Here Are The Best 37 Rom-Coms Ever Made
1.When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
Romantic comedy is a criminally underrated genre, which is confusing when a movie like When Harry Met Sally... exists. It is quite possibly the best rom-com ever made and proves how clever and funny — and even philosophical — they can be. Nora Ephron’s genius screenplay shines even brighter as delivered by Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal, whose chemistry is just *chef’s kiss*. They play two imperfect but charming friends who fight their attraction for years because of how much they mean to each other. It is the original friends-to-lovers story, and has the power to convince even the staunchest rom-com haters.
2.Fire Island (2022)
This gay, modern-day retelling of Pride and Prejudice stars Joel Kim Booster and Bowen Yang as this story's Lizzie and Jane Bennet, respectively. It hits all the notes you want to see from the Austen original (thanks to Joel Kim Booster's adapted screenplay) and expands its scope to include relevant themes that reflect its diverse, queer cast. It's also funny as hell.
3.To All The Boys I've Loved Before (2018)
Lana Condor and Noah Centineo's chemistry in To All The Boys I've Loved Before should be bottled up and doled out to all actors playing couples onscreen, that's how good they are in this movie (and two subsequent sequels). Lana plays Lara Jean Covey, whose little sister accidentally mails out the love letters she wrote to her five crushes when she was younger — unfortunately, including one to her older sister's boyfriend. To help her save face, one of Lara Jean's other former crushes, Peter Kavinsky, pretends to date her, and typical emotional complications and teen hijinks ensue.
4.Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)
This movie was a perfect rom-com when it came out, and remains one to this day. Bridget is unapologetically herself in all aspects of her life (socially, professionally, romantically) and finds happiness just the way she is. There are a few too many references to her weight throughout the movie, but the final message is that Bridget's weight ultimately has no bearing on her happiness.
5.My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)
Julia Roberts plays Julianne Potter, whose behavior in My Best Friend's Wedding will make you question more than once if you should really be rooting for her. You see, when Julianne learns that her best friend Michael (Dermot Mulroney) has fallen in love and plans to get married, she realizes that she's loved him all along and sets out to break up his relationship with Kimmy (Cameron Diaz). The fact that it all adds up to a charming, inventive twist on the genre all comes down to Julia Roberts, who can't help but be charming even when she's playing a hot mess like Julianne.
6.How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998)
Hollywood often casts women opposite much older men in romantic storylines, to the point that a movie like How Stella Got Her Groove Back is an outright rarity. Angela Bassett stars as the titular character who finds herself post-divorce via a holiday fling with Winston Shakespeare (Taye Diggs), a man 20 years younger than her, not that he cares. Most of the humor is provided by Whoopi Goldberg as Stella's best friend and it's definitely more of a dramedy, but what matters is that it embodies the ~spirit~ of a rom-com.
7.10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Of all the teen rom-coms based on Shakespeare's work, this one is the best. That's not a particularly wide genre, sure, but 10 Things more than holds its own next to the all-time great romantic comedies. Based on The Taming of the Shrew, it's about Bianca and Kat, two sisters whose father is so overprotective he comes up with a rule: popular younger sister Bianca isn't allowed to date anyone until her prickly older sister Kat does as well. This sucks for Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who has a crush on the younger Stratford sister. Enter Patrick (Heath Ledger), who Cameron hires to woo Kat so that he can shoot his shot with Bianca.
8.500 Days of Summer (2009)
This isn't your typical romantic comedy in the sense that it's not the story about how the main couple gets together. Instead, it's about Tom (Joseph Gordon Levitt), a man who idealizes a woman named Summer (Zooey Deschanel) and fails to listen to what she repeatedly says she wants, getting increasingly irritated that she doesn't reciprocate his love. But it's a thoughtful rumination on romantic love, and it's also funny, so rom-com lovers can't miss it.
9.You've Got Mail (1998)
You've Got Mail is equal parts rom-com and time capsule of the world as it was when the internet was just emerging. It's the best of the three Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks team-ups and another winner from THEE Nora Ephron.
10.Enchanted (2007)
Yes, this is a Disney movie, complete with animated portions and musical numbers. But you are lying to yourself if you don't think everything that happens between Giselle and Robert fits the bill for a rom-com. The tension between them will make you want to watch Grey's Anatomy just to catch more of Patrick Dempsey in full McDreamy mode. What makes it one of the greats is its endless re-watchability, largely due to Amy Adams and particularly James Marsden, whose turn as a himbo prince may as well have been the basis for Ryan Gosling's Ken.
