There are few genres of film out there as so wildly popular yet can be so consistently awful as romantic comedies. Over the years, there have been countless rom-coms that have fallen into typical tropes with a plethora of qualitative issues, and the best they can hope for is a guilty pleasure status.
However, while there may be a ton of trash in the genre, there is also so much gold within it, with some genuinely all-time great movies being rom-coms, both moderns, and classics, and there are so many you cannot afford to miss.
10 Obvious Child (2014)
There are so many brilliant classic rom-coms like Roman Holiday, Say Anything, Pretty Woman, and Singin' In The Rain, but while far less known than those movies, Obvious Child is definitely a rom-com people need to see.
It follows Donna (Jenny Slate) as a new comic thrust into adulthood when a seemingly meaningless fling results in an unplanned pregnancy. It is a film full of laughs and wit, while still tackling well a sensitive subject.
9 Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
As the first major American studio film with a majority Asian cast since The Joy Luck Club, Crazy Rich Asians is a groundbreaking film but does not lack in the quality department either.
It sees a professor, Rachel (Constance Wu), dating a man Nick (Henry Goulding) and becomes shocked when she finds out Nick's family, who just happens to be one of the wealthiest families in China after the two go to Nick's best friend's wedding.
8 About A Boy (2002)
Coming off the back of a significant decade for rom-coms, the early 2000s had some hits and misses, and one significant hit is About A Boy starring Hugh Grant and a young Nicholas Hoult.
Hugh plays the rich, carefree bachelor Will who creates an imaginary child to attend school parent meetings to hit on single parents. Through one of these parents, he meets young Marcus (Hoult), who struggles at school, and the two begin to form a strong bond. Will's portrayal is not for everybody, but an excellent performance and heartstring-pulling story does a great job.
7 My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)
Going back to the point about the nineties being a big decade for rom-coms, slap bang in the middle of that tornado of love stories was the iconic Julia Roberts, with one of her very best being My Best Friend's Wedding.
It sees Roberts play Julianne, a woman who gets shaken when her best friend (Dermot Mulroney) announces he is getting married, prompting her to create a sabotage plan. The movie is less predictable and formulaic as it may seem and is a Roberts must.
6 Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
Speaking of less-formulaic rom-coms, Silver Linings Playbook fits that mold, as one of the very best rom-com's/romantic drama's in recent history, with Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence - who won an Oscar for her performance - shining.
It follows Pat (Cooper) after he leaves a mental health facility, and attempts to make amends with his wife before encountering Tiffany (Lawrence), who has her own issues. The cast is all great, David O. Russell does a fantastic job in the director's chair, and the thematic issues of the film get dealt with exceptionally well.
5 The Apartment (1960)
The Apartment is an all-time movie, and one of the finest romantic comedies ever created, coming long before the genre had become worn out as many see it today.
The movie pretty much revolves around C. C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) as he falls in love with his boss' mistress, Fran (Shirley McLaine,) forcing him to choose between love and career. It is an utterly fantastic movie, beautifully made, and a must-watch.
4 The Big Sick (2017)
Loosely based on the relationship between the leading man Kumail Nanjiani and writer Emily V. Gordon, The Big Sick is a truly terrific movie, and one of 2017's very best.
It sees Kumail meet Emily (Zoe Kazan) and has to deal with the issue of his traditional Muslim parents and what their thoughts on the relationship will be, as well as Emily coming down incredibly ill, leaving Kumail to bond with her parents. The movie has an incredible screenplay, and is full of heartwarming, funny, and tear-inducing moments, and is a knockout start to finish.
3 Clueless (1995)
Iconic nineties romantic comedies do not come much better or bigger than Clueless, which still holds up today as an infinitely rewatchable, excellently written piece of nineties goodness, based off the 1816 Jane Austen novel Emma.
A lot of the movie is a teen/high school comedy following rich girl Cher (Alicia Silverstone) as she attempts to deal with issues of adolescence, but when you throw in her step-brother played by Paul Rudd, the romance shines through.
2 Love, Simon (2018)
To say that more representation for different races, cultures, sexes, and genders is needed in Hollywood is an understatement, and Love, Simon does a beautiful job at highlighting the quality of these stories that time and time again prove themselves as ones that must get told.
It follows Simon (Nick Robinson) as he deals with being gay, something he keeps a secret from everybody in his life. As his secret gets threatened to come out, and a bond with a mysterious classmate online is formed, Simon goes on a mental and emotional roller coaster. It is a phenomenal coming of age film, as well as a romantic dramedy with something for everybody to adore.
1 When Harry Met Sally (1989)
When it comes to the best romantic comedies ever made, one needs only to look at Rob Reiner, and Nora Ephron's classic When Harry Met Sally, one of, and perhaps even the best entry to the genre.
It sees a chance encounter between Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) lead to a short friendship and a parting of ways before they meet again years later. Both try to make a platonic friendship work, with the possibility of that even existing being the source of an argument during their first meeting. It has excellent writing, a funny, full of heart story, great lead performances, and is an iconic standard-bearer for the genre that nobody can afford to miss.
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