It also gave us a heartsick Nicholson, a lady killer on-screen and off, crying over a del for a change. In fact, Notting Hill exceeds these conventions to a degree that, in any other film, might have been cloying and excessive. A fairly central character is killed off precipitating the funeral of the title. This summer, Netflix has hit pay dirt by leaning north on ; this week, Crazy Rich Asians will storm theaters, putting a on a tale as old as time. Hilarity ensues and white wine is consumed as the women reignite their respective love lives. From an ABBA-fueled musical sequel, Netflix-produced sleeper hits, and one of 2018's most met movies, here are the best romantic comedies to hit the big and small screens this year. Like smoke pluming from a manhole, the steady stream of original content filling every nook of Netflix is never-ending. Like smoke pluming from new best romantic comedies manhole, the steady stream of original content filling every pan of Netflix is never-ending. Alex Truelove Daniel Doheny is your average high school senior with a great girlfriend, Claire Madeline Weinsteinwho seems like he has it made when it comes to his future. In other words, these were two beloved actors stretching some already toned muscles, and it met. It checks all the boxes: the meet-cute, the wacky friends, the lovable stars with electric chemistry and a skill for adorably awkward entanglements.
The death of the romantic comedy has been greatly exaggerated. Yes, the genre has faltered in popularity since its 1990s heyday—but recent developments prove that audiences are still hungry as ever for banter, meet-cutes, and happy endings. This summer, Netflix has hit pay dirt by leaning hard on ; this week, Crazy Rich Asians will storm theaters, putting a on a tale as old as time. Which got us thinking: what are the films that best exemplify this beloved but under-appreciated genre? Though 25 movies ultimately made the list, 20 more were left off because they received only a single vote—films that ran the gamut from Obvious Child to White Christmas to Strictly Ballroom to Wall-E. Our ultimate list is an eclectic mix, containing everything from black-and-white classics to, well, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. The secret healing powers of Windex! Each character is given so much personality and so much attention that My Big Fat Greek Wedding could be splintered into several offshoots following the antics of Aunt Voula a rib-achingly funny Andrea Martin or the headstrong Gus Michael Constantine , who can trace anything and everything back to Greece. A film this big and sweeping needs an anchor, and these two do quite nicely. It also gave us a heartsick Nicholson, a lady killer on-screen and off, crying over a girl for a change. We can never forgive the Sex and the City movies for what they did to Stanford and Anthony. Enter Kissing Jessica Stein, which even 16 years later remains one of the few mainstream, widely distributed romantic comedies to focus on same-sex attraction—and between queer women, no less, who are even tougher to find in these sorts of movies than queer men. Even discounting its milestone elements, the film does an admirable job of balancing rom-com clichés the overbearing Jewish mother! The heroine with a job in New York media! How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days 2003 Only in the rom-com to end all rom-coms would you have leads named Andie Anderson and Benjamin Barry. He, meanwhile, is simply trying to prove he can make any woman fall in love with him. Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey sold their characters with wit and panache—throwing themselves into the roles completely, but delivering certain lines with just a whiff of irony. Annie Hall 1977 What to do about Annie Hall, an indisputable masterpiece whose reputation has arguably been overshadowed by the lobbed against its writer, director, and star nearly two decades after its 1977 release? On separate occasions, Diane Keaton, delivering her signature performance, gets to be both. Even so, the film has a certain magic to it—a wistful sweetness underpinning its remarkably quotable jokes, rounding out what could have been an episodic collection of very good punch lines. Much Ado About Nothing 1993 Kenneth Branagh! The cast alone is worth much ado—and in execution, too, this production also directed and scripted by Branagh sings. In the ever-sparring Beatrice and Benedick, whose sexual tension is only heightened by their equally sharp tongues, Shakespeare created an archetypal couple whose bantering dynamic would inspire countless imitators and descendants—and Thompson and Branagh embody the lovers beautifully, imbuing centuries-old characters with modern wit and charm. A more recent adaptation—the 2012 version directed by Joss Whedon—is also worth a look for rom-com historians. Kissing someone on the eyelids never looked so romantic. The Apartment 1960 Is The Apartment even really a romantic comedy? I guess the term we use nowadays for a guy like C. One of the brilliant things about The Apartment—especially now, with our new sensitivity to workplace harassment and the