Top 20 Rom Coms: The Last 25 Years

In Part One of this list of Top 20 Rom Coms, we explored the origins of the genre, its first 50 years from 1934 – 1984. Now we complete the list with the best of the last 25 years. See how things have changed, or stayed the same (that all important chemistry between the leads!), and let us know what you think in the comments below!




Working Girl – 1988

I have a head for business and a bod for sin. Is there anything wrong with that?

What it’s about: When a secretary (Melanie Griffith) has her idea stolen by her boss (Sigourney Weaver), she seizes an opportunity to steal it back, teaming up with an investment broker (Harrison Ford) and pretending she has her boss's job.

Why it’s great: Mike Nichols’ Working Girl is a perfect 80s rom-com. As Roger Ebert explained of its plot: “the problem with working your way up the ladder of life is that sometimes you can't get there from here.” The story still resonates today, and compliments the great performances, including baby-voiced Griffith’s breakout role.

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When Harry Met Sally... 1989

I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.

What it’s about: Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) have known each other for years, and have become great friends, but they fear sex would ruin the friendship.

Why it’s great: For me, When Harry Met Sally... is the perfect romantic comedy, and another personal favourite. It’s not just the ever-essential chemistry between the leads, which Ryan and Crystal have to spare; the movie covers all the rom-com musts with a true originality, converging perfectly: the witty script, the lovable “best friends” (Bruno Kirby, Carrie Fisher), the real stakes and conversations about relationships between men and women, and the grand gesture at the end. Perfect.

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Say Anything... – 1989

What I really want to do with my life - what I want to do for a living - is I want to be with your daughter. I'm good at it.

What it’s about: A noble underachiever (John Cusack) and a beautiful valedictorian (Ione Skye) fall in love the summer before she goes off to college.

Why it’s great: Let’s face it, every girl wants a Lloyd Dobler, and John Cusack’s superb portrayal of the passionate and honest high school graduate in Say Anything... leaves us in no doubt of his love for Ione Skye’s Diane. Peter Gabriel never sounded so good.

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Pretty Woman – 1990

I appreciate this whole seduction thing you've got going on here, but let me give you a tip: I'm a sure thing.

What it’s about: A ruthless businessman (Richard Gere) needs an escort for some social events, and hires a beautiful prostitute (Julia Roberts). They take a liking to each other and he offers her money if she'll stay with him for an entire week.

Why it’s great: Pretty Woman started what would become a slew of rom-coms throughout the 1990’s. Perhaps none is more famous than this, the launching pad for Hollywood sweetheart Julia Roberts and her mega-watt smile. A classic in the genre.

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Sleepless in Seattle – 1993

Destiny is something we've invented because we can't stand the fact that everything that happens is accidental.

What it’s about: The son of a recently-widowed man (Tom Hanks) calls a radio talk show in an attempt to find his father a partner. Newspaper journalist Annie (Meg Ryan) becomes infatuated with his story.

Why it’s great: Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks are terrific, and the tribute to the classic “An Affair to Remember” is perfectly evoked in this Nora Ephron gem. Playing at our ideas of destiny and fate, Sleepless in Seattle is romance in its most precious form.

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Four Weddings and a Funeral – 1994

A toast before we go into battle. True love. In whatever shape or form it may come. May we all in our dotage be proud to say, "I was adored once too."

What it’s about: Following the fortunes and various weddings (and a funeral) of a group of London friends, Charles (Hugh Grant) thinks he's found "Miss Right" in Carrie (Andie MacDowell), an American.

Why it’s great: I cannot watch Four Weddings and a Funeral without wishing Charles had just ended up with his bestie Fiona (Kristin Scott Thomas). That’s the power of Four Weddings… it’s very, very British, and so it follows that we’d want our main man to end up with the girl that, well, he doesn’t. Bucking trends, it’s the friends in this film that provide the real romance and comedy.

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My Best Friend’s Wedding – 1997

Getting what you deserve is totally unfair.

What it’s about: When Julianne’s (Julie Roberts) long-time friend (Dermot Mulroney) announces his engagement to another woman (Cameron Diaz), she realizes she loves him herself, and sets out to get him with only days before the wedding.

