Guest post written by author Julia London
Julia London is the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of numerous romance and women’s fiction novels. She is also the recipient of the RT Bookclub Award for Best Historical Romance and a four-time finalist for the prestigious RITA Award for excellence in romantic fiction. Julia’s latest book It Started With A Dog releases on October 5th 2021 from Berkley Books.
What is your favorite Rom-Com? Or, rather, what is your least favorite rom-com? Have you ever watched a movie and thought meh when the credits rolled? Finished a book and forgot what happened in it by the end of the week? There may be a reason for that.
Romantic Comedies, (rom-com’s for short, as if you didn’t know that, but there you go), are supposed to be delightful and fun. They should be the frothy foam of happiness at the end of a hard day’s work latte. But just because they are light-hearted and sentimental doesn’t mean they are easy to pull off. There are five elements every good rom-com should have.
1. Let’s start with the basics: Two leads who are every person, but, like, seriously hot.
In their own special way of course. Not too over the top, and yet, hot in a way that has universal appeal. I’m talking about two leads who are generally adorkable, hunky, funny, cute, smart, clumsy, generous, lovable—in short, everything we are in our heads if we didn’t have this job/life/car/lame boyfriend…well, you get the picture. The two leads must very quickly exhibit an underlying sexual tension between them. If you don’t have that spicy mutual attraction, none of the fun stuff is going to matter. But you won’t know if they have it or they don’t if you don’t have…
2. A memorable meet-cute
A meet cute is when two people meet in an unconventional way that sets off bells in the reader’s head. Remember the movie where Jennifer Lopez got her heel stuck in a street grate and Matthew McConaughey pushed her out of the way of an oncoming trash dumpster to save her in The Wedding Planner? Look, I’m still talking about it many years after the fact. Or what about when Zooey Deschanel started singing to the tune Joseph Gordon-Levitt was listening to on his headphones in an elevator in 500 Days of Summer? That was kismet—you knew those two were destined for each other. In my book, It Started with a Dog, an unavoidable phone mix-up in the darkened interior of a horrible ride share on Christmas Eve leads to a meet cute between two people desperate to have their phones back. And one of them happens to have a lock screen picture of an enormous, happy dog. You can’t forget a dog. Which, in my book is one of…
3. A Great Cast of Supporting Characters
Remember the friends Jude, Tom and Sharon in Bridget Jones Diary? They were hilarious and tried to help Bridget decide between her two guys. How about Awkwafina in Crazy Rich Asians? She stole the show with some memorable one liners designed to keep her bestie, the lead, grounded in reality. The cast of supporting characters in It Started with a Dog is everyone who works at the Lucky Star Coffee Shop, which includes all of the lead’s family and a couple of very colorful employees who offer advice on everything he does. In a rom-com, supporting characters are there to offer their support to the story with laugh out loud quips and observations. They should definitely add to the chaos/obstacles/general spirit of the tale and, hopefully, help the lead characters see what they need to see. Which, hello, is love, staring them right in the face. And how do we know there is love? Why, with…
4. Excellent Banter
Surprisingly, to this American anyway, almost every contestant on Love Island UK listed their must have attributes in a partner as fit, good teeth, and good banter. Throughout the course of that insanely addictive and even more insane dating show, the contestants judge the strength of their relationships based on the “banter” they have with a prospective mate. I love this because banter is the best part of a rom-com. The comedy aspect of a rom-com is on full display in dialogue—it should be funny and relatable. If it’s really good, you’re giggling along as the characters reveal the depth of their emotions in endearing ways. If it’s great, you’re into it for the one-liners. Great examples of excellent banter can be viewed in the Netflix movie Always Be My Maybe, in which the funny is off the charts (it was written by two comedians, and if you haven’t seen it, you have to). Still not sure about what funny banter is? Check out any episode of Schitt’s Creek. The banter is how we edge our way towards…
5. A Happy Ever After
You want these two crazy kids to make it! The definition of a romance is where the love story is front and center and concludes with an optimistic ending. Which means, if our lovebirds aren’t committed by the end, they are clearly on the road to commitment. That’s the pay-off for all the good teeth and banter! That’s what we readers want the minute they meet cute! We want their supporting cast to help them see that’s what they want, we want the two main characters to have sizzling sexual tension and then to begin to realize for maybe the first time in their lives that this isn’t just sex, but maybe the sort of love they’ve always wanted. So, yes, you know going in you’re going to get a happy ever after, but you have no idea how, and you’re going to laugh with delight the whole way through, and you’re going to tell your friends about it, and you’re going to hope it gets made into a movie because you already know which stars would be perfect for it. That, my friends, is a good rom-com, and one you will remember.
Great analysis, Julia! Looking forward to reading this one.