Not Your Typical RomCom

Romantic Comedies. We all know of at least one. Chances are, we all have one that we could watch over and over again. But, why? What makes romantic comedies so appealing? Why do so many people like them? The Incredible Jessica James is a romantic comedy, that is also an adult’s coming of age movie, but not your typical one. A typical romcom plays love as an almost insignificantly light hearted joke. While love is still joked about, it isn’t quite as light hearted in The Incredible Jessica James.
When people think of a rom com we typically think of one like: Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, 10 Things I Hate About You, or Pretty in Pink. The Incredible Jessica James doesn’t match up to those movies in a couple of ways. The Incredible Jessica James doesn’t completely shy around the politics of today’s society, it starts off light, but gradually becomes a little more serious, shows the struggles of dating when two people start out not completely over their exes, and is even relatable to some people whose parents have had a rough divorced. Jessica Jones was made to be more relatable than the idealistic, romantic comedy where they always end up together.
Politics; it is everywhere, so why shouldn’t we expect it in our movies? Jessica James is passionate about three things in this movie: her opinions (politics), theater, and honesty. Her political views are showcased in one particular scene: her sister’s baby shower. Her gift while thoughtful is obviously not what her sister wanted. Her gift didn’t conform to the stereotypical suburban living beliefs. You can tell Jessica doesn’t want to be home, is not having a good time, and wanted to make her niece or nephew something that might broaden their horizons and make them more tolerant in today’s world. Her sister starts to read a page of the book Jessica made out loud, and after deciding to stop one of her friends next to her decides to ask something along the lines of why would the baby need this. This prompted a response from Jessica about how it is never too early to start fighting the system. When asked what system Jessica can’t understand how these women don’t understand the society they grew up in that forced gender roles on them. She then proceeds to point out that it influenced them to play a game where they ate things that looked like poop out of baby diapers to try and guess what the food was. (side note: my aunt did this at one of her baby showers, DISGUSTING in every way) Her love for honesty and telling her opinion also feed how the intensity of her love life is.
When meeting men in this movie she is forthright in saying that she isn’t completely over her ex-boyfriend. It makes her go on a terrible tinder date to make him jealous. The surprise comes along in the form of a blind date who isn’t completely over his ex-wife. They start a sort of non committed relationship to help each other get over their exes and somewhere along the way, as most romance storylines go, something changes. Suddenly, Jessica is showing up at his house and getting blindsided. The movie then spirals into the main angst filled finding yourself story. The movie goes from love being this light hearted thing to your main characters realizing that, without knowing, they have gotten over their exes and want to be with each other. While this intensity in their romance is happening, it is further escalated by Jessica finally understanding that life will always be unsure and then finding out again that she has been given the opportunity of a lifetime. But where does it leave her and Boone, her new not boyfriend boyfriend?
Throughout this timeline and her love life, you come to understand that Jessica’s parents got divorced and it wasn’t nice. They have affected the way she interacts with people. To the point where she says, “Nothing works out, people let you down, and you should never trust anybody ever. I’ve known that since I was a kid.” Later, it helps her relate to one of the kids she teaches at a nonprofit. Yet, for so many people they don’t see how those things can and will affect you in mainstream movies. They can relate to the little girl just like Jessica can and it makes them want to root for the home team (i.e. Jessica).
All of these aspects come together to create the story known as The Incredible Jessica James. Without these things things this movie could have been like every other romantic comedy seen today. The effectiveness and increased likelihood that people will like and watch this movie is because it is relatable and sincere to how many people feel. I enjoyed this adult coming of age romantic comedy, but I am a hopeless romantic. What do you think?