I didn't include anything that doesn't fit my own strict definition of what a rom-com is, which is basically "a movie that is somewhere between Legally Blonde and About a Boy." Obviously, not every movie that is both romantic and comedic is a rom-com, no duh. Several movies that I love have been left out because they do not fit these rigid requirements. For example, Pretty in Pink (too many teenagers), The Princess Bride (too much adventure), Amélie (too French), The Science of Sleep (also too French), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (too sad), Benny and Joon (too much mental-patient-as-love-interest) and Chocolat (too serious) are NOT ROM-COMS. Got it? Okay. Here are my 14 favorite rom-coms!
2. Love Actually - Some people say this one is a bit dumb or unrealistic, to which I say "yeah, but whatever!" It's got everything you want from a rom-com - Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, romance, comedy, Bill Nighy (?), and happy endings for everyone! Yay!
3. Bridget Jones's Diary - Hugh Grant and Colin Firth, killing it again here. Both true masters of the art of rom-com.
4. High Fidelity - John Cusack, another master of the form, at his rom-commiest best (Say Anything is also pretty great, but it has the same problem as Pretty in Pink [re: teenagers]).
5. My Big Fat Greek Wedding - Great movie! Lots of quality laughs. FUN FACT: this is the only rom-com on my list with Joey "the Fat One" Fatone of N*SYNC in it!
6. Knocked Up - I feel like this one barely qualifies since it's so Judd Apatow-y and it's almost too funny. But Katherine Heigl has been in nothing but rom-coms, so sure, this works.
7. 10 Things I Hate About You - Heath Ledger probably could have become a rom-com legend if, you know, he didn't die or whatever.
8. The Wedding Singer - Adam Sandler is always trying to make SERIOUS ROM-COMS and usually they are pretty bad, but I like this one.
9. Legally Blonde -Classic!
10. Miss Congeniality - Also a classic!
11. 13 Going on 30 - This one is also pretty good!
12. Ghost Town - Perfectly nice movie. Not sure if I buy Ricky Gervais' attempts at becoming a ROM-COM LEADING MAN, though. That's hard to pull off even when one is not a chubby little fat man.
13. (500) Days of Summer -Very cute, but we'll have to wait and see if it becomes a CLASSIC.
14. Serendipity - Some people might think this one is very stupid, but I like it.
HONORARY MENTION: Moonstruck, because it's my mom's favorite movie.
Glad you got Knocked up in the list. I would've included Forgetting Sarah Marshall as well. Not just because its one of the small handful of rom coms I'd seen. It's probably my favorite that fits the criteria. Same with Wedding Crashers, and there's no way that's not a rom com.
ReplyDeleteThough About a Boy is definitely a good movie, I agree with you there.
Most of these are pretty recent. What about older comedies with romance? Still rom coms to you?
I honestly haven't seen a lot of older rom-coms. I forgot about Dirty Dancing and Footloose, but those are probably more dance movies than rom-coms. And Footloose has too many teenagers besides. That having been said, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights is DEFINITELY a rom-com, and if I had not forgotten about it I would have placed it between numbers 10 and 11.
ReplyDeleteI actually thought about Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Wedding Crashers, but I decided not to include them because they are both very similar in style to Knocked Up, and I wanted to include a representative but DIVERSE selection of the best rom-coms. This is a scientific list, after all!