The romantic comedy is a favorite genre for many, including myself. Going to the movie theater with my friends to see the newest “rom-com” and spending the next two hours both laughing and crying is one of my favorite pastimes. However, there has recently been a drought in rom-com production. Although television series rom-coms like “Jane the Virgin,” “The Mindy Project,” and “New Girl” have been extremely successful for several seasons, the movie industry has been lackluster in its rom-com production for many years now.
There were only three notable rom-coms in theaters this summer and obviously I saw all three of them. The three were very different in their plots with “Crazy Rich Asians” being a more traditional romantic comedy, “The Spy Who Dumped Me” containing more action, and “Mama Mia: Here We Go Again” as more of a musical. Although these movies seemed to satisfy the need for more diverse forms of rom-com, there was still a void in the genre that could only be filled by a film full of teenagers and horrible acting. Enter: “The Kissing Booth.”
The Netflix Original movie, “The Kissing Booth” stars Joey King as high school junior, Elle. Elle and her best friend Lee decide to run a kissing booth to raise money for their dance team at their school’s annual fair. However, in order to get people to work the booth, Elle needs to convince Lee’s older brother, Noah, to participate at the kissing booth, which obviously leads to quirky antics causing Elle and Noah fall in love.
Yes, the plot of this movie definitely had some holes in, it was very predictable, the writing could have been better, and don’t even get me started on the acting, but ultimately, I kind of enjoyed it. Despite its flaws, it filled that trashy teen drama void in my life and I have rewatched it several times. The film knows what it is and isn’t ashamed to be a bad film, which is what I really like about it. Just admit it, even if you hated it, you have probably watched it twice.
After “The Kissing Booth,” I thought that would be the end of Netflix’s dabbling in the romantic comedy genre so when they premiered at least four other rom-coms I was shocked, but also very excited. The first one of the batch was “Set It Up,” which stars Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell as assistants who decide to set up their insane bosses in order to gain a little more freedom. The film seemed like a combination of “The Parent Trap” and “Horrible Bosses” and I was a big fan of that. Was it predictable and played out? Yes, of course it was! But was it funny, endearing, and everything I needed? Also, yes!
Next, was the now very well-known “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.” This was by far my favorite one out of the bunch – it was charming, hilarious, and entertaining as hell. Peter Kavinsky was just an added bonus; if you’ve seen it, you know who I’m talking about.
Netflix’s most recent rom-com debut, “Sierra Burgess is a Loser” was unfortunately not what I wanted it to be. Based on the trailers, I could tell that Shannon Purser’s character, Sierra, would befriend mean girl Veronica to help Sierra continue to deceive Jamey, a boy who texted her by mistake. This all seemed very weird. In normal situations, when someone texts the wrong number, people end the conversation before it begins since they don’t know them. But Sierra just went right ahead and continued to talk to this stranger without even bothering to consider whether he was a stalker or a serial killer. Maybe that’s just me, but if I were Jamey, Noah Centineo’s character, I wouldn’t have forgiven her in the end. Not a great movie, but it would have made an excellent episode of “Catfish.”
Netflix made a valiant effort in its attempt to revive the romantic comedy and in some cases such as “Set It Up” and “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” Netflix was very successful.
However, in the rom-com industry, there will always be hits or misses, which is probably why Netflix put out so many rom-coms at once that way they had a better chance for success. Although they weren’t all winners, the Netflix Original rom-coms were ones that I will continue to rewatch for years to come. And if Netflix keeps putting Noah Centineo in their movies, I will definitely continue to watch.