Five Lesser-Known Romantic Comedies — and the Lessons They Teach Screenwriters Today
From the sharply-scripted screwballs of the ’30s to the high-concept, cloying, hyper-PC Netflix hits of the 2020s, the genre has continually evolved—and not often for the better.
Many contemporary rom-coms sell because apparently someone–teenage girls?–will always watch them. They are plodding, paint-by-number plots, absurd dialogue, and characters who can’t even figure out what trope they’re supposed to be. I’m looking at you, Do Revenge.
And yet, hidden in the filmographies of legendary directors—often those known for other genres —are five lesser-known romantic comedies that offer invaluable lessons for screenwriters.
These films blow the mold wide apart, experimenting with tone, genre, and prioritizing emotion over cliché. They challenge the conventions of what we perceive as a “romantic comedy” and in doing so, they become enduring case studies for writing romance with depth, wit, and originality.
Let’s explore five such films.
1. Kiss Me, Stupid (1964) – Billy Wilder
The Film
Directed by Billy Wilder, Kiss Me, Stupid is a bawdy, cynical, and often deeply uncomfortable romantic comedy. It follows Orville, a jealous small-town piano teacher, who conspires with a gas station attendant/songwriter named Barney to get a famous singer (played by Dean Martin, essentially as himself) to record one of their songs. Their plan? Get Martin to spend the night with a prostitute posing as Orville’s wife.
How might this resolve, you ask? Well, pretty soon it’s obvious that the way the cards are dealt won’t allow for a clean outcome–and indeed it doesn’t. I don’t need to spoil it–just go watch this film. It’s staggering that Wilder was able to get away with this shit in the first place, but God bless him.
This film–a (heartwarming!) commentary on lust, jealousy, and marital insecurity–straight up fucking works. That’s why Billy Wilder is (as always) top of the list.
The Screenwriting Lesson: Romance Can Be Cynical and Still Earn Its Ending
Most modern romantic comedies are clean, aspirational, and filled with soft lighting.
Kiss Me, Stupid is none of these. It’s shot through with cynicism, discomfort, and sexual desperation. But that makes its romantic resolution more powerful. Wilder indulges his characters’ worst traits–just watch how much Dino loves playing the Worst Dino Ever–yet he still allows them to grow.
Lesson: Never sanitize your characters to make them lovable. Without flaws, redemption doesn’t matter. Give them flaws so their redemption matters.
When the ending comes, it feels earned.
2. Say Anything (1989) – Cameron Crowe
The Film
Cameron Crowe’s directorial debut is remembered for one iconic image: John Cusack holding a boombox over his head. But Say Anything is so much richer than that.
It tells the story of Lloyd Dobler, an underachieving but emotionally intuitive teenager, who falls for Diane Court, a brilliant, introverted valedictorian.
Their relationship is challenged not by petty misunderstandings or external rom-com contrivances—but by Diane’s father, whose (subjective) emotional manipulation of Diane and (objective) white-collar crime threaten to separate the two essentially flawless lovers.
The Screenwriting Lesson: Romantic Comedy Doesn’t Need a “Bad Guy”
In Say Anything, there’s no rival love interest. No one cheats. No one lies for comedic effect. The conflict comes from values, communication, and emotional vulnerability. It’s romantic, funny, and sad—and it never feels forced or unrealistic. (Except maybe how two people could be so damn loveable.)
Compare this to modern rom-coms that rely on exaggerated antagonists: cartoonish exes, disapproving bosses, yadda, yadda, yadda. Crowe’s focus on emotional sincerity makes the story timeless.
Lesson: Emotional conflicts can be real stakes. A rom-com doesn’t need a cackling villain. It needs truth.
3. Starman (1984) – John Carpenter
The Film
Horror maestro John Carpenter threw a curveball with Starman, a sci-fi love story disguised as a road movie.
Jeff Bridges plays an alien who takes the form of a recently deceased Michigan man, Scott. He must convince Scott’s grieving, self-destructive widow (Karen Allen) to drive him to an interstellar rendezvous point in Arizona before the government captures and vivisects him.
There is horror, suspense, but surprisingly touching comedy as the alien learns how to be human and the widow learns to love again.
Let’s be honest: this movie makes me cry like a little bitch.
The Screenwriting Lesson: Genre Fusion Can Elevate Romance
Romantic comedies often rely solely on a quirky situationship to sustain interest. Starman embeds its love story within a sci-fi chase narrative, which heightens the stakes and keeps the pacing tight.
Perhaps more importantly, the alien’s literal alien-ness makes emotional growth visible. Every small act—learning to drive, mimicking language, understanding death—has metaphorical weight.
