Moonstruck
Moonstruck (1987) is a quirky, funny rom-com that had a significant impact on the genre. This romantic comedy not only earned Cher an Academy Award for Best Actress, but it also popularized her delivery of the line “snap out it!” (followed by a harsh slap to Nicolas Cage). Loretta Castorini (Cher) is a widow who falls for her fiancé’s brother, Ronny, in Moonstruck. (Cage).
Moonstruck
Runaway Bride
Nine years after their triumph with Pretty Woman, Julia Roberts, Richard Gere, and director Garry Marshall reunite for another rom-com romp, Runaway Bride (1999). In tone and plot, Runaway Bride contrasts with Pretty Woman by following small-town girl Maggie Carpenter (Roberts) as she is chronicled by writer Ike Graham. (Gere.) Ike sets out to find out if Maggie will make it down the aisle this time after she had escaped three weddings.
Runaway Bride
Set It Up
Set It Up (2018) is a Netflix rom-com starring Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell. The two play Harper and Charlie, two corporate assistants who are overworked and dissatisfied with their jobs. They devise a plan to matchmake their respective bosses in the hopes of making their lives easier — but they fall in love in the process.
Set It Up
You’ve Got Mail
Nora Ephron’s MRCU (Marvel Romantic Universe) rivals Marvel’s MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). (From the Meg Ryan Cinematic Universe.) Her third picture with Ryan and her second with Tom Hanks is You’ve Got Mail. Ryan plays Kathleen Kelly, the proprietor of a small bookstore who clashes with Joe Fox. Fox is relocating his Fox Books chain to her neighborhood. While they dispute in person, they unknowingly talk anonymously on AOL Messenger and fall in love. An enemies-to-lovers arc can be a lot of fun when done right, and this film really embraces it. Ryan and Hanks have great chemistry, and seeing them love to loathe one other keeps the picture interesting!
You’ve Got Mail
The Wedding Singer
The Wedding Singer is not only a charming and colorful flashback to the 1980s, but it also marks the first collaboration between Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler. Sandler stars as Robbie, a wedding singer who loses faith in love after being left at the altar. He agrees to help his new friend Julia (Barrymore) organize her wedding to her fiancé Glenn as a distraction from the wedding scenario. Flames fly as they bond, and they must eventually confront their increasing feelings for one another.
The Wedding Singer
Long Shot
Long Shot is a 2019 romantic comedy film starring Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen. When journalist Fred (Rogen) is let off abruptly, he meets Charlotte, the girl who used to babysit him and is also running for President of the United States. Charlotte recruits Fred as her campaign’s speechwriter on the spur of the moment, and the two gradually but steadily fall in love.
Long Shot
Crazy, Stupid, Love
Crazy, Stupid, Love is a romantic comedy that looks at love from various angles. Through a series of interwoven vignettes, this film analyzes what love is like at various stages of life. As Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) prepares to divorce, his adult daughter (Emma Stone) falls in love with a new guy, and his thirteen-year-old son realizes what it’s like to have an unrequited love. This film does a fantastic job of weaving together numerous unrelated narratives without being clumsy or befuddled by the nuances of everyone’s connections.
Crazy, Stupid, Love
Life As We Know It
Life As We Know It, starring Josh Duhamel and Katherine Heigl, is a darker rom-com than others. Holly (Heigl) is a type A cook who goes on a disastrous date with aloof, rebellious Eric (Duhamel) after their best friends set them up. Despite their pledges to hate each other for the rest of their lives, Holly and Eric are forced to collaborate after their friends are killed in a car accident and they are named the legal guardians of their daughter, Sophie.
Life As We Know It
Just Go With It
In my perspective, Adam Sandler movies are at their best when Sandler handpicks some of his closest friends, selects an ideal location to shoot in, and turns a movie shoot into an extended, paid vacation. It’s the strategy he used to make Just Go With It, a romantic comedy set on the Hawaiian islands of Maui and Kauai starring him and Jennifer Aniston. The best thing about films like this is how contagious the actors’ enthusiasm on screen becomes; you can see that the actors are genuinely happy to be there.
