I was watching Going The Distance the other day.
It was a lousy film IMO, but it had me wondering that this film would have turned out great but it ended up like any other RomCom.
How can one write a clever RomCom trying not to be as predictable like the cheesy ones that come out.
As Good As It Gets, (500) Days of Summer, Jerry Maguire they were all cleverly written.
Just wanted some ideas.
quote:
Originally posted by genesis_pig
How can one write a clever RomCom trying not to be as predictable like the cheesy ones that come out.Just wanted some ideas.
I don't think there is a set of rules or steps one can take
to write a RomCom that is better than the ones you don't
like. Wouldn't it be great if there was?
Do this, this, this and this and you have a clever script.
Like the horror film, the RomCom has very specific things
that need to happen. Writing within that rather restricting
space is the challenge. The three you mention met that
challenge - and each in different ways.
How do you think those writers, Mark Andrus, James L. Brooks,
Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber and Cameron Crowe, wrote
a RomCom that wasn't as predictable like the cheesy ones that
come out?
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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
The question is difficult to answer, but I think we can easily answer how they DIDN'T do it: they didn't follow the standard formulas for a romcom.
When your scripts follows a formula, it will be a challenge to elevate it above average. You'd need to have either extremely witty (but not pretentious) dialogue, or you'll just have to step out of the cliché. There aren't any formulas for writing a clever script that doesn't follow formula...
Going The Distance lacked a setup in act 1 that could pay off in act 3. There also wasn't a BIG moment in the middle that really pushed the relationship to the edge. Their relationship was strained but not pushed to the brink.
As Good As It Gets is not a RomCom. It is a great story about Melvin Udal and includes RomCom elements, mostly it is about Melvin changes.
(500) Days of Summer is an anti RomCom and a rare movie that doesn't fit a formula and really can't be duplicated.
Jerry Maguire also not a RomCom, it's about Jerry and him growing up. The fact that he falls in love is a B plot.
Is Social Network a RomCom? After all everything he does is fueled by love... But it is just a great story that includes a love interest.
So to answer your question, Write a Great story about a something and include a love interest.
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?URL="http://www.rebelwithoutadeal.com"?Rebel without a Deal Book?/URL? - it's like a REMAKE, but a good one like Scarface.
Probably my favorite RomCom is How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days. It doesn't seem to follow the standard RomCom rules, yet it actually does. So it feels fresh but gives you what you expect in a RomCom. I still feel the chick fleeing to some new job in Washington at the last minute so he has to chase her down is a bit lame, that's the one RomCom element I've hated in most movies, but the rest of it felt fresh.
50 First Dates was another one that felt entirely original. It had the person fleeing at the end bit but it was entirely different in that one checked herself into an institute and the other was going to flee but then chased the person who wasn't leaving. Flipped things all around and felt really fresh in the process.
Shaun of the Dead was a ZomRomCom that followed a few of the elements and gladly skipped the fleeing part for gut munching fun.
RJSchwarz
I think the key is to pull from own experience.
The thing about bad RomComs is that they all try to hit a wide an audience as possible, for obvious financial reasons. In this process they disregard the fact that the charm from a story comes from the uniqueness of the situations, even if not everyone can relate to the story... The only "frame" you should use for your story is that the emotions the characters go through are emotions most of us can relate to.
So go ahead and think of all the romantic encounters you have had, even the awkward ones that never turned out as you wanted. Adjust them to make them even funnier, and maybe adjust the end result to a more "happily ever after".
I personally believe that the story should not be adjusted too much, as it will lose it's grip from what you actually know and can write about in depth...
I've always wanted to do a RomCom too, but, if you want to do one, you should get a good writer. I've learned that the producer or director should give the broad strokes of the story, and let the writer flesh it out.
