A foil is a character who highlights some quality or qualities of a main character through contrast. Mercutio's playfulness emphasizes Romeo's relative seriousness. Mercutio does not take Romeo's feelings for Rosaline at all seriously. When Romeo is miserable about his unrequited love, Mercutio advises him, "If love be rough with you, be rough with love. / Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down" (1.4.27-28). In other words, he counsels Romeo to go and have sex and this will help lessen his feelings of sadness about his love. Romeo, meanwhile, feels as though he has "a soul of lead / [That] So stakes [him] to the ground [that he] cannot move" (1.4.15-16). Romeo is relatively serious and seems to feel things quite deeply, especially compared to the lewd and boisterous Mercutio.
We might be inclined to think that Romeo is pretty impulsive as well, but through his contrast with Mercutio, we see that he could be a great deal more rash. When Tybalt comes to challenge Romeo, Romeo will not fight him because he has just married Tybalt's cousin, Juliet, that morning. When Tybalt insults Romeo, Romeo keeps his cool, though Mercutio interprets his refusal as a "dishonorable, vile submission," and he jumps in to fight Tybalt instead (3.1.74). Romeo continues to try to stop the fight, crying out, "The Prince expressly hath / Forbid this bandying in Verona streets. / Hold, Tybalt! Good Mercutio!" (3.1.89-91). He tries to beat down their weapons and eventually steps in between them. He tries to be reasonable and law-abiding, and his behavior is accentuated by Mercutio's rash impulsiveness.
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