The last day of the month of Love concludes with the final part of my Romcomnaissance Series. Here I dive into one of my own personal favourite rom-com tropes, The Undercover Lover. Someone is pretending to be someone they’re not. Sometimes it starts off accidentally in a mistaken identity way, other times, it's done on purpose. Is it love by deception or just a funny way to drive the plot along? The key? It all really depends on how charismatic the lead is.
1. While You Were Sleeping: Sandra Bullock’s offhanded joke about being Peter Gallagher's fiancee spirals out of control after she saves him from being hit by a train. She falls in love with his family… and then his brother. Is it really romantic tho? Thankfully Sandra was sweet enough to pull this off without it getting too weird.
2. Only You: Marissa Tomei traipses around Italy hoping to find her soul mate from a name she found out from a ouija board game as an eleven year old. Robert Downy Jr bumps into her in Rome and says that dude is him and she swoons. But when he reveals he is not the name from the Ouija board hijinks ensue. What stops it from being too creepy? He reveals the deception before sleeping with her and she justly runs the hell away from him.
3. Mrs Winterbourne: Ricky Lake is mistaken for the wife of Brendan Fraser's deceased twin brother after getting in a train wreck. She is taken in by his rich family, and softens their cold rich hearts enough that they all confess to a murder none of them did, just to protect her. Does Ricky deserve jail for lying? No, she is pregnant and broke and just wants to provide a safe home for her child.
4. Ever After: One of the best Cinderella adaptations kicks off with Drew Barrymore pretending to be an upper class lady to save her friend from slavery. She pisses off the prince, but lucky for her, he’s into it. Creep factor zero in this film with bonus Leonardo Da Vinci cameoing as the fairy god mother (though wtf is that thumbnail below tbh).
5. Coming to America: The Crown Prince of Zamunda moves to The Bronx to cosplay as a Poor to find the woman of his dreams. How bad is the lying? Akeem was not too deceptive, since his motives were to find someone who loved him for him and not his crown, also it’s easier when someone is playing poor rather than the other way around.
Whats your favourite Romance/Romcom tropes ONTD? Some of my other favourites are The Makeover (seen in She’s All That, Miss Congeniality, A Walk to Remember), The Bet/Deal (10 Things I Hate About You, Penelope, Cruel Intentions), and Fuckboy wants to settle down (Crazy Stupid Love, Down with Love, 50 First Dates).
Seeing as how this is the last part of my Romcomnaissance ONTD Original Series, I would like to wish romance and happiness for you all. Thanks for reading and commenting in my series. It's been a fun month of discussion.
Sources: My Romcom addicted brain and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5