The meet cute is the inciting incident of any great romance. It's the moment that hooks the audience, establishing the chemistry, tone, and emotional stakes for everything that follows. As Final Draft notes, "Meet-cutes set the tone, stakes, and emotional undercurrent for everything that follows the story. It's where we, the audience, decide if we want to watch these characters fall in love". When done right, it can define two characters and spark a journey that feels both familiar and fresh.
And for ninety minutes on a screen — or two pages in a script — we believe it. Meet Cute
The term "meet cute" is believed to have originated in the early 20th century, when it was used to describe the chance encounters between characters in romantic comedies. The phrase is thought to have been coined by the American screenwriter and director, Nancy Meyers, who used it to describe the iconic meeting between two leads in her 1987 film, "Baby Boom." Since then, the term has become a widely accepted part of romantic comedy parlance. The meet cute is the inciting incident of any great romance
The meet cute should be a sharp, punchy spark. Do not let the scene drag; get them in, create the friction, and force them apart so they crave the next interaction. It's where we, the audience, decide if we