Lesson: When you have an interesting rom-com situation, but its execution inexplicably falls flat, consider adding a secondary genre—whether it’s mystery, fantasy, sci-fi, horror, what have you—to keep the momentum chugging alongside the emotional beats.
Genre fusion can highlight romance in new ways.
Compare this to modern rom-coms like [insert cheapo Netflix filler content here] which often struggle to generate narrative momentum because they rely on simple setups (he’s messy, she’s neat!) without deeper stakes. Even slightly racier setups such as Friends with Benefits ultimately fizzle out because the fucking title lets you predict the outcome (spoiler alert: they get together in the end).
4. What’s Up, Doc? (1972) – Peter Bogdanovich
The Film
Inspired by Bringing Up Baby, Bogdanovich’s What’s Up, Doc? is a screwball comedy featuring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’Neal in a series of misadventures involving four identical suitcases, mistaken identities, and a runaway romance.
Streisand’s Judy is a tornado of chaotic energy; O’Neal’s Howard is a meek academic. Their chemistry is electric, and the film’s pace is breakneck.
It’s not much on character development or believability, but it wears its cartoon heritage on its sleeve (look at the title, ffs). It’s silly and charming and a great reminder of Barbra Streisand’s force-of-nature charisma.
The Screenwriting Lesson: Screwball Speed Makes Dialogue Sparkle
Modern romantic comedies often rely on “relatable” banter, but What’s Up, Doc? shows that speed and rhythm can be even more effective. The dialogue flies fast, the jokes stack, and the comedy emerges from precise timing rather than self-aware monologues.
It doesn’t hurt to have a generational talent like Streisand, but it’s not necessarily everything. In fact, Ryan O’Neal works perfectly fine in the role, but he feels a bit replaceable.
Lesson: Don’t be afraid to write fast-paced, musical dialogue. Much like earlier films, particularly Howard Hawks romances such as His Girl Friday or Key Largo, romantic chemistry can emerge as much from rhythm, snappy remarks, and clever setups as from sentiment.
Today’s slow-burn rom-coms often linger on awkward silences and pauses. Yawn. Bogdanovich shows that romantic heat can in fact build through comedy timing.
5. Ninotchka (1939) – Ernst Lubitsch
The Film
A Soviet envoy (Greta Garbo) comes to Paris to retrieve three bumbling emissaries who have been incapable of negotiating the sale of jewelry confiscated from the aristocracy during the 1917 revolution. While there, she meets a charming capitalist (Melvyn Douglas) who tries to seduce her away from Communism with wit (and champagne).
Ninotchka is a political comedy, a fish-out-of-water romance, and one of the finest examples of the legendary “Lubitsch Touch”: sophisticated, subtle, and irresistibly light. However, not without its legitimate laughs; as Billy Wilder, co-writer of the film (of course he was), noted: a preview card read “so funny I peed in my girlfriend’s hand.”
The Screenwriting Lesson: Wit Is Seduction
Unlike modern rom-coms where characters often blurt out their feelings or over-explain their desires, Ninotchka is all about understatement. Every line drips with subtext. Jokes double as flirts. Banter doubles as philosophy.
Not least because quite a lot of racy stuff was forbidden under the Hays Code, but it’s no coincidence that many of the characters are Soviets who would have developed their own knack at outwitting censors.
Lubitsch trusts the audience to read between the lines, and in doing so, he makes every scene feel like a dance. In some sense, much as in Kiss Me, Stupid, quite a lot of ludicrously forward stuff can still come out of the cultural limitations on language and overt discussions of sex.
Lesson: Dialogue is foreplay.
Eww.
Sorry.
Let’s put that another way: let subtext drive the romance. If your characters say exactly what they mean, you’re doing it wrong.
Compare that to the blunt emotional exposition in many streaming rom-coms, where characters describe their childhood traumas in third-act monologues. (To wit: we don’t care why you’re an asshole; you’re still an asshole.) Ninotchka shows the power of restraint.
How These Classic Films Beat the Modern Formula
These five films may differ in tone, genre, and era, but they all share something modern rom-coms often lack: respect for the audience’s intelligence and emotional complexity.
Here’s what they teach us:
| Film | Key Lesson |
| Kiss Me, Stupid | Let your characters be flawed. Take the premise as far as you can and–only just–don’t go over the edge so you can still guarantee a romantic ending. |
| Say Anything | Villains seem passé when there are real emotional guttings like family dramas and separation trauma on order. |
| Starman | Use a genre spine to allow a timeless romance to build. |
| What’s Up, Doc? | Better chemistry through spot-on timing. Watch cartoons for inspiration. |
| Ninotchka | Say the dirty thing. Just say it in a way that the censors will be too dumb to understand. |