Love Actually star says romcoms have lost their magic | Love Actually

If modern romantic comedies are no longer sweeping you off your feet, you’re not the only one wondering where all the magic went.

Romantic comedies aren’t as good as they used to be, according to one of the stars of Love Actually.

Thomas Brodie-Sangster, who played lovelorn teenager Sam in Richard Curtis’s Christmas movie, said the rise of streaming had led to “rush”, cheaper productions and sapped the spark of the genre from its heyday in the ’90s.

The 35-year-old actor told the Daily Telegraph that classic romantic comedies such as Love Actually were made in the pre-smartphone years – “in a bygone age”.

He said: “It was a simpler time in a way and maybe that’s more romantic.

“And there were greats like Nancy Meyers and Nora Ephron who did great work in the ’90s: When Harry Met Sally, You’ve Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, those are really great movies.

“Things come and go, fashions change, and when they’re done well, a good romantic comedy can be great. I hope they come back.”

The decline in on-screen romantic comedies is partly due to studios pouring money into action and superhero franchises like Marvel and DC, while romantic comedies are underperforming by comparison, Brodie-Sangster said.

“For this reason [romcoms] maybe they’re more dedicated to publishers, and maybe that’s changed the budgeting and the scale of what they can do. “When the volume increases, the quality may decrease, but not always.”

The Materialists, starring Dakota Johnson and Pedro Pascal, grossed approximately $108 million (£82 million) worldwide; That’s well below the return of hits from the late ’90s and early 2000s. Love Actually grossed more than $245 million worldwide, while Notting Hill earned approximately $364 million. Superhero epic Avengers: Endgame, by contrast, grossed £2.8 billion in 2019.

Brodie-Sangster also said that the romantic comedy scripts he was receiving now seemed “rushed” because film and TV writers felt they “needed to tap into the spirit of what’s going on right now, otherwise the public will move on to something else.”

“They get the green light for a certain period of time. Then they have to post whatever they have to get attention. And most of the time, that doesn’t work very well.”

Brodie-Sangster said she was pleased with the recognition she received for the role she played at the age of 13. “It’s nice to be associated with Christmas,” he said. “It’s not something I’m bored of, it’s something I’m quite proud and happy to be a part of.

“I mean, love really never goes out of style.”