Do you mean the adolescent? I don't think it is unusual for twelve or thirteen year old boys to fancy their sixteen/seventeen year old babysitters. I did (though I kept it to myself). I actually rather like Crazy Stupid Love. It's quite charming, and I think this particular subplot simply dramatises a comedic what-if when it comes to adolescent male fantasies. Of course, the babysitter fancies his father, which makes for an amusing comedy of errors in the end. Everything is exaggerated for dramatic effect, of course, but what might not be funny in real life can often be funny on film (at least, I find it funny - humour is subjective, after all).

As for the general thrust of this article, I think it takes a rather reductive view of rom-com history. The best ones are the screwball romances of the 1930s/40s (Bringing Up Baby, His Girl Friday, The Philadelphia Story, The Lady Eve, etc). Rather amusingly, my wife refuses to use the term "romantic comedy" unless it stars Cary Grant or Katharine Hepburn (or ideally both).

I can't really comment on the contemporary dating scene, as I got married back in 1394, before any of this reality TV, social media, swipey-appy nonsense, or horrid people like Andrew Tate started telling teenage boys all sorts of bullshit. I think these things are far more responsible for damaging teenagers and young people than romantic comedies. Our sons (20 and 15) refuse to have any social media after seeing the damage it has inflicted on their peers (not due to parental prohibition, I might add, though I can promise you my wife and I both drummed into them the dangers of the online world and how much it can warp reality).

Personally, I'm an unashamed hopeless romantic and lament the recent lack of romantic tales (whether the romance is subplot or main plot) in cinema (I don't watch much television). Thankfully, there are still a few gems - Rye Lane last year, for instance. Or Hit Man and The Fall Guy this year. :)