Romcom analysis

The main image on the poster is of a male and female couple, which are traditionally the type featured in Romcoms; this immediately allows the audience to recognise that the film is going to follow the conventional storyline of two people in love. The black line in the middle of the page divides the male and female, which metaphorically suggests that they have barriers between them. This suggestion allows the audience to assume that the film will follow a storyline in which once character will overcome barriers to be with the other character. 

The female is wearing a glamorous red dress which has connotations of love and passion. Red is the predominant colour associated with love, which acts as a genre signifier, allowing the audience to understand more about the film. The male is directing his eye line towards the female and has a look of admiration on his face, suggesting that he desires. The female is making direct eye contact with the audience, however, has a playful smile which suggest that she is aware that the man is after her.  Both characters are leaning in to each other which represents their mutual attraction.

The biggest genre signifier on the page is the two red love hearts. Both characters are holding a heart each, which represents their love for each other. The male is holding his heart down in his private areas, which summarises the stereotype that all men are after sex. This again reinforces the idea that the man is into the woman.

The colour scheme of the poster is white and red: red is a stereotypical colour of love, and commonly associated with passion, where as white represents innocence. This could therefore suggest that the film will be a mixture of an innocent character falling in love. The background is plain white, which allows the focus to be kept on the couple and the relationship between them, which is what the film is about. Red also appears predominantly around the male and female, which again simply reinforces the fact that the film is about two people in love.

The actors names at the top of the page acts as audience appeal, drawing them in. The actors are also associated with films such as: 27 dresses and P.S I love you; this would therefore entice the audience into watching the film if they have a previous liking for romcoms/ romances. The boldness of the surnames allows them to be noticed easily, which is evidently one of the main things that draws the audience in.

The font of the title ‘The ugly truth’ is in a simple thin font, suggesting that the film is light hearted and not too serious. The boldness of the word ‘ugly’ highlights it, indicating that there will be some form of hurdle/ something bad that will happen in the relationship. 

The main image is of a woman and a man, which again, is the stereotypical couple that are featured in a romcom, however, poster takes a less traditional view on the concept of proposing as it features the woman holding the ring. This automatically entices the audience as the conventions are flipped which leaves you questioning what the film is about. The male’s facial expression suggests that is he scared/apprehensive which, again, isn’t an emotion that we associate with marriage and proposal. The position of his body also suggests that perhaps he isn’t 100% agreeing to the marriage, due to the fact that he is leaning away from her, as though he is trying to escape.

Both characters are making direct address with the audience, which works well at enticing us in. The female has a smug/ mysterious look on her face, which indicates that she is up to something. The unconventional emotions that are associated with the characters in the main image leaves the audience wanting to watch the film in order to find out what the storyline is.

Both characters are in formal clothing which suggest that this may revolve around an office type relationship. An office relationship is a conventional component of a romcom: it is used as a typical place for two characters to meet/fall in love. On another level, the formalness of the clothing could symbolise how their relationship is unnatural. The female, nevertheless, looks glamorous, which is another convention of a romcom.

The colour scheme of the poster is again, red and white, which appears to be a convention with romcoms. Just like the first poster, the red has connotations of love and passion, whilst the white suggests innocence and purity. The white background also allows the audience to focus on the couple, whom again, are the most important things.

One of the biggest genre signifiers on the page is the wedding ring; this automatically indicates to the audience that the film is going to contain a form of romance, due to it being a symbol that everyone is aware of. This therefore begins to build expectations in the audience’s mind of some of the themes that will occur in the film.

The main title is in a more visible place than the previous poster, due to the name itself being a genre signifier; the noun ‘proposal’ connotes weddings and love. The fact that it is in a large red font makes it one of the first things that the audience notices. The colour of the font again suggests romance.

There is a short tag line which gives you an insight as to what the film is going to be about “Here comes the bribe”. This is a play on words and mocks the traditional ‘here comes the bride’ saying which adds an element of comedy. The noun ‘bribe’ also allows the reader to make links with the characters facial expressions, suggesting that she is persuading the man into marrying her.

Lastly, the actors names are featured at the top of the page, which entices the audience, due to the fact that they are established actors. The font of their names is very simple and thin, similar to the previous poster, which again indicates that it is going to be a film not to be taken too seriously. The surnames are in red, once again connoting love and romance. The fact that both surnames are red can indicate that there is some form of loving relationship between the two.