Romantic comedies first proved their popularity as a film genre and have since crossed over into literature. The romantic-comedy genre pairs the finding-love themes of romance with the self-discovery that characterizes the genre once referred to as “chick lit,” which typically features the adventures of young women making major life changes. While the romance genre can tend toward the dramatic or sentimental, romantic comedy infuses humor that can range from the bawdy to the sophisticated, using that lens to explore deeper issues of identity, partnership, and loss.

It Happened One Night, a 1934 film directed by Frank Capra, is often considered the first romantic comedy, creating a template for those to follow. The film features appealing actors in a lively plot full of scenarios that encourage sexual attraction and foster a bond, even while their larger class differences pose an obstacle to their union. The 1989 film When Harry Met Sally…, written by Nora Ephron and directed by Rob Reiner, is named by TimeOut Magazine as the best example of the romantic comedy. The film, with its romantic leads played by comedians Meg Ryan and Billie Crystal, asks whether, in a heteronormative culture, men and women can ever really be friends.