Give Me My Rom-Com
by Patrick Pynadath
At
the risk of sounding cheesy, rom-coms are the only support system I need. Had a
rough calc quiz? Re-watch “How I met Sally”. Did your parents yell at you for
forgetting their anniversary (sorry mom!!!!)? Watch “Main hoon na”. Feel bad
for catching senioritis and putting the bare minimum in all your classes? Watch
“The Big Sick” instead of doing your homework (oops!). Whenever I’m hogging the
TV at home, my Dad always asks the same question: “What’s the point of watching
a movie if you already know everything’s going to work out in the end?”
At
first I tried deflecting the issue by saying that rom-com isn’t the only genre
notorious for having predictable endings. Has anyone seen the recent James Bond
movies and actually been concerned about James Bond dying or failing his
mission? Has anyone seen a Mission Impossible movie and genuinely believed that
it would be Tom Cruise’s last performance? It seems that many movies are guilty
of having predictable endings.
But
as my time went on – and my Dad became less satisfied with the same response –
I came to the belief that movies with generic happy endings are beloved by all
because they compliment human nature. The emotional payoff at the end of a
movie doesn’t come from thinking “Wow, I’m really glad that James Bond didn’t
die this time!” Most people don’t watch a movie solely for the ending: if they
did, they’re missing out on what could be a simple glance at the plot summary
on Wikipedia. People watch movies with
generic endings to see all the horrible, detestable, and cringworthy situations
the characters can go through while still managing to find their happy ending.
This
couldn’t be more true in the case of “How I met Sally”. When I first watched
“How I Met Sally”, I knew that Harry and Sally were going to end up happily
together. It was a rom-com – what
romance would there be if they didn’t end up falling in love? Throughout the
movie, my patience was tested as they went from being enemies, acquaintances,
best friends, a hook-up, enemies once again, and finally couple. The dynamic
between the initially crude Harry and prude Sally made me wonder what kind of deus ex machina was going to get these
two together. But as the struggles of life went on, as Harry found out his wife
was cheating on him and Sally left her longtime boyfriend, they found
themselves at a point in their life where it seemed like they would be perfect
for each other. As if he was able to detect my joy at seeing them come together
happily, Rob Reiner decided to bring the axe down on my dreams by having them
become best friends with every intention to date everyone except each other. Even when they finally hook up with each other,
both of them claim that it was a mistake, rendering their friendship seemingly
irreparable. But as with every rom-com, they both realized their love for each
other at the end of the movie. Because the happy ending happened in spite of
everything working against Harry and Sally, the fact that the ending went
exactly as expected reassured me that even if everything is going to shit, life
will work out in the end. Beyond just giving me hope for my love life by
watching Harry’s sad attempts to flirt Sally, the satisfaction that this type
of ending gives goes beyond the movie itself. Predictably happy endings reaffirm
a fundamentally belief that all is well, transferring this hope from the movie
into real life.
If
you still think I’m crazy, just take a look at almost any protagonist in a
popular work of speculative fiction. Percy Jackson? Gets dipped in the river Styx,
fights the father of Zeus, destroys half of New York city, and gets the girl in
the end. Luke Skywalker? Watches his entire family get killed, looks helplessly
as his mentor get killed a mechanical monster, finds out that this mechanical
monster is actually his deformed dad who betrayed the entire galaxy, and has a
huge party with all his friends after defeating the empire. Maybe I’m a
sentimental dope, but at least I’m far from the only one: everyone loves a
happy ending at the end of a long-winded plot because regardless of how
far-fetched a premise is, it only goes to show that everything works out, even
in the most desperate situations.
Beyond
being a happy ending, there has to be some sense of finality – that things are
going to stay happy from that point on. After watching Infinity War, all I had
was a queasy feeling in my stomach. While it may have been the 10 dollar hot
dog I made the mistake of buying, I like to believe it was because my belief in
a happier tomorrow was shaken by the gloomy ending of the movie. More than just
being a happy ending, I want resolutions that don’t leave any doubt in my mind
that the joy the characters feel is permanent. Just look towards “How I Met
Sally”: When they finally got together, there wasn’t any doubt in whether the
relationship would last. Beyond being just happy, the best endings are always
the ones that leave a sense of permanence.
Maybe
I’ve spent too long trying to justify my addiction to rom-coms – at least I’ve
gone as far to admit that it’s a problem, which I’ve heard is the first step in
dealing with anything. But regardless of what your opinions on my rom-com
binging habits are, my point still stands: everyone loves the warm, fuzzy
feeling that predictable endings give because they reassure us that regardless
of how many papers, quizzes, or college applications life throws at us,
everything is going to be fine in the end. With all the chaos that real life
throws at us, everyone deserves a cheesy ending filled with smiles.
Patrick,
ReplyDeleteThe idea that the best endings offer some kind of "permanence" is deeply appealing to me, perhaps because "permanence" can be defined in so many ways. And you're right that as a subgenre, rom coms (like romance novels) conform to a certain broad formula. Seeing how creators play with that formula and put their own stamp on it, building toward the "permanence" their genre encourages, is really the reason for engaging in the story.
Best,
TT