Some rom-coms we know by heart. They start with a meet-cute on the street corner, in the school hall, in the office elevator. Then the flirtatious equivocations begin: Will they or won’t they? Finally, the smitten couple embrace—before fireworks, let’s say, that light up the night skies. That reliable formula for catching butterflies is cherished in this swooning collection—but this time, we’re widening the net on what gets called “rom-com,” and falling for the unexpected.
Look away from the genre’s classics—’30s screwballs, ’50s sex farces, and confections from the ’90s—and alternative rom-coms appear across cinema history, hidden there like loved-up secrets. So the path to true romance is different here. Who cares at all, when sparks are so obviously flying! If we put heart before head, then we have, eventually, to admit it: Little variations on the rom-com like this are irresistible, and deserve our affections too.

Some rom-coms we know by heart. They start with a meet-cute on the street corner, in the school hall, in the office elevator. Then the flirtatious equivocations begin: Will they or won&#8217;t they? Finally, the smitten couple embrace&#8212;before fireworks, let&#8217;s say, that light up the night skies. That reliable formula for catching butterflies is cherished in this swooning collection&#8212;but this time, we&#8217;re widening the net on what gets called &#8220;rom-com,&#8221; and falling for the unexpected.
Look away from the genre&#8217;s classics&#8212;&#8217;30s screwballs, &#8217;50s sex farces, and confections from the &#8217;90s&#8212;and alternative rom-coms appear across cinema history, hidden there like loved-up secrets. So the path to true romance is different here. Who cares at all, when sparks are so obviously flying! If we put heart before head, then we have, eventually, to admit it: Little variations on the rom-com like this are irresistible, and deserve our affections too.

Heart Before Head: The Rom-Com Variations

HEART BEFORE HEAD: THE ROM-COM VARIATIONS

Look away from the classics, and alternative rom-coms appear across cinema history, hidden there like little loved-up secrets. Variations on cherished formulas, these surprise rom-coms might take different paths to romance, but are irresistible, and deserve our affections too.

Look away from the classics, and alternative rom-coms appear across cinema history, hidden there like little loved-up secrets. Variations on cherished formulas, these surprise rom-coms might take different paths to romance, but are irresistible, and deserve our affections too.