desire for romance and good storytelling, but rarely are we getting time, effort and money put towards that.

These films often have little to show in terms of care put towards their writing, cinematography, costuming and other key aspects that make so many of our beloved classics timeless. “A lot of the older romcoms, the ones that people are obsessed with, were a stomping ground for all kinds of creatives,” screenwriter and essayist Ayan Artaan tells Dazed. “If you think about costuming in When Harry Met Sally or Hans Zimmer scoring The Holiday, it’s iconic for a reason.”

Casting is also a key aspect of what makes or breaks a romcom. Don’t get me wrong, hot guys are still cast, but beyond that, it’s rare to discover a Matthew McConaughey or a Colin Firth – actors that help you buy into the film and create that swoon-worthy romantic dynamic. Actresses are more than willing to star in romantic comedies, but it seems that their male counterparts are avoiding them the best they can. Kate Hudson, who has starred in such iconic romantic comedies as How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Bride Wars, and Something Borrowed, argued that the lack of good romantic comedies is due to the fact a lot of male actors aren’t willing to appear in them. According to her, male actors have opted to go down the action-hero route in comic book movies instead of the usual romcoms. Hudson isn’t entirely wrong, seeing as Chris Evans and Mark Ruffalo, two former mainstays of the MCU, both shed their romantic comedy past in exchange for more ‘serious’ roles and haven’t gone back to the genre since.

“The focus on making ‘realistic’ romcoms can kill the romance, in a way. But that might just be a reflection of dating nowadays, which is inherently less earnest, less romantic and less vulnerable“ – Toju

In spite of this, we shouldn’t discount all male actors as anti-romcom, as younger male actors are now requesting roles in new romantic comedies in interviews. Last year, Paul Mescal suggested he would like to challenge himself by doing one with actress Ayo Edebiri, and earlier this year, Daniel Radcliffe proposed he and Abbott Elementary creator Quinta Brunson should also do one. Not to mention Glenn Powell’s putting his hat in the ring for the title of romcom heartthrob with both Set It Up and Anyone But You.

Anyone But You is an interesting case study of box office success while not meeting the expectations of romantic comedy fans. It portrays the very worst aspects of the genre with a reliance on approaching love with an air of cynicism and disregard, which makes believing in its inevitable grand romantic finale impossible. At times the film comes across as if it’s embarrassed to be a romantic comedy in the first place. It wishes it could be doing anything else instead of forcing a love story between two people who had more chemistry in their press run than in the film itself.

This isn’t to say a romantic comedy can’t be slightly cruel or realistic. When Harry Met Sally prides itself on examining love and the complexities of relationships, but it never attempts to belittle its viewers. The self-aware approach can make modern romantic comedies unbearable for even the most devoted fan. Toju, writer and self-proclaimed romcom connoisseur tells Dazed that filmmakers are simply too scared to be cheesy. “By circumventing cheesiness while also trying to be sweet, the films become too contrived,” she says. “The focus on making ‘realistic’ romcoms can kill the romance in a way. But that might just be a reflection of dating nowadays, which is inherently less earnest, less romantic and less vulnerable.”

The modern romantic comedies I’ve found myself drawn to have been shows like Love Life, Lovesick, and Smothered, as well as movies like Plus One, Palm Springs and Rye Lane. All of these are not trying to recreate the same formula as romantic comedies of the past but instead, make the genre their own. They are clearly taking their time with their writing, casting actors with chemistry, and making sure that their films and shows have a level of craftsmanship that isn’t often seen. I’m not sure if the romantic comedy is dead; it seems to be living in purgatory, waiting for the day that major studios figure out that audiences aren’t averse to love and all its complications. They just want something worth their time.