11.Mamma Mia! (2007)
A lot of the comedy in Mamma Mia! comes from the sheer ridiculousness of seeing some of our greatest movie stars burst into song to the tune of ABBA with varying degrees of success. But the silliness and joy of Meryl Streep's performance as Donna while she tries to balance three exes and her daughter's wedding will win you over.
12.The Big Sick (2017)
The Big Sick is the rare rom-com that's based on real life. In this case, it's the real-life love story of Kumail Nanjiani and his wife, Emily Gordon. The premise: Kumail and Emily (Zoe Kazan) haven't been dating long when Emily suddenly gets sick and is placed in an induced coma. Kumail is forced to face his true feelings for her and figure out how their relationship can coexist with his Muslim faith and conservative Pakistani parents' expectations. The humor in this one is more on the understated side, but the scene in which Kumail and Emily's parents discuss 9/11 proves it's just as funny as anything else on this list.
13.Moonstruck (1987)
Cher won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Loretta, a young widow who is ready to marry Johnny (Danny Aiello), a man she's perfectly fond of but doesn't love — after the death of her first husband, Loretta believes that love is only a source of pain. Her plans start to fall apart when she meets Johnny's estranged brother Ronny (Nicolas Cage), with whom she shares fiery chemistry and immediate mutual attraction. It's romantic, sexy, funny, and Cher is truly phenomenal. If that doesn't convince you, there's also a young, super handsome Nic Cage and the scene-stealing Olympia Dukakis as Loretta's mother Rose.
14.My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
Writer and star Nia Vardalos plays Toula, a woman from a very, very Greek family who falls in love with Ian, who isn't Greek but is played by John Corbett. This poses a problem for Toula's nosy relatives, who at times seem to be purposefully driving Ian away with their constant presence and unwanted opinions. The supporting characters are very broad but still funny, and the central romance is just enough to keep the whole thing grounded.
15.The Princess Bride (1987)
The Princess Bride is one of those movies that you watch as a kid and keep coming back to again and again because of how warm and fuzzy it makes you feel. As you get older, you start to clock the smaller jokes that were sprinkled in to keep the adults interested, making you love it in an entirely new way. In short, it's the original live-action Disney cartoon.
16.Clueless (1995)
Clueless is just one of many teen movie adaptations of classic literature — in this case, Jane Austen’s Emma. Cher (Alicia Silverstone, who was perfectly cast) is our '90s-era Emma Woodhouse who has to re-examine her selfish ways as her relationships become increasingly complicated. It’s sweet and satirical at the same time, and full of quotable lines and memorable outfits. The relationship between Cher and her former step-brother Josh (the ageless Paul Rudd) is totally not creepy when you remember that it’s based on Emma and George Knightley.
17.Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Look, musicals aren’t for everybody. But if you only watch one, it absolutely has to be Singin’ in the Rain. This musical romantic comedy starring Gene Kelly tells the story of a silent film star who needs to figure out his next move when films start incorporating sound in the 1920s. It’s funny, romantic, and practically impossible to recreate — sincerely, I hope Hollywood never tries. And if that’s not enough for you, it also features an absolutely luminous Debbie Reynolds in her breakout role.
18.Some Like It Hot (1959)
Marilyn Monroe’s enduring popularity is due in large part to her tumultuous private life, but Some Like It Hot is a great reminder of her charisma and talent. In a Golden Globe-winning performance, she plays Sugar Kane, a singer who befriends two musicians who are secretly dressed up as women because they are running away from the mafia after witnessing a crime. Iconic leading lady aside, it’s also just a near-perfect rom-com and considered one of the funniest movies ever made, which is made even more rare by the fact that it’s not super problematic 64 years later.
19.Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
The plot of Crazy Rich Asians is fairly predictable, however, it still earns its place on this list by fully embracing the fantasy of romantic comedies with its dazzling, luxurious set pieces, including a wedding where the bride literally walks on water down the aisle. You can't help but be swept up in all the beauty, and it doesn't hurt that Akwafina, Ken Jeong, and Nico Santos are on hand to provide the laughs — but it is the climactic mahjong scene between Constance Wu and Michelle Yeoh that you'll remember for a long time.
