Rom-coms, then to bed

I went to a writers' panel tonight for networking/educational purposes, and it got me thinking about structure, maybe writing a TV movie or a mini-series.

And then I started thinking about romantic comedies, and what the best ones have in common.

Here's what I've come up with so far:

The best romantic comedies keep the lead lovers apart for most of the film
exs:
Sleepless in Seattle
Bridget Jones' Diary
Amelie
Sixteen Candles

or, when they are together, they're not "together," as in

While You Were Sleeping
When Harry Met Sally
You've Got Mail
Sabrina

because they either hate each other or they're in love with someone else (or at least one of them is) or a combo of the two (i.e. Drive Me Crazy).

I think keeping two people apart is the most successful because then you get the audience to yearn for them to come together. Hatred is harder -- it can be too convincing -- though it works well in The Cutting Edge.

Of course there are other themes, just not, usually, as successful.

OK, more on this later. G'night.