Romantic comedy film

The basic plot of a romantic comedy is that two people meet, banter with each other, but despite an attraction obvious to the audience do not become romantically involved because of some internal factor (on the surface, they do not like each other) or an external barrier (one is romantically involved with another person, for instance). At some point, after various comic scenes, they are parted for some reason. One partner or the other then realises that they are perfect for each other, and (often after some spectacular effort, sometimes termed the Grand Gesture, and/or incredible coincidence) they meet again, they declare undying love for each other, and disappear off into the sunset together.

Of course, there are innumerable variations on this basic plotline. It is not even essential for the two lead characters to end up in each other's arms: My Best Friend's Wedding is a good example.

The basic format of a romantic comedy predates the cinema by centuries. For instance, many of William Shakespeare's plays, such as Much Ado About Nothing, and A Midsummer Night's Dream fall squarely within the bounds of the romantic comedy.

For more examples of this kind of film, see the category below.