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Do you guys like romcoms?


Slimer509

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Hey guys; I was just thinking recently about the fact that I actually really enjoy romcoms and stuff, even though I'm aromantic. This struck me as weird because, like, isn't the appeal supposed to be putting yourself in the shoes of someone who gets to have a fulfilling romantic relationship? So since I don't actually want that, I was wondering why I like the genre so much. It might just be because I find the idea of going through all the preposterous hyjinks of a romcom in order to find romance inherently funny, since I can't see why people would go through all the trouble for something that seems so insignificant to me, even if intellectually I know that romance is very important to romantic people. I don't know; anyone have any thoughts on this?

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everywhere and nowhere

It depends. I absolutely hate straight romantic comedies, the very idea of watching such a movie makes me want to puke out of boredom. ;) But I can enjoy queer romantic comedies.

Another example that I'm much more averse to straight than queer content. I'm still, on the personal level, incapable of having sex with any person of any gender, but in case of straight sex I'm much closer to outright "sex-repulsed" and I'm even... no, not repulsed, just annoyed and impatient with straight romantic stories.

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document_spencer

One thing I do like about Rom-Coms is that they are straight forward in that the point _is_ romance and comedy.  It drives me crazy when a romantic subplot (especially a love-triangle) is crammed unnaturally into a great movie or television show and adds nothing to the plot.

 

That said, it all depends on the Rom-Com, I would say.  "While You Were Sleeping" is among my favorite movies.  However, I'm not sure if that is as much about the romance as it is about the familial interaction and Joe-Junior.

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Anthracite_Impreza

I'm romantic but find romcoms the most inane, boring shit on the planet, so it really has nowt to do with orientation.

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I mean... I watch a lot of sports but I can't sports for shit. I don't think it means anything.

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Lets be honest romcoms can be something entertaining to watch. A lot of them are funny or sad and I think it can just be good entertainment. I think they can be silly and ridiculous but at an end of a long day its nice to get out of the seriousness of the world and sorta connect with the weirdness on screen.

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Vincent Marie

Romcoms are the kind of thing I usually avoid, unless there's one that a friend really thinks I would enjoy so I might watch it with them.

I'm biromantic so one would think I'd enjoy romantic media but I often find romcoms to be just plain boring. Not to mention after having been in a couple toxic relationships in my lifetime I find them difficult to enjoy, especially when the writers get lazy & reinforce unhealthy relationship dynamics.

Part of the problem is a distinct gender imbalance with hetero romcoms, so maybe there are some queer romcoms that I'd enjoy more. (I saw IMAGINE ME AND YOU a couple years ago & I actually found it legitimately sweet & charming.)

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Oh heck no. Romcoms are the one genre of movie I avoid like the plague. Boring, predictable, cringey, more often than not glorifying creepy / toxic behaviour. Not for me, thank you very much.

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I don't like romcoms or sitcoms. The scenario need to be very good to make up for a cheesy romantic (sub)plot. The sexual parts are laughable or embarassing at best.

I don't like family dramas either (cheating, children issues, divorce, inheritance conflicts,...). These are quite popular in the French TV movies that make up 80% of what my mother watches. Living on my own feels so good!

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MetricalSky

Eh, I have enjoyed some romcoms, but in general it's not a genre that particularly appeals to me. But that's just a personal preference of mine; I don't think it has much to do with me being aromantic.

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6 hours ago, document_spencer said:

That said, it all depends on the Rom-Com, I would say.  "While You Were Sleeping" is among my favorite movies.  However, I'm not sure if that is as much about the romance as it is about the familial interaction and Joe-Junior.

That's one of my favs as well; and now that you mention it, yes, the familial interaction might be the best thing about the movie.

On the rare occasions that I watch old romcoms, they're usually old ones. Say, 80s through early 00s. Just for reasons of nostalgia. More recent comedies usually don't appeal to me, no matter whether they're romantic or not.

I don't know about the new generation of romcoms, but some of the lovey-dovey scenes in the old ones - especially movies from the 1940-60s - are so absurd and implausible and cringeworthy that they're unintentionally funny.

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As a general rule, and that meaning I've never enjoyed one but maybe one could be funny in theory in the future, absolutely not. Grump.

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11 hours ago, weird elf said:

Oh heck no. Romcoms are the one genre of movie I avoid like the plague. Boring, predictable, cringey, more often than not glorifying creepy / toxic behaviour. Not for me, thank you very much.

