History of the romantic-comedy genre

The romantic-comedy genre is a hybrid of the romance and comedy genres. The most early depictions of the romantic-comedy genre have been seen in Shakespearean pays such as 'A Midsummer Nights Dream', 'The Taming of the Shrew' and 'Much ado about Nothing'. Many modern romantic-comedy films have been based around similar plots of these 16th century plays. Other ancient Greek comedy plays have incorporated sex and relationships elements into the plays. 

Popularity for the romantic-comedy genre generally declined through the 20th century up to the 60's. After this time the popularity increased due to the change in societies views about sex, relationships and marriage. Romantic-comedies such as 'When Harry met Sally' revived the rom-com genre and paved the way for the modern typical rom-com. From then on in the romantic-comedy has become one of the most popular genres of film at cinemas. Its appeal to a large female audience clearly contributes to its popularity and its predictability providesthe audience with comfort that everything will end up having a 'happily ever after'. Characters in romantic comedy films mirror those that we have in our real lives and allow us to empathise with them. 

Teen romantic-comedies in particular appeal to teenagers. Developed from the 90's onwards it provides comfort for a large female teenage audience in a time when romance and emotions are constantly on their minds. They deal with typical issues in a teenagers life that they will be able to relate to and present the idea that everything will end up great. This would  be a particular worry for teenagers at this time and they are likely to relate to this main issue and plot in the films.