I Couldn’t Help But Wonder… Is It a Rom-Com Summer?

I don’t know why, but I got dressed up to go to Urban Fare. I threw on a white sundress, let my hair do its naturally curly thing, looked in the mirror—and I swear, I saw the ghost of Carrie Bradshaw staring back at me. Whispering—no, taunting—”you’re just like me.”

Ouch.

But there I was. Among the organic avocados and the despicably overpriced strawberries, basket in hand… waiting. Waiting for what?

Good question.

For Pedro Pascal to wander in, inspect a Granny Smith apple, notice me—a broke 24-year-old artist—and tap me on the shoulder.

“Come here often?”

To which I’d bat my eyes and say, “No. Have you seen the price of the kombucha?” And he’d smile and say, “God, you’re perfect.”

Last summer was all ‘brat.’ and ‘RUSH’ music video. Vodka-spiked cherry slushies. Spontaneous mountain trips. Picking up tennis again after watching Challengers.

I started to wonder what this summer’s fixation would be.

Then I saw the trailer for Materialists and I celebrated. Finally, Yearning is back. In a 2008 kind of way.

The first rom-com I ever watched was A Cinderella Story and honestly it still holds up. Who doesn’t love watching Chad Michael Murray and Hilary Duff in their prime? I blast “This Will Be” by Natalie Cole as I write this very moment.

In my teens, The Proposal became my go-to. Mostly because of Betty White (may she rest in comedic peace). Now, in my twenties, Bridget Jones’s Diary hits differently. Dreadfully close to home.

So maybe Materialists will be my next great love affair.

But why does it feel like our generation is starved for rom-coms?

Since the beginning of storytelling, there’s been yearning—dating back to Greek Tragedies, to Shakespeare. And it’s no surprise that some of the earliest films were rom-coms too. Girl Shy (1924) was one of the very first silent romantic comedies, decades before the “talkies” took over

Romance and comedy have always gone hand in hand, I think because there is something almost comedic in wanting love. It’s embarrassing, it’s impractical and it shows how we are truly all so very human.

So where did all the romance go?

With the rise of dating apps, romance has started to feel more like an algorithm than a feeling. Swipes and emojis have replaced meet-cutes and slow burns. Dates have become transactions, bios have become résumés, and love has started to feel like a chore. At least, that’s how it’s felt for me.

No one falls in love with their neighbours anymore—the one with the kind eyes and the vinyl collection, helping you paint your porch. No one locks eyes across the office with the charmingly unavailable boss And the man ‘renting’ you for the night is never a romantic millionaire (calm down, it’s a Pretty Woman reference).

These days, the grand romantic gestures have been traded in for the 2am “u up?” texts, or the “you’re actually a lot smarter than you look,” comment across a sticky bar table.

And they say the greatest poets have come and gone!

So where do the hopeless romantics go to find hope and romance? The 2000s. Back to the land of low-rise jeans and high-stakes love. To when being zipped down the English countryside in a red mustang could be a weekend affair without causing credit card debt. When rom-coms ruled the box office. When you could still believe in fate without sounding delusional. When people fell in love by holding boomboxes outside windows or fake-dating their way into something real. When the worst thing you could hear from a love interest was “I’m moving to Paris,” not “He had a girlfriend the whole time.”

We retreat to The Holiday, 13 Going on 30, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and When Harry Met Sally. To stories where longing is drawn out, where characters grow through love, and where even in chaos, there’s always a chance to meet someone who sees you clearly.

Rom-coms remind us that romance isn’t dead—it’s just been on hiatus.

In a world so torn up by hatred, it’s a return to softness. To spontaneity. To something that can’t be filtered or optimized. Maybe we let the hurt build us—comically.

I’m not saying walk in blindly. Of course if you see red flags, run. Don’t lower your expectations, let love rise to meet you there.

A reminder that love can still surprise you—even if you’re just buying overpriced strawberries in a sundress at Urban Fare.

So maybe rom-coms never left. But maybe, finally, we’re ready to believe in them again.

“It’s something I feel like a lot of modern adults can relate to—the idea that we’re supposed to be in control, to understand the game and how to win it, to try to outsmart the system. But love makes fools of all of us.’’ – Celine Song on the inspiration behind Materialists

Pedro Pascal