Why it’s great: My Best Friend’s Wedding stars the queen of the rom com, Julia Roberts, and has probably one of the most satisfying “didn’t get the get the girl/guy” endings in movies. Instead, Julia ends up with her gay best friend George (Rupert Everett). So much more rewarding than the original ending, which had her with another potential boyfriend.

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10 Things I Hate About You – 1999

Who needs affection when I have blind hatred?

What it’s about: A remake of the classic Shakespeare play "The Taming of the Shrew” set in a modern day high school.

Why it’s great: Starring the late Heath Ledger in his first big American role, 10 Things I Hate About You is a clever adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic. Julia Stiles is a true original, playing the part of Kat as though the Bard had her in mind when he wrote the prickly part, and she and Ledger have chemistry to burn.

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Bridget Jones’s Diary – 2001

It is a truth universally acknowledged that when one part of your life starts going okay, another falls spectacularly to pieces.

What it’s about: A single woman (Renee Zellweger), determined to improve herself as a New Years resolution, keeps a diary while struggling with her feelings for her caddish boss (Hugh Grant) and a disagreeable acquaintance (Colin Firth).

Why it’s great: Bridget Jones’s Diary is a modern classic, based on Helen Fielding’s bestseller. The imperfectly perfect Bridget, played with confidence and fantastic humour by Zellweger, quickly became a modern day heroine. With Grant and Firth along for the ride, the movie has real wit and pathos, while maintaining all the personality of the book. Who hasn’t had a Bridget moment?

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50 First Dates – 2004

I've never even met you.

What it’s about: Henry (Adam Sandler) meets Lucy (Drew Barrymore), and thinks he's finally found the girl of his dreams, until he discovers she has short-term memory loss and forgets him the very next day.

Why it’s great: Like many a good rom com pairing, Sandler and Barrymore have worked together several times now, both maintaining a warm and truthful screen presence when they team up. 50 First Dates and its Hawaiian setting are delightfully romantic and, although unlikely and also featuring Rob Schneider, holds up to repeat viewings.

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The Proposal – 2009

Margaret, will you marry me? Because I'd like to date you.

What it’s about: A pushy boss (Sandra Bullock) forces her assistant (Ryan Reynolds) to marry her in order to keep her Visa status in the U.S. and avoid deportation to Canada. To keep up the ruse, they head to Alaska to meet his family.

Why it’s great: Bullock and Reynolds seem like a new, hot rom com pairing. Both are wonderful in The Proposal, a heart-felt and genuinely funny addition to the genre. Reynolds has perfect comic timing, and Bullock’s screen presence must be the envy of her peers.

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Top 20 Rom Coms: The Early Years

The all-powerful and knowing Wikipedia describes romantic comedies as “films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as a true love able to surmount most obstacles”. That sounds about right. There is definitely an art to the successful romantic comedy. It’s the most predictable of film genres, but when done well, you won't notice that. Good romantic comedies have you laughing (or crying) into your popcorn and feeling content as the credits roll, like you’ve spent the evening with friends. When compiling this list of the first 50 years of romantic comedies, I was surprised at how many number among my favourite movies. Check out my list of Top 20 Rom Coms: The Last 25 Years, but before that, let us know what you think in the comments below!

It Happened One Night – 1934

Perhaps you're interested in how a man undresses. You know, it's a funny thing about that. Quite a study in psychology. No two men do it alike..

What it’s about: A spoiled heiress (Claudette Colbert), running away from her family, is helped by a man who's actually a reporter (Clark Gable) looking for a story.

Why it’s great: Considered by many to be the first romantic comedy, It Happened One Night is also surely one of the finest. The convoluted plot set the tone for many romantic comedies to come. Colbert and Gable have fantastic chemistry, and the quick wit of the script today seems ahead of its time.

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His Girl Friday – 1940

- There's been a lamp burning in the window for ya, honey... here.
- Oh, I jumped out that window a long time ago.

What it’s about: A newspaper editor (Cary Grant) uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife (Rosalind Russell) from remarrying.

Why it’s great: Two words: Cary and Rosalind. Cary Grant makes another appearance on this list, and if all things were fair, so would Rosalind Russell. These two are sparky and funny, both real naturals in the genre. Lucky, as His Girl Friday is one of the first films to feature characters speaking over the top of each other, testing their talents. Both pass with flying colours. Robert Altman, eat your heart out.

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The Philadelphia Story – 1940

The time to make up your mind about people is never.

What it’s about: When a rich woman's (Katharine Hepburn) ex-husband (Cary Grant) and a tabloid-type reporter (James Stewart) turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself.

Why it’s great: Full disclosure: The Philadelphia Story is one of my all-time favourite movies. It’s brilliant: funny, sexy, with a uniformly flawless group of actors, perfectly cast. Its cracking script is full of those moments that make you think “I wish I could come up with a response like that!”. Aside from the incomparable trifeca of Hepburn as Tracy Lord, Grant as CK Dexter Haven, and Stewart as Macaulay Connor, The Philadelphia Story features some of the best supporting players in movies: Ruth Hussey as the earthy Miss Imbrie, Ronald Young and his perfectly delivered one-liners as Uncle Willie, and Virginia Wiedler as Tracy’s precocious younger sister, Dinah.

Key Scene: "Seems the minute she hit the water, the wine hit her."


"Someday... over the rainbow..."


Adam’s Rib – 1943

No matter what you think you think, you think the same as I think.

What it’s about: Domestic and professional tensions mount when a husband (Spencer Tracy) and wife (Katharine Hepburn) work as opposing lawyers in a case involving a woman who shot her husband.

Why it’s great: For proof that Hepburn and Tracy were simply on fire whenever they were together, look no further than Adam’s Rib. It is perhaps the most successful of the nine films the couple made together over 25 years; their off-screen relationship lasted just as long. A must for any good 1940s romantic comedy is razor-sharp dialogue delivered at a lightning pace. It took real chops to pull it off. Look no further than Adam’s Rib for evidence.

Key Scene: "Licorice. If there's anything I'm a sucker for, it's licorice."


Tracy and Hepburn at their best


Pillow Talk – 1959

I've had hangovers before, but this time, even my hair hurts.

What it’s about: A man (Rock Hudson) and woman (Doris Day) share a telephone line and despise each other, but then he has fun by romancing her with his voice disguised.

Why it’s great: Another consummate romantic comedy pairing (hey, if the chemistry is there, why mess with it, right?), the perky Doris Day and knowing Rock Hudson combination was a winner for sure; the pair made three movies together. Pillow Talk is Day and Hudson at their cheeky, bedroom comedy, best.

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The Apartment – 1960

Ya know, I used to live like Robinson Crusoe; I mean, shipwrecked among 8 million people. And then one day I saw a footprint in the sand, and there you were.

What it’s about: CC Baxter (Jack Lemmon) tries to rise in his company by letting its executive’s use his apartment for trysts, but complications and a romance with elevator girl Fran (Shirley MacLaine) ensue.

Why it’s great: Another personal favourite, Billy Wilder’s The Apartment shows a maturing of the romantic comedy genre, with real stakes (depression, loneliness) and consequences among everyday players in the Big Apple. MacLaine is not your average romantic comedy foil, and her quirkiness matches perfectly with Lemmon’s everyman in a careful balance between farce and melancholy.

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Breakfast at Tiffany’s - 1961

It's useful being top banana in the shock department.

What it’s about: A young New York socialite, Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) becomes interested in a young man (George Peppard) who has moved into her apartment building.

Why it’s great: This somewhat watered-down adaptation of Truman Capote’s best seller features a breathtaking Audrey Hepburn in perhaps her most famous role (apologies to My Fair Lady). Holly Golightly is so shining and iconic that it’s easy to forget about Peppard’s Paul (shame), and Mickey Rooney’s Mr Yunioshi (thankfully).

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Annie Hall – 1977

Honey, there's a spider in your bathroom the size of a Buick.

What it’s about: Neurotic New York comedian Alvy Singer (Woody Allen) falls in love with the ditzy Annie Hall (Diana Keaton), we trace the course of their relationship from their first meeting.

