Better Than the Movies

The novel’s title highlights the allusions the story makes to the cinematic romantic comedy genre that became seminal in the 1980s and 1990s. Each chapter begins with a quote from a classic romantic comedy, which guides and frames the events in the chapter. Some of these movies are: 10 Things I Hate About You, Pretty Woman, The Sandlot, and Notting Hill. At other moments, Liz mentions her favorite movies such as When Harry Met Sally, Bridget Jones’s Diary, and You’ve Got Mail. She and Wesley bond when she discovers he is familiar with rom-coms and they watch Miss Congeniality together. The cover of the novel depicts Liz and Wes reenacting iconic rom-com scenes like the stereo scene from Say Anything, where John Cusack’s character appears at the window of Ione Skye’s character with a boom box held above his head, or the dance lift in Dirty Dancing, where Patrick Swayze’s character lifts Jennifer Grey’s character above his head after teaching her to dance. Liz and Wes are also shown kissing in the rain, another popular rom-com trope.

The movies referenced in the novel are the molds from which more modern rom-coms are made. One of the key tropes featured in these rom-coms is the “meet-cute” in which the heroine meets her perfect hero in a humorous and endearing way. Other tropes include the grand gesture, fate orchestrating true love, and instant romantic compatibility. Wes and Liz unknowingly enact other popular tropes such as the fake relationship, “enemies-to-lovers,” and “the boy next door.” The novel also includes “The Soundtrack of Wes and Liz” after the Epilogue, which lists the music referenced at memorable romantic scenes in the story. As Liz knows, rom-com soundtracks are crucial to the movie’s impact, adding more emotion to the dialogue and acting. Thus, while the novel follows the “rules” of a standard rom-com, it is also playfully self-aware.