But after “Pretty Woman,” it’s been basically some variation on the Cinderella story, with some lip service to feminism thrown in.
Sexiness is good, but having sex is problematic (Rule No
ROMANTIC COMEDY heroines aren’t characters anymore, they’re tranquilizers. They’re designed to fan the fantasies, soothe the disappointment and calm the frayed nerves that come later. And to do that, they must be built to specifications.
How? After watching “Monster-in-Law,” I canvassed a few writers — who won’t be named, so that they may continue to write and happily incorporate notes — to share directives they’d received while creating their romantic heroines. There is no such thing, it appears, as a romantic comedy heroine who couldn’t benefit from being just a little more “likable” than she already is (Rule No. 1). “Likable” of course, can mean many things in the real world;
but for a studio it tends to mean that she does some kind of work involving animals or the elderly. Continue reading “They provide exactly what love does not, in a way it wouldn’t if it did”