Nov 18, 2013

My Top 12 Romantic Comedies


Today we have a guest in at the LoveCats: Claire Baxter. Claire writes gorgeous romances with a good dollop of humour, so she's here talking about her love of romantic comedies. Welcome, Claire!

I love romantic comedies – both books and movies. However, when I’m asked which movies I would recommend, my mind often goes completely blank and so I decided to make a list of my favorite romantic comedies. How does it compare with yours?




 12. The African Queen
Straight-laced missionary Rose Sayer (Katherine Hepburn) persuades crass riverboat captain Charlie Allnut (Humphrey Bogart) to use his boat to attack an enemy warship.



 


11. Notting Hill
A world-famous American actress (Julia Roberts) and an adorable, British independent bookstore owner (Hugh Grant) with a group of quirky friends. 



 


10. Serendipity
A couple (John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale) reunite years after the night they first met, fell in love, and separated, convinced that one day they'd end up together.



 


9. Four Weddings and a Funeral
A bumbling Englishman (Hugh Grant) repeatedly runs into the love of his life (Angie MacDowell) at—you guessed it—four weddings and a funeral. 



 


8. While You Were Sleeping
Ticket collecting romantic (Sandra Bullock) pretends to be engaged to an unconscious man but can't fool his brother (Bill Pullman).



 


7. One Fine day
Melanie Parker (Michelle Pfeiffer), an architect and mother of Sammy, and Jack Taylor (George Clooney), a newspaper columnist and father of Maggie.



 


6. The Proposal
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.



 


5. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
A young Greek woman (Nia Vardalos) falls in love with a non-Greek (Michael Constantine) and struggles to get her family to accept him while she comes to terms with her.




 


4. Love Actually
Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London.




3. Bridget Jones’s DiaryBridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) is the British singleton who falls for Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) and eventually, Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). 



2. Lars and the Real Girl
Socially-inept Lars (Ryan Gosling) dates a life-size sex doll, and the entire town goes to great lengths to accept her. His relationship with ‘Bianca’ allows him to talk to co-worker Margo (Kelli Garner).


 


1. Amélie
A quirky waitress (Audrey Tatou) sends her secret crush (Matthieu Kassovitz) photos and riddles masking her identity in order to make their first encounter the most romantic moment of her life.



Nearly made it:
The following movies could easily have been in my Top 12, but they were just edged out by those above.
 

When Harry Met Sally
Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) have known each other for years, and are very good friends, but they fear sex would ruin the friendship.
 


Return to Me
A man (David Duchovny) who falls in love with the woman (Minnie Driver) who received his wife's heart must decide which woman it is who holds his heart.
 

Must Love Dogs
Sarah Nolan (Diane Lane), a forty-something preschool teacher, looks to the personals for a relationship where she meets Jake Anderson (John Cusack) who makes handcrafted boats.
 

About a Boy
Cynical, immature Will Lightman (Hugh Grant) is taught how to act like a grown-up by a little boy, the son of a depressed single mother (Toni Collette).
 


Now, these four romantic comedies below have been recommended to me, but I haven’t seen them yet.
 

(500) days of summer
Silver Linings Playbook
Truly Madly Deeply
Roman Holiday
 

Will any of them bump off one of my Top 12, do you think? And are there any others that would make your Top 12?

28 comments:

  1. Claire, welcome to the LoveCats! Thanks for visiting and bringing such a lovely list of movies with you.

    Working off your list, I haven't seen Serendipidy, African Queen or Amelie. I've meant to see all three, so this is the push to do it.

    Others I love:
    The Holiday - two separate romances when two women house-swap: Kate Winslet & Jack Black, Cameron Diaz & Jude Law.

    27 Dresses - the perennial bridesmaid and the cynical wedding reporter.

    When Harry Met Sally - it feels a bit dated now, but I still love it.

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  2. Thanks for having me, Rachel!

    27 Dresses is one that should have been on my 'nearly made it' list. I did enjoy it.

    The Holiday, not so much. You know how sometimes you think you should like a movie but you just don't? That's me with The Holiday.

    When Harry Met Sally is a classic.

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  3. Ooo, you've got some of my favourites in there, Claire! And some that I haven't seen so now I have a list to look for next time I'm at the DVD shop! I do love an excuse to buy a great romance movie!

    I'd have to have The Wedding Date in my top 12 - if you haven't seen it, I'd definitely recommend it. You've Got Mail would be up there for me, too!

    Great to have you visit!

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  4. The Wedding Date is one I haven't seen, Sharon. I'll definitely have to check it out.

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  5. Welcome to Lovecats, Claire. You've got a great list there. The Holiday was one of my favs though. And you've got a couple I have yet to see.

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  6. Good list, Claire. What about Where the Heart Is with Natalie Portman? I love that movie. And any of the Emmas, Pride and Prejudice (you might not think of this as a comedy, but there's lots of funny bits in it), I loved The Holiday too, not so much for the Cameron Diaz/Jude Law romance, but the gentle romance between Kate Winslet and Jack Black is something wonderful to behold. I loved Ryan Reynolds in The Proposal, but he was also swoon worthy in Defintely Maybe. And you can't forget Ever After with Drew Barrymore and Dougray Scott, or Mystic Pizza - and oldy but a goody.

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    1. Where the Heart Is...I've never heard of that movie. I'd definitely have to watch it.
      Ever After is one that I've been meaning to watch for ages. Glad it got a vote.
      Definitely Maybe - Yes! Enjoyed it.
      I love Jane Austen adaptations and yes, there's humour in all of them.

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  7. Hi Claire

    I have to hang my head in shame I have not seen many of these movies my favourite would be My Big Fat Greek Wedding I so love that one I think maybe I need to start catching up on some of these

    Have Fun
    Helen

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    1. You'll have to have rom com fest, Helen. You have a treat in store. :)

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  8. Hi Claire - you've listed some of my favourite movies...I love When Harry Met Sally and While you were Sleeping and African Queen and Must Love Dogs. My all time favourite RomCom is The Mirror Has Two Faces. Great post :)

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    1. The Mirror Has Two Faces? I've never heard of that one, Helen. Must look it up.

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    2. Claire - it's a gem...Barbra Streisand and Jeff Bridges (And a wonderful performance by Lauren Bacall) :)

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  9. When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail, Must Love Dogs, Letters to Juliet, Just Like Heaven, 13 going on 30, Enchanted, Sweet Home Alabama.

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    1. Thanks, Sharlene, you've mentioned three that I want to see now: Just Like Heaven, 13 going on 30 and Enchanted.

      Sweet Home Alabama would be another one if Matthew Mcconaughey weren't in it. He annoys me and I can't watch him.

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  10. Hi Claire, loved your list. I even giggled when reading some of them. The second Bridget Jones film would almost make it - just for the fight scene i LAUGH and LAUGH and LAUGH whenever I watch it. Maybe Two Weeks would make it to the list. Thanks for the refreshing reminder of romantic comedies.

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    1. Hi Tash, I can't remember the fight scene. I'll have to watch BJ2 again just for that.

      Two Weeks is a new one for me. I thought you meant Two Weeks Notice at first, but that's a different movie. Must check it out.

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  11. Love your list, Claire, with most of my all-time favourite rom-coms. I'm a HUGE fan of the Richard Curtis ones and went to see About Time recently. Not up there with the other 3 in terms of comedy and engaging secondary/supporting characters but I enjoyed the romance very much (Rachel McAdams and Domnhall Gleeson.)

    Thinking of my favourites, I'm been out watering the garden while mulling over the line between rom-com and rom-drama and straight rom. Two of my all-time favourite romance movies are Working Girl and Pretty Woman but I decided not rom-coms.

    Which leaves me with Crazy, Stupid Love which I like because (a) I find it funny, which I often don't with rom-coms and (b) I like that there's a character arc/growth with both both male leads.

    And, yeah, Bridget Jones. I'm not often a fan of the bumbling, ditzy heroine but RZ manages to pull it off and I love the pairing with straight, stoic, stolid Darcy.

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    1. I can't believe how many new-to-me rom-coms are coming up in the comments. I've never seen Crazy, Stupid Love and I now I need to. Thanks, Bron.

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  12. Oh and Amelie is just a delight. I've lost count how many times I've seen it and I smile all the way through, every time, as you should with a rom-com (when you're not straight-out laughing.)

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  13. Ooh, you have a nice selection of RomComs there, Claire. Some of them I haven't seen -- Serendipity and One Fine Day -- so I'll have to rectify that. I love love LOVE Lars and the Real Girl. Annie West put me onto that one. :-) The Proposal annoyed me as the ending was straight out of While You Were Sleeping (Really? They couldn't they think of something more original?). Different strokes...

    I'd have When Harry Met Sally and a little known film starring Colin Firth called Fever Pitch right at the top of my list along with Bread and Tulips (the most wonderful Italian film) and for sheer fun I'd throw in Mamma Mia too. It's so much fun playing this game. :-)

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    1. I must watch Fever Pitch! Looks like hubby would enjoy that one too.

      Bread and Tulips is one I've never heard of, but the summary sounds intriguing. Thanks for that suggestion.

      Mamma Mia - it's fun, but I have two problems with it: Pierce Brosnan singing and Pierce Brosnan's singing. :)

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  14. I haven't seen Lars and the Real Girl or Amelie...and I don't really like Love, Actually.

    An oldie but goodie that I love is Father Goose with Cary Grant and Leslie Caron.

    I also love:
    Tootsie
    27 Dresses
    The Holiday
    The Family Stone
    While You Were Sleeping
    How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

    Marcy Shuler

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    1. Thanks, Marcy. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is another rom-com I enjoyed.

      The Family Stone is one that I always meant to watch and somehow never did. I'll add that one to the growing list of movies I'm writing down for my next DVD shopping trip.

      I love Cary Grant, but I don't think I've seen Father Goose. I'll look out for that one on TV.

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  15. Hi Claire! Great post - Love, Actually is a Christmas favorite I can watch over and over. And I've had Lars and The Real Girl on my list for some time. Now I'm definitely going to watch it! Thanks for sharing your favorites!

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    1. Hi Roxanne! You won't be disappointed by Lars, I promise.

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  16. Claire, so sorry to be late here. I dropped by on Monday before the post was up and then haven't had a chance to visit. Loved your list! Do, do, see Love Actually, but though it's very funny in parts, be prepared, tissues are needed. It's very, very moving. So many great films there, including some of my favourites. I'm making a note of the couple I haven't yet seen with the aim of checking them out.

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