Boy meets girl, laughs may ensue

They meet cute, it gets complicated, but Cupid takes care of everything in the end.

Sure, today’s romantic comedies are formulaic, but so were the theatrical traditions they stem from: commedia dell’arte, the Comedie-Francaise and English Restoration comedies of manners.

These age-old boy-meets-girl stories with jigsaw-puzzle plots, elaborate deceptions and endless battles between the sexes were popular from the 16th through the 18th centuries.

Shakespeare and Mozart drew from this well many times: “The Taming of the Shrew,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “The Abduction From the Seraglio,” “Cosi fan tutte” and others.

Modern twists have been added to today’s films, but take a spin through three recently released mainstream romantic comedies and check out the similarities in plot, themes and settings among “Maid in Manhattan,” “Two Weeks Notice” and “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.”

Sticky setups

The plots of 18th century opera often had lovers in disguise spying on each other in hopes of discovering proof of fidelity/infidelity. Today’s romantic comedy actors might not wear capes and masks, but dizzying feats of deception still lead to love/career dilemmas.

In “Maid,” Christopher (Ralph Fiennes) sees Marisa (Jennifer Lopez) in one of the hotel’s deluxe suites dressed in a guest’s designer clothes rather than her uniform. He assumes she’s registered under the name Caroline. She adopts the phony name, and the mix-ups begin. Her boss catches on and tells her she’s got to have one last date and end the affair quickly if she wants to keep her job.

In “Two Weeks,” Lucy (Sandra Bullock) confronts George (Hugh Grant) about tearing down the community center in her neighborhood. He turns the argument into a job interview and suddenly she’s working for him. Push comes to shove when George has to decide whether to go back on his word about saving the center. Lucy realizes she’s falling for him, but she can never work for a man who doesn’t understand her principles.

In “How to Lose,” both lovers are lying. She doesn’t tell him she’s a reporter researching a story on how to get a guy to ditch you. He doesn’t tell her he’s bet his boss that he can make a woman fall in love with him in 10 days. When Andie (Kate Hudson) finds herself starting to care for Benjamin (Matthew McConaughey), she asks if she can back out of the story. No dice, says her editor, it’s either him or your job.

Cast of characters

In commedia dell’arte, stock characters made sense. The show was improvised and the action began quickly, focused on a pair of young lovers with secondary characters coming between them.

In the days of opera, the handsome guy, usually the tenor, got the girl. Ditto today. Our hero still has to be an Adonis, but now there’s room for a sense of humor or a little rakishness. In classic literature a woman was desirable only if she had breeding, virtue and was completely obedient to her future husband. Today’s scripts give us a career woman with a heart.

The secondary characters of old were sometimes wiser, sometimes just sillier. Robert Klein in “Two” and Bob Hoskins in “Maid” distribute sage advice. But Stanley Tucci’s character in “Maid” is like a Pantalone, a self-important guardian who schemes but can’t separate the lovers.

Belle of the ball

There are no masquerades with guests in powdered wigs, but all modern romantic comedies seem to need some kind of prom scene.

In “Maid,” Marisa attends a benefit dinner at the Met wearing a peach chiffon Bob Mackie gown and a Harry Winston wreath necklace. In “Two,” Lucy meets George at a benefit for a children’s charity. She glides through the crowd in a black Gary Jones formal with a white gauzy wrap encircling her shoulders. In “Lose,” Benjamin invites Andie to a gala. She wears a satiny gold evening gown and a Harry Winston necklace.

Battle of the sexes

From Don Giovanni to the gentlemen in disguise in “Cosi fan tutte,” 18th century librettos are filled with men behaving badly. So are today’s romantic comedies. In “Maid,” Marisa lets her hair down for a late-night smooching session in Christopher’s room but tells him the relationship is doomed. He seduces her, saying, “If tonight is all we have, you have to stay.” In “Lose,” Andie leaves her bag and Benjamin’s buddies want to open it. He objects: “A woman’s purse is her secret source of power.” They knock it off his desk and Knicks tickets fall out. He calls and manipulates her into taking him to the game.

