Valentine's day is this Friday and I'll be spending it with Margot Robbie. Well, she'll be on the big screen anyways. I'm seeing Birds of Prey so that review will be up next week, but in the meantime, I've put together a list of my favorite Romantic Comedies. These movies have made me laugh, cry, and everything in between. Most RomComs follow a certain formula to a tee and if you've seen one you feel like you've seen them all, but sometimes one does something different that sticks out above the rest. I've linked in some YouTube clips of my favorite scenes from each movie (nothing spoilery - but most have been out a while now). Without further ado, here are 10 of my favorite RomComs for V-day:
10. Couples Retreat
This movie being a 10% on Rotten Tomatoes is preposterous. An absolute crime. What more do you people want? A talented cast? I'm sorry, is Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Kