ANALYSING ROMANTIC COMEDY TRAILERS - 'THE KISSING BOOTH'

The fifth trailer I am going to be looking at to see how genre is presented and where it is apparent is from the film 'THE KISSING BOOTH'. 

THE THEATRICAL TRAILER:

 

The trailer of 'The Kissing Booth' uses many conventions that are usual for the romantic comedy genre. It teases the audience by not showing the full story, but shows the overall atmosphere of the film. It uses techniques such as quick edits of comedy and humour, the narrative structure, music and sound, visual effects and romantic and emotional elements. It appeals to audiences by showing a common romantic comedy trope, forbidden love. The trailer mixes with the romantic appeal, her falling for Noah, and her conflict and tension with Lee, to show the different elements of romantic comedies. The trailer for 'The Kissing Booth' is a very conventional trailer for romantic comedies as it follows a common trope, and has many conventions of the trailer I have previously looked at. 

Firstly, the trailer shows the narrative structure, without giving too much away. because romantic comedies are usually easy to predict the ending, 'The Kissing Booth' takes a different approach by making the audience question if she will choose Noah or Lee. The trailer conveys her inner conflict when trying to make this decision, but doesn't reveal her ultimate decision. 'The Kissing Booth' is a coming of age romantic comedy where Elle is a relatable high school student that is navigating friendship and romance, very common for romantic comedies. The trailer also introduces the forbidden love trope which creates the drama and tension because she cannot 'break the rules' of her friendship. The trailer introduces the set of rules early on to establish their importance, to highlight the affect that would have on their friendship. They also have banter over Elle 'wanting to break the rules' which shows it was always a joke to Elle, and she would never cross that line. this is very common in rom-coms as forbidden love is a usual trope. The trailer also shows brief scenes of Lee questioning their relationship, foreshadowing the arguments and fights that are bound to happen, interesting the audience further. 

Humour and tone also plays a big part in romantic comedy trailers as it is a big part of the genre. The trailer for 'The Kissing Booth' uses many quick cuts of humorous and witty dialogue to show the strength of Elle and Lees's friendship, but then their interactions drastically change, to highlight the strain her and noah's relationship will have on their friendship. 

Music and sound is also important in establishing genre. it is used to show the romantic, light atmosphere of romantic comedies. This trailer uses upbeat, lively songs that show the film's fun and exciting energy, but also slow, sad and romantic music to show the difficulty of the situation.  Visually, 'The Kissing Booth' also follows generic romantic comedy elements. Bright, colourful visuals and the sunny, bright setting contributes to the film's romantic atmosphere.  

In conclusion, the trailer for 'The Kissing Booth' uses many conventions from the romantic comedy genre like forbidden love, friendship and personal growth.