Games girls play

Lest you think only the guys get a bad rap, consider Andie in “Lose.” She sets out impossible tasks to make her knight in armor prove his love. She redecorates his bathroom in pink, puts teddy bears in his bedroom, replaces his CDs with Carly Simon albums. When she invades his poker game and makes the guys stub out their cigars and eat cucumber sandwiches, he’s ready to snap, big time.

Dreamy settings

At the Comedie-Francaise and in Italian opera, there were elaborate special effects and painterly sets festooned with cherubs and fluffy clouds. Today there’s cinematography. Since Sept. 11, we’re all in love with New York, so each of these films presents a valentine to the Big Apple. In “Maid,” the lovers walk in Central Park and spend the night at the Waldorf-Astoria. In “Two,” the couple have a heart-to-heart talk as they ride in a helicopter over the Manhattan skyline, gazing at breathtaking views of the Chrysler building. In “Lose,” Andie and Benjamin snuggle on the Staten Island Ferry.

No matter the setting, the romantic comedy formula still works; whether it’s the 18th or the 21st century, a fool in love is always top-notch entertainment.

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Rating the romantic leads

Sooner or later all Hollywood leads find themselves embracing romantic comedy. Here is a rating of the kings and queens of hearts according to their likability in three recent vehicles.

Great Britain’s Ralph Fiennes has made women swoon as noble characters in “The English Patient,” “Sunshine” and “Quiz Show.” But ya don’t need a Hamlet for a screwball romance. In “Maid in Manhattan,” he’s a rich politician/playboy. Even with an American accent, he seems so regal he just doesn’t connect with a hip, contemporary babe like J-Lo.

FIENNES: (1 heart)

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Slick, slick, slick. In “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” Matthew McConaughey returns as a motorcycle-riding ad exec. His golden-haired good ol’ boy act is cocky but irresistible. This time he gives it a twist as a ladies’ man who’s never been in love. His romantic comedy credits already include “The Wedding Planner” with J. Lo, and he just seems to be getting better.

MCCONAUGHEY: (3 hearts)

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In “Two Weeks Notice” another Brit, Hugh Grant, plays George Wade, a wealthy English real estate developer/bounder who throws lavish parties and carries on like a prep school brat on holiday. There’s no denying Grant the title of king of romantic comedies, what with “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “About a Boy,” “Notting Hill” and “Bridget Jones’s Diary.” He’s got boyish good looks, a wicked sense of humor and he seems so helpless that women of all ages just want to take him home and mother him.

GRANT: (4 hearts)

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In “Maid,” Jennifer Lopez plays a cleaning lady in a swanky Manhattan hotel who aspires to a career in management. She’s the spark that lights up the screen and she’s in nearly every scene. Could she be the successor to Julia Roberts? Her next films, “Gigli,” and “Jersey Girl” -- both co-starring her real-life love, Ben Affleck -- may tell.

LOPEZ: (3 hearts)

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Since “Speed,” it seems Sandra Bullock has done nothing but romantic comedies and audiences have loved the ride: “While You Were Sleeping,” “Forces of Nature,” “Hope Floats,” “Miss Congeniality.” In “Two,” she plays a Harvard law grad with a million causes. She’s adept at physical comedy and a natural at playing adorable Cinderella-style characters. She’s been telling the press she’s through with romantic comedies, but she’s immortalized on enough DVDs to last a lifetime.

BULLOCK: (4 hearts)

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In “Lose,” Kate Hudson’s character is on the fast track as a reporter who writes fluff for a glossy women’s magazine when her real ambition is to tackle stories on religion and politics. Hudson, a relative newcomer to the romantic comedy genre, can be funny and she’s got a glow that can’t be eclipsed by a larger-than-life leading man like McConaughey.

HUDSON: (3 hearts)

-- Anne Valdespino