On our road to rom coms of today, we'll stop off at the sex comedy. Spanning from the '50s to the early '70s, the movies here focused on the differences between men and women. Often, the conflicts began with two professional rivals. They were often pitted again each other in a fierce competition that eventually led to sparks flying. Classic battle of the sexes comedies include the Katharine Hepburn-Spencer Tracy classic Desk Set (1957), the Rock Hudson-Doris Day hit Lover Come Back (1961), and the very on-the-nose Battle of the Sexes (1960). These tonal changes happened for several reasons: The sexual research done by Alfred Kinsey opened up the conversation that women do have sex drives and engage in premarital sex, Playboy magazine came out in 1953, which gave men guides to developing relationships with women, and the industry's strict moral production code ended and gave way to the rating system, which meant less censorship in films. All of these elements coming together could easily explain the momentum in the growth of sex comedies.
Next, the sexual revolution of the '60s brought about the radical romantic comedies of the '70s. People stopped viewing romantic comedies the way they had previously. Now, men and women could speak freely about sex and love without the innuendos and ploys often found in earlier films. These new movies were cynical and wondered whether or not true love existed at all. Happily ever after was not required in a radical romantic comedy. Movies like Annie Hall (1977) focused on personal happiness, the needs of one's self, and a realization that romantic love does not solve all problems.
Finally, we land in the neotraditional romantic comedy. These films are the opposite of the radical romantic comedy because they focus on compatibility and deemphasize sex. Here, love is transparent—compromises are made on both sides to make the relationship work. There are often self-referential moments that nod to the romantic comedies of yesteryear. Think about the passing discussion of An Affair to Remember (1957) in Sleepless in Seattle (1993), for example. Modern movies in this genre continue to this day. (Trainwreck (2015) is easily considered a neotraditional romantic comedy.)
Throughout film's history, romantic comedies hold up a mirror to the society in which we live. Whether the story takes place in the modern world we inhabit, a futuristic planet, or an era long past, the moment a movie is created, it shows the current society's general feelings on love. And though the genre has taken different forms through the years, there is one comforting thing that has always stayed the same: We're a society that believes in love.