Just Go With It
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Since its debut in 2002, Nia Vardalos and John Corbett’s My Big Fat Greek Wedding has charmed fans. The plot of this film is not particularly complex. It’s a simple story of Toula (Vardalos), a hardworking, ambitious young woman who falls head over heels in love with Ian, a man she meets at work. (Corbett.) There are no huge villains or bad exes working against them in this plot; the main obstacle they face is her well-meaning, but often overwhelming, enormous Greek family.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
The Big Sick
The 2017 romantic comedy The Big Sick stars Kumail Nanjiani and Zoe Kazan. Nanjiani and his wife, Emily Gordon, co-wrote the screenplay. The story is based on how the two met and fell in love in a complicated way. When Kumail (Najiani) meets Emily (Kazan) during a stand-up comedy act, the two embark on a five-month affair, which is cut short when Kumail refuses to expose her to his Pakistani-American family for fear of rejection because she is white. After they break up, Emily becomes seriously ill, and Kumail is compelled to pretend as her emergency contact, allowing the hospital to place her in a coma. Kumail begins to see where he fits in with Emily’s family and in her life as she remains in a coma for the remainder of the film.
The Big Sick
Never Been Kissed
Never Been Kissed may have aged the worst of any film on our list. This 1999 comedy follows nerdy but loving Josie Gellar (Drew Barrymore) as she tries to prove her value in the harsh world of journalism. She haphazardly attempts to blend in with high schoolers as a hidden twenty-something after obtaining a job as an undercover reporter at her old high school — and finds herself most at ease with her English teacher.
Never Been Kissed
Four Weddings And A Funeral
Four Weddings and a Funeral deviates from the traditional rom-com formula. Rather than delivering its plot in a perfect linear sequence, it follows a group of friends as they attend multiple weddings, allowing viewers to fill in the blanks in the period between weddings. Because of its distinct storytelling style, this rom-com sticks out from the throng.
Four Weddings And A Funeral
27 Dresses
The film 27 Dresses, starring Katherine Heigl and James Marsden, explores the complexities of not only romantic but also familial love. Jane’s (Heigl) younger sister Tess (Malin Kerman) moves to town and begins dating her boss, whom she has been secretly in love with for a long time, Jane’s patience and compassion for her sister are tested. Simultaneously, a reporter called Kevin (Marsden) becomes obsessed with Jane and the type of person she must be to be a bridesmaid twenty-seven times.
27 Dresses
13 Going On 30
There are countless classic incidents and references in 13 Going on 30. From the phrase “thirty, flirty, and thriving,” to Jenna’s rainbow attire at her magazine’s party, to the Thriller dance mob, to the fake Razzles Jenna and Matty share, there isn’t a single scene in this film that hasn’t become famous. This film explores what happens when Jenna Rink (Christa B. Allen), a 13-year-old girl, abruptly wakes up 30 years old (now portrayed by Jennifer Garner), having accomplished all she thought she wanted out of life.
13 Going On 30
10 Things I Hate About You
10 Things I Hate About You is the perfect romantic comedy for anyone who wants to relive their tumultuous youth. While based on Shakespeare’s play “The Taming of the Shrew,” this film tackles romance in a much more gentle manner toward women, and it does not end with its female protagonists appearing subdued by their husbands’ manipulation and violence. Instead, this film follows Kat Stratford (Julia Stiles), a student with strong anti-patriarchal beliefs, and her sister Bianca (Larisa Oleynik), who feels humiliated by Kat’s notoriety and aspires to be viewed as a classically feminine, popular high school girl. Bianca persuades Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a kid who has a tremendous crush on her, to pay the school’s bad boy to take her out and encourage her to attend prom as well.
10 Things I Hate About You
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
When Peter (Jason Segel)’s heart is broken by Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), the only thing he can think of is going to Hawaii to forget about their relationship. That is, until he ends himself at the same hotel as Sarah, who is traveling with her new lover, rock sensation Aldous Snow. (From Russell Brand.) Fortunately, Rachel (Mila Kunis), the front desk receptionist, takes pity on him and befriends him during his stay in Hawaii.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
50 First Dates
One of the most ridiculous romantic comedy concepts of the twenty-first century is shown in 50 First Dates. After meeting Lucy (Drew Barrymore) at a neighborhood café, Henry (Adam Sandler) falls in love with her but is encouraged not to pursue a relationship with her. Lucy’s short-term memory has been permanently damaged as a result of a car accident, and she is unable to recall anything — or anyone — new. Her brain is practically frozen on the day of the accident, thus she will never remember Henry or any date they go on.
