Romantic Comedy
Jason is in need of a collaborator to give him inspiration. Phoebe is a small-town English teacher with an urge to write. On the day Jason is being married, Jason and Phoebe meet and form a partnership.
The film disappointed at the box office against its limited budget of $10.0M, earning $6.9M globally (-31% loss). While initial box office returns were modest, the film has gained appreciation for its distinctive approach within the comedy genre.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Romantic Comedy (1983) exhibits precise narrative design, characteristic of Arthur Hiller's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 43 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.4, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Jason Carmichael
Phoebe Craddock
Blanche Dailey
Leo Janowitz
Main Cast & Characters
Jason Carmichael
Played by Dudley Moore
A witty, neurotic Broadway playwright who collaborates with Phoebe over nine years while going through multiple marriages, unable to recognize his true feelings for his writing partner.
Phoebe Craddock
Played by Mary Steenburgen
Jason's intelligent and warm writing partner who harbors unspoken love for him while maintaining their successful professional relationship and watching him marry other women.
Blanche Dailey
Played by Frances Sternhagen
Jason's agent and confidante who serves as a voice of reason and provides outside perspective on his complicated relationship with Phoebe.
Leo Janowitz
Played by Ron Leibman
Phoebe's husband who represents her attempt to move on from Jason and build a life separate from their creative partnership.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Jason Carmichael is an established playwright with a successful career, living in his comfortable world of theater and romance.. The analysis reveals that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 12 minutes when Jason realizes his feelings for Phoebe are deepening beyond professional partnership, disrupting their comfortable working relationship.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 26 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This reveals the protagonist's commitment to Jason and Phoebe acknowledge their mutual attraction and decide to explore a romantic relationship while continuing to work together., moving from reaction to action.
At 52 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Of particular interest, this crucial beat A false defeat: their personal relationship begins to interfere with their creative work, or external pressures threaten both their partnership and romance., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 77 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, The relationship falls apart: Jason and Phoebe separate, threatening both their creative partnership and personal connection. The "death" of their collaborative dream., indicates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 82 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Jason gains new insight: true partnership requires integrating personal and professional authenticity. He understands how to combine creative collaboration with emotional honesty., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Romantic Comedy's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs proven narrative structure principles that track dramatic progression. By mapping Romantic Comedy against these established plot points, we can identify how Arthur Hiller utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Romantic Comedy within the comedy genre.
Arthur Hiller's Structural Approach
Among the 10 Arthur Hiller films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.2, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Romantic Comedy represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Arthur Hiller filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional comedy films include The Bad Guys, Ella Enchanted and The Evening Star. For more Arthur Hiller analyses, see The Babe, Silver Streak and The In-Laws.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Jason Carmichael is an established playwright with a successful career, living in his comfortable world of theater and romance.
Theme
A character observes that the best creative partnerships require honesty and vulnerability, foreshadowing the central conflict between professional collaboration and personal intimacy.
Worldbuilding
Establishment of Jason's world: his writing process, his relationships, his creative collaborator Phoebe Craddock, and the dynamics of their professional partnership.
Disruption
Jason realizes his feelings for Phoebe are deepening beyond professional partnership, disrupting their comfortable working relationship.
Resistance
Jason debates whether to risk their professional partnership by revealing his romantic feelings. Both navigate their existing relationships while their creative chemistry intensifies.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Jason and Phoebe acknowledge their mutual attraction and decide to explore a romantic relationship while continuing to work together.
Mirror World
Introduction of the romantic relationship subplot that will test the theme: can creativity and love coexist, or does vulnerability in one realm compromise the other?
Premise
The "fun and games" of romantic comedy: Jason and Phoebe balance their romance with their writing partnership, experiencing the joys and complications of mixing business with pleasure.
Midpoint
A false defeat: their personal relationship begins to interfere with their creative work, or external pressures threaten both their partnership and romance.
Opposition
Tensions escalate as jealousies emerge, creative differences amplify personal conflicts, and the couple struggles to maintain both their professional and romantic relationships.
Collapse
The relationship falls apart: Jason and Phoebe separate, threatening both their creative partnership and personal connection. The "death" of their collaborative dream.
Crisis
Jason reflects on what he's lost, processing the pain of separation and recognizing what truly matters: authentic connection over fear of vulnerability.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Jason gains new insight: true partnership requires integrating personal and professional authenticity. He understands how to combine creative collaboration with emotional honesty.
Synthesis
Jason makes a grand gesture to win Phoebe back, demonstrating his growth and commitment to both their creative and romantic partnership.
Transformation
Final image shows Jason and Phoebe together, having integrated their personal and professional lives, transformed from guarded collaborators to vulnerable partners.