How can any guy compete with Tom Hanks in Sleepless in Seattle or You’ve Got Mail? They can’t, and a study out of Scotland confirms it — romantic comedies are bad for relationships because they create unrealistic expectations.
Researchers at Heriot Watt University’s Family and Personal Relationships Laboratory in Edinburgh studied 40 romantic comedies released between 1995 and 2005, and found that problems reported by couples in relationship counseling reflect misconceptions about love and romance depicted in the movies.