Romantic Comedy Film Openings

Having now come to the decision that we are definitely going to make our film opening in the Romantic Comedy genre, I have decided to look at some more current film openings specific to that genre. I have discussed the generic conventions used in the openings and considered the titling as these are extremely important to consider when creating my own opening.

Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)

The genre of this film is immediately introduced by the iconography of the wedding cake and the titles themselves seem to be written in an invitation format with the curly writing and the style of the film title itself with the flowers and cake making it clear that the film is about romance. The genre is enforced further by the non diegetic music in this opening sequence is very classical and is a song about love, emphasising the romantic comedy genre. The comedy element to the film is not a clearly shown in the opening however we are still able to tell this by the light hearted narrative with the characters getting up and getting ready. It is more particularly shown through the use of contrasts between the men with one getting up and ready straight away and with the other being more ‘lazy’ and staying in bed longer. The Narrative suggests that perhaps the characters are preparing to go to a wedding and there are multiple characters introduced which could be main characters throughout the film. The Atmosphere is extremely relaxed and calm which fits with the genre and it is suggested that the setting is in Britain because of the iconography of the typical ‘full English breakfast’.

The titles are very simple and are not distracting to the narrative which makes the audience concentrate more on what is happening than what the titles all say. The use of the white font means that the titles can be seen very easily on almost any background. The narrative is clearly open and leads onto something happening next and the themes of love, romance and family are hinted that they will be common throughout. It is clear that there are a number of main characters that will appear throughout the rest of the film as there is a very equal amount of screen-time given to each character and we are immediately introduced to each characters personality in the opening.  

Bridget Jones (2001)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aFhQ9uPsxM

Bridget Jones (2001) uses a voice over in the opening to demonstrate the genre of the film. It is very comical in the scripting, very British and makes it clear that it is a diary. The character discusses subjects like her love life and meeting a new man which emphasises the romantic element of the opening and she talks about the idea of her mother being the ‘match-maker’ which adds the comedy element. The setting in the opening is very homely which creates a very light atmosphere and it is clearly a family party which could be a common theme throughout the rest of the film. The comedy genre is also shown through the mise-en-scene specifically with the costumes as she says she is ‘wearing a carpet’.

The use of the untidy living room setting also has emphasis on the comedy element and it is clear that ‘Bridget’ will be the main character as she is central to the narrative and is in control of the story telling. The titles are not evident until around 5 minutes into the clip and are written in a handwriting font which fits with the diary element and the character points and gestures towards the main title which emphasises that that is the main film title. The soundtrack ‘All by myself’ gives a suggestion that the woman is unlucky in love and the comedy element is emphasised again by the miming of the song making the genre extremely clear. The narrative is the most prominent indication to the genre of the film particularly with the character drinking alcohol and being quite comical with the miming of the song.

Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)

In the opening of this film, the romantic-comedy genre is shown immediately through the use of the girly colours like pink which have connotations of romance and love. The theme of shopping is also immediately introduced by the setting of the shops and lots of props like shoes, and images of women trying on dresses. It is clear that the film is aimed at females as in the opening sequence there are only female characters introduced so that the target audience can relate to them. There is a clear theme of spending money and socialising in the film because of the narrative in the opening sequence. The comedy genre is emphasised by the contrast of the expensive sparkly shoes with the brown shoes that ‘last forever’. The iconography of the yellow cab gives and immediate indication that the film is set in America and the city setting is common in other films of this genre and seems very glamorous and exciting.

It is clear that the main character is the young girl who is admiring all of the women doing their shopping as we can hear the voiceover discussing this. The voiceover is clearly an older woman and she is talking about when she was a little girl which makes it clear that the main character will be this little girl as a grown woman. The atmosphere is very light hearted and happy and is particularly female orientated. There are no male characters in the opening which makes the female characters seem very dominant and independent. This opening uses a voiceover along with a non diegetic soundtrack. The music is directly related to the genre and the song sings about love and romance which then emphasises this. The titles also reflect the genre with the simple pink coloured writing which has connotations of romance and love and the glittering main film title emphasises the girlie themes.