We like Rom-Coms because romance and laughter are a perfect fit. After all, what could be more amusing than a happily married couple? Love makes people do strange things, whether it’s writing saccharine love songs, making grand public displays of affection, or being trapped in an eternal time-loop in the Pennsylvanian town of Punxsutawney re-living the same day over and over again to endear themselves to the object of their affection. This collection includes everything from Notting Hill to When Harry Met Sally, and includes the top of the crop, the red roses among the prosecco. But they all have one thing in common: they’re all insanely good. Here are the greatest Rom-Coms of all time, without further ado.
1. Pretty Woman (1990)
Director- Garry Marshall
Edward Lewis is a successful out-of-town corporate raider and exquisite bachelor with an impeccable sense of style. He borrows his lawyer’s silver 1990 Lotus Esprit SE. After just breaking up, only to get lost on busy Hollywood Boulevard. Lewis has an accidental encounter with lovely Vivian Ward, a statuesque streetwalker with a golden heart. While looking for directions, and as one thing leads to another, they form a mutually beneficial voluntary alliance. Gawky diamond-in-the-rough Vivian now needs to undergo a complete makeover in order to escort suave Edward for an entire week; yet, when personal secrets are revealed, something is beginning to alter. However, both Vivian and Edward have experienced their fair share of heartbreak and disappointment. Also, to make matters even more complicated, they come from different worlds.
2. Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)
Director- Sharon Maguire
Bridget Jones is a typical woman who is battling with her age, weight, work, lack of a man, and several flaws. Bridget makes a New Year’s Resolution to take charge of her life. It is beginning with maintaining a diary in which she will always tell the truth. When her charming but dishonest boss takes an interest in the odd Miss Jones, the fireworks begin. Bridget’s group of slightly odd pals, as well as a rather nasty acquaintance whom Bridget can’t seem to stop running into or resist finding quietly intriguing, are thrown into the mix.
3. My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997)
It’s a love story that unfolds when Julianne learns she’s in love…with a man who is about to marry someone else. Her only idea is that she needs to separate Michael and Kimmy. Her boss, George, comes to her aid. But only after she has opened her eyes to realise what she needs to accomplish.
4. When Harry Met Sally…(1989)
Director- Rob Reiner
The successful political consultant Harry Burns and the New York City journalist Sally Albright haven’t found an answer after a decade of unsatisfactory debates and logical arguments on the ever-present subject of whether men and women can be merely friends. Even though they like bantering when they are not squabbling, Harry and Sally persistently refuse to acknowledge that they are the right fit against the backdrop of a strictly platonic friendship punctuated with dramatic love/hate moments. They are still confronted with this difficult ongoing situation after all this time.
5. Two Weeks Notice (2002)
Director- Marc Lawrence
Lucy Kelson, a talented but insecure lawyer with a quick, strategic mind, works as a Chief Counsel for the Wade Corporation, one of the most major commercial real estate developers in New York City. As a result, she doesn’t get much sleep, and on top of that, she has a persistent ulcer. Of all, it’s not the job that’s bothering her; it’s George Wade, her billionaire boss. George, handsome, charming, and undeniably self-centered, treats Lucy more like a nanny than a well-trained Harvard Law graduate, and can barely choose a tie without her help. Lucy Kelson is finally calling it quits after a year of controlling the shots on pretty much everything, from his attire to his divorce settlements.
6. 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Director- Gil Junger
Meet the Stratford sisters: attractive and popular Bianca, who has never been on a date; and Kat, her elder sister, an ill-tempered harridan whose biting wit is only matched by her steadfast resolve to repel every guy who is even mildly interested in her. Unfortunately, severe regulations in the Stratford household prevent Bianca from having a boyfriend until her nasty sister, Kat, has her own—a circumstance that appears exceedingly unlikely given Kat’s social misbehaviour. Bianca’s desperate search for love leads to a convoluted plan to pair Kat with her male counterpart—a gentleman whose reputation is so terrible that Kat might rise to the occasion and find him worthy of her hidden attractions. When Bianca’s want tobe lover bribes Patrick Verona, a morose young guy with a strange past, to woo and win Kat in order to clear the way for Bianca to start dating, mating mayhem ensues.
7. Notting Hill (1999)
Director- Roger Michell
When Anna Scott, the world’s most beautiful woman and best-liked actress, walks into William Thacker’s failed Notting Hill bookstore, it’s a man’s dream come true. William runs into her again a few minutes later, still in disbelief, splashing orange juice all over her. Anna accepts his offer to change at his adjacent apartment and expresses her gratitude with a kiss that seems to stun her even more than he does. Over the months, Anna and William come to know one other better, but being in love with the world’s most wanted woman isn’t easy – not in front of your closest friends, and certainly not in front of the all-consuming press.
8. Sleepless In Seatle (1993)
Director- Nora Ephron
Annie Reed, a Baltimore Sun reporter, keeps persuading herself that her relationship and impending marriage to her ailing fiancé, Walter, is the best thing that could happen to her, despite her desire to have a grand romance like to her new favourite film, An Affair to Remember (1957). Sam Baldwin, the precocious eight-year-old son of the widowed parent, takes matters into his own hands and calls a late-night radio talk-show, concerned about his insomniac and still single father, on the other side of the country, tired of seeing his father still reeling from the untimely loss of his wife. Now, Annie, like hundreds of other euphoric and protective women across America, has an uncontrollable need to meet the hurting stranger with the gorgeous voice in person, and she is beginning to doubt her feelings for Walter.
9. Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)
Director- P.J. Hogan
After a drunken letter-mailing mix-up, Rebecca Bloomwood, who is struggling with her terrible shopping addiction and the unexpected collapse of her money source, unintentionally finds a position writing for a financial magazine. Rebecca’s inventive comparisons and unconventional metaphors for economics earn her critical praise, public success, and the adoration of her supportive boss Luke Brandon, despite the fact that she has disobeyed consumer prudence. However, as she approaches her ultimate goal of writing for the prestigious fashion magazine Alette, she begins to doubt her genuine objectives and must decide whether curing her “shopaholic” condition will offer her true happiness.
10. How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days (2003)
Director- Donald Petrie
Benjamin, an ad executive, is attempting to acquire a large account, but his employer believes it requires a feminine touch, therefore he is considering assigning it to a pair of female executives. Benjamin bets them that if he can make a woman fall in love with him, he’ll win the account. He delegated the selection of the girl to the female executives. They chose Andie, a Composure magazine writer whom they had met previously and discovered was working on an article titled “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.” They don’t tell him since they know she’s going to be impossible. Ben makes every effort to attract her, while she makes every effort to repel him.
And so, dear reader, that just about concludes our list. But that doesn’t mean we’re done for good. In the future, we will be updating this piece with even more films to watch when you’re looking to go back to your roots and revisit what romance used to be. For now, though, hopefully this will help you get started with your own selection of Rom-Com movies.
