Don't get me wrong, I love watching romantic comedies. I cheer for the girl and get teary-eyed at the big romantic gestures. But Hollywood has made us expect constant drama in relationships, and fear that everything good leads to heartache. Let me explain.
We all know the basic plot line for these types of movies: Girl meets boy, girl and boy fall in love, boy screws up, boy makes a grand romantic gesture to win girl back. Cue upbeat pop song and passionate kiss. The End.
But what about after the credits roll? They never show that part, because it's boring. Like real relationships. (Which are boring in the best way possible.) Movies need that "make it or break it" moment where the guy realizes he can't live without the girl. And instead of just talking to her about it, he has to organize a flash mob, or sing outside her bedroom window, or write an article in the newspaper talking about how awesome she is.
These are all great moments to watch, but I think we let them get to us more than we'd like to admit. We are conditioned to be afraid of getting comfortable with someone, and opening up to them. Because after the montage of how "in love" a couple is, comes the guy's screw-up. And then, we're trained to forgive those screw-ups. All we have to do is wait - because as long as he sings outside your bedroom window, it's totally fine that the first newspaper article he wrote contained all your embarrassing secrets, which everyone knows now.
We shouldn't be waiting for the guy that organizes a flash mob as an apology for sleeping with your friend. Anyone with internet access can do that. We should appreciate the guy that makes us happy in all of life's little moments. Like cuddling on the couch watching TV (not shown in movies: the amount of times you have to change positions because your neck hurts, and his arm fell asleep, and the blanket isn't covering your feet, and you can't reach your water and you are parched). Or how exciting it is when he suggests going to get ice cream because you were literally just thinking how awesome ice cream would be (not shown: attack of the mosquitoes). And how much better you feel after venting to him about work (even though you're pretty sure he can't follow half the stories, because there are too many names to keep track of).
We have to stop expecting the Hollywood version of romance, and pay more attention to the little things that Hollywood thinks are too boring for the movies. Your relationship doesn't have to match the plot of a romantic comedy. (In fact, if it does, that might be a bad thing...). Real life should have less drama, more love.
