24 Times Rom-Coms Made Us Say "Damn, That's Dark"

"She and James went through some major drama, but she'd really gotten her life together. She owned her own business, found personal success, then BAM! After resolving said drama, she's hit by a van. The movie ends on a really positive note, but that death scene makes me cry every goddamned time."

—thedryad

"When Karen found out about her husbands affair I sobbed for hours — it hit me like a punch in the gut, because things like that actually happen. Absolutely heartbreaking."

—josiej4e0db2755

"Things went from zero to 100 way faster than I expected"

–Hanifahrahman

"I was shocked about how dark Erin's story was about her being suicidal. In a way, it made it more real and it didn't feel out of place. Shocking, but I like how it was incorporated into the storyline."

—pwincessrasia

"When Nick noticed that Erin hadn’t shown up for work and rushed to her apartment because he was afraid she was going to hurt herself, and found the note she left. Luckily he got to her before she could, but that was a surprisingly dark moment."

—shelbyshinkle

"When the dad dies in About Time and Tim goes back to relive one last day with him, because he can't go back anymore. It's so heartbreaking."

—hannahjayehw

"When Gareth died in Four Weddings and a Funeral. We were all enjoying the wedding merriment and then he has a heart attack out of the blue! His funeral scene was very moving; Matthew reading the poem gets me every time too."

—rachelg49b663c96

"In Pretty Woman when Edward's lawyer attempts to rape Vivian. I knew the guy was a creep, but the movie had been pretty lighthearted despite the subject matter, so I was shocked when that scene happened."

—jordans43125d2f3

"Olive goes on a date with a guy who turns out to be super creepy, and he just won’t stop trying to kiss her and touch her?! That bit broke my heart and was a little too relatable for I’m guessing a LOT of women who watched that."

—lulac2

"The whole movie has dark understones, but when Amy finds out her sick father overdosed on his medication and died, it's really sad."

—hotchickennugget

"Right at the end when Jenna goes to see Matt on the day he’s getting married to convince him to be with her and he gives her the dreamhouse he kept for 17 years — it BREAKS MY HEART. My eyes are welling up just thinking about it! The idea that you love someone so much but you can’t be with them because you’ve made your choices just really stuck with me."

—ellkay55

"When Jenna finally realises what a dick she was when she was 13, and falls head over heels for Matt. I CRY MY EYES OUT."

—slaterisobel

"The story of the servant girl killing herself was heartbreaking, That whole movie really had some dark moments."

—nakitaannl

"It was a really funny and uplifting movie, but when Meryl revealed she had cheated on Paul during their break, I was devastated. Paul had been so funny up until that point, and his sadness was so uncharacteristic that it was painful to watch."

—limegirl99

"Lara Jean and her dad talking in the diner about her dead mom gutted me a little bit. I was not expecting that from a high school rom-com."

—soaringlauren

"Anne Hathaway’s character finally finds happiness, only to be hit by a bus while riding her bike... Traumatised."

—alyj4106020fb

"He behaves so inappropriately, and nothing seems to happen to him other than getting dropped from a case. I was hoping it would show him being fired or confronted by the other professor."

—leannetillyk

"The scene where Nick's mom tells Rachel about the emerald ring and how she'll never be good enough. Horrible."

—hotchickennugget

"There's also the scene when Rachel's mother explains to Rachel that her husband and his family were abusive to her, and when she had an affair with her best friend and got pregnant and gave birth to Rachel, her husband's family was upset by this and tried to hurt Rachel as a baby. Dark, right?"

—nerdyintrovert6562

"Mainly because it’s a happy rom-com, but the miscarriage was quite unexpected so early on in the film. It was very well handled, though."

—Mynameischristina

"It is my favourite movie and Rosie's dad was such a sweetheart. Also when Alex finds out that his girlfriend of five years was cheating on him and that her kid wasn't his. When they show him texting Rosie, standing outside the nursery he built for the kid and says " I wasn't ready to be a dad anyway" I always cry

—fangirlhppj

"It's quite satisfying to see him break down when the three women confront him, until out of nowhere he walks SMACK into a glass wall and his nose just EXPLODES with blood. Then he walks through a glass booth and the whole thing shatters. He's fine, of course - but it was so out of nowhere in a light, fluffy rom-com!!"

—raptorneet

"She opened up about how badly his depression affected their relationship and how she tried everything she could to make it better and he didn’t even notice."

—aspidistra22

"I never understood why anyone was on Rachel's (Ginnifer Goodwin) side. Yes, Kate Hudson’s character was obnoxious but my heart completely broke for her when she found about the affair. I was so happy in the end when they didn’t become best friends again...you just don’t come back from that.

—jenniferl40be2a32b

"When she does die, and he’s reading the letter at the end of the movie. Made me think of what I would say to my husband if I knew he was going to die."

—breelightyear

"The ending of 50 First Dates is kind of disturbing once you really think about it. Lucy has a condition where she has no memory of events that happened after her car accident, and forgets everything that occurred the day before when she goes to sleep. She's eventually wooed by Henry, who uses a videotape to explain what's been going on — the ending shows them married with a daughter.

Just imagine how traumatising it would be for Lucy to not remember being pregnant, or for their child to have to be told why her mother doesn't recognize her every morning. Rather grim for a supposed romantic comedy, right?"

—trinaq5