Many rom-com movies often have the same repeated storyline - boy meets girl, boy and girl bump into complications, complications are resolved, and they live happily ever after. The movie's storyline becomes very flat and cheesy if a certain uniqueness or drama is not included in the film.
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Some rom-coms have taken the initiative to add more drama into the movie which results in them almost becoming drama romance movies rather than light-hearted romantic comedies. Some movies that have added extreme drama are About Time, Me Before You, and Silver Linings Playbook.
'About Time' (2013)
About Time is a fantasy rom-com movie with lots of drama throughout the love story. It was released in 2013 following the story of Tim, a man who can travel in time and uses his gift to find the love of his life and help his loved ones with their problems.
This movie takes a dramatic turn when he repeatedly is torn between two options that could help one person but hurt another. The decisions he has to keep making become increasingly more difficult and heartbreaking as it ends with having to say goodbye to a loved one forever to allow his own life to grow and progress.
'Me Before You' (2016)
Me Before You is a tear-jerking romantic comedy released in 2016. It follows an innocent, happy-go-lucky woman who begins working for a serious, clinical man, Will, who is a recent wheelchair user. She ends up showing him what life can truly be as he begins to open up to her.
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From a light perspective of the movie, it is beautiful that she is opening him up and showing him the bright side of life, but on a deeper scale she to trying to convince him that there is a point to live on as a wheelchair user and keeps failing. She dedicated her life to showing him there is a point to living while he refused to see anything other than his wheelchair.
'The Break-Up' (2006)
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The Break-Up is a dramatic romance comedy released in 2006 starring Jennifer Anistonand Vince Vaughn. This movie follows a couple, Brooke and Gary, who are struggling to make it work due to miscommunication, stubborn personalities, and bad advice from outsiders. These problems were hidden by small arguments, impulsiveness, and stubbornness.
This movie will certainly hit home to many viewers as the couple's problems are very common in many real-life relationships. It is a dramatic movie where you hope they will be able to lower their guards and have a mature conversation to fix the relationship, but like many relationships, they never get to this point and ultimately go their separate ways resulting in no winners.
'50 First Dates' (2004)
50 First Dates is a dramatic rom-com starringthe brilliant Adam Sandler. It follows a man, henry, who falls in love with a woman, Lucy, whom he soon discovers has short-term memory loss whereby she forgets him the very next day.
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This story is so heartbreaking for a romantic comedy as her memory never seems to improve no matter how much effort and how many times Henry tries, the only slight improvement is that she dreams about him. This despairing story means she will never remember who he is and creates huge problems in how to grow a life with the love of his life.
'Jerry Maguire' (1996)
Jerry Maguire is a dramatic romantic comedy released in 1996. This movie has a focus on sports and business as it follows a sports agent who is fired for expressing a moral epiphany. He only has one athlete that stays with him as they push boundaries to succeed.
This rom-com is unique as it almost has its love story in the background of its moral business success. It is filled with drama through the ups and downs of their business journey filled with stress, hard decisions, and a fast-paced industry.
'Love & Other Drugs' (2010)
Love & Other Drugs is a romantic comedy starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway. It follows the heartbreaking story of a couple, Maggie and Jamie, who face a major struggle as Maggie is living with Parkinson's disease.
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Maggie makes Jamie realize what is truly important in life and falls in love with her despite her disease as it gets progressively worse. It is heartbreaking but shows what true love can do to a couple, giving them hope and happiness even when terrible things are happening around them.
'Love, Simon' (2018)
Love, Simon follows a teenage boy, Simon, who is trying to keep a secret from his friends, family, and classmates, that he's gay. When someone decides to leak his secret he has to come to terms with his identity and everyone knowing.
This movie relates to so many young teenagers as they are dealing with understanding their sexual identity. It shows his emotions changing from shock to anger, fear, and sadness, and grows into happiness. He is shown who his true friends are and that he is perfect just the way he is while he searches for his anonymous love.
'Silver Linings Playbook' (2012)
Silver Linings Playbook is a romantic comedy released in 2012 that represents multiple mental illnesses. It follows two troubled adults, Pat, who lives with bipolar disorder, and Tiffany, who lives with borderline personality disorder, as they try to find where they fit in life while slowly falling in love with each other.
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You could almost remove the comedy completely from this movie, and it would be the same. You see Pat at his height of anger, destructing anything that is in his way and regretting it immediately afterward, and Tiffany's emotional instability and impulsiveness. However, the pair seem to understand each other on a level that no others can.
'Sleepless in Seattle' (1993)
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Sleepless in Seattle is a romantic comedy starring Tom Hanks. This movie follows a widowed father whose son calls into a radio talk show hoping to find his father a new love. They have to decide whether they are going to uproot their whole lives and risk it all for a chance at love.
This movie shows the grief in life when loved ones leave you but also shows you the potential that is still out there after you have healed. It excretes pure frustration at the couple's reluctance to give love a try which holds them back from each other, but eventually, they drop what is holding them back, and they give happiness another try.
'Definitely, Maybe' (2008)
Definitely, Maybe is a romantic comedy released in 2008 starring Ryan Reynolds. It follows a soon-to-be-divorced father, Will, as he tries to explain his impending divorce and other past relationship to his 11-year-old daughter.
This story shows the true emotions and realities divorce has on a couple, and their children. It shows how love doesn't always work out the way you hoped as love is complicated, messy, and unfair. It ends with the daughter understanding her dad and the divorce better, but without new love blossoming.
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