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52-521: The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy is a 2000 American romantic comedy drama film written and directed by Greg Berlanti . It follows the lives of a group of gay friends in West Hollywood , centered on a restaurant owned by the fatherly Jack ( John Mahoney ) and the softball team he sponsors. The friends rely on each other for friendship and support as they search for love, deal with loss, and discover themselves. The Broken Hearts Club

104-707: A cameo from Kerr Smith , who knew Berlanti as the showrunner on Dawson's Creek and enjoyed the script so much he asked to be a part of the film. Jennifer Coolidge was cast as the hairdresser Betty, to whom all the guys, with the exception of Howie, go for hair therapy. Filming began in October 1999 and took place over the course of thirteen days on a $ 1 million budget. The movie was filmed in Los Angeles and West Hollywood , while restaurant exteriors and interiors were shot in Long Beach . The hardware store scene

156-487: A film that sells well in limited release will then "go wide". Since 1994, a wide release in the United States and Canada has been defined by Nielsen EDI as a film released in more than 600 theaters. The practice emerged as a successful marketing strategy in the 1970s, and became increasingly common in subsequent decades, in parallel with the expansion of the number of screens available at multiplex cinemas . With

208-429: A heavy national advertising campaign. The following month, Jaws was released in a similar way on 409 screens, expanding to nearly 1,000 by mid-August in conjunction with nationwide advertising. The modest success of Breakout and the blockbuster success of Jaws led other distributors to follow suit with other mass-market films. In December 1980, Any Which Way You Can beat the record set by Breakout , opening in

260-409: A record 1,541 theaters. The growth in the number and size of multiplexes since the 1980s, increasing the availability of screens with more flexible scheduling, facilitated this strategy and, together with the reduction in the number of movie palaces , saw an end to the roadshow release strategy. In 1984, Beverly Hills Cop was the first film playing simultaneously on more than 2,000 screens in

312-474: A region allowed for the effective use of costly local TV and radio spots. Levine was able to generate over $ 2 million in US box office theatrical rentals with runs averaging only ten days per screen. Warner Bros. then paid him a $ 300,000 advance to secure the distribution rights to Hercules . Released the following summer with over 600 prints (175 of these played simultaneously in the greater New York City area) with

364-809: A sense of awkwardness between the two potential partners by depicting an initial clash of personalities or beliefs, an embarrassing situation, or by introducing a comical misunderstanding or mistaken identity situation. Sometimes, the term is used without a hyphen (a "meet cute"), or as a verb ("to meet cute"). Roger Ebert describes the "concept of a Meet Cute" as "when boy meets girl in a cute way." As an example, he cites "The Meet Cute in Lost and Found [which] has Jackson and Segal running their cars into each other in Switzerland. Once recovered, they Meet Cute again when they run into each other while on skis. Eventually, they fall in love." In many romantic comedies,

416-428: A small set of prints then circulating as a " roadshow " among cinemas regionally over the course of a few months. The number of prints in circulation would be increased only to accommodate demand for highly popular features, which might be "held over" beyond their originally scheduled run. Many of the most successful major releases during this period were handled this way. In 1944, MGM opened An American Romance in

468-444: Is a film playing at the same time at cinemas in most markets across a country. This is in contrast to the formerly common practice of a roadshow theatrical release in which a film opens at a few cinemas in key cities before circulating among cinemas around a country, or a limited release in which a film is booked at fewer cinemas (such as " art house " venues) in larger cities in anticipation of lesser commercial appeal. In some cases,

520-536: Is closer to tragicomedy ." It was not until the development of the literary tradition of romantic love in the western European medieval period, though, that "romance" came to refer to "romantic love" situations. They were previously referred to as the heroic adventures of medieval Romance . Those adventures traditionally focused on a knight's feats on behalf of a lady, so the modern themes of love were quickly woven into them, as in Chrétien de Troyes 's Lancelot,

