The main motivation of this post is to provide a short list of movies that are all about the romance and love and all that mushy stuff the month of February represents to everybody. Although the day of Valentine is over (because I didn’t manage to finish this on time) I wanted to go ahead with the plan of writing a list of romantic comedies (rom-com’s). Movies are not in a particular order what so ever.
You’ve Got Mail (1998)
Second Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks movie where they end up together but some how I like this one a bit more. Maybe it is the fact that this one has a lot more Meg and Tom together than Sleepless in Seattle (1993) has. You’ve Got Mail is about a small children’s bookstore owner Kathleen Kelly (Ryan) and a big chain bookstore owner Joe Fox (Hanks). They at first connect, then find out they are competitors and then end up being enemies. Enemies who actually e-mail each other of which only one is aware of. This pretty much sums it up – I am a big fan of the 90’s romantic comedies and this one was the first I thought of.
While You Were Sleeping (1995)
This is one of those Sandra Bullock movies I always remember. Her wearing a man’s over-sized goat and falling on the ice with his “fiance’s” brother. Basically it is a story of a big mistake which is caused by series of events after what the family in the movie thinks she is now one of them. Bill Pullman and Peter Gallagher play the brothers and although it has a IMDb score under 7, Bullock got nominated for a Golden Globe for her role.
Amélie (2001)
This French movie is probably a must to everybody who has at least some idea of the movie world. Audrey Tautou who portrays Amélie, the interesting and mysterious character, looks for romance. Aren’t we all – but this movie has been stuck in my head although I watched it years ago. I can remember scenes almost with complete detail which is a rather interesting situation. I thought since I have done some foreign posts I should add a romantic comedy from Europe to the list – Amélie was my first and only choice!
Love Actually (2003)
Movie that has various story-lines connected while known actors and actresses are giving great performances! Style which USA took over with He’s Just Not That Interested, Valentine’s Day, New Year’s Eve and probably many yet to come. But Love Actually is the British version which is still my number one from all the romantic comedies where love comes in many forms. It has Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley and many others! Just a wonderful combination of romance. And this is a must-see during every Christmas!
The Holiday (2006)
This Nancy Meyers romantic comedy is actually another favorite of mine. I don’t mind Cameron Diaz nor Jack Black in this one and Kate Winslet and Jude Law make it even better. I don’t know why it is so good in my mind, Nancy Meyers actually makes a lot of good ones (latest was with Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin – priceless). The Holiday is still one of her best for me, I have the DVD so I can go back to it every time I want to and usually around the holidays.
Friends With Benefits (2011)
I added this Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake movie into the list cause I wanted to make it a bit more even. Since a lot of rom’com’s actually look like this one, it is just fair to put here one that surprised me the most. Kunis is gorgeous and Timberlake can act although I prefer him singing. The story looks at the situation where friends start to share benefits – which of course leads to the big final moment which for me totally ruined the movie but maybe some like the big spectacular moment of “I love you”. I thought it was cheesy but still, I wanted something like this in the list.
Knocked Up (2007)
This is probably the only Katherine Heigl movie I like and it is mostly because of Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd who were all brought together by Judd Apatow. This is like a really grown-up romantic comedy which is not afraid to go that extra notch to make us flinch. I think it represents nowadays rom-com’s, I mean, they have been very sexual and they use a lot of bad words – a lot. I guess it is just evolution but I would still prefer the 90’s.
(500) Days of Summer (2009)
This is a lot nicer romantic comedy than the previous two and it has Joseph Gordon-Levitt together with Zooey Deschanel! I like the fact that this movie is from the point of view of a male character and the female becomes the villain in this. It makes things fair and balances out the large amount of romantic comedies where men are the bad guys! Because lets be honest, sometimes women are the cruel ones and this movie is a great example of that.
Here are some of the movies mentioned, some more I have seen:
Valentine’s Day (2010)
He’s Just Not That Into You (2009)
Crazy. Stupid. Love. (2011)
Easy A (2010)
Kate & Leopold (2001)
Clueless (1995)
Sixteen Candles (1984)
Along Came Polly (2004)
The Family Stone (2005)
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)
The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Going the Distance (2010)
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