50 First Dates
Mamma Mia!
If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably been waiting for someone to discover a way to bottle up joy and save it for when you’re having a bad day. While I have yet to come across a vial of pure delight for sale, I have discovered Mamma Mia! — and I’d say it is a close second. This film musical starring Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried is about Sophie, a little girl (Seyfried) who finds through her mother’s old diary that her biological father may have been one of three men she dated one summer. Sophie invites Bill, Sam, and Harry to the beautiful Greek island where she and her mother live in order to learn the identity of her biological father before her wedding. When Donna (her mother) discovers the men staying at her inn, old memories resurface, and chaos (and a lot of ABBA songs) ensue.
Mamma Mia!
The Proposal
The Proposal, starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, is a master class on how to create the perfect balance of heartfelt romance and incredibly funny comedy. Margaret (Bullock) is a successful publishing executive in New York City who discovers she is being deported back to Canada. Instead of accepting defeat, she blackmails her assistant Andrew (Reynolds) into marrying her in exchange for a visa. The two must, however, sell their bogus love to the DEA agent assigned to their case, which leads to a trip to Alaska to meet Andrew’s entire family.
The Proposal
When Harry Met Sally
Is it possible to have truly platonic friendships between men and women? When Harry Met Sally, possibly Nora Ephron’s most successful film, tries to answer that question by following Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally’s (Meg Ryan) friendship over a twelve-year period. Despite their initial disagreements as recent college graduates, Harry and Sally continue to meet paths over the next decade, eventually becoming good friends.
When Harry Met Sally
Pretty Woman
The presence of Pretty Woman on this list almost doesn’t need to be explained. Both moviegoers and reviewers have firmly established this film as rom-com gold, and it will be remembered as the gold standard of what a romantic comedy can be. Julia Roberts plays Vivian, a Hollywood prostitute who meets Richard Genre’s Edward, a wealthy and emotionally closed-off businessman in desperate need of Beverly Hills instructions. After Vivian’s suggestion convinces Edward to bring her inside, they strike a deal: she will be his pretend girlfriend for the next six days at important business meetings in exchange for $3,000 and a new wardrobe. Of course, their false romance elicits genuine feelings, and the audience witnesses the two fall in love.
Pretty Woman
Bridget Jones’s Diary
Bridget Jones’ Diary was an immediate rom-com classic when it hit theaters in 2001, and for good reason. Based on Helen Fielding’s novel of the same name, which is also a modern version of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the film follows the klutzy, clumsy Bridget Jones as she stumbles through life at 32. Jones is a lonely and lonesome woman who fears she will die alone. Enter the beautiful, playboy-esque Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant), who takes an unexpected and passionate interest in Bridget, and Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), a quiet lawyer whose path keeps crossing Bridget’s — and who is better at pining from afar than expressing about his feelings. Bridget Jones combined with two charming, attractive men provides the perfect amount of mayhem for fans to enjoy as she navigates the dating world.
Bridget Jones’s Diary
Leap Year
Leap Year, starring Amy Adams and Matthew Goode, is a rom-com that embraces all of its genre tropes without being corny. Anna (Adams) is a high-maintenance New Yorker who intends to follow a Celtic tradition that says women can propose to men on February 29th, and travels overseas to propose to her boyfriend, who happens to be in Ireland for a conference on that day. Naturally, her travel plans go awry, and she finds herself in Ireland, far from her original destination of Dublin, having to rely on Declan — the muscular, gruff bar owner (Goode) she’s just met — to get her there in time for the leap year.
Leap Year
Notting Hill
The standards for a romantic comedy are shattered by Notting Hill. It has a cast of larger-than-life characters (Rhys Ifans’s bumbling yet hilarious roommate is one of the best side characters in the history of rom-coms), as well as an iconic scene that everyone has probably heard referenced, regardless of whether they have seen the film or not (she’s just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her, you guys).
Notting Hill