ANALYSING ROMANTIC COMEDY TRAILERS - 'BRIDE WARS'

The first trailer I am going to be looking at to see how genre is presented and where it is apparent is from the film 'BRIDE WARS'. 

THE THEATRICAL TRAILER: 

The trailer of 'Bride Wars' clearly embodies the romantic comedy genre by using conventions such as tone, narrative structure, music and visual effects. This gives the audience a sense of the romantic comedy genre by showing themes such as marriage, proposals and comedic conflict. 

Firstly, the narrative and plot structure shown in the trailer is a clear trope of romantic comedies. It quickly establishes the central conflict, two best friends turning into rivals after a wedding mix up. This clearly aligns with the rom-com genre as relationships are tested and ultimately resolved. the trailer encapsulates this by showing the friendship before it is tested, then the 'one mistake' that causes the tension and then follows this by showing the humorous acts the friends do to each other to ruin each others weddings. In romantic comedies the conflict is usually solved in the end which the trailer does not show. this leaves the audience wondering how they will resolve it and want to watch the film. This is common in trailers for romantic comedies. 

The music and sound also plays a role in this particular trailer. For example the upbeat, playful music shows the light hearted structure of romcoms. the music also sounds like wedding bells, reinforcing the theme of marriage which is a usual romantic comedy trope. There are also exaggerated sound effects to emphasise key moments to make the humour more effective. This is usual in romantic comedy trailers as they are supposed to be funny and romantic. 

Visually this trailer uses bright, vibrant colours like pastels and whites to emphasise the romantic, dreaming atmosphere of romantic comedies. Whilst the main conflict revolves around friendship, there are glimpses of romantic relationships, for example engagements and weddings to remind the viewers of the deeper romantic plot. There is also 'star power' used. for example there are titles in the trailer saying 'Kate hudson' and 'Anne Hathaway'. These actresses are both known for romantic comedies, further signalling the genre to the audience. 

In conclusion, this trailer uses conventions such as narrative and plot structure, music and sound effects, visual aspects and star power to reveal the genre to the audience. Is is a very traditional romantic comedy trailer to target their audience of romantic comedy lovers.