Top 10 Romantic Movie Cliches

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Script written by Niki Neptune.

Top 10 Romantic Movie Cliches


Does it seem like you’ve seen this romance before? Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 romantic movie clichés.

For this list, we’re taking a look at motifs that have become fairly predictable plot devices, storyline twists, or just overused fluff in rom-coms. While we secretly love romantic movies, we just want someone to sweep us off our feet – not use the same lines we’ve heard a million times before.

#10: Quirky BFF

No romantic movie would be complete without the main character’s offbeat best friend. They’re there to help the star find their way, or to offer comic relief, or to sabotage their plans. Actually, it doesn’t really matter why they’re there, because not being the central focus of the film allows them to be as outrageous or abrasive as they want to be. You sometimes wonder how they’re friends with the main character in the first place.

#9: Journalist on Assignment

You know the drill. There’s a deadline. A story needs to be told, and can only be fully realized if the spunky reporter goes…..UNDERCOVER. Being a steadfast journalist prevents them from revealing their true intentions as they fall head over heels for some unwitting participant in their love games. This one happens so often in romantic movies you should be able to claim worker’s comp for a broken heart.

#8: The Lonely Montage

Montages seem like a necessary feature of romantic movies, particularly when the film is trying to let you know how torn up the main character is. Those solitary walks, binge eating, and not having fun around friends isn’t about being a hungry introvert who likes exercise. The lonely montage conveys that enough time has passed for realizations to be made. And something life-changing is about to happen after this montage finishes. Just you watch.

#7: Grand Gestures of Love

A box of chocolate and a text message just isn’t going to cut it in a romantic movie. Showing up at your true love’s house carrying a boombox, climbing up a fire escape, or simply showing up at their door unannounced could all potentially lead to restraining orders in real life. But we’re talking about romantic movies here, where stalking pays dividends.

#6: Misunderstandings

There comes a point in many romantic movies where the main character finds out that their love interest doesn’t support their dream, has lied to them about something, or catches them with someone else. More often than not, these circumstances could easily be resolved with a conversation; but that’s not why we go to the movies. We want to watch the main characters scamper to find their way back to love!

#5: Coincidental Run-Ins

It’s interesting that many romantic movies seem to be based in large cities, but the main characters somehow seem to keep running into each other. It’s possible to go weeks, months, or years without running into an ex in the real world, but in romantic movieland, it’s almost an everyday occurrence. It’d probably be more believable if the estranged lovers looked like crap with pit stains and unwaxed eyebrows, but they rarely do.

#4: In the Rain

Why have a dramatic embrace indoors when you can spice it up with the threat of pneumonia? Hairstyles and delicate constitutions be damned. Sometimes a kiss has to happen, and when that time comes, it’s best to be in the middle of a torrential downpour. At least there’s the added benefit of having lips moisturized by Mother Nature herself. It’s a union blessed by the gods.

#3: The Mad Dash

If you ever see someone sprinting full speed in an airport and they haven’t been tackled by security, either you need to leave immediately, or realize that someone’s getting proposed to. Or at least that’s how it works in the movies. Bursting in at the very last moment to “speak now” at someone’s wedding is how you make your relationship last. None of these things are symptoms of poor communication and horrible planning.

#2: The Final Realization

Romantic movies seem to enjoy keeping their main characters in the dark. They can somehow go their entire lives not realizing they love their best friend. Or they hate someone with the burning passion of a thousand suns before finding out they’re meant to be. These realizations usually come towards the middle or end of the film, and precede a mad dash to interrupt a wedding or stop a plane. Typical.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
- The Interrupted Kiss
- The Girl Becomes Gorgeous
- The Manic Pixie Dream Girl
- Trying on Multiple Outfits

#1: The Other Guy

No romantic movie would be complete without a little competition. If variety is the spice of life, then having a suitor who’s also a jerk is like putting hot sauce on your eggs. The other guy doesn’t always have to be a jerk, but it helps if the audience is supposed to be rooting for the two main protagonists to hook up. And how else would we get delicious drama? Spice those eggs.

Do you agree with our list? What is your favorite romantic movie cliché? For more entertaining Top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.

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