It’s hardly a spoiler to say the couples at the heart of today’s romantic comedies will end up smooching before the screen fades to black. And, in most cases, prepping for their wedding day.
Today’s Hollywood product teems with liberal themes, from those nasty, soul-sucking corporations to documentaries slamming either the Iraq War or former President George W. Bush. And if you see a person of faith on screen, there’s a good chance he or she will be the heavy – just ask Kevin Smith.
Yet the modern romantic comedy, or rom-com to use moviespeak, remains conservative to the core. Not only do rom-com couples end up together at the end of most movies, they typically embrace monogamy and marriage. Take “No Strings Attached,” the new rom-com starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. They play attractive singles who hook up and, rather than consider a relationship, decide to be the proverbial “Friends with Benefits.”
What begins as a thoroughly hormonal affair evolves into something deeper and more profound. And the film isn’t alone in its depiction of pretty people and their dating habits. Rom-coms often use progressive plot devices to reach some very conservative conclusions. In last year’s “The Back Up Plan,” Jennifer Lopez plays a woman pushing 40 who decides to have a baby on her own. How very “Murphy Brown.” But when she meets a Maybe Mr. Right (Alex O’Loughlin), the story takes a more old-fashioned turn.
The 2008 film “What Happens in Vegas” begins with a hedonistic hook up, and then segues into the couple fighting like an old married couple. But, of course, by the final reel the couple decides they actually want to be married.
That’s movie magic.
Some rom-coms feature sexually aggressive men who are transformed, even tamed, by the right woman and the promise of a stable family. Consider “Life As We Know It,” starring Josh Duhamel as a playboy type who changes his ways after falling for Katherine Heigl’s character.
Why couldn’t a rom-com couple decide to date each other at the end of the movie but still see other people? Imagine Meg Ryan looking into Tom Hanks’ eyes at the end of “You’ve Got Mail” and announcing, “I love you … but there’s this other cute guy on AOL who keeps IM-ing me …”
That’s not how it works in movies, and that’s because audiences want to see a happy ending – one that falls in line with traditional values.
Exceptions to the rule do exist. Consider “The Break Up” starring former lovers Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston, which ends on an unusual note. And the recent indie hit “(500) Days of Summer” opens by letting us know the romance we’re about to witness doesn’t have a storybook ending.
Conservative movie audiences often complain about the liberal tilt of Hollywood fare after sitting through movies like “Green Zone,” “Fair Game” and anything by Michael Moore. But the conservative rom-com blueprint appears here to stay. Film studios understand audiences want to see couples live happily ever after in both red and blue states.
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