By Sarah Sluis
Just last year, I thought the problem of terrible romantic comedies would never be fixed. Jennifer Lopez's The Back-Up Plan sent me into this depression. Even with a modern "obstacle to romance" like the fact that she was incubating another man's baby, the movie was awful. It seemed like the formula that worked so well in the screwball era would never be updated for the modern audiences.
Now, it seems that every romantic comedy in the works has a different take on the genre (Celese and Jesse Forever, Seeking a Friend at the End of the World, etc). Instead of starting with the "meet cute," building the plot around mistaken identity or a misinterpreted gesture, and sealing everything with a kiss, screenwriters have been going for the messy and undefined. Breakups and existing relationships are frequently the starting points, not the "meet cute." And in an age where the average age of marriage is rising, divorce is common, and premarital sex is no longer frowned upon, these stories reflect the modern era.
The Five Year Engagement, whose trailer released today, follows this trend. Jason Segel and Emily Blunt star as a couple whose engagement is dragging on, and on, and on. Director Nicholas Stoller co-wrote the script with Segel, and if their Forgetting Sarah Marshall (which started with a breakup) is any indication, this romance-comedy hybrid will innovate on the genre norms.
The trailer has some funny spots but doesn't altogether hint at how the plot will play out--probably a good thing. It appears that Blunt's job makes the relationship long-distance and delays them setting a wedding date. Blunt's heartfelt speech at 1:55 kind of feels like a reconciliation after a breakup. This hints at a more familiar narrative. For a big studio rom-com, this movie still speaks to a big shift in conventions. The traditional romantic comedy may be dead--for now.
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