One of My Favorite Couple Tropes: The Bantering Couple as Seen in TV Shows and Movies

To tie with my earlier book post, here are some of my tv and movie favorites examples of this trope off the top of my head.

Declan and Anna in Leap Year.

10 Things I Hate About You may be literally The Taming of the Shrew but it has some Benedict Beatrice vibes between Kat and Patrick.

Clueless. I find Josh and Cher’s bickering more fun than Knightley and Emma. Cher is much nicer and funnier than Emma. Emma is definitely my least favorite JA heroine, and Knightley likes her, so I can’t love him.

Dusty and Donovan in The Apple Dumpling Gang. Talk about characters in different worlds set to collide, yet nothing is trope-y about this relationship.

Shawn and Juliet (unfortunately once they get together, they turn into a mushy couple and Shawn into a whiny baby).

Jackie and Hyde in The 70’s Show (unfortunately they never move beyond that really).

Josh and Mindy in Drake and Josh. Enemies, to bantering/competitive couple, to hilarious broken up couple, to super sweet couple.

Sonny and Chad in Sonny with a Chance. Similar to above.

It’s funny, how in both of the latter, aimed for kids, squeaky clean shows, the characters show some maturity in the relationships.

I think Chandler and Monica is a variation. Chandler had banter with most people, but not really in his relationships until Monica, that is the one where both of them could combine passion with friendship. Whereas Ross and Rachel were either ridiculously dramatic or just gross.

I just don’t go for sappy mush. I will however, go for drama sometimes, ala, unforgiving Captain Wentworth. But not all the time (e.g. Rochester).