Why it’s great: Annie Hall is my favourite movie. It’s funny, clever, and truthful, and won Best Picture at the Oscars, beating Star Wars. A unique and inventive look at relationships in New York City in the 1970s, the film mirrors the real-life connection between its lead actors. Annie Hall is a true original in the romantic comedy genre; it is cynical and bold, and doesn’t end traditionally with the leads together, happily ever after. Unsurprisingly, it’s the only 1970s film to make this list. Times were changing.

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Romancing the Stone – 1984

-You're the best time I've ever had.
-I've never been anybody's best time.

What it’s about: A romance writer (Kathleen Turner) sets off to Colombia to ransom her kidnapped sister, and soon finds herself in the middle of a dangerous adventure with a soldier of fortune (Michael Douglas).

Why it’s great: Romancing the Stone is a rollicking chase movie that I simply adored when I was younger and it was on TV. It’s fun and funny, silly, and a little bit naughty (well, at least when you’re 8 it is). Turner and Douglas are wonderful, and as is a theme with this genre when there is undeniable chemistry between the leads, Romancing the Stone marked the first of several times the pair would team up on screen.

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Top 15 Emotional Movie Moments

 
Hi, my name’s Amy and I am a big fat cry baby. I don’t cry at anything and everything, but the stuff that has me weepy is sometimes surprising, always varied, and often kind of strange. But by far the most tear-inducing entity for me is movies.

As Toy Story 3 has grown men bawling in the aisles, I share now my Top 15 Emotional Movie Moments (with links!), in no particular order:



Gene Kelly sings in the rain – Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

This one is kind of a no-brainer when you’re giant musical nerd, like me. This moment, more than any other in film history (I do declare), is. Just. So. Freaking. PERFECT. It’s a moment featuring everything a good musical should aspire to – Gene Kelly’s character, Don, is so in love with Debbie Reynolds' Kathy, that he just has to sing and dance about it. There’s simply no other way to express his love. This is what musicals are all about: emotions so overwhelming that there is nothing left to do but sing. Bring on the tissues.

Elliot flies with ET on his bike – ET: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

This one has a special place in my heart – ET is the first movie I really remember watching as a kid. I watched it with my Mum, and most of it went well over my head (I was confused and scared by the scientists), but in that very same sense, you can’t deny the genius of Spielberg. Go ahead, watch ET again. It’s from the perspective of a child, even filmed at their lower eyeline, with adults not making a whole lot of sense. Amazing. And this moment, accompanied so beautifully by another brilliant, swelling, John Williams score, is enough to put a lump in the throat.

Paikea's speech for her grandfather - Whale Rider (2002)

This is how much little Pai’s (Keisha Castle-Hughes) speech in Whale Rider gets me weepy – I just cried watching about 5 seconds of the clip on YouTube. This extraordinarily touching New Zealand film, about a 12-year-old girl struggling to become the chief of her Maori tribe, contains some of the most honest and raw acting I’ve ever witnessed on screen. There are many weepy moments (not least of which is Pai actually riding the whale near the end of the film), but this one, as Pai speaks of her deep respect for her grandfather who has not shown up for her school concert, gets me every time.

Jenny dies - Forrest Gump (1994)

There were several moments from Forrest Gump I could have picked here too – Bubba dying, or Lieutenant Dan diving in the ocean as he makes his peace with losing his legs, for example. But Jenny (Robin Wright) passing away, leaving Forrest with little Forrest, is a powerhouse of great understated Tom Hanks acting (in a movie where, let’s be honest, understatement is not the name of the game). *tear*

Why didn’t you write me? - The Notebook (2004)

The one chick flick that everyone agrees on, there are many moments from The Notebook that could get the tears flowing (the ending!). But this scene, with terrific performances from Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling (it’s easy to see how the pair was a real-life couple after filming this), is sexy, heartbreaking, and uplifting. Finally, Noah and Allie admit their love and can be together. What a payoff.

One Hand, One Heart - West Side Story (1960)

One Hand, One Heart is my favourite musical song, and conveniently features in my favourite musical, West Side Story. Tinged as it is with humour and sadness, as though Maria (Natalie Wood) and Tony (Richard Beymer) are all too aware of their fate, this is the last happy moment the pair will truly share. Maria and Tony’s “wedding”, accompanied by that gorgeous Bernstein and Sondheim score, has me in a ball of tears. “Only death will part us now...”