20.His Girl Friday (1940)
The arguments between Hildy (Rosalind Russell) and Walter (Cary Grant) in His Girl Friday are some of the best arguing-as-foreplay ever committed to film, and it's made all the better by the fast-talking, trans-Atlantic vocal stylings of the period. Plus, it's a chance to see one of the great Old Hollywood film stars do his thing.
21.Knocked Up (2007)
It was hard to pick which Judd Apatow rom-com would get on this list — and Knocked Up had some serious competition against The 40-Year-Old Virgin. But ultimately Knocked Up is the true rom-com of the Apatow Cinematic Universe. That's thanks to Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogen, whose characters are polar opposites but deliver a believable mix of attraction, frustration, and eventual acceptance when they finally meet in the middle.
22.But I'm A Cheerleader (1999)
Real ones have known since1999, but But I'm A Cheerleader's cult following in the decades since its release has led it to be re-evaluated as classic queer cinema. The campy satire stars future queer icons Natasha Lyonne, Clea DuVall, Melanie Lynskey, and in a bit of casting that has aged like fine wine, RuPaul as "ex-gay" counselor Mike.
23.Broadcast News (1987)
Love triangles are a very well-worn trope at this point, but few movies do it as well as Broadcast News, one of the best but most underrated rom-coms of the decade. It's about the romantic entanglement of three very different co-workers at a news network. Jane (Holly Hunter) is a workaholic producer, Aaron (Albert Brooks) is an awkward but brilliant journalist, and Tom (William Hurt) is a personable but not-so-smart news anchor. The expected love triangle emerges between the three of them with Jane at the center, but the resolution is entirely unexpected yet deliciously satisfying.
24.13 Going on 30 (2004)
The romance in 13 Going on 30 is secondary to the coming-of-age plot, but you can't argue with the power of Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo sharing scenes. Garner is particularly fantastic as Jenna Rink, who, dissatisfied with her life, makes a wish on her thirteenth birthday to fast-forward to when she's 30. When Jenna wakes up the next day, she finds that she's gotten her wish, but things aren't as perfect as she imagined they'd be. Missed opportunities, second chances, and 2000s fashion — a true gem.
25.Palm Springs (2020)
Sarah (Cristin Millioti) and Nyles (Andy Samberg) meet at her sister's wedding, and after a chaotically weird night, she finds herself trapped in an infinite time loop with him. They develop feelings for one another but have to figure out if those feelings are real or the result of being, essentially, the only two real people in the world. It's not the first rom-com to incorporate freaky time loop sci-fi into its love story, but it's up there with the best of them — and gets bonus points for having both main characters in the time loop instead of just one.
26.Groundhog Day (1993)
This is the OG time loop rom-com that still holds up after more than 30 years. Bill Murray's cynical weatherman Phil learns to thaw his frozen heart, to the point of becoming a decent person, when he's stuck on the same day, February 3. The movie is mostly about Phil, but Andie MacDowell's Rita is nevertheless a charming, complete love interest. Phil eventually wins her over, not by learning about her in each loop and manipulating her — to be fair, he does try that — but by accepting his circumstance and genuinely growing. Everyone loves Groundhog Day, but it'll have a special place in the hearts of the secretly sensitive cynics among us.
27.The Apartment (1960)
The premise of the apartment promises messiness and boy, does it deliver. Jack Lemmon plays Bud, a man who allows his four bosses to use his apartment for their extramarital affairs until he starts to fall for Fran (Shirley MacLaine). Fran is, unfortunately, one of the women having an affair with his boss. The movie isn't without its tragic moments — especially for poor Fran — but uses humor to touch on subjects that are just as relevant today as they were in 1960. Honestly, if you're not misty-eyed by the end, the last two lines spoken by Bud and Fran will absolutely do you in.
28.Someone Great (2019)
After Jenny (Gina Rodriguez) gets a new job in San Francisco and is dumped by her longtime boyfriend (LaKeith Stanfield), she and her two best friends (DeWanda Wise and Brittany Snow) get together for one last epic New York City adventure. On paper, it's not a great rom-com because, quite frankly, the parts concerning the main couple are a real bummer, despite LaKeith Stanfield and Gina Rodriguez's chemistry. But the parts where Jenny works through her breakup with the help of her friends are so relatable it may just become one of those movies you rewatch indefinitely. If the rom-com label doesn't work for you, consider it an excellent comedy about the effects of romantic love in your 20s.
