SONOYA MIZUNO as Araminta in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and SK Global Entertainment’s and Starlight Culture’s contemporary romantic comedy “CRAZY RICH ASIANS,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
Rom-coms make a comeback
Seemingly every year for the past decade, some media outlet has declared the romantic comedy dead. It’s not true, of course; the genre may no longer enjoy the popularity it did in the heydays of the 1930s and ‘90s, but it has remained very much alive, whether in the form of indies such as Obvious Child, raunch-fests such as Bridesmaids, or TV shows such as The Mindy Project and You’re the Worst.
2018, then, didn’t so much resurrect the rom-com as offer an emphatic reminder of its enduring appeal. While there have been previous attempts to bring rom-coms back to the mainstream, they were either unsuccessful (Crazy, Stupid, Love) or more rom-com-adjacent than full-blown rom-coms (The Big Sick, Silver Linings Playbook). This year produced no fewer than five movies that received widespread attention while embracing romantic comedy tropes.
Claire Scanlon’s Set It Up is perhaps the most traditional of the bunch. Following two assistants desperate for a break from their demanding bosses, it checks off every cliché in the book, from the trendy office jobs to the sprint to the airport. Like the ‘90s rom-coms with which it shares DNA, it functions primarily as a vehicle for its winsome leads, Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell; the story is beside the point. Meanwhile, Love, Simon and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before give the high school rom-com a (slight) twist, positioning a gay boy and an Asian girl, respectively, as their awkward heroes. On the indie side, Juliet, Naked features Rose Byrne and Ethan Hawke falling in love while grappling with middle-aged ennui.
However, the indisputable crown jewel of the 2018 romantic comedy collection is Crazy Rich Asians. Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of Kevin Kwan’s bestselling book is a rom-com firing on all cylinders: it has a colorful ensemble cast led by the effervescent Constance Wu and suave novice Henry Golding; it’s rife with class and gender commentary as well as over-the-top humor; and, above all, it is glamorous, reveling in sumptuous costumes, exotic sets, and grand gestures. How many onscreen weddings have made you actually gasp in awe? The fact that the film’s cast is entirely Asian and Asian-American is both a bonus and a vital factor in its financial and creative success, proving that it’s possible to simultaneously satisfy a craving for familiarity and novelty.
Now, the real question is: is it too late to bring back Selfie?