Screwball vs Romantic Comedy

"Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind" and "His girl friday" are two very similar movies. Although both movies are classified under two different genres, both genres are very much alike. After doing some research it seems to me that Screwball comedy has turned into romantic comedy; todays romantic comedies are a modern version of screwball films. The most popular time of Screwball movies was in the 1930's to the 1940's. Romantic comedies have taken off over the past couple decades almost replacing Screwball comedies altogether. But despite their alikeness they also have their own unique style and ways.

"His girl friday", a screwball film from the 1930's is one of the most well known films of this genre. It used many typical plot elements including marriage. The dominant woman, HIldy, in this film knew from the beginning of the movie, although hiding the fact that she was not going to marry Bruce she was going to marry Walter, her ex. Also the fast paced motion and talking in this film was a hint that this was more of a screwball rather than a romantic comedy. There tended to be more quick staccato like conversations rather than conversations that would consume a fair portion of films. A part of this film was over Earl Williams, a man who escaped from prison. It is an incompetent section of the film which Screwball comedies are apt to use.

"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", a recently released romantic comedy was directed by Michel Gondry. As you can tell from the name of the genre this movie is a romance with humurous segments throught the film. The typical plot of a romantic comedy generally involves two people, in this case, and most, a man and a woman. Joel and Clementine; the focus of this story, had been dating for awhile but started getting into silly little arguments Both went and had there memories erased by a machine, and as they traveled through Joel's mind he remembered all the good times they had, and missed them. He didn't want to forget Clementine so at the end of the film both ended up together, may not be for always though. These comedies aren't known for always ending happily ever after, just leaving the viewer reassured that things ended well. Also these films are known for how a couple if were seperated would meet again someday. In this film it is obvious that they met again a few times, because they had their memories erased and reencountered one another.

Both of these films have similar and exclusive elements. Both were very well made movies and very enjoyable to watch. These two films are both considered "sexy" films. They portray sexiness as an important and visual thing, especially on the womens part, but very rarely does sex appear on screen. It is considered a big deal in these types of films. Also both films are based around a couple who are in love. Whether the couple from the beginning were going through a rocky time, trying to achieve there quest for love. Or on the other hand they may be destined for each other from the start and life together for them was perfect from the start, and they live happily ever after, more of a romantic comedy aspect more typical than the screwball comedies.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screwball_comedy
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romantic_comedy