This was a unique rom com for me. Smarter and better written then most. The lead character has a lot of integrity, and he gets hammered for it, and things get worse because of it, and other people making life harder on him.
I was surprised the movie just didnt take any cheap tricks to solve things, and somehow the lead found his way through the situations that are a absolute nightmare to be in. I was wondering what other people thought of this
Also any more rom coms recommendations this smart or better?
Before Sunrise (1995)
Before Sunset (2004)
Before Midnight (2013)
Good stuff.
edit:
My Sassy GIrl (2001), Korean version, the remake was apparently bad.
The Princess Bride has everything and if you never watched it you probably revoked your posting privileges among GenX.
Love Actually, which doubles as a Christmas movie.
Cyrano de Bergerac (1990). I am sure the story has been retold a million times but I can’t remember which retelling is good now.
Oh now for an obscure recommendation: The Half of It (2020) Netflix is a loose Cyrano de Bergerac retelling. One of the better movies I watched recently. It is absolutely not a teen-com for the audience that hates teen stuff. If anything, the characters are “too adult”
Yes, Before trilogy! Love those films so much. But I wouldn’t call them rom-coms…
I have a soft spot for Notting Hill.
And Crazy Stupid Love, although that probably isn’t a rom-com either.
My mom recently recommended the gender-swapped remake of Overboard starring Anna Faris. I dreaded watching it (24% on Rotten Tomatoes?!) but she kept asking if we’d seen it yet and I kept saying no we hadn’t in the hopes that she would drop it already but, nooo, she went and put the DVD in our Easter basket so we had no choice and finally watched last week and it was surprisingly enjoyable.
Totally ridiculous premise (amnesia) and a few cringe-y scenes but the cast was appealing and the writing found a clever way to laugh at how ludicrous the whole thing is. Our whole family enjoyed it.
I’ll suggest the 1990s Sabrina. At the time, people couldn’t get over it being a remake of a movie with classic stars, but 25 years later, this one is also a movie with classic stars, including Tony Soprano’s mom doing Lucille Bluth before Lucille Bluth. it’s by Sydney Pollack with a light John Williams score, too. Has heart, makes sense, and has a funny side romance between Sabrina’s father (Harrison Ford’s chauffeur) and the household manager.
Since you just mentioned Tony Soprano, this movie is a great adult romcom with James Gandolfini & the amazing Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Its pretty understated and thus feels very real and honest!
I wouldn’t say these are great movies but, sure, they’re worth a watch.
Set It Up features the premise that two personal assistants to their respective monstrous bosses (Taye Diggs and Lucy Liu) try to set the bosses up together. Surely love would temper their hearts, and with so much love in the air, maybe the two completely professional Cyranos might also fall for each other…? The writing is sharp even though the general Guy Meets Girl, After Some Bumps There’s A Happy Ending formula shines through. The Guy was blandly Good Enough; he borrowed his blandly handsome face and blandly charismatic personality from some Ryan Reynolds movies, then watered them down a few times. But the Girl, Zoey Deutch, she was something to watch. She happens to be Lea Thompson’s daughter, and answered the question: wouldn’t it be a good thing if Lea Thompson had her youth restored to her and was still making funny, cute movies? That answer is Yes.
Always Be My Maybe supposes that maybe two old high school friends, who had a fling then drifted apart, are reunited at some point just before they plunge into middle age, and might be good for each other, romantically. But wait, you might say. That can’t work! The Girl has a wildly successful career, and a good relationship with another guy! The Guy never capitalized on his talents and is too much of a loser to date The Girl. Well, these economic strata-crossed lovers will probably wind up getting together unless an Unexpected Cameo gets in the way. Ali Wong, who has done some very funny stand-up specials, plays The Uptight Rich Girl. Randall Park, who like an aging red sun keeps expanding his star power, plays The Loser Guy With A Good Heart.
Romantic comedies used to be my favorite genre in the early 2000s. But I have to admit after Kaufman’s Eternal Sunshine I thought I’d seen the perfect one and stopped pursuing rom coms.
My favorites:
Two Weeks Notice - I don’t know precisely why I find this one so charming, but it just hits me in the funny and in the squeeeee in equal measure.
When Harry Met Sally - Billy Crystal is just on fire in this movie from beginning to end. He’s just so good. What really gets me every time is how sad he becomes later in the movie. There’s just something about seeing someone who is that funny become that sad that’s just heartbreaking.
Secretary - This is a weird one! But very sexy and at the same time, so, so funny. James Spader and Maggie G are just perfect.
The Graduate - I’ve said this before in another thread, but I saw this when I was 15, and back then it made total sense to me that when Dustin Hoffman meets the daughter, they instantly fall in love. Because of course, duh. And yet when I saw that again as an adult, that seems like the only weak point in the movie to me now. They don’t even know much about each other! But hey, if you can get past that and believe in love at (almost) first sight, the rest of the movie is wonderful.
I have affection for the David O Russell romantic-comedy-ish things (I Heart Huckabees and Silver Linings Playbook), but they’re a very specific flavor.
It’s more of a bro-mance, though, right? Structured around Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling’s friendship. And at the end, our protagonist Cal isn’t in a relationship, though he might be heading for reconciliation with his wife Emily.
I feel like rom-coms have meet-cutes in Act 1 and kisses in Act 3 and couples on the poster and, well…
Still, calling it a rom-com isn’t wrong or anything. I’m just splitting cinematic hairs. It’s definitely a comedy about romance. :)
+1 for Notting Hill. I knew I had officially become old when I realized I liked that movie more than what was previously my favorite film of all time: Aliens
And if you’re somewhat familiar with 80’s tunes (and Wham in particular), it will add more enjoyment to watching my second favorite rom com, Music and Lyrics:
