Hallmark romantic comedies (rom coms) are becoming more and more popular. Women of all ages and social strata are appreciative watchers. Men have also discovered them. As the population ages, folks are settling in as couch potatoes. I began watching not too long after I retired.
An article in the NY Times provided a more erudite explanation. “One of the genre’s great pleasures” is books (and movies) with “similar archetypes, similar settings, similar tropes, similar tones… because they offer a piping-hot version of a recipe that readers are perpetually hungry for.” Hallmark has a handful of tried and true templates that their rom coms tend to follow. Here are some reasons why I enjoy them.
First off, to quote the Times, “Romance is marked by the certainty of the happy ending.”
And we’re not referring to the sexual definition of that expression. Hallmark rom coms don’t have even the subtlest hint that anyone does the horizontal mambo. You can choose to imagine that happens. Hallmark won’t dissuade you, but they won’t encourage your fantasy. Given today’s societal stresses—political, health, financial or other—I and many fans appreciate knowing there will be a happy ending.
The lead is almost always female, and usually a strong woman at that, a big draw for me. I’m not sure how the men feel about this, but the women don’t emasculate their male co-stars so I guess that makes their strength acceptable.
Many times, a woman from a big city finds herself in a quaint rural town. Maybe she grew up there; maybe she found herself stranded there after a snowstorm or a car accident that left her with amnesia. By the end of the story, she always realizes that the small town is now home to her. No more big city stress. I grew up in a town of about 50 people but worked in Manhattan for 20 years, so I appreciate the conversion.
Another common template thread is that there’s some misunderstanding between the female and male leads that derails their relationship early on. One of them hears half of some conversation but doesn’t stick around to hear how it ends, jumping to a conclusion that the other is totally wrong for them. Eventually this gets straightened out, but not usually until the last 15 minutes of the two-hour movie.
Many of the stories have an artistic aspect, which also appeals to me. Sometimes it’s found in the female lead, sometimes in the male she encounters. Photography is a popular theme, and writing. A successful but reclusive writer falls in love with the aspiring author who has tracked him down to interview him in “Just My Type.” There have also been bakers, wine makers and chocolatiers. A semi-estranged daughter returns home to help her family, especially an injured father, run (or save) the family business. One time it was a pumpkin farm.
There are frequently widowers who are great fathers raising children on their own, or bachelor uncles who have custody of their late sibling’s children (and are clueless what to do with them). The lead woman comes into their lives and “rescues” them. The fathers might be dentists or veterinarians. The women are more often business professionals and less often in any medical field.
One thing Hallmark does well in its rom coms and is doing even more of is offering inclusionary casts. The Anglo lead often has a Black best friend. Secondary characters that are gay (male or female couples) are frequently worked into the story. There’s not a big fuss made over them. They’re just another part of the cast.
A further template variation has the lead and her male partner being set up on-line by well-meaning family members or friends. “Chance At Romance,” has the tween-age son of a widower pretending to be his successful but creatively blocked photographer dad. The son screens the women who reply to his ad and he invites one to visit. She of course thinks it’s the dad who invited her. Eventually, she and the son create the Pot Pie Of The Month Club. This brings the boy out of the funk he’s been in since his mother died and his father gets his mojo back taking pictures of the pies and their baker.
In another pairing via on-line family meddling, the main characters have evolving chemistry in “Straight From the Heart”. She’s an unsuccessful photographer who shoots garbage (literally) at the beginning of the film. By the end, she’s creating iconic photos of the American cowboy she’s met via the meddling and those earn her a solo show. I’ll watch this one until the cows come home. Or more precisely here, wild horses.
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