Genre - Romantic Comedy

Codes and Conventions of a Romantic Comedy

London is known for being a good location
for films

Narrative

- Typical three part structure
- Boy and girl will meet but then they will be torn apart
- The two characters will realise they were meant for each other and they will get back together
- The resolution is not necessarily happy but the characters will meet again and work things out

Setting

- Usually in a big, well known city such as New York
- If done in the UK, London would be a good location because the audience are able to picture the city without actually being there.

Lighting
- Happy lighting can be used
- Natural day lighting
- Sometimes darker lighting may be used in order to mirror the tone. On the other hand, this is not often

Costumes

- The main male character normally wears jeans and tends to look trendy.

- The main female character will normally wear feminine clothing. This normally could be dresses, leggings, skinny jeans, long tops etc. The outfit normally looks trendy

Soundtrack

- Normally popular songs
- The audience should recognise the songs
- The songs must relate to the narrative
- They need to assist the story-telling


Main Characters

- The characters must be likeable
- Down to Earth
- The audience needs to relate to the characters in order to stay interested in the film

Other Characters

- Other characters in the film could be best friends or family
- The other characters normally offer support for the main characters
- The main source of humour comes from them

Resolution

- Most likely a happy ending
- As the films continue to be produced, it is becoming more popular that the ending doesn't always work out

There have been many romantic comedy films that have been released through the years. some of the classic films are I Give It A Year (2013) Dear John (2010), Pretty Women (1990), Titanic (1997), The Vow (2012) and Romeo and Juliet (1996).