Reckless Adventures, the theme in new Rom-Com
TORONTO – It wasn’t too long ago that the Romantic Comedy genre or “Rom-Coms” were major studio productions which enjoyed massive marketing pushes and wide releases. From the 1990s to the mid 2000s, the genre drew audiences using classic meet-cute encounters and feel-good romance tropes. But the hopeful optimism of those 90s Rom-Coms reflected a time period still unaffected by the Internet, and its diabolical offspring – “social media”.
From one of the most profitable genres to near extinction, the rare sighting of a Rom-Com in today’s theatre lineup is an instant reminder of how much has changed in gender relations. Take Michele Morrone’s latest English language film Blame it on Rome, directed by Francesco Carrozzini. It follows an ambitious New York art executive working in Rome, whose fiancé falls for another woman. It’s a typical setup for a second chance at romance. Hurt girl meets new boy in Rome.
Except it’s 2025, and this film’s heartbroken woman copes through promiscuity. But to describe It so innocuously as the synopsis does, leaves one to wonder if Rom-Coms should remain six feet under. “Between aperitivos, reckless adventures, and a string of dates, Billie learns to live in the moment…until she discovers she’s pregnant. Not knowing who the father is, she hires private investigator Tommaso (Michele Morrone) to help her solve the paternity mystery”.
Previous decades gave us films like When Harry Met Sally, a commentary on platonic relationships, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding which explored themes of assimilation, tradition and love. This 21st century Rom-Com presents a girl so worn out on sex, she has to hire a private investigator to determine which man impregnated her.
To each their own, but based on my interactions with the male species, this type of woman is a hard pass. The female writing team of Jessica O’Toole and Kirsten Smith clearly disagree. Smith has made a career of co-writing girl power Rom-Coms, like Legally Blonde (2001) and House Bunny (2008) – films whose leads go from sorority queens to a lawyer and a playboy bunny, respectively.
Jessica O’Toole is mostly known for the five-season hit show Jane the Virgin (2015), about a young girl who is accidentally artificially inseminated during a routine visit to her gynecologist. Gone are “antiquated” films about men courting “fair ladies”. And thank goodness, some might say, adding (for good measure) that requiring women to be well mannered, graceful or refined was an oppressive patriarchal imposition, anyway.
Sarcasm aside, emboldening a new generation of young girls to have reckless adventures in foreign countries is at best irresponsible, if not grotesque. In fairness, the film has yet to be released and may in fact highlight this sentiment. It might turn out to be a smart film about bad choices and the road to redemption. Fingers crossed.
Image of Gabrielle Union and Michele Morrone on set courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios
Massimo Volpe is a filmmaker and freelance writer from Toronto: he writes reviews of Italian films/content on Netflix
