From screwball comedies to the golden age of 90s and early 00s romcoms, our love for romance remains strong. In this episode, entertainment journalist Laura Gommans joins us to discuss our favorite romantic comedies and what makes them so special. What appears to be a straightforward genre leads us to question whether the familiar clichés define a romcom or if there’s more to it. As our values of love and romance have evolved, it seems the essence of romcoms has stagnated. Could the decline of mid-budget movies be a factor? Despite shifts in the industry, the audience’s appetite for love stories will never fade. So, what does the future hold for romantic comedies?
Book tickets to When Harry Met Sally @ LAB111
Show notes
- When Harry Met Sally — Breaking Genre Conventions | Lessons from the Screenplay
- Why Hollywood Ruined Romantic Comedies | Answer in Progress
- Is the Rom Com Dead? Breaking Down 79 Romantic Comedies | Vanity Fair
- The Rise and Fall of the Romantic Comedy | Jordan Theresea
- The Idea of You: An Impassioned Defence | Broey Deschanel
Films mentioned
(click on the links for tickets to screenings at LAB111)
- Anyone But You (Will Gluck, 2023)
- Kinds of Kindness (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2024)
- Maxxxine (Ti West, 2024)
- When Harry Met Sally (Rob Reiner, 1989)
- Gladiator 2 (Ridley Scott, 2022)
- The Devil Wears Prada (David Frankel, 2006)
- Roman Holiday (William Wyler, 1953)
- It Happened One Night (Frank Capra, 1934)
- Sullivan’s Travels (Preston Sturges, 1943)
- Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 1938)
- Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959)
- The Apartment (Billy Wilder, 1960)
- Hustlers (Lorene Scafaria, 2019)
- Bridesmaids (Paul Feig, 2011)
- Force of Nature (Michael Polish, 2020)
- Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis, 1993)
- The Perfect Guy (David M. Rosenthal, 2015)
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Doug Liman, 2005)
- Knocked Up (Judd Apatow, 2007)
- The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Judd Apatow, 2005)
- Superbad (Gregg Mottola, 2007)
- Notting Hill (Roger Michell, 1999)
- Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Nicholas Stoller, 2008)
- I Love You, Man (John Hamburg, 2009)
- Moulin Rouge! (Baz Luhrmann, 2001)
- We Live In Time (John Crowley, 2024)
- The Fault in Our Stars (Josh Boone, 2014)
- A Cinderella Story (Mark Rosman, 2004)
- Sex and the City (Michael Patrick King, 2008)
- Rye Lane (Raine Allen-Miller, 2023)
- Long Shot (Jonathan Levine, 2019)
- Palm Springs (Max Barbakow, 2020)
- Upgraded (Carlson Young, 2024)
- Licorice Pizza (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2021)
- Two Tickets to Paradise (Dustin Rikert, 2022)
- Fly Me to the Moon (Greg Berlanti, 2024)
- The Bikeriders (Jeff Nichols, 2023)
- Swiss Army Man (Daniel Scheinert & Daniel Kwan, 2018)
- Marriage Story (Noah Baumbach, 2019)
- Anora (Sean Baker, 2024)
Our hosts
