Top 11 Rom Coms
- CJ Tiernan
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 3 hours ago
By CJ Tiernan
Romantic Comedies, or Rom Coms, are the dessert of the movie world. They're delicious and put a smile on our face without all that pesky nutrional value. I have assembled a list of my Top 11 favorite Rom Coms of all time and I'm willing to bet it differs from yours. That's all right. We all like different things. The thing we can agree on is a happy ending. A happy ending is a delicious morsel that I'll take a bite of every time.
1. The Princess Bride (1987)
A lot of the movies that came out this long ago have an inaccesabilty to me. They just feel a note off, as though inside jokes are whipping over my head. But, this one is perfect. The fantasy elements and the action are perfectly woven together with a litany of larger-than-life characters. The six-fingered man, Wallace Shawn, and a giant? As you wish.
2. The Big Sick (2017)
I was a huge fan of Kumail Nanjiani's stand-up comedy and loved him in Silicon Valley, so when I found out he was gonna be in a movie, I was so in. Then, it turned out that movie was a deeply personal story of how he met his real-life wife written by the two of them. That alone is moving. But the story itself? Oh boy is it a beautiful ride.
3. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)
This one is also written by the star of the film (Jason Segel) but apart from the famous "naked breakup" scene, it isn't based on a true story. It is, however, a delightful story following the aftermath of a breakup in a very comedic fashion. Featuring puppets!
4. Wedding Crashers (2005)
Wedding Crashers is one of the most quotable movies I've ever seen. It's also one of the funniest. It is largely a comedy, but there is a fun love story in the middle with Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams. It also unleashes Vince Vaughn to go full Vince Vaughn up against a stage-5 clinger. And I could be wrong, but I think this is the movie that introduced the world to Bradley Cooper.
5. Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)
This is a fun one. A hit man (John Cusack) returns to his 10-year High School Reunion and bumps into the one that got away (Minnie Driver). He also has to fend off a rival hit man (Dan Aykroyd) all while his handler is in his ear (John's real-life sister Joan Cusack). Defintely worth the watch.
6. Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
If you don't count the singing Dracula in Forgetting Sarah Marshall (although how could you not?), this is the first musical on the list. It's an adaptation of a stage play, which was a musical adaptation of a previous Little Shop of Horrors movie. A musical in a small floral shop down on Skid Row may sound like a tough spot for music glory, but you'd be wrong. The guys behind the music (Howard Ashman and Alan Menken) went on to team up for the music and lyrics in The Little Mermaid (1989) and Beauty and the Beast (1991). They know how to tickle the heart-strings.
7. The Map of Tiny Perfect Things (2021)
A time loop Rom Com. What more do you need? How about being stuck in a time loop and finding a fellow time looper. This movie is fun and simultaneously inventive and familar. Kathryn Newton and Kyle Allen are enchanting as the teenagers at the heart of this one.
8. Palm Springs (2020)
Another time loop movie? Heck yeah! This movie has some of the melancholy of the O.G. (Groundhog day) while also harboring the comedy you'd expect from a movie with Andy Samberg. It's heartfelt and genuinely funny. That's the definition of a Rom Com.
9. Dan In Real Life (2007)
Meet cute. Check. Widower. Check. Falling for someone you can't be with. Check. This baby is out here checking Rom Com boxes left and right. It also has great performances from Steve Carrell, Juliette Binoche, and (perhaps surprisingly) Dane Cook. Definitely worth checking out.
10. About Time (2013)
Alright. I admit it. I have a type. Yes this is another time loop/time travel movie. What do you want me to do? I can't leave it off the list and if you've seen you know it belongs here. A beautiful Rom Com about a man who inherited the ability to travel through time genetically. Rachel McAdams and Domhnall Gleeson are beautiful in this.
11. Hitch (2005)
Man, Will Smith is so good. This is toward the tail end of his epic run of blockbuster smashes, but it is great. He plays the titular Hitch as a man who coaches other men on the art of wooing women. He is great at what he does and it's all going well until he falls for Eva Mendes' character. This movie also has a top-notch Kevin James as the perfectly named Albert Brennaman, who hires Smith's Hitch to help him get a date. Very fun movie and another movie that is very easy to quote over and over. "This is home."
A Heartfelt Finale
There are many great reasons to watch a movie, but ultimately we seek entertainment. Whether it's the wish fulfillment of a happy ending, the immersion in another world, or the joy of seeing things from inside someone elses shoes, movies have the power to move us emotionally. I love the opportunity to escape for a couple of hours and live through things that don't or can't happen in reality. Below is a list of some of the wonderful movies that just missed making the Top 11 list.
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