The Return of Rom-Coms: "Materialists", and Hollywood’s New Romance Era

Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal star in the new movie, “Materialists”, directed by Celine Song, the much-acclaimed director of “Past Lives”. This movie comes at a time of a much-awaited and much-needed revival of the romantic genre in movies. The romantic genre in movies has seen a major downfall lately, with people losing faith in the same formula of the predictable storyline with beautiful actors and actresses and giving them a happy ending. While the genre peaked during the 90s, it declined by the mid-2000s. Despite the formula having worked before, any new movie that came after that began to majorly flop at the box office, despite doing everything they had done before. 

Beginning of a revival.

Romantic comedies struggled post the mid-2000s but lately, the makers have found a way to grasp the attention of the moviegoers, while it is casting the most desirable people on planet Earth, or getting an acclaimed director to direct the film, Hollywood production studios have gone all out trying to revive a possibly dying genre. An example of this is the release of the film, “The Idea of You” starring Anne Hathaway, not only is the movie a rom-com with good actors, bringing Anne Hathaway to be a part of the film, someone who has been a part of several successful rom-coms in her time like “Love and other drugs” appeals to the audience. Another example could be the movie, ‘Anyone but You” starring Sydney Sweeny and Glen Powell, the formula was the same just in the modern landscape, and with some electrifying chemistry between the actors, the choices made by the makers in terms of the marketing, casting, and production of the film proved worthy as the audience gave a positive reaction to the film helping further with the revival of the genre. 

The adaptation cycle 

It is no secret that Hollywood production houses love an adaptation, any genre of novel or story is adapted into a successful movie, and lately, authors have come up with some very successful romance novels, and they have been adapted in the form of movies or TV series. The most recent sensation of the rom-com movie adaptation cycle was “It Ends with Us”. The movie was closely followed by the fans of the novel and rom-com enthusiasts. The movie was also well-received, the movie was so talked about that it helped in the revival of the genre. Despite that, there have been plenty of adaptations that have gone under the radar the have contributed to the process of the romantic genre becoming popular again, for example, “Normal People” by Sally Rooney which became a sensation among the younger generation and people, and the likes of the “Hitman” which resonated with the audience that likes romance with a little essence of action and thrill attached to it.   

What changes have helped? 

Little changes have helped in the exponential growth of the genre, for example, the recent release of the movie, “We Live In Time” which shows a couple meant for each other and their perfect life with their daughter who is estranged by the prospect of everything falling apart by a disease, the aspect of making life happen between a perfect love story, not to shy away from not giving them the perfect predictable ending, also movies like “All of Us strangers” that brings in the love stories of the LGBTQ+ communities. TV shows like “The Summer I Turned Pretty” and the TV adaptation of the movie“One Day” have the same title. These movies and series feel like a warm hug, and it gets exciting to see what movies are to follow. 

How does the future look for Rom-Coms?

Romantic comedies are back again. After years of being overshadowed by big-budget action and superhero movies and gritty dramas, the rom-com is finally finding its way back into our hearts. But even with this resurgence, the genre has its fair share of challenges.

Today's audiences are different. The new generation is more diverse, more open-minded, and more picky about the stories to be consumed. So if rom-coms want to stay relevant, they need to do more than recycle the same old "boy meets girl" formula. They have to evolve by exploring fresh themes, introducing more inclusive narratives, and giving those predictable storylines a fun, modern twist.