Best Romantic Comedies

[8893]

Valentine's Day is this week and the mention of Annie Hall in a MBB thread made me think of this most hackneyed of movie categories. So much schlock. But lots of good ones, too.

Annie Hall makes my list, and with Woody Allen in mind I'd say Manhattan does, too.

I suppose When Harry Met Sally has to be among the most popular of the genre. And of course Roman Holiday is a classic (and still a great watch).

Gotta admit that I'm a sucker for Jerry McGuire, and I've always loved Say Anything.

I love Groundhog Day, will always stop on that while surfing.

What else? Off the top of my head, I'm thinking:

Pretty Woman
There's Something About Mary
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Clueless
High Fidelity
Four Weddings and a Funeral

 

[CL82]

Sleepless in Seattle, and You've Got Mail come to mind. @8893 - Props for mentioning Roman Holiday. "Rome, by all means, Rome" is a great line. If we're going that far back consider, Bringing up Baby. Maybe a honorable mention for Arthur? It has some great lines.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

When Harry Met Sally is probably tops.

Others:
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Knocked Up
40 Year Old Virgin
Amelie
Crazy, Stupid, Love
500 Days of Summer
Annie Hall

One that some may disagree with but I've always liked:
Along Came Polly

 

[CL82]

500 Days of Summer

+1

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Was gonna add Lost in Translation and Garden State too, but those could fit in other categories maybe more so.

 

[8893]

@8893 - Props for mentioning Roman Holiday. "Rome, by all means, Rome" is a great line. If we're going that far back consider, Bringing up Baby. Maybe a honorable mention for Arthur? It has some great lines.

I actually never saw Roman Holiday until around five or six years ago, when preparing to bring the family to Italy for our summer vacation. I was surprised at how well it holds up; and how timeless Audrey Hepburn's beauty is.

One that some may disagree with but I've always liked:
Along Came Polly

I liked that, too; probably for the "I just sharted" line more than anything else.

 

[billythekid]

As a John Cusack fan, I'd also add Serendipity to the list. It's not exactly critically acclaimed, but it's a fun movie and Kate Beckinsale is gorgeous.

 

[nwhoopfan]

500 Days of Summer

It's a good film, but it's really an anti-romance isn't it? Or deconstruction of a romantic comedy?

 

[nwhoopfan]

I'm a sucker for "10 Things I Hate About You."

 

[8893]

As a John Cusack fan, I'd also add Serendipity to the list. It's not exactly critically acclaimed, but it's a fun movie and Kate Beckinsale is gorgeous.

Yeah I’m a big Cusack fan too, but somehow that movie slipped by me when it came out and I never knew it existed until I went to the namesake famous restaurant in NYC with one of my daughters a few years ago. I finally caught the movie a few weeks ago and would agree with you on both scores. Good watch and she’s beautiful. Love that ice skating scene

 

[dbmill]

A few of my romantic comedy picks quickly off the top of my head. As usual I have several that go back quite a number of years. Also, a few of these can also be found on my favorite comedy list.

One other question concerning romantic comedies. Do the two people involved have to be together at the end?

It Happened One Night - the film that really put Frank Capra on the map.
Bringing Up Baby - Of course, when you cross romantic comedy with screwball, you get something that occasionally resembles hand to hand combat.
Philadelphia Story - almost threw this one into my favorite comedies, and another one with Cary Grant.
The Lady Eve - More screwball with Preston Sturges directing.
The More the Merrier (1943)
Sabrina - Billy Wilder version, although the remake is pretty good as well.
The Court Jester - Danny Kaye's best movie by far.
Groundhog Day

I'm sure I'll have more once I have time to think about it.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Actually good movies:

Crazy, Stupid Love is really good.

Chasing Amy - Gen X version of When Harry Met Sally.

Groundhog Day



Light fun:

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past - solid holiday romcom. Michael Douglas carries the movie.

Miss Congeniality


Suck:

Most things with Hugh Grant. Most things with Kate Hudson.

