Crafting the RomCom Bellamy

Here are some tips for crafting the RomCom Bellamy.

First, what’s a RomCom Bellamy?

That’s the Wrong Guy or Girl.

As Billy Mernit explains in Writing the Romantic Comedy,

In the screwball era, Ralph Bellamy was the prime rejected suitor of choice, playing the earnest stodgy fellow who didn’t get the joke or the girl. . . . Solid and dependable, Bellamy represents the qualities his heroines have been unable to secure in their desired heros–in both cases, played by the charmingly tricky and unreliable Cary Grant.”

Writing the Romantic Comedy, Billy Mernit, at p.131-132

Take THE AWFUL TRUTH.

How is Ralph Bellamy wrong for Irene Dunne?

• seems a bit stodgy
• is visiting New York with his MOTHER, to whom he seems quite attached
• is from Oklahoma, where Irene Dunne does not want to live. In one scene, Cary Grant repeatedly says how much Irene Dunne will love living in Oklahoma and Irene Dunne winces every time.
• does dance enthusiastically, but not in a way that fits NY society. He’s country dancing in a sophisticated New York nightclub. (Personally, I give him points for that.)

Crafting the RomCom Bellamy in DESK SET

Or take DESK SET, one of my favorite movies. (Fun fact: The screenplay for DESK SET was written by Nora Ephron’s parents.) The Bellamy there is her office crush. How do we know he’s the Wrong Guy?

• she is very uncertain of their relationship even though they have been dating for YEARS
• he asks her for help checking over his numbers (using her)
• he doesn’t recognize how smart she is

What is important to remember is that the Bellamy “helps define who the protagonist is and isn’t.” Writing the Romantic Comedy, at 132.

It also helps to highlight the qualities of the Right Man. So in DESK SET, Spencer Tracy

• recognizes immediately how smart she is after their lunch date and is very impressed with her (another one of my favorite scenes);
• seems romantically interested; flirts with her; compliments her
• Has a good sense of humor

Benefits of the Bellamy

Comedy: My favorite part of the Bellamy is that it enables you to set up a triangle comedy “set piece” where this is displayed, as, for example, in DESK SET when Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn are having dinner and Gig Young, the guy she has been dating for years, arrives and is upset to find Spencer Tracy there. Bridget Jones also does this with Colin Firth and Hugh Grant. Remember when she is having her birthday dinner with Colin Firth and her friends, and Hugh Grant shows up.

Tension: If you do it right, you may create genuine mystery as to who will be The One. For example, in HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, I think there’s genuine tension as to which girlfriend becomes her mother.

“The most effective Bellamy is one who poses a genuine threat to your central romance, meaning: for maximum triangle tension, design a Mr. or Ms. Wrong who we can believe could actually be a viable mate for your protagonist.”

Writing the Romantic Comedy, Billy Mernit at p. 134

In my WIP, Partner Pursuit, I tried to do this, but I worry that I made my Bellamy too desirable, which took away some of the comedy and made my beta readers feel bad for him. But if I made him less likable, I took away some of the tension that she would end up with him. So, I think there’s a trade-off. I think for comedy, you need to make him less likable.

Let’s Talk

Do you like movies or books with a Bellamy? What are some of your favorite books or scenes in movies? Why do you like them? Next time, I will look at the Bellamy in ALWAYS BE MY MAYBE–a more current movies 🙂

Unless now that my kids are home from school and I am home-schooling, I come up with some good ideas to share. I did find Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems, so, since we love Mo Willems, we will try to incorporate lunch doodling into our schedule.

Keep safe and keep washing those hands!