Nora Ephron: Shaping the Rom-Com

When Harry Met Sally (1989), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), and You’ve Got Mail (1998)– when you think of these films you probably think of them as the peak of their genre, the rom-com. But one more thing that they have in common is Nora Ephron. Ephron’s films started the boom of rom-com hits paving the way for others like Love Actually (2003) and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003). She reshaped the genre with her words, and now, after over thirty years, her legacy lives on in her works, which are regarded by many as the best rom-coms and have influenced so much work that came after it. 

What is a Rom-Com?

First, let’s cover the basics. What is a rom-com? Also known as a romantic comedy, this genre is defined by a story about love and romance in a light and humorous tone. Elements of a great rom-com include two leads with chemistry, a meet-cute, a unique situation to overcome, sidekicks, montages, and a grand gesture or a memorable line. And to have good chemistry, it is key to find the right actors to play the protagonists. At the end of the day, these films focus on a relationship between two people and can reveal one of the strongest human emotions– love.

A Brief History of the Rom-Com

Stories about romance and relationships have long been a part of film. While movies about romance have seen varying levels of interest and success throughout the last century and have been scrutinized and subject to misogyny, these stories persist. Why? Because they show one of the most key and universal human feelings. 

In its very early forms, filmmakers drew inspiration from plays, Shakespeare being the master with examples like Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. These early forms of films were initially called comedies of manners, often about class difference romances, where the wealthy would fall for the non-wealthy. Pre-sound, the witty dialogue and humor in conversation that is crucial in stories about human relationships was lost. But with the introduction of talkies, these stories found their way into the main media. 

Coming out of depression times, more subgenres of the rom-com started appearing. Screwball comedies became popular. One major success was Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night (1934). In 1934, this rom-com about a spoiled heiress falling for a cynical newspaper reporter became the first to win the big five Academy Awards, winning Best Director, Actor, Actress, Adaptation, and Outstanding Production (now known as Best Picture). 

From the 50s to 70s, a new subgenre emerged– the sex comedy. This genre focused on the differences between men and women, pitting them against each other. Then came radical comedies that were more open and cynical. These all led to the neotraditional romantic comedy in the ‘90s, which much of Nora Ephron’s work defined and what most know today as the classic rom-com.

Entering the 2000s and 2010s, Hollywood started to feel a slip in rom-com popularity. With moves to streaming leading to lower-budget rom-coms that audiences feel aren’t the same quality as their predecessors, rom-coms today have continued to evolve. That said, there is not a lack of rom-coms. If anything, there are more with more diversity. These stories of love have persisted in film history and show how our society loves love. 

Nora Ephron

Nora Ephron was born in 1941 in New York City to playwright parents. Her parents were also screenwriters and moved their family to LA to write for movies when she was young. After graduating from Wellesley, Ephron moved to New York City to be a journalist. Eventually, she caught the eye of the Post and became a staff reporter. She wrote with observational prowess and a familiarity that made readers connect with her. It was her signature voice that helped her produce very popular essays and become a star in journalism with Esquire. 

Amid her journalism career, she wrote her first novel Heartburn, loosely based on her divorce. This book became a best-seller and was adapted for the screen starring Meryl Streep. Ephron wrote the screenplay, which led her to write more scripts and take a step back from journalism. Her films all had a deep focus and tie to literature; she was all about words and the use of language. You’ve Got Mail showed a blossoming relationship over email. She focused less on the physical and more on the rhetoric. In When Harry Met Sally, the protagonists mainly just talked to each other for a decade and that’s how audiences were able to feel their intelligent chemistry rather than it being all about physical chemistry.

Nora Ephron said, “I try to write parts for women that are complicated and interesting as women actually are.” She wanted to capture how complicated relationships are and that they are more than what the screen had shown audiences before. Women are not just objects of men’s affection. They are not there to be a foil to men. They are more than the romantic interest. As Rachel Syme puts it in her New Yorker article, “She showed how we can fall in and out of love with people based solely on the words that they speak and write.” 

Ephron’s work influenced many movies that came after them like I Want You Back (2022), It’s Complicated (2009), and What If (2013), and still inspires today’s rom-coms and other forms of filmed entertainment. Films, television shows, and other forms of media today have mentioned or paid homage to Ephron’s work. All of her work championed and inspired subsequent rom-coms to explore genuine emotions, create characters with layers, and add humor to the difficult or mundane. 

Rom-Coms Today

Rom-coms have recently come back into the mainstream attention, though they never left the scene completely. The success of Crazy Rich Asians (2018), grossing $240 million on a $30 million budget, led to a slow move to bring rom-coms back into the theaters. It was the first of its kind in a while to get a major box office release and became one of the highest-grossing rom-coms of the 2010s. More recently, Anyone But You (2023) grossed $220 million at the box office on a $25 million budget. With the success of these two movies, it is undeniable that the rom-coms are making a comeback at the box office. But they’re not just in theaters; with today’s streaming services, there are even more subgenres of rom-coms, and dozens of these fun love stories are made. Though they may have changed and evolved, rom-coms have not gone away. 

Through our twenty-first-century lens, Hollywood today is able to start taking more risks and adding more diversity to their stories. There no longer needs to be the white Hollywood bombshell couple playing the leads with stories about how the wealthy girl gets the working-class man. Author and magazine editor Scott Meslow says in his interview with NPR that today, there is “an openness to more diverse kinds of love stories, and the people who are making those love stories tend to be more diverse.” There are so many examples of this being true with Crazy Rich Asians (2018) showcasing Asian culture with two Asian romantic leads, Love, Simon (2018) exploring teen sexuality and queerness, and Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011) with an ensemble cast showing complicated family dynamics. 

In these films and so many other modern rom-coms, it is clear that Ephron’s style of focusing on the rhetoric and intellectual rather than the physical chemistry has seeped into our rom-coms today. Regardless of whether they’re making low-budget streaming rom-coms, cheesy holiday made-for-TV movies, or the big box office releases, filmmakers have taken Ephron’s lead and created work that tries to explore the complex layers of humans and relationships with words and comedy. 

It is hard to imagine a world where you couldn’t picture Harry and Sally’s walks through Central Park in the fall or when Joe and Kathleen meet in the park with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” playing over the scene. Ephron’s work has inspired a new generation of work and will continue to remind people to dig deeper when telling stories about the most basic of human emotions– love. 

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