Adapting popular books into a film or series is by no means a new trend.
From a studio standpoint, the reasons for taking a story from the page to the screen are clear. Book adaptations tend to already have an established fan base, there is rich source material to draw from and book adaptations are often easier to market to a wider audience. Financially, it’s a solid move since popular books tend to generate films with at least a somewhat guaranteed success.
A great example of this is “The Hunger Games,” adapted from Suzanne Collins’ book of the same name. Though the book series was already well established in the young adult book space, the 2012 film skyrocketed that popularity and grossed $694,394,724 worldwide after its box office debut.
And, as a fan, hearing your favorite book is being adapted for the screen can be exciting news. Films and shows offer a whole new way for the worlds and characters readers love to come to life. While the saying “the book is always better than the movie” is still something fans typically keep in mind while watching the new release of a treasured book, the films offer the chance to see a loved story in a new way.
Lately, these adaptations have been seen across all genres. Yet, there is no genre getting quite as many adaptations as romance. While romance books have almost always been a popular choice for adaptations, with classic romance novels by Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters having very popular films, in recent years it has felt like a majority of the rom-coms that come out are based on books.
Now I love a good rom-com no matter where it comes from, but with the constant onslaught of adapted content coming to the romance genre, there seems to be little room for good, original stories.
When I think of what is currently popular in the romantic comedy genre, there are many movies and series that come to mind: “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” “Regretting You,” and the “Culpables” series, starting with “Culpa Mía.”. What’s the common factor between all of these films? They are just a few of the films and movies in recent discussion adapted from other popular books.
Along with these films there are just as many book adaptations that are in the works without official release dates. Look no further than Emily Henry, a popular author in the romance genre. Currently, Henry is rumored to have five adaptations in the works across different studios and streaming platforms. While her upcoming film “People We Meet on Vacation” is currently the most talked about, Henry’s books such as “Book Lovers” and “Happy Place” are said to have future adaptations.
While the hype around these films and others like them can often be very real, and in most cases not necessarily the worst thing, it only further highlights how little original cinematic romance has come out lately. Of all the new romance movies and shows I’ve watched this past year, of which there have been many, I would argue that only half of them were original stories. And of those original stories, an even smaller fraction of them were actually good instead of the hallmark-esque, cliche ridden love stories we’ve gotten used to. I personally loved “Picture This,” which released on Amazon earlier this year in March. Starring Simone Ashley and Hero Fiennes Tiffin, the film felt like a fun and refreshing take on romance and what we value in our lives.
As a reader, it’s both a terrifying and thrilling experience to see a book you loved turned into a movie. That’s always been the case when adapting something so loved. What I never expected was to have that same feeling of excitement mixed with dread about an original rom-com.
I know original stories in rom-coms are possible. The romance movies of the 1990s and 2000s have proven that time and time again with films like “Sleepless in Seattle” and “27 Dresses” cementing themselves as rom-com classics in my mind. But now, more often than not, it seems that original romance screenwriting may be a lost art.
Jacobs alum Daniel Lelchuk has released his collaboration with composer Aidan Vass.
It feels like the romance genre in particular relies too heavily on the help of already established books to get them good stories. Not only does this lead to the rom-com market feeling oversaturated with reused content, but it takes some of the fun and surprise out of watching a love story play out on screen. I’ve read the book before. I know every twist and turn in the story. It’s hard to get swept up in the magic of it all if that magic has already been played out in the book sitting on your bookshelf.
I have always loved rom-coms. I will take a cozy love story over a high-speed action movie any day. But if the choice in new rom-coms is between possibly sacrificing my favorite book to get it adapted on screen or risking my sanity for another overly cliche romance, I don’t think I can tell you which I would pick.