Why Rom-Coms?

In the Filipino culture, love and romance are a huge deal. Our movies and music are mostly centred around romance, dreams, and family. I grew up surrounded by this notion of romance which may have influenced me to become a hopeless romantic.

There’s this Filipino term called “kilig” which basically relates to the saying of feeling like there are butterflies in their stomach’ once something sweet happens to them. Without fail, Filipino rom-coms would incorporate that ‘kilig’-factor into the plots (however cheesy it may be). Growing up watching those, I suppose it has made me develop a yearning for the cutesy romance portrayed in romantic comedies.

On the other hand, watching movies for leisure was pretty much embedded in me because my family has movie nights where we would all gather on the couch to watch movies (not necessarily rom-coms). Regardless, I found myself being more attentive to the film if it was a rom-com.

It's a bit difficult to remember specific childhood memories but my mother told me that my fascination with movies began when I was a toddler. According to her, I would rewatch movies like 101 Dalmatians and Barbie’s Swan Lake repeatedly. So, in a way, it was also fitting that I had enrolled in a course related to film.

My sentiments towards movies grew more in my teen years as I began to discover Western romcoms. One of my early favourites is Princess Diaries.

The movie's about this geek who discovers that she’s the Princess of Genovia after being visited by her grandmother (who is apparently the queen). Her life transforms after she goes through preparations for becoming a princess – with romance along the way.

I’ve always loved the transformative makeovers the female lead goes through. Usually, this is done via a cheesy montage of her picking from an array of clothes then it cuts to her getting a new hairdo and close-ups of makeups.

And…the music playing in the background – really completes the whole scene.

In a way, that little sequence plays in my head whenever I’m getting dressed. It makes me feel like the main character in these romcoms.

Moreover, what are the odds of meet-cutes happening in real life? The perfect setting, the first glance between the characters, and the ongoing banter that follows.

The plots usually revolve around some form of trope. I especially enjoy the enemies to lovers and friends to lovers’ arcs.

An unlikely pair with undeniable chemistry because of the obvious tension between them from the start is so thrilling. We can see these tropes in films like 27 Dresses, 13 Going on 30, and Crazy Rich Asians.