Maggie Lo ‘23 | Riya Mukherjee ‘23
Our Top 10 Romantic Comedies
- Clueless
- My Big Fat Greek Wedding
- How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
- Pretty Woman
- 13 Going On 30
- 10 Things I Hate About You
- Crazy Rich Asians
- When Harry Met Sally
- Crazy Stupid Love
- Princess Diaries 2
If you’ve already sent out your candy grams and you’re still looking for something to do this Valentine’s Day, queue up a classic romantic comedy. Rom coms are enjoyable to many. Ashley Kim ‘23 says, “I love rom coms. Especially after a long week of school, I want to watch something that will make me laugh. The more ridiculous the rom com the better.” After years of experience, we have carefully curated our list of our top 10 rom coms. We hope you enjoy!
But what is a rom com? Oxford languages asserts that it’s “a movie or play that deals with love in a light, humorous way.” We see rom coms as movies that must include an almost equal ratio of humor and romance. While we all enjoy Legally Blonde or Shrek, these do not count as they include too much of one genre and not enough of the other.
The best rom coms will also even include a hidden meaning or moral that the audience may not infer until their tenth time watching. Last, and most important, there must be a happy ending to leave watchers in a positive mood. Anika Agrawal ‘23 says, “I like the lighthearted aspect of them and the sense of resolution. When you start the rom com everything is a mess, but by the end the right people, who are supposed to end up together, always do.”
All of these factors are must haves, but what else makes a rom com the best movie genre? Everyone’s taste is different, but these are what we look for most while watching.
The most iconic rom coms are often centered around characters who are enemies in the beginning but eventually realize their undying love for each other – Clueless is a great example of this. The characters must have opposite personalities, but still be equally likable. Also, when the two love interests are first introduced to one another, it must be via “meet cute.” The hilarious 18-hour road trip in When Harry Met Sally really drew watchers in and encouraged them to keep watching the movie.
The best rom coms also feature at least one scene when the leads dress up in their best tuxedo or stunning yellow gown– shoutout How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Extra points if one of the characters has an extreme makeover leaving them feeling more confident in themselves like in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
Finally, when the characters inevitably break up around ¾ of the way into the movie, there must be a dramatic make-up scene – preferably in the rain or when one of the leads is about to board a plane or a train. Bella Bin ‘24 agrees that dramatic scenes and love confessions are important, saying, “I cried watching 10 Things I Hate About You because I could really sense the characters’ emotions at the end scene.”
These are just some of our requirements, and we’re curious about yours. Also, if you’ve already seen our top picks, Kim recommends “Set it Up on Netflix [since] it’s so funny. I also love Love Wedding Repeat with Sam Clafin and Olivia Munn. [It has] such a ridiculous premise with great plot twists.”