572-411: Is known for overthinking every situation; Patrick, the cynic of the group; and Taylor, who has just broken up with his long-term boyfriend. Guiding them is restaurant owner Jack, who provides them with advice and jobs for some of them who work part-time as servers at his restaurant. But when tragedy strikes, and the group's newest member, 23-year-old Kevin, attempts to fit in, their friendships are put to

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624-518: The film ends on a happy note . Even though it is implied that they live happily ever after, it does not always state what that happy ending will be. The couple does not necessarily get married for it to be a "happily ever after". The conclusion of a romantic comedy is meant to affirm the primary importance of the love relationship in the protagonists' lives, even if they physically separate in the end (e.g., Shakespeare in Love , Roman Holiday ). Most of

676-415: The third Matrix film , The Matrix Revolutions , simultaneously in 108 territories on November 5, 2003, at 1400 Greenwich Mean Time on around 18,000 screens with 10,013 prints overseas and in 3,502 theaters in the United States and Canada. Shrek 2 became the first film to open in over 4,000 theaters in the United States and Canada in 2004. The Lion King set the record for the widest opening in

728-502: The Band , directed by William Friedkin , although Ebert and LaSalle both felt that The Broken Hearts Club was generally more upbeat and optimistic. Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly exclaimed that the film shows "how far homosexual characters have come since The Boys in the Band , sad AIDS dramas, and cute identity peekaboo sitcoms". Longino, however, commented that " Broken Hearts doesn't break much new ground. Actually, The Boys in

780-504: The Band did the groundbreaking 30 years ago." Romantic comedy The basic plot of a romantic comedy is that two characters meet , part ways due to an argument or other obstacle, then ultimately, realize their love for one another and reunite. Sometimes the two leads meet and become involved initially, then must confront challenges to their union. Sometimes they are hesitant to become romantically involved because they believe they do not like each other. This could be because one of

832-524: The Cincinnati area in multiple theaters but had negative results. In 1946, David O. Selznick 's Duel in the Sun was given a "blitz" release, where it was released simultaneously in a number of theaters in an area or city — as many as 54 theaters in one area at the same time. The "blitz" system had been used "for some years" prior to 1947 in Los Angeles, due to that city's geographic sprawl. Advantages of

884-556: The Knight of the Cart . The contemporary romantic comedy genre was shaped by 18th-century Restoration comedy and 19th-century romantic melodrama . Restoration comedies were typically comedies of manners that relied on knowledge of the complex social rules of high society, particularly related to navigating the marriage-market, an inherent feature of the plot in many of these plays, such as William Wycherley 's The Country Wife . While

936-684: The Rocky Mountain area. United Artists opened Black Magic in 400 theaters nationwide and Columbia Pictures planned to release Anna Lucasta in 300 theaters nationwide. In 1952, Terry Turner of RKO, who ran the marketing campaign for Mighty Joe Young , used saturation booking for a reissue of King Kong (1933) and then expanded this concept with Warner Bros. ' The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), planning to have most of its bookings in its first two months, opening in New York and Los Angeles before expanding to 1,422 theaters within

988-576: The United States and Canada and 838 prints in 18 other countries. The same month, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones opened in 3,161 theaters in the United States and Canada, and in 73 other countries on 5,854 screens. In 2003, 20th Century Fox released X2 , the second installment of the X-Men film series , in 3,741 theaters in the United States and Canada, and in 93 markets on 7,316 screens overseas. Later that year, Warner Bros. released

1040-404: The United States and Canada had reached 1,888 engagements with 37% of the films' grosses coming from their opening week. By 2000, 22 films were released on more than 3,000 screens in the year, while the average widest point of release had increased to 2,228. By 2002, opening globally on the same day became more commonplace, with Spider-Man being released on 7,500 screens at 3,615 theaters in

1092-401: The United States and Canada, being released in 4,725 theaters in 2019 before expanding two weeks later to 4,802 theaters. In 2019, 120 films released in the United States and Canada played on 2,000 theaters or more. Since 1994, a wide release in the United States and Canada has been defined by EDI as a film released in more than 600 theaters. In 1996, Variety considered a wide release as

