The Meet Cute
‘Meet Cute’ was a term I’d not heard of until I had been writing romance for a while.
It is a reference to the scene in a movie or book where the two future romantic leads meet for the first time, in a charming, unexpected or amusing way that sets the stage for their romantic relationship. It’s a moment designed to capture the attention of the audience and evoke feelings of anticipation and delight as the character’s connection begins to unfold.
But why “meet cute”?
Well according to the story I read, it stems from the 1938 movie, Bluebeard's Eighth Wife. Actors, Claudette Colbert and Gary Cooper meet while shopping for pyjamas, and it turns into a delightfully cute conversation, hence the name. Apparently, the German American director of this film (Ernst Lubitsch) had difficulty with the English language & when he was describing the characters’ first encounter said that they “meet cute" & it stuck.
Here are a couple of other movie Meet Cutes…
Notting Hill is one of my favourite movies and the meet cute takes place when bookshop owner, Will Thacker (Hugh Grant) spills his orange juice on movie star Anna Scott (Julia Roberts) when he accidentally runs into her on the pavement outside his apartment. He then invites her to change at his place. Watch it here
In My Big Fat Greek Wedding: Toula (Nia Vardalos) serves Ian (John Corbett) and his buddy coffee in her family’s Greek restaurant, but she has trouble stringing words together. A few months later, Ian sees Toula through the window of the travel agent where she now works, and he keeps going past the window to check her out. Just for fun you can see their ‘meet-cute’ scenes here.
In Serendipity’s meet cute, Jonathan (John Cusack) and Sara (Kate Beckinsale) both reach for the same pair of black cashmere gloves while shopping in Bloomingdales, Manhattan. Check it out here.
One of my favourite ‘Meet Cute’ moments I’ve written about is actually based on a real life experience I had, and decided it was a worthy of a role in a story. (You can read about it here.) I was distracted and thought I was handing my camera back to my husband and asked him to hold it for a minute but instead gave it to a random male.
To be honest sometimes life throws up the best ‘meet cute’ scenarios. I heard about one such moment via a local business coach. When she related the story about how she and her partner met for the first time, it gave me all the feels and I’ve filed it away for use at a later date. It was too good to pass up on.
Whether it’s a chance encounter in a crowded café, a comical misunderstanding at a party, or a serendipitous collision on the street, meet cute moments are a vital element in romantic storytelling, symbolising the magic and unpredictability of love.