One Day
One Day follows the story of Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley, who meet and form a friendship as they graduate from university in 1988 and charts the progress of their lives by 'checking in' on their lives annually on the anniversary of the day they met.
A novel by David Nicholls and adapted into a film in 2011 starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess.
Tropes used in One Day include:
- Amicably Divorced: Dex and Sylvie.
- Anyone Can Die
- Better as Friends: What Dex and Emma initially settle on.
- Betty and Veronica: Emma is the Betty to all of Dex's other love interests as Veronicas, while he is the Veronica to her Bettys (Ian especially).
- Bittersweet Ending
- Book Ends: The first day Emma and Dex spent together.
- Brainy Brunette: Emma.
- The Casanova: Dex, especially in his early years.
- Disposable Fiance: Ian. Their relationship is shown to be one more of convenience than passion.
- Hot Dad: Dex becomes one.
- Ladykiller in Love: Eventually.
- Mood Whiplash: From heartwarming to tearjerker in the space of one traffic accident.
- Romantic False Lead: Several. Ian and Sylvie are the most prominent.
- Romantic Runner-Up: Ian again.
- Shotgun Wedding: Implied between Dex and Sylvie once she got pregnant.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Sort of. Their timing is off, and often when one is single the other is not, but also they both need to go through a significant amount of Character Development before being mature enough to handle their own relationship.
- Uptown Girl: Inverted. Dex comes from a wealthy, upper-class family and Emma from a more modest background.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Emma calls out Dex on his shallow, party-boy lifestyle. As does his mother.
- Will They or Won't They?
- Your Cheating Heart: Sylvie cheats on Dex with his boss.