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1144-494: The United States and Canada, in its third weekend in December. In 1990, 13 films were shown on 2,000 screens simultaneously, and in 1993 the number had almost doubled to 24. In 1993, 145 films (41% of films released) received a wide release in the United States and Canada with an average widest point of release of 1,493 engagements with 29% of the films' grosses coming from their opening week. In May 1996, Mission: Impossible

1196-496: The United States, bringing its worldwide gross to $ 2,019,121. The movie review website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 64% approval rating, based on 28 reviews, with an average score of 6.03/10. The site's consensus states that the film "often feels like an amalgam of 70s sitcoms – though a hunky lead and a sweet central romance provide soapy delights". According to Metacritic , the film has scored 51% based on 17 reviews, indicating mixed or average reviews. Film critic Roger Ebert gave

1248-514: The assistance of Warner's nationwide network of print exchanges, the film secured $ 4.7 million in rentals. In 1974, Tom Laughlin gave The Trial of Billy Jack , a sequel to his independently distributed Billy Jack , one of the widest releases to date, opening in 1,200 theatres in the United States on November 13. The following year, Breakout was the first major studio film to go into wide release in its opening week, with Columbia Pictures distributing 1,325 prints nationwide, combined with

1300-479: The casting of John Mahoney and Timothy Olyphant . Dean Cain took a role against the wishes of his agents, who had cautioned him against playing a gay character. Billy Porter , who was the least known of the actors cast at the time, won the role of Taylor when he "[imbued] the character with heart and something real" in his audition. The film also stars Nia Long , Mary McCormack and Justin Theroux . It features

1352-471: The characters already has a partner or because of social pressures. However, the screenwriters leave clues that suggest that the characters are attracted to each other and that they would be a good love match. The characters often split or seek time apart in order to sort out their emotions or deal with external obstacles to being together, which they eventually overcome. While the two protagonists are separated, one or both of them usually realizes that they love

1404-717: The decades. We can see this through the screwball comedy in response to the censorship of the Hays Code in the 1920s–1930s, the career woman comedy (such as George Stevens' Woman of the Year , starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy ) post-WWII, and the sex comedy made popular by Rock Hudson and Doris Day in the 1950s–1960s. Over the years, romantic comedies have slowly been becoming more popular to both men and women. They have begun to spread out of their conventional and traditional structure into other territory, and to explore more complex topics. These films still follow

1456-468: The fact that these films are still romantic comedies. One of the conventions of romantic comedy films is the entertainment factor in a contrived encounter of two potential romantic partners in unusual or comic circumstances, which film critics such as Roger Ebert or the Associated Press's Christy Lemire have called a " meet-cute " situation. During a "meet-cute", scriptwriters often create

1508-526: The film as "reminiscent of those classic films that explored the complex dynamics of friendship", calling it "a heartwarming, glorious movie for anyone who has ever had a friend – or a family." Lisa Schwarzbaum from Entertainment Weekly called it "a majority oriented movie that assumes sophisticated familiarity with a sexual minority". Jami Bernard from Daily News commented "It's the first mainstream gay movie that feels totally comfortable in its shoes". Desmond Ryan from Philadelphia Inquirer described

1560-478: The film as having an "undemanding and reassuring amiability that made it a crowd-pleaser at Sundance." On the other hand, Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle felt the characters were "boring" and "uninteresting". Bob Longino of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution summarized the movie as "sometimes funny, sometimes a yawn". The film was often compared to the 1970s film The Boys in

1612-457: The film made $ 153,468 as it reached twenty-eight screens and the week later, it grossed $ 175,553 as it reached fifty-six. In its eighth week of release, The Broken Hearts Club played at sixty-two theaters. The film's domestic gross totaled $ 1,746,585 after twelve weeks of release. The movie was released in a number of countries in 2001 and played at various gay and lesbian film festivals worldwide. The Broken Hearts Club grossed $ 272,536 outside of

