Romantic comedies can affect love lives off screen

Films set high expectations for an ideal relationship, Australian survey finds

Ron Batzdorff / New Line Cinemas

Ashton Kutcher stars as a pink-clad florist and Jennifer Garner plays a teacher in the romantic comedy “Valentine’s Day.”

updated 7/23/2010 11:44:24 AM ET

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SYDNEY — Romantic comedies might provide 90 minutes of lighthearted fun, but the happy-ever-after movies are also impacting people's real love lives, according to an Australian survey.

A poll of 1,000 Australians found almost half said rom-coms, with their inevitable happy endings, have ruined their view of an ideal relationship.

One in four Australians said they were now expected to know what their partner was thinking while one in five respondents said it made their partners expect gifts and flowers ‘just because.’

"It seems our love of rom-coms is turning us into a nation of ‘happy-ever-after addicts.’ Yet the warm and fuzzy feeling they provide can adversely influence our view of real relationships,” said Australian relationship counselor, Gabrielle Morrissey.

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"Real relationships take work and true love requires more than fireworks."

The survey was released by Warner Home Video to mark the movie “Valentine's Day” going to DVD.