bad behavior of men in power—is that even from the vantage of 1960, the movie knew just how transactional sex and romance could be, sometimes willingly and often not. Instead of one marriage, there are a whole slew of them. A fairly central character is killed off precipitating the funeral of the title. The ensemble cast is charmingly quirky particularly the late Charlotte Coleman , but Four Weddings is best known for launching Hugh Grant on his long career as an awkward, floppy-haired, stuttering romantic hero who somehow overcomes his deeply British reserve to confess his true feelings. The movie is an unabashed confection: candy-coated to the point of causing cavities, and excessively rich with wink-winking nods to the Doris Day movies that inspired it. But its characters do: these are people who know the strategic ins and outs of romance, and spend an entire movie one-upping each other. At the center of all this silliness is a character who truly deserves a happy ending—but not at the expense of the newfound freedom she inspired in everyone else. Austin Collins From Everett Collection. His Girl Friday 1940 Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell teamed up for this fast-talking newspaper screwball comedy from director Howard Hawks. The film is older than most of the other rom-coms on our list, but in many ways, it was before its time—a media-world romance fueled by talky, mile-a-minute romance banter that posited the chemistry between Grant and Russell as a meeting of equally sharp minds with the same nose for news. Eventually, he finds a second chance at love via a radio show, an homage to An Affair to Remember, and a manipulative 8-year-old, played with aplomb by Ross Malinger. Sleepless in Seattle even in a pre-Google, pre-LexisNexis environment. Broadcast News 1987 James L. Brooks wrote, produced, and directed this seven-time Oscar nominee, which put a slight little Southerner named Holly Hunter on the map and predicted the slow decline of American journalism. But above all, Broadcast News is a love story—between three career-minded journalists and the industry they adore, which tangles them into an achingly empathetic love triangle that puts each character on a path to heartbreak. Every performance in this film is a gem, and James L. Brooks guides the viewer so expertly that its paces feel inevitable, even as they jerk tears. In other words, these were two beloved actors stretching some already toned muscles, and it showed. Notting Hill unfolds like a modern-day fairy tale, as a wildly famous actress falls in love with a humble shopkeeper. The clothes might be dated—1999 was a truly embarrassing year for all of us—but the appeal is eternal. It checks all the boxes: the meet-cute, the wacky friends, the lovable stars with electric chemistry and a skill for adorably awkward entanglements. In fact, Notting Hill exceeds these conventions to a degree that, in any other film, might have been cloying and excessive. Really, there are multiple meet-cutes; Hugh Grant is exceedingly awkward. But thanks to its stars, as well as the careful writing by Richard Curtis, who had made magic with Grant in Four Weddings and a Funeral just a few years before, Notting Hill hits all the requisite notes just right. After all, its hero is himself exquisitely sour: Phil Connors, a weatherman sent to Punxsutawney, P. That means that day after day, he gets turned down by his producer, Rita, played with twinkly self-possession by Andie MacDowell. He gets to know the inhabitants of this tiny town, to learn kindness and curiosity. And the repetition of time gradually washes away his misery and egotism. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, David Krumholtz, Susan May Pratt, and Larisa Oleynik round out the cast for an especially endearing view of high-school power dynamics and the banal cruelties of teenage heartbreak. Darcy down a snowy London street in nothing but a pair of sneakers, a jacket, and zebra-print undies. Baldwins, Monets, and Cake Boys all swirl happily in the orbit of Cher Horowitz, a shallow Beverly Hills princess of hidden depth played brilliantly by Alicia Silverstone in a generation-defining performance. There would be no Regina George without Cher. Has there ever been a better teen comedy? They fall in love, using technology that would eventually put both characters out of business if cameras kept rolling for another decade: the Internet. Though a film about romance in the age of America Online was always going to be hopelessly dated, it was also the first rom-com to normalize the thrill of flirting via chat box with an anonymous stranger even while talking about innocuous things like butterflies and buying school supplies in the fall. It was the first rom-com to cast Dave Chappelle as a best friend; the first to use a dial-up modem as the opening credits song; and the first to playfully skewer how easy it is to catfish a potential mate. When Harry Met Sally 1989 It launched the rom-com career of the singular Nora Ephron. And it became the gold standard that Hollywood tried to emulate for the next decade. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast.