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1664-498: The film three stars out of four, praising the film's positivity and "the ordinariness of its characters and what they talk about." Ebert noted that "instead of angst, Freudian analysis, despair and self-hate, the new generation sounds like the cast of a sitcom, trading laugh lines and fuzzy truisms." CNN 's Paul Clinton also lauded The Broken Hearts Club for focusing on "the universal themes of romance, acceptance and family", as opposed to AIDS , coming out , and sex . Clinton viewed

1716-488: The film's soundtrack. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 29, 2000. It received a limited release on September 29, 2000, followed by a wide release on October 20, 2000. The Broken Hearts Club was released on Region 1 DVD by Sony Pictures on March 6, 2001 and on Region 2 DVD. In its opening weekend, showing at seven theaters, the film made $ 109,694. Two weeks later,

1768-555: The first week. Joseph E. Levine , a distributor/exhibitor based in Boston who had worked on the "blitz" release of Duel in the Sun , hired Turner and adopted a similar approach on the 1958 US release of the Italian film Attila , quickly moving 90 prints through regional distribution hubs, renting them to mostly low-end theaters where he could book short runs with favorable box office terms. Booking dense concentrations of venues in

1820-436: The follies and misunderstandings of young lovers, in a light‐hearted and happily concluded manner which usually avoids serious satire". This reference states that the "best‐known examples are Shakespeare's comedies of the late 1590s, A Midsummer Night's Dream , Twelfth Night , and As You Like It being the most purely romantic, while Much Ado About Nothing approaches the comedy of manners and The Merchant of Venice

1872-735: The gender role that society has imposed upon them, as seen in Forgetting Sarah Marshall , in which the male protagonist is especially in touch with his emotions. It can also be seen in Made of Honor , in which the female bridesmaids are shown in a negative and somewhat masculine light in order to advance the likability of the male lead. Other remakes of romantic comedies involve similar elements, but they explore more adult themes such as marriage, responsibility, or even disability. Two films by Judd Apatow , This Is 40 and Knocked Up , deal with these issues. This Is 40 chronicles

1924-400: The lives of a group of gay friends in West Hollywood . Among the group is Dennis, a photographer who often holds the group together; Cole, a handsome, charismatic actor who — often unwittingly — ends up with other people's boyfriends; Benji, the youngest member of the group who has a penchant for gym-bodied men and who finds himself going through some bad times; Howie, a psychology student who

1976-567: The melodramas of the Romantic period had little to do with comedy, they were hybrids incorporating elements of domestic and sentimental tragedies, pantomime "with an emphasis on gesture, on the body, and the thrill of the chase," and other genres of expression such as songs and folk tales. In the 20th century, as Hollywood grew, the romantic comedy in America mirrored other aspects of society in its rapid changes, developing many sub-genres through

2028-429: The mid-life crisis of a couple entering their 40s, and Knocked Up addresses unintended pregnancy and the ensuing assuming of responsibility. Silver Linings Playbook deals with mental illness and the courage to start a new relationship. All of these go against the stereotype of what romantic comedy has become as a genre. Yet, the genre of romantic comedy is simply a structure, and all of these elements do not negate

2080-427: The new release approach included economies of scale on advertising costs and the fact that "it allows for the old circus technique of 'get out of town before they find out how lousy you are.'" The following year, MGM used a "splash" approach on The Hucksters , opening in 350 theaters before expanding to 1,000 theaters a week later. By 1949, most film companies had started to move to multiple regional openings on

2132-436: The other person. Then, one character makes some extravagant effort (sometimes called a grand gesture ) to find the other character and declare their love. However, this is not always the case; sometimes, there is a coincidental encounter where the two characters meet again. Alternatively, one character plans a romantic gesture to show that they still care. Then, with some comic friction, they declare their love for each other, and

