Romantic comedies

If ever there was a genre that was taken for granted, nay, that has always been taken for granted, it's the romantic comedy (fine, and horror, but I really just don't give a damn about that) And, still, it's still one of the most popular genres (I admit, mostly with females) and has lived through years and years of condescension...

Of course, there have been the critically acclaimed rom-coms... those like Some Like it Hot, or Ninotchka that gained immediate recognition and have stood the test of time. There's the second category, of those that weren't particularly liked when first released but have grown into cultural favourites over the years (Bringing Up Baby, His Girl Friday) and then there are those somewhat considered as "modern classics", at least of the genre, like Pretty Woman, When Harry Met Sally (and half the work Meg Ryan did in the 90s) or maybe even Moonstruck.


So we're fine so far. But... there are at least five major romantic comedies out every year, and it has been that way for decades. From the clichéd and cute ones (How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Just Like Heaven, The Holiday) to the spoofs (Down with Love) and those with so many layers they might not even count as romantic comedies or at anything anymore (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Love Actually, Big Fish) or hip retellings of classic stories (Bridget Jones's Diary, Pride & Prejudice, 10 Things I Hate About You, Shakespeare in Love)


And just as there are those glorified romantic comedies of the past, there are also those that have been left behind for one reason or another, and it's this particular case I'm advocating for. Those deliciously ridiculous romantic comedies that have been neglected from books and websites, those that were based around pure entertainment and, yes, as an escape medium...

Those 60s Audrey Hepburn flicks, (Charade, How to Steal a Million, and, to an extent, Breakfast at Tiffany's) the Doris Day/Rock Hudson affairs (a personal favourite being Pillow Talk, which actually won the best original screenplay Oscar), the brilliant and slightly melodramatic De Sica productions with Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni - also, specifically, an adorable little comedy called The Divorce of Lady X with Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier (a year before Wuthering Heights)


Some other favourites: Roman Holiday, Décalage Horaire, It Happened One Night, The Apartment, The Philadelphia Story, Annie Hall, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Le Fabuleux destin D'Amélie Poulain...