The end - United 93 (2006)

It’s hard to believe sometimes that Paul Greengrass pulled off this harrowingly realistic (we imagine) portrayal of the events onboard United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001. But he did, and there’s never been a film quite like it. Featuring a docu-drama approach, some “characters” playing themselves, and overlapping, realistic dialogue, this final scene of the passengers trying to take down the highjackers, had me crying more than I ever had at the movies. Heartbreaking.

Juno and her dad at the hospital – Juno (2007)

Sometimes I think moments in films make us emotional simply because they’re so true. Juno has a sparky, Oscar-winning script showcasing terrific dialogue from Diablo Cody, and a remarkable breakthrough performance from Ellen Page. But it’s this moment, without any clever or knowing dialogue, that breaks my heart. Juno’s behaviour and chilled, charming demeanour as she navigates the very adult world of pregnancy, divorce, and adoption makes her a true original, but the immeasurable drain of her experiences are perfectly captured when she lets her dad (J K Simmons) be just that.

The opening montage – Manhattan (1979)

Manhattan has the most perfect beginning of any film, in my completely biased NYC-loving opinion. Aside from a voice-over from Woody Allen’s writer Isaac Davis, the opening sequence has little bearing on what follows. It’s simply about a love for the Big Apple. Set to the rousing perfection of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue”, Allen undercuts flawlessly with iconic images of the city he adores so much. Cue chills up my spin.

The horse Artax dies in the Swamps of Sadness - The NeverEnding Story (1984)

This one had me bawling as a kid. I remember my poor parents having to explain to my sister and I that in fact, the horse was just an actor, and that it hadn’t really died. Still. “He has to give me a new name. He's already chosen it. He just has to call it out.”



Tears turn to laughter - Steel Magnolias (1984)

Steel Magnolias is a big fat emotional chick flick, and I love it. It gives several female powerhouses, including Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, Dolly Parton, Julia Roberts, Daryl Hannah, and Olympia Dukakis, the chance to shine. And none more so than in the scene following Shelby’s (Roberts) funeral. As Sally Field’s M’Lynn runs the gamut of emotions over the death of her beloved daughter, a perfect comic break involving the testy Ouiser (MacLaine) will have your tears turn to laughter, just like the ladies onscreen. Sublime.

Thomas J’s funeral - My Girl (1991)

There are a few character deaths on this list, and nothing guarantees tears like a funeral. Thomas J (Macaulay Culkin) is allergic to bees. You can guess how he dies. One of the screens most emotional goodbyes as Vada (Anna Chlumsky) rushes up to Thomas J’s casket, her childlike denial as heartbreaking as her friend’s death.

The water comes on - Schindler’s List (1993)

Harrowing. Schindler’s List, the second Spielberg film to make my list, serves up the emotion and horror of the Holocaust thick and fast. But no moment stays in my mind as much as when the train carrying the Jewish women is accidentally redirected to Auschwitz. The women are taken to what they believe to be the gas chambers; only to weep with joy when water falls from the showers instead. We weep right along with them.

Dumbo visits his mother – Dumbo (1941)

Another perfect Disney moment, this one about mums. Dumbo’s mother gets angry when her son is being picked on by a group of boys for his big ears, and is declared mad when she goes on the (elephant) defensive. She is locked up, and poor Dumbo is shunned. His new pal, Timothy Q. Mouse, takes Dumbo to visit his mother, and although she’s locked up, she manages to rock her baby with her trunk as “Baby Mine” plays. A perfect, tender moment.


The execution scene - Dancer in the Dark (2000)

Dancer in the Dark is a sad story before it's sadder ending: Selma (Bjork) is a Czechoslovakian immigrant, a single mother working in a factory in rural America in the '60s. Her salvation is her passion for classic Hollywood musicals. Selma is losing her eyesight, and her son Gene stands to suffer the same fate if she can't put away enough money to secure him an operation. When a desperate neighbor falsely accuses Selma of stealing his savings, the drama of her life escalates to this tragic finale. The Hollywood-musical breaks aren't enough to save Lars von Trier's film from my list, or from its truly distressing conclusion.

So that's my list for now! What are your Top Emotional Movie Moments? I've left plenty out so we'd love to hear what you think! Get commenting!