Week 5 - Response to Content

Greetings!

In my last two years of high school, and my first semester of university I have studied subjects devoted to screen. I have learnt a lot about structure of plots, in particular the plot of romantic comedies.

Most commonly a romantic movie, like most any movie, is split up into three major acts, with important plot points in each. Act 1 is where the story is set up – the characters are introduced and the conflict reveals itself between the protagonist and their romantic interest, and the opposing force. Act 2 holds the majority of action of the film. The heroes are tested as they strive to reach their goals; a promising lead to a desired outcome presents itself, only to backfire and force them back to square one. They will become closer emotionally, only to drive themselves apart due to their internal conflicts. Act 3, the final act, is the resolution of the story, the suspense and the relationship between the heroes (Romance University 2009).

There are important elements of a film in this genre that establish what it is, and factors that go into the film to assure its success. For starters, naturally, the hero must be involved in some sort of romantic pursuit. They must also pursue some additional desire, to create conflict when the two desires inevitably come into opposition, and in the end the film must have a happy ending. Also important to the plot, is that the film involves some sort of deception. The characters themselves play important roles in creating a successfully entertaining plot. The audience, for instance, must fall in love with the romantic interest and root for the protagonist to win their love; if the audience doesn’t feel sympathy for the hero then they will lose interest (Screenplay Mastery 2005).

Romantic comedies strive to balance perfectly the amount of drama, comedy and romance to create a quintessential film that follows the classic narrative for that genre. Therefore a main point in romantic films is that they’re predictable. But in a way isn’t that what everyone loves about them? Because even if you know there will be a happily ever after, it’s the journey there that makes the movie.

A Michael Hauge Article 2005, Writing Romantic Comedies, Screenplay Mastery, August 27

2011,

<http://www.screenplaymastery.com/RomanticComedies.htm>

Plot Mapping 2009, Do All Roads Lead to Plot Mapping?, Romance University, August 27 2011,

<http://romanceuniversity.org/2009/10/19/do-all-roads-lead-to-plot-mapping/>