 

[8893]

Suck:

Most things with Hugh Grant. Most things with Kate Hudson.

Yeah I hesitated about Four Weddings and a Funeral because I've grown tired of Grant over the years, but I think that was before he became tiresome--and Andie MacDowell carries it anyway.

I can't think of any Kate Hudson movie I've seen other than Almost Famous, which I love and watch every time I can catch it.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Yeah I hesitated about Four Weddings and a Funeral because I've grown tired of Grant over the years, but I think that was before he became tiresome--and Andie MacDowell carries it anyway.

I can't think of any Kate Hudson movie I've seen other than Almost Famous, which I love and watch every time I can catch it.

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days makes me angry it is so terrible. She is such an annoying B that if I turn on her character if she gets more than 15 minutes of screen time. Deepwater Horizon is about the amount of Kate Hudson screen time I can safely tolerate.

 

[8893]

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days makes me angry it is so terrible. She is such an annoying B that if I turn on her character if she gets more than 15 minutes of screen time. Deepwater Horizon is about the amount of Kate Hudson screen time I can safely tolerate.

Never saw either of those and probably won't. I'll leave her frozen in time as Penny Lane.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Never saw either of those and probably won't. I'll leave her frozen in time as Penny Lane.

That's the right move.

 

[CL82]

Yeah I hesitated about Four Weddings and a Funeral because I've grown tired of Grant over the years, but I think that was before he became tiresome--and Andie MacDowell carries it anyway.

I can't think of any Kate Hudson movie I've seen other than Almost Famous, which I love and watch every time I can catch it.

Hugh Grant is a good a nominee for "should have been a bigger star." He's a decent actor with that self-effacing Brit humor, but he never really made it to mega stardom.

 

[8893]

Hugh Grant is a good a nominee for "should have been a bigger star." He's a decent actor with that self-effacing Brit humor, but he never really made it to mega stardom.

That hooker incident derailed him for a while.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Hugh Grant is a good a nominee for "should have been a bigger star." He's a decent actor with that self-effacing Brit humor, but he never really made it to mega stardom.

He had a run where he was A list. That is about as good as an actor can do.

 

[CL82]

He had a run where he was A list. That is about as good as an actor can do.

Fair, but he never became a big box office draw. I've seen a few of his movies and they have moments or quotable lines, but are otherwise forgettable.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Lots of good ones have been mentioned. Here is one many of you may not have seen. Come September.

It features Rock Hudson, Bobby Darin and of course Sandra Dee. But Gina Lollobrigida is the key to the whole thing. She's gorgeous and funny. Great movie.

Another Darin/Sandra Dee movie, If a Man Answers was also good.

Forgot a masterpiece in the Genre, thanks to Oscar Wilde of course, The Importance of Being Earnest. Just brilliant. Watch it with closed captions to make sure you capture the sheer brilliance of Wilde's dialogue.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I'm a sucker for "10 Things I Hate About You."

Surprisingly good movie. Showed off some of the talent Heath Ledger had. I tend to find Julia Styles annoying though.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Surprisingly good movie. Showed off some of the talent Heath Ledger had. I tend to find Julia Styles annoying though.

Julia Stiles doesn't bother me. The movie also featured Joseph Gordon-Levitt somewhere between child actor and adulthood, a young Gabrielle Union, David Krumholtz has been a regular on TV for decades, plus he had a bit part in the Harold & Kumar movies and was Mr. Universe in "Serenity." Nice cast. Plus several cameos from the band Letters to Cleo. And much of the movie was filmed in Seattle, so it has that going for it. The school was Stadium High School in Tacoma.

 

[8893]

I forgot that I remembered Moonstruck last night. That makes my list.

Anyone ever see Enough Said with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and James Gandolfini? I never heard of it until running across it in a list of best romantic comedies as rated on Rotten Tomatoes. It gets great ratings and sounds right up my alley (with Catherine Keener, too, whom I also love); kind of surprised never heard of it.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I just thought of one of my all time favorites. The Matchmaker. It's got it all.