Oh yeah the ones that justify creepy bullshit I am Not a fan of lmao, which is an admittedly unfortunately large amount. 

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Personally romantic comedies really bug me however I don't mind some romance movies (not the cheesy rom-com stuff) Your name was really good would recommend. I can also get behind a romantic sub-plot. That said they have to be written with the characters emotional and Physcological needs and not because its a trope and the hero or heroin has to have a partner. Romantic subplots for the sake of romantic subplots makes me feel really bad.

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I love romcoms, though I'm romantic so who knows how much of that is involved.  I just rewatched When Harry Met Sally which I LOVE.  I don't think you need to want something for yourself to enjoy watching it.  A lot of people love horror movies though they certainly wouldn't want to experience the things in them.  I enjoy action movies with car chases and fights and insane leaps off buildings, though I wouldn't want to do any of that myself.  I think it's because there's something underneath that I can relate to: feeling a rush of adrenaline with any number of much smaller obstacles in my life, and the rush of coming out unscathed on the other side.  Maybe the appeal of romantic comedies is the underlying human experience of getting stuck in silly scenarios in our various social relationships, of wanting anything at all from another person and stumbling through how to get it.  That's something relatable.

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I enjoy rom coms and read a lot of cheesy romantic manga, but as said above not the ones that reinforce toxic relationships. I watch and read more for the emotional intimacy that usually grows through whatever hijinks that end up happening and which brings them closer together.

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long nights

I have always enjoyed romcoms. One can enjoy seeing something without wanting to be a part of it. I enjoy seeing people engage in extreme sports but I wouldn't take a part in it. I see it the same way when it comes to romcoms. The ones I enjoy though, are those whom have an actual plot and developed characters, otherwise I can't bother with it. Media can be used by each person for different purposes. Someone may use it to put themselves in that or this character's position, but we know people like you and me don't, and that is okay. 

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I used t ok work nights and found that I really enjoyed a good romcom at 2am on my nights off.  Not a crappy hallmark made for tv romcom.  When Harry met Sally, as good as it gets, 10 things I hate about you,  what women want.  Movies around that caliber.   It's a romantic movie that has plot and character development without trying to throw all the modern day tropes into it bogging them down.  Good action movies these days tend to add love subplots that are unnecessary and ruin movies.   Pearl harbor is a great example of this.  

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On 3/8/2020 at 5:38 PM, weird elf said:

Oh heck no. Romcoms are the one genre of movie I avoid like the plague. Boring, predictable, cringey, more often than not glorifying creepy / toxic behaviour. Not for me, thank you very much.

That is, unless Shaun Of The Dead counts. That one is awesome, but it has zombies, so ... probably doesn't count.

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WanderingKate

Generally I don't. I find them usually quite formulaic (cute shy guy and quirky but not too quirky girl, etc...) and I've rarely been impressed by the plot, characters or emotional depth in a rom-com. I get that people don't watch them to be blown away by a cinematic masterpiece, but if I'm going to watch something goofy just for fun I'm more likely to go for action or just comedy. Romance does nothing for me, and I feel like a lot of rom-coms are a bit overly soppy and unrealistic. As someone aro spectrum, the movies where characters fall in love almost instantly just seem phony to me (not because people can't experience that, but I personally can't and therefore can't relate.) 

 

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Janus the Fox

Not my genre of movie though I’ve seen a few, often stereotypical boy meets girl thing, not much else to it for me hmm...

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Man, I'm pretty romance averse but I can love a good romcom if it doesn't follow the same misogynistic, heteronormative narrative as so many do. I think for me it comes down to loving stories about human connection, and unfortunately many of the most intense relationships in media are romantic ones. Besides, thinking a couple is cute is entirely different from wanting to be in one!

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I think that my problem with most romcoms is that the com part just isn't funny to me. I don't get a lot of comedy that is popular, but romcoms specifically just don't do it.   My sense of humor is far more dark. I can do romantic dramas a lot more easily than comedies.

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  • 10 months later...

Heck yeah. 

I'm ace aro and I love and hate romantic comedies at the same time. However, they need to be very, very specific and awkward. Like, I don't like them if they focus on the romance all that much - I'm here for all the second hand embarrassment, the comedic part. 

Whatever you like doesn't define you and it's fine.

 

Also, they give pretty good clues on what romance is like to other people so yeah.

And it can be amusing to see how far someone would go just to 'find their other half' , which isn't important to me, just like you said. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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