Atypical Romantic Comedies

Almost universally, the film genre of comedy is both understood and well liked. Although there are numerous types of comedy and various viewer preferences, a light-hearted plot line, few focal characters, and happily ever after ending for the most part rarely disappoint. In recent years the romantic comedy, a sub-genre, has dramatically increased its appearance on the screen. Although the term is rather general and no particular definition of it is adhered to, a romantic element, comedic spin, and happy ending are undeniably essential to satisfy the general expectation of what a romantic comedy “should be.” Yet arguably the quality of these films has declined and their plot lines painfully overused. Boy meets girl, boy gets girl then loses her, one or both of their lives is changed forevermore, and eventually boy gets girl once again; add a few comedic scenes and voilà!—yet another romantic comedy is born.

Few directors have diverged from this standard formula, and fewer romantic comedies can be said to have unpredictable endings simply after viewing the first twenty minutes. Yet such deviant films do exist although they are few and far in between. In recent years, Chris and Paul Weitz have been rather adventurous with the genre, especially seen in their film About a Boy (Universal Pictures, 2002); and some decades ago, director George Cukor adapted George Bernard Shaw’s play entitled “Pygmalion” to the screen in another atypical romantic comedy and classic film, My Fair Lady (Warner Brothers, 1964). Both films have humor and some interplay of a love story—essential markers of a romantic comedy—but unconventionally the romance is not the center of either film.

About a Boy did not receive nearly as much critical acclaim as the eight-time Academy Award winning musical My Fair Lady, and the two films differ greatly from one another in several respects; at the same time they also share some striking similarities as off-the-beaten-path romantic comedies both set in London, England. To begin with, because My Fair Lady is set in the Edwardian period—the first decade of the twentieth century—the mannerisms and more importantly the ideals of the era straight away contrast with those found in About a Boy, which is set in modern times.     

To sum up, About a Boy and My Fair Lady were each in their own time unique in plot line and quite different from the typical romantic comedy standard. With an emphasis on personality flaws, isolation, the “weaker” transforming the life of the “younger,” and an inconclusive romantic ending, both films stray from the usual expectations of the sub-genre to give refreshing new plot lines to viewers. And in so doing, newer dimensions to romantic comedy have been added and the frontier of the sub genre has broadened not only for the sake of the art of film itself but intellectuals invested in it.

About a Boy Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO4pbtwisBE

My Fair Lady Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHrgSXPxr9w