This document summarizes some common conventions and stock characters found in romantic comedy (romcom) films. It discusses the protagonist, who is usually an outsider that the audience can relate to, the antagonist who opposes the protagonist, and the romantic interest that the protagonist pursues. It also mentions the deuterogamist, or sidekick character who complements the protagonist. The document then analyzes typical representations of these characters in terms of ethnicity, gender, and sexuality commonly portrayed in the romcom genre.

1. CONVENTIONS OF THE ROMCON
Characters –Protagonist:
This is the character that the audience routes for, he/she is usually
the new kid in school, the new employee, or generally the “rookie”
character in any setting. The audience is meant to connect emotionally
with this figure, as they are able to identify with their feelings of
exclusion and inability to get the girl or guy. Conventionally, the
protagonist starts off in the film as the geeky nerdy character with
little status or apparent beauty, yet as the film progresses they gain
status and in chick flick comedy’s, get a makeover, and finish the film
as the sexy confident character that they wished they were at the
start of the film, as in “The Princess Diaries” with Anne
Hathaway’s role. This character can be played straight, meaning that
they lack of comedy and generally don’t react to or notice the comedy
in other aspects of the film, as in Adam Sandler’s role in the RomCom
“50 Firsts Dates”. Playing straight doesn’t mean the character isn’t
funny, rather that they are not the main source of the humor rather
their reactions to the sometimes bizarre characters and situations
they encounter is, as Adam Sandler was to the humorous character of
Drew Barrymore. On the other hand, they may be the comedic
character in the film whose social awkwardness, or backfired efforts
can create lots of humor in the film. Regardless of which way the
character is played they are very endearing for the audiences the
viewer associates with the characters plight and wants them to
succeed.

2. Antagonist:
This character has usually been round the block a few times and
has been able to establish themselves as the king or queen of the
situation and the top of the pile. In RomComs they are usually the
current jerk ass boyfriend or cheating girlfriend of the protagonists
love interest, or they too are competing for the love of the love
interest. They always seem to be the more obvious choice for the
romantic interest, as they start the film usually as the high status, fit
of form Jock or Popular Girl but nearly always by the dominator
portrayed as petty and lacking in beauty compared to the newly
reformed protagonist. This character traditionally sees the entrance
of the protagonist as a threat to their status and does all that they
can to cement it by pushing the protagonist down. By the end of the
film the antagonist usually gets their comeuppance as their efforts
backfire and they end up on the bottom of the social hierarchy and the
protagonist at the top. In a series we have more time to explore
characters, so usually we discover what it was that turned them so evil
or petty in the first place, as with the mother character in the TV sit-
com Miranda. This can partially be seen in movies yet to such a deep
extent as they don’t have the time, as in Mean Girls, where we discover
it was all parental pushiness that drove the antagonist to act in a
certain way. In some films instead of ending up at the bottom they may
reform and become a friend of the protagonist once they set aside
their differences and work together to reach a goal.
The Romantic Interest:
This is a key stock character in the RomCom genre being an object of
attraction for the protagonist. Conventionally this character is often a
female friend of the protagonist, who might have friend zoned him or
doesn’t think he likes her, yet the character can be a male, as in
Disney’s Cinderella.

3. This romantic love interest can be divided into two characters, as in
the case of along came Polly wherein Ben Stiller can’t decide between
two girls.
Deuterogamist (sidekick):
This is the ying to the protagonists yang, this character compliments
the protagonist, usually having the opposite characteristics. They can
mentor the character in trying to get the romantic interest or just be
the comic relief to the intensity of the main character.
Representations -In RomComs these conventions of representations
are as follows:
The protagonist:
This character in RomComs is nearly always a white male, as
demonstrated by the films Along Came Polly, 50 First Dates among
many others. This is usually done because it is society’s perception that
it is the guy that should go after the girl and certainly in western
society, white ethnicity is the majority so is the one that is portrayed
most often. However in more modern films, such as The Proposal and
Leap Year, this idea of the male falling hopelessly in love is being
subverted, with the girl chasing the guy in correspondence to rising
feminist views. However films portraying this idea are still relatively
rare.
Antagonist:
This character is conventionally the handsome Jock or the beautiful
popular girl. Representations of these characters tend to portray the
beautiful as brainless and stupid, all brawn no brain, and the reverse is

4. true, ugly but smart (however these “ugly” characters usually end up
beautiful at the end)
These characters are also portrayed as spiteful and mean even beyond
the point of realism, just to distinguish for the audience that this is
“the baddie” so to speak.
Ethnicity:
This plays a great part of the modern media. Although now removed
from its racist roots, characters of different origins tend to conform
to stereotypes, especially in this genre, as this is where comic relief
can be found. A prime example of this the Sassy Black Woman stock
character, wherein any fat black woman will be portrayed as vivacious
and loud and unafraid to speak her mind. In comedies where the female
is the lead, they often play the deuterogamist as they can make a good
counterpoint to the more grim or snarky members of the cast. A male
example shows all black males to be good at basketball and smooth with
the ladies, a reason to be made the protagonists sidekick/mentor. It is
also very rare to see ethnic characters made the stand alone lead in
these films without a point being made of the fact they are ethnic,
again a nod to society's previously, and perhaps currently racist views.
Sexuality:
In the media, especially RomComs the sexuality nearly always means
heterosexuality. Gay characters are nearly always male and there is
the strong representation of the “camp gay” who will often speak with
a lisp, and is given to flouncing, prancing, and standing with one hand on
his hip as the other is held out in a limp-wristed gesture. Although
attitudes are slowly changing, as demonstrated by media such as the
TV program “Glee”, this is representation is still extremely prominent.

5. Sound:
In the RomComgenre, manydifferent sound devices areused to create effect.
The most common of these is atmospheric music. This usually takes the
form of lively upbeat songs, such as in the opening to 50 First Dates,
which it begins with a slow romantic ukulele strum, a referenceto the
Rom of RomCom,which is quickly juxtaposed by a lively upbeat track, setting the
tone for the comicalfast paced events to follow.It’s not just music that’s used
however, Directors like to makeuseof diegetic sounds,particularly bird song,to
infer the natural love that is forming on the screen. However in
the comedy and RomCom genre atmospheric music is the main
audio device, as Foleys and other sounds are more typical in the
thriller/horror genre as they seem to be slightly out of place in the
romantic RomComworld.