One of the biggest travesties of the recent cinema landscape is the complete and utter erasure of the quality rom-com. Maybe I’m just spoiled - I grew up in the golden era of rom-coms. I can still recall the way Blockbuster smelled like dust and candy on a Friday night when I was trying to make the impossible choice between Mean Girls or The Devil Wears Prada for a sleepover.

Just like my other favorite genre, horror, romantic comedies seem to get dismissed by critics, but I’d like to argue it’s harder to make a quality rom-com than it is to make a drama/Oscar-bait. There are so many tropes you can try out and try and subvert – enemies to lovers (The Proposal, When Harry Met Sally), modern versions of literary classics (10 Things I Hate About You, Clueless), and so many more. To do it in a new, memorable way requires top-notch work from the cast and crew.

Maybe that’s part of the reason they fell off. I don’t know exactly when it happened but at some point in the 2010s, Hollywood gave up on trying to make rom-coms. Maybe the superhero mania pushed the genre out of the way. Regardless, there were a few rom-coms but really Crazy Stupid Love in 2011 was the only one of note.

Then, something shifted. Towards the end of the 10s, a movie I’m crediting with revamping interest in the genre came out: Set It Up. Released in 2018, the movie follows two personal assistants who set up their bosses to gain some of their personal life back only to end up falling in love with each other.

On paper, the premise isn’t anything revelatory or groundbreaking, but there’s several reasons the movie worked so well. First, the chemistry between Glen Powell and Zoey Deutch is unmatched. Six years later, people are still asking when they’ll reunite onscreen. Other factors like a well-written script, stellar performances from side characters, and great cinematography made it quickly rise to the top of people’s Netflix queues.

Now, we’re starting to see the revival of rom-coms. Films like Anyone But You, Upgraded, Red, White & Royal Blue are coming out to moderate critical acclaim but cult status for the general public.

Everything is so hard these days in our society, and it may seem trivial, but a 90-minute goofy comedy where two people fall in love can really fix a lot of things. Personally, I just had my first child and during the long nights, turning on a random rom-com makes the time pass nicely. We could all benefit from the idea that movies can just be fluff and not take themselves too seriously. I only wish my child could have the same experience of finding a fun rom-com on streaming in the years to come.