Romantic comedy

[1] Comedies, rooted in the fertility rites and satyr plays of ancient Greece, have often incorporated sexual or social elements.

[7] While the melodramas of the Romantic period had little to do with comedy, they were hybrids incorporating elements of domestic and sentimental tragedies, pantomime "with an emphasis on gesture, on the body, and the thrill of the chase," and other genres of expression such as songs and folk tales.

[8] In the 20th century, as Hollywood grew, the romantic comedy in America mirrored other aspects of society in its rapid changes, developing many sub-genres through the decades.

Some romantic comedies have adopted special circumstances for the main characters, as in Warm Bodies where the protagonist is a zombie who falls in love with a human girl after eating her boyfriend.

[12] These films contain characters who possess qualities that diverge from the gender role that society has imposed upon them, as seen in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, in which the male protagonist is especially in touch with his emotions.

It can also be seen in Made of Honor, in which the female bridesmaids are shown in a negative and somewhat masculine light in order to advance the likability of the male lead.

[13] Other remakes of romantic comedies involve similar elements, but they explore more adult themes such as marriage, responsibility, or even disability.

This Is 40 chronicles the mid-life crisis of a couple entering their 40s, and Knocked Up addresses unintended pregnancy and the ensuing assuming of responsibility.