This article addresses the popularity and subsequent significance of both the romantic and the screwball comedy.  The main difference between the screwball comedy and the romantic comedy is that the former tends to emphasize humor and absurdity, while the latter focuses on love and romance.  Both variations of the genre are comedic in nature, but distinct types of character behavior differentiate the two separate subgenres.  Screwball comedies originated in the 1930s with It Happened One Night (1934) with Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable and My Man Godfrey (1936) with Carole Lombard, but have still have almost exact parallels to modern films such as Runaway Bride (1999) with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere and Housesitter (1992) with Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin.  The main distinction between the behavior of characters in screwball comedies versus those in romantic comedies occurs in the tendency for characters to engage in eccentric and wacky feats throughout the film in screwball comedies as compared to the much more somber actions of characters in romantic comedies.  This is most evident in the role of the heroine.  Wes Gehring uses the example of Katherine Hepburn’s outrageous antics in the classic screwball comedy, Bringing Up Baby (1938), in comparison with the more serious actions of Irene Dunne in Love Affair (1939), a classic romantic comedy.  The behavior and personality of the heroine affects the behavior and personalities of the supporting characters.  As a result, the other main characters in screwball comedies tend to exhibit similar eccentricity, while the other main characters in romantic comedies are appropriately composed and conventional.  This, however, is not always true for the heroine’s male counterpart.  In order to make up for the relative solemnity of the heroine in romantic comedies, the male counterpart is often somewhat significantly less reserved.  This has given rise to the trend for the male lead in romantic comedies to be a stand-up comedian or at least possess similar qualities and demeanor.  Though this article never directly references Woody Allen’s Annie Hall (1977), the content of the article is directly applicable to the film.  Annie Hall is a classic example of a romantic comedy, which borders on the realm of a screwball comedy due to the characters’ eccentricity, but nonetheless retains a somber enough feeling to remain a romantic comedy.  Woody Allen’s role as Alvy Singer is a perfect example of the use of a more free-spirited male lead to counteract the relative seriousness of the heroine, in this case Diane Keaton as Annie Hall.  Woody Allen is a stand-up comic who adds humor and eccentricity to the narrative and uses this humor to play off of Diane Keaton, which balances the seriousness of the love story with the comedic nature of their relationship.