29.The Best Man (1999)
There's a good chance that if your friend group had as much romantic overlap as the characters in The Best Man you probably wouldn't be friends anymore, especially if one of you decided to write a book about it. But since gossip is fun when it isn't happening to you, you can kick back with some popcorn while you watch this play out. It's less about one couple and more of an ensemble comedy, but certainly fulfills the requisite romance and comedy.
30.Something's Gotta Give (2003)
Nancy Myers is really good at making rom-coms. She's given us The Holiday, The Parent Trap, It's Complicated, and her crowning achievement, Something's Gotta Give. In it, Jack Nicholson plays Harry, a 63-year-old millionaire who only dates women under 30 until he meets his match in Erica (Diane Keaton), who just so happens to be the mother of his much younger girlfriend. Eventually, the formerly shallow Harry is reduced to a pining, lovesick mess over Erica and it is oh so satisfying.
31.Shakespeare in Love (1998)
Many years before she was Goop-ing, Gwyneth Paltrow won an Oscar for playing Viola, the woman who inspired Shakespeare to write both Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night after their doomed, whirlwind romance. The story is entirely made up, but Shakespeare in Love is so good you'll wish it was real. And you'll also laugh. And cry. And belief in the transformative power of love, whatever.
32.How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)
Andie (Kate Hudson), a writer for a women's magazine, bets that she can get rid of any guy in 10 days, and Ben (Matthew McConaughey), an advertising executive, also bets that he can land a girl in the same amount of time. If this sounds like the premise of a cheesy rom-com full of the most obvious clichés, that's because it is. Nobody in How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days behaves like a real person. HOWEVER, I will defend its place on this list based on it being a shining example of a romantic comedy sub-genre: the so-bad-it's-good rom-com. There's something deeply funny about watching Andie and Ben act in increasingly unhinged, borderline sociopathic ways while everyone around them treats it like normal human behavior.
33.Notting Hill (1999)
A few years ago, Hugh Grant said that he thought the main characters from Notting Hill wouldn't make it, and that the sequel would be about them getting bitterly divorced. Not to disrespect the man, but shut up, Hugh Grant. You can take the feel-good fantasy of a movie star falling in love with a bookshop owner in a charming English town from my cold, dead hands.
34.What If (2013)
When medical school dropout Wallace (Daniel Radcliffe) decides to give up on love altogether, he meets Chantry (Zoe Kazan), the girl of his dreams who just happens to have a boyfriend. Over the next few months, Wallace learns to suppress his feelings for Chantry, not wanting to ruin their relationship but growing more and more in love with her every single day. And let me tell you, Daniel Radcliffe is excellent at giving soulful, longing glances. Put him in more rom-coms, I beg! What If (or The F Word as it's known in other countries) is a sort of spiritual younger sibling to When Harry Met Sally..., and an equally successful take on the friends-to-lovers trope. It also features Adam Driver as the supportive bestie and gives him a very funny scene where he yells about having sex and eating nachos.
35.The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Three of the biggest stars of the era, Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and Jimmy Stewart came together for a love triangle in The Philadelphia Story, a movie about Dexter (Grant) attempting to win back his ex-wife Tracy (Hepburn) on her wedding day, with the help of Mike (Stewart), a journalist there to write about the wedding. The trouble starts when Tracy starts to realize Mike is just a swell guy. It's a simple setup but done so well that people would try to replicate it for decades to come.
36.Jerry Maguire (1996)
You can't become a movie star without making a stop in rom-com land. Tom Cruise knew this, which is why he put on a full charm offensive in Jerry Maguire, one of his last movies before he'd pivoted to action full-time. There's a lot to swoon about in Jerry Maguire, but nothing hits as hard as Jerry's final love confession to Dorothy (Renée Zellweger). You'll melt.
37.And finally, Roman Holiday (1953)
Even if Roman Holiday wasn't a fabulous rom-com, it's partially responsible for the trend of zipping around Italy on a Vespa, one of the most romantic things two people can do together. But it's also an excellent rom-com about the magic that can happen when you meet the right person at the right time, even if your time together is fleeting because one of you is the Crown Princess of a European nation.
Did any of your favorites not make the list? Comment below and they might be added later!
