From a critical perspective, 2000s romantic comedies, also known as rom-coms, are not known as cinematic masterpieces. They can be cheesy and predictable, often taking the element of surprise out of the plot, leaving only the question of how the main characters will end up together, not if.
Despite this, romantic comedies — specifically from the 2000s — have a cult following, and many attempts have been made to recapture that magic in the years since their heyday. Yet with each attempt, it seems like more of that magic is lost, and modern day rom-coms only feel more flat as time goes on.
With the release of the 2023 Netflix filmYour Place or Mine, starring the lovable Reese Witherspoon opposite Ashton Kutcher, there was hopethat Netflix might rekindlewhat it was that made rom-coms so loved many years ago. But the movie felt soulless, following classic rom-com tropes beat for beat, and lacking any of the chemistry or tension that makes a rom-com great. It failed so badly with audiences, that this may be the death-toll of rom-coms in the modern era.
What is a 2000s Rom-Com?
From their soundtracks to their star-studded casts, those who love 2000s rom-coms savored every last bit of them. The soundtrack would be full of hit songs, giving the feeling of fruity drinks, girlhood, and romance. Looking back, the songs in these rom-coms would also quietly become a soundtrack for the decade. Fans of the genre came to know and love certain actors from their recurring and stellar performances. Some of these rom-com stars were actors who would go on to have highly successful careers across a range of genres, including Matthew McConaughey, Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl, Reese Witherspoon, Mark Ruffalo, Cameron Diaz, and Julia Roberts.
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These movies often follow a few different classic tropes, and dress them up in different characters and settings. Some examples include the fake relationship, as showcased inFailure to Launch;enemies to lovers, as seen inHow to Lose a Guy in 10 Days;or even a second chance at love like inSomething’s Gotta Give. Sometimes a rom-com will even combine tropes with more than one couple. For example,Because I Said Sofeatures multiple couples and tropes, including a love triangle, fake relationships, forbidden love, and second chances. InYour Place or Mine, the tropes utilized are the iconic and beloved best-friends-to-lovers, paired with a second chance at love. They even did it in a fairly original way — and yet, their execution solidified the death of the 2000s rom-com.
Why Did Rom-Coms Die Out, and Why Can’t They be Revived?
There are a few reasons why the 2000s era of romantic comedies died out, and a few more reasons why the revival attempts have been unsuccessful. Towards the end of the 2000s, haters of the genre started to outweigh the lovers, as reviews and box office ratings of rom-coms tanked. Subjectively, it seemed like rom-com viewers werebullied for loving the “bad movies.“During this time, audiences started growing more interested in pushing the boundaries of what could be shown on screen in terms of action, sex, and violence. And studios were well aware that their biggest profits were coming from blockbuster action films, especially superhero flicks — not rom-coms.
In recent years, it’s been made very clear that a lot of these rom-coms from the 2000s haven’t withstood the test of time. Audiences rewatching such movies have cringed at the cruel things done, the stereotypical gender norms, exclusive heterosexuality, and lack of diversity. With all this in mind, it doesn’t make sense to recreate 2000s rom-coms, because they wouldn’t hold up to current standards. People rewatch old movies knowing that times have changed, but if these movies were made today, they would just be problematic.
MovieWeb’s Review:Your Place or Mine Review: Scant Chemistry in Cross-Country Romance
2000s romantic comedies have had revival attempts, but the ones that followed the 2000s formula haven’t worked. This particular breed of rom-com had been gaining traction and fine-tuning since the 1980s, and hit their peak in the early 2000s. After that, they had exhausted many ideas, so a new genre of romantic comedy needed to be created.
In the late 2010s, studios started rolling out new rom-coms that featured more diversity and depth and, at times, incorporated action elements or raunchiness that was missing from earlier films in the genre. Some examples includeCrazy Rich Asians, Wedding Season, Bros,andTo All The Boys I’ve Ever Loved Before. These movies captured the essence of predictability and romance that was vital, but added deeper plots, richer twists, and overall better relatability.
There has also been a surge of near-identical remakes that have tried to modernize beloved old rom-coms without the outdated stereotypes or worn-out parts of the trope. Examples of this includeFailure to LaunchbecomingNo Hard Feelings,The Wedding DatebecomingAnyone But You,When Harry Met SallybecomingSleeping with Other People, andSerendipitybecomingLove at First Sight. Despite being remakes, these movies have been successful because they’ve added modern components such as action, sex, deeper plots, and more complex characters in addition to the formulaic magic of 2000s rom-coms.
So, Why Did Your Place Or Mine Put a Nail in the 2000s Rom-Com Coffin?
Your Place or Minefollowed the 2000s formula perfectly. As a result, it was stereotypically 2000s, and people want more than what that formula offers now. The fact thatYour Place or Mineperfectly executed the plot lines and tropes of the 2000s rom-com and still fell short is proof that era is over. On paper it was a success, but only in the context of rom-coms 20 years ago.
The fact thatYour Place or Minedidn’t try to modernize itself and clung to an outdated formula only did itself a disservice. Times have changed, and movie expectations have with it. IfYour Place or Minehad leaned into more modern ideas instead of bucking against them in an effort to revive something that’s long dead, it might have been more successful, but its failure proved that 2000s rom-coms are officially dead.
That doesn’t mean romantic comedies are dead, though. There are plenty of movies that capture themagic of 2000s rom-comsbut don’t make you cringe at any bigotry or lack of character depth. While they could be credited with including slightly more diversity than a 2000s rom-com, the end-game couple was still straight, white, and a little stale. People today don’t want to see new movies that are just about two attractive people with little to no depth, outside of their romantic attraction to one another. Overall,Your Place or Minewasn’t a bad movie, but audiences today want more, and the film couldn’t offer that.