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2184-528: The other zombies and even starts to cure them. With the zombie cure, the two main characters can now be together since they do not have a barrier between them anymore. Another strange set of circumstances is in Zack and Miri Make a Porno where the two protagonists are building a relationship while trying to make a pornographic film together. Both these films take the typical story arc and then add strange circumstances to add originality. Other romantic comedies flip

2236-414: The potential couple comprises polar opposites, two people of different temperaments, situations, social statuses, or all three ( It Happened One Night ), who would not meet or talk under normal circumstances, and the meet cute's contrived situation provides the opportunity for these two people to meet. Wide release In the motion picture industry , a wide release (short for nationwide release )

2288-721: The same day and date in limited areas, known as "saturation booking". Paramount Pictures had it as a long-established policy including on Streets of Laredo and El Paso . RKO opened Mighty Joe Young on 358 theaters in New England and upstate New York and Roseanna McCoy in four states. 20th Century Fox opened It Happens Every Spring and Sand in 300 theaters within a week. Universal Pictures tested it for The Life of Riley and then released Calamity Jane and Sam Bass via 600 dates in Texas and Oklahoma. Warner Bros. opened Colorado Territory in 250 theaters in

2340-469: The standard conventions of the romantic comedy genre. In films like 500 Days of Summer , the two main interests do not end up together, leaving the protagonist somewhat distraught. Other films, like Adam, have the two main interests end up separated but still content and pursuing other goals and love interests. Some romantic comedies use reversal of gender roles to add comedic effect. These films contain characters who possess qualities that diverge from

2392-460: The switch to digital formats – lowering the added cost of wide release and increasing the opportunity for piracy – "opening wide" has become the default release strategy for big-budget mainstream films, sometimes expanding to include closely spaced wide releases in various countries, or even simultaneous world -wide release. Prior to the 1980s, most feature films initially opened in major cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Paris, and London, with

2444-472: The test. The Broken Hearts Club was written by Greg Berlanti about his own circle of friends at the time; the Howie/Marshall storyline is semi-autobiographical to a relationship Berlanti once had. The film had a working title of The Broken Hearts League as well as 8x10's , a term Berlanti's sister used to describe the men he dated. The production was able to secure funding from the studio with

2496-401: The time the ending gives the audience a sense that if it is true love, it will always prevail, no matter what the two characters have to overcome. Comedies, rooted in the fertility rites and satyr plays of ancient Greece , have often incorporated sexual or social elements. The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms defines romantic comedy as "a general term for comedies that deal mainly with

2548-468: The typical plot of "a light and humorous movie, play, etc., whose central plot is a happy love story" but with more complexity. Some romantic comedies have adopted special circumstances for the main characters, as in Warm Bodies where the protagonist is a zombie who falls in love with a human girl after eating her boyfriend. The effect of their love towards each other is that it starts spreading to

2600-518: Was Berlanti's first feature film, based on his circle of friends at the time. The movie was met with generally favorable reviews from critics, receiving praise for portraying homosexuality as normal and its characters as average gay men. The film focuses on "the universal themes of romance, acceptance and family", as opposed to AIDS , coming out , and sex, which are more controversial and stereotypical topics commonly covered in LGBT films . The film follows

2652-613: Was filmed in Laurel Hardware Company in West Hollywood. The film was distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment and its subsidiary Sony Pictures Classics and produced by Banner Entertainment and Meanwhile Films. The original music for The Broken Hearts Club was scored by Canadian composer Christophe Beck . The film also made use of songs by The Carpenters , covered by Mary Beth Maziarz. On September 19, 2000, WILL Records (now Lakeshore Records ) released

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2704-404: Was the first film to be released in over 3,000 theaters in the United States and Canada. Meanwhile, Showgirls (1995) was the first film with an NC-17 rating to have a wide release in the United States, opening in 1,388 theaters. In 1996, 67 films were released in the United States and Canada on more than 2,000 screens and by 1997, the average widest point of release for wide release films in

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