Diane Keaton is proof that Hollywood needs rom-coms

DIANE KEATON'S PASSING prompted a groundswell of online affection — the kind of shared grief and celebration that can only come with the passing of a true icon.

- JASON BAILEY

But it wasn’t just a matter of saluting her style or lauding her talent, though those elements were certainly present. Her passing felt personal to many, because she seemed less like a distant star and more like someone people actually knew.

And why is that? There are plenty of possible explanations, but I lean toward the simplest one: Because some of her most beloved roles were in romantic comedies, a genre that lives and dies by the empathy and rooting interest we feel for its leads. Yet Hollywood studios have largely stepped away from releasing them theatrically.