I have studied the openings to several romantic comedies which has given us an overview of what a rom com is and the many different ways it can be shown. Rom coms usually begin with a brief introduction to the to main characters, usually male and female. We get a sense of who each person is and their personalities, also how there lifestyles compare to each others which then leads to them falling in love and becoming an item. Often in Rom Coms there's always a twist between the male and female, they fall in love then one of them tend to mess up in the relationship which leads to the two breaking up! they then find several reasons to get back together or something happends which shakes them both up which brings them back together, the film then typically ends with the two together.
I looked into various Rom Coms both American and Britsh including 'Knocked Up' and 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' which have both very different storylines. Knocked Up has a different approch to a Rom Com compared to Four Weddings.
In Knocked Up both characters are complete opposites but a one night stand ironically leaves her literally 'Knocked Up!' which throws them both into a sticky situation, as the films goes on the couple played by Katherine Hegil as Alison and Seth Rogen as Ben learn to work together to get the best out of the pregnancy. This film breaks the code and conventions of a Rom Com because they dnt fall in love until the end whereas others fall in love near the beggining.
I researched Rom Coms outside of lesson's and found one of the most popular Rom coms of all time, Pretty Woman, this film has all the codes and conventions that a rom com should have. Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) a wealthy businessman hires a prostitue Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) to escort him to several social functions and business, but their week together of business soon turns into a romance!.
In the opening scene we see the major differences between the two characters, with Vivian there's a dark setting of the streets and the drunken people who fill it, 'Wild One' by Iggy Pop and the Stooges is played as Vivian is introcduced to show her 'rock' image, wheras with Edward he is first seen in a plesent party with friends while slow classical music is played on a piano in the background which shows he's a more higher class person. A long shot is used to set the scene of where the characters are, showing them in what looks like a penthouse which over looks the city. This automaticlly made me think that the main character was a wealthy person. Diagetic sound is used with the all the guest's talking, this is what you would expect to hear if you was at a party yourself. There isn't any visable editing used with the 1st few minutes, all the editing is invisible. A Low angle shot is used when the main character Edward is looking through the window down at his guests which shows his social status. when he lives the house the music changes to Pop, a song by Pall Young- Tears of Fears and a Establishing shot is used, also a birds eye view of the town, which then introduces the titles, this is the opening to the other main character Vivian.
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