There are a lot of terrible mainstream romantic comedies out there.
Here are 32 decent ones.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in the mix too.
Theres a lot of talent here, and its mixed together strongly.
Zooey Deschanel is great too, as she tends to be.
It still holds up, too, and Douglas and Benning make for an unusual yet rewarding central pairing.
Heck, you actually end up rooting for them.
Fair play, Aaron.
Its wonderful writing, wonderful acting, and wonderful directing.
Joon, played by Mary Stuart Masterson, has a mental illness and a protective brother.
Yet Benny and Joon find kindred spirits in themselves, that Chechiks film delicately, and entertainingly, explores.
Lightly funny, but generally warm,Definitely, Maybeis worthy of a blind punt.
Its got bags of charm too.
Crystal himself takes one of the leads and Debra Winger has the other.
MacDowell is trying to help him, and naturally, they dont get on.
For quite a long time, as it happens.
Weir lets this play out with a laser-focus on keeping mawkishness out of his film.
Oh, and falling for his daughter, played by Scarlett Johansson.
Its still an excellent film, though.
Groundhog Day
Like you didnt know this one was coming.
The song I Got You Babe is heard several times while he works all this out.
Over and over again, ironically.
Written and directed by Cameron Crowe, the film has lots of ingredients that just shouldnt work.
Plus, theres a great breakthrough role for Renee Zellweger, pre-Bridget Jonestoo.
Keeping The Faith
A really, really, really good movie.
The setup is unusual.
Its a love triangle, with two men falling for the same woman.
The twist here is that one man is a priest, and one man is a rabbi.
That in itself adds complications.
Norton, however, wrangles the material brilliantly (served by a strong screenplay from Stuart Blumberg).
It stars Jennifer Westfeldt in the leading role, one whos on the lookout for her dream man.
Actually, scratch that: she was the girlfriend, and then she dies.
But, er, shes popped out of her grave and come back as a zombie.
Storyis by distance the better film, and Martins writing is one of its key assets.
A talking road sign is another…
Moonstruck
Still holds up, this one.
Cher picked up one of the movies clutch of Oscars, and shes great.
Crackling with smart dialogue, and with excellent performances from Danny DeVito and Olympia Dukakis.Moonstruckis a genuinely strong rom-com.
One that deserves not to be overlooked…
Much Ado About Nothing
Were cheating.
you might take Kenneth Branaghs version of William ShakespearesMuch Ado About Nothing, or you might take Joss Whedons.
Either way, youre in for a cracking time.
Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof take the lead in the latter, which was made in Whedons house.
Both casts deliver (ah, Nathan Fillion, we love thee).
Both have excellent musical scores too.
Both are, in truth, pretty great.
The first,Two Weeks Notice, isnt much cop.
Its got a good sing song in it too.
My Sassy Girl
Three important words: ignore the remake.
That said, it does defy genre to a degree.
He comfortably does that withNotting Hill, perhaps the pinnacle of his bumbling Hugh Grant boxset.
It wont convert non-Grant and non-Curtis folk, but its a quality rom-com nonetheless.
Roxanne
Steve Martins take on Edmond RostandsCyrano De Bergeracis a masterclass in screenwriting and performance.
As such, Chris enlists CDs help to come up with the words to woo Roxanne.
You dont need us to sellShaun Of The Deadto you, we suspect.
The film follows both eventualities, knitting them together surprisingly well.
Its not afraid of going a bit darker from time to time, either.
One day, Rene Russos Dr. Griswold walks into his life, wanted golf lessons.
She happens to be dating McAvoys old rival, David Simms, played in slimey fashion by Don Johnson.
As withBull Durhamthough, this is a film less about sport and more about relationships.
Wed go as far as to argue its something of a modern classic of the genre.
Michael Lehmann, coming offHudson Hawk(a film weve explored our warming to here), went smaller.
In fact, he picked out a quirky romcom by the name ofThe Truth About Cats And Dogs.
Lots of things work in its favor, but its the off-beat casting in particular.
Then theres Uma Thurman in the midst of it all.
Answer: a lot.
He agrees to help her plan her wedding and… well, yknow.
So why doesThe Wedding Singerwork when so many other Sandler rom-coms dont?
Theres a couple at the heart worth spending time with.
There are at least three scene stealing cameos (Billy Idol, Jon Lovitz and particularly Steve Buscemi).
Thats worth mentioning twice.
Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal share so many terrific moments here, served beautifully by Nora Ephrons finest screenplay.
And a very rewatchable one.
For her character here should be horrible.
She does something unpleasant, and yet still manages to keep you onside.
And that aint easy.
All the while, she foolishly ignores the attention of the charming Bill Pullman.
Working Girl
Nah.
Whilst heavily billed on the poster alongside Sigourney Weaver, this isnt Fords movie though.
Who doesnt do enough comedy.
Its actually excluded because the romantic comedy bits are arguably the weakest segments of the film.
However, the drama between Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson, wed argue, is five star gold.
