The essence of a Romance film

As with my thread about Horror Films romance films can be split into multiple different genres. I grew up not hating romance films but at the very least thinking they were for sissy's. As I have grown older I realised I had it all wrong and that romance films can be the most powerful genre that cinema can offer. Films like "Casablanca" can show just how much love can affect someone. A film like "Love and Other Drugs" can fool you into thinking that love is basically dead but if you work at it love can work out. "Lost and Delirious" is a very honest portrayal of love and what it can push people to do.

All three films are different in their own right, they tell different stories, tell of different times and tell of how love can work given the circumstance. But what for you makes a great love story? What does a love story include that makes it an ideal film or a wonderful representation of the genre?

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One main factor that makes a romance work... the main Male role.


Has to be one of two things.

1. Underdog... good looking... hunky... but a badboy.
Basically Swayze in Dirty Dancing.


2. Underdog... good looking... weedy... but a loveable bumbler.
Basically Hugh Grant in every film he's ever done.

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I would agree however Hugh Grant was very different to that sort of role in About a Boy but I see your point and you are basically right on the money. What about a female role? Does it mainly depend on the male role over all?

The Female role has to be that of the everyman... so to speak.

This may be the common current formula for Hollywood rom-coms, but do you really believe the characters "have" to be these types in order for a romantic film to work?

That's Andy McDowell's whole career!

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No not have to... but most are...

Simply because it works...

Romance is my least favorite genre,I grew up with crime films and never really could get into romance.Then again,I've seen only a few romance movies but there's no real romance movie that I even remotely enjoy.Well,I love True Romance and Gone With The Wind but the first one is more of a crime film and I like GWTW not for the love story.

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"Anything less than immortality is a complete waste of time."

essence of a romance movie: either the possibility of having, or loosing eternal love

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I think a love story is a lot more interesting if the two protagonists are complete opposites who have absolutely nothing in common.

Realistic and wonderful dialogue, and carefully crafted human characters that feel real. This is what makes the Before films that greatest Romance films made, especially Before Sunrise.

Yes, I think this is what separates a good romance film from a bad one. Too many recent 'rom-coms' feature characters with no character, let alone any chemistry between the romantic leads.

Before Sunset is the best of the trilogy, easily.

It isn't, but okay