There’s something magical about the romantic comedies of the 90s and the 2000s. Maybe it’s the way that they allow us to immerse ourselves in cute love stories that unfold unexpectedly in coffee shops and bookstores, or maybe it’s the way that their cheesiness, quirkiness, and predictability provide comfort. From iconic fashion statements to catchy soundtracks, these romcoms are well-known even decades after they’ve been released, shaping the way that we see love, friendships, and life.
Oftentimes, when I want to watch a movie, I decide to rewatch a few of my favorite rom-coms, one of my all-time favorites being Legally Blonde. Maybe it’s the fact that Elle Woods loves pink, or perhaps it’s the fact that she managed to challenge stereotypes against blonde women. Whatever it is, Legally Blonde is a movie that I indulge in.
The movie follows the protagonist, Elle Woods, who gets dumped by her boyfriend because he doesn’t believe that Elle is as smart as him. In order to win him back, Elle decides to apply to Harvard Law School to prove to him that she isn’t the dumb blonde that he thinks she is. However, Elle eventually realizes that no matter what she does, he is never going to see that she’s smart, so she decides to move on. Elle challenges stereotypes in the law world by winning a court case revolving around murder. She proves that just because she’s blonde doesn’t make her any less smart than her peers.
Another one of my favorite rom-coms is How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. This movie follows Andie Anderson, a writer for Composure magazine, who decides to write her next piece on common mistakes women make that cause men to be driven away. She decides to date a guy and make common mistakes that women make in order to have research to write her article. During this, she encounters Benjamin Barry, a guy who’s confident that he could make any woman fall in love with him in ten days. Funny enough, Benjamin picks Andie to be the girl that he tries to make fall in love with him. However, when their experimental games are revealed, they realize that they have actually fallen for each other.
While a lot of rom-coms follow the storyline of falling in love, falling out of love, and falling back in love, this rom-com follows a different plot. 500 Days of Summer has stolen my heart because it allows us to see love from a completely different perspective. The story follows Tom Hansen and Summer Finn, two people who work at a greeting card company. Tom begins to fall in love with Summer, but she makes it clear that she does not want a relationship and only sees him as a friend—however, her actions say otherwise. Throughout the movie, they kiss, hold hands, and go on dates. It ends up not working out, since they both have different views on what they want.
A lot of viewers debate whether or not this is Summer’s fault or Tom’s fault, but I find it really interesting to listen to both sides of the argument. Some people believe that it’s Tom’s fault because Summer explicitly tells him that she only wants to be friends; however, he continues to pursue her. On the other hand, others believe that it’s Summer’s fault because while she said she wanted to be friends with Tom, her actions showed otherwise.
Rom-coms are undeniably adorable, and it’s so entertaining to watch people fall in love. However, rom-coms have affected the way that people view love. Irena Tutunari from The Michigan Daily writes, “In these movies, love is often depicted as a solution to all other problems, filling in the gaps of a person’s life as the screen dims. However, rom-coms conveniently seem to end at the moment of impermanent fulfillment, purposely failing to show the moments when the temporary solution reveals itself and exposes the inherent problems within a person, none of which can be solved by love.”
A lot of us, including myself, have fallen victim to the mentality that once we find love, our life will finally be complete. Contrary to popular belief, this is absolutely not true! Feeling complete comes from within, comes from the memories you make and the people you meet along the way. While rom-coms are cute to watch, we shouldn’t fall into the mindset that love will fix all of our problems.
While I absolutely adore the entertainment value that comes from rom-coms, I also admit that I have noticed a few common trends that appear in a lot of them. The other day, I was having a conversation with my friend, Angeline Rivera ’26, and I asked her for her opinion on rom-coms.
Something that we both noticed is the lack of diversity and continuity of stereotypes in the cast of rom-coms. Rivera said, “For decades, the genre was dominated by white, heterosexual couples, often from middle or upper-class backgrounds, and set in cities like New York or LA. People of color, LGBTQ+ characters, and those from different cultural or socioeconomic backgrounds were usually sidelined or reduced to stereotypes.” Very few of those rom-coms include low-income families, people of color, or even LGBTQ+ characters. For example, in Clueless, a coming-of-age movie that revolves around privileged girls, Cher finds out that her crush, Christian, is gay because he’s a very well-dressed guy who likes to go shopping. His character portrays a common stereotype of what gay men are like.
Additionally, in Legally Blonde, there was one LGBTQ+ character named Enrique Salvatore, who was a pool boy. In the movie, Elle discovers that he’s gay after he says the famous quote, “Don’t stomp your little last-season Prada shoes at me, honey.” Although there was LGBTQ+ representation, it continues to reinforce stereotypes about gay men.
Not only are there stereotypes when it comes to sexuality, there are also a ton of stereotypes surrounding gender. Tutunari from The Michigan Daily writes, “There are hardly any movies about self-love—women who focus on themselves and don’t have a yearning for romance or women who simply live without some sort of romantic pursuit.” A common theme in a lot of rom-coms is having women realize that something they’ve been missing is love. For example, in the movie 27 Dresses, Jane Nichols has been a bridesmaid 27 times and longs to be a bride. Her story is about wanting to fall in love and finally be a bride, since she felt incomplete without a love life.
Additionally, Rivera said, “In movies, traditionally, it can push this idea that the woman, in stereotypical heterosexual movie relationships, must forgive the man, and then they will have a happy life together. This can lead to a lot of toxic relationships and this feeling of obligation the woman may have to forgive the man when he messes up, regardless of her feelings.” Unfortunately, I notice this in some of my favorite rom-coms like The Notebook. For instance, the way Allie and Noah got together seems extremely questionable. Noah threatens to jump off the Ferris wheel if Allie doesn’t go on a date with him, and of course, Allie agrees out of fear of Noah falling. Later on, Allie moves away, and she returns years later, and she’s engaged. Noah reveals that he wrote Allie one letter every day for a year; however, after that year, we know that he gave up. When Allie and Noah reunite, he guilt leads her to pick Noah over her current fiancé, Lon. Allie ends up forgiving Noah for everything and abandons the life she built to have a fairytale ending with her teenage love.
While now we are able to point out flaws in rom-coms, it’s important to acknowledge that rom-coms are a reflection of the time period, and there are rom-coms being made right now that are fighting stereotypes. One of my personal favorites that does this is Love, Simon. The movie follows Simon, a closeted gay teenager who is afraid of being bullied because of his identity. Throughout this movie, Simon grows to accept himself for who he is, as well as growing the confidence to tell the people in his life that he’s gay.
Whether it’s 10 Things I Hate About You from the 90s or To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before from the 2010s, rom-coms are slowly progressing and adapting based on when they are from as well as continuing to challenge stereotypes that were often seen in the media in the past. Rom-coms will always have a special place in my heart, and I will forever love their iconic stories.
There’s something magical about the romantic comedies of the 90s and the 2000s.