220) Rom-Com Formula

(Not a spoiler - if you've seen the trailer, you know most of this. But if you want to 100% guarantee no spoilers, maybe stop reading as a precaution)

My cousin took me to see a free screening of Love and Other Drugs tonight. It fit nicely into that category of romantic comedies where the heroine is dying of something . Here's the general formula:

- An asshole of a protagonist. Selfish, slick, seemingly souless, and always a womanizer.
- A woman unlike any other. Quirky with a fortress built up around her, the heroine uses gratuitous sex to keep emotions at bay.
- The warning. A refusal by the heroine to commit, usually with the explicit directive, "You can't fall in love with me." Protagonist laughs off the warning - he's an asshole, remember? Assholes don't fall in love.
- Surprise! He falls in love, as does she.
- Heroine starts to look wan in scenes, possibly has some dark circles under eyes. Double surprise! She's terminally ill.
- A strange and touching melange of love and death. Protagonist always stays with the heroine, committing himself fully, even though he knows there is no future.

Other examples (few of many):

Sweet November


A Walk to Remember


And most recently, Restless


PS - Despite my sarcasm, the movie wasn't bad. Fun, fast-paced beginning. Lots of nude Hathaway and Gyllenhaal. Towards the end, the writing gets really rom-com-y though.

PPS - This is totally random, but in my morbid search for "romantic comedy cancer" I learned that LFO frontman Rich Cronin died of leukemia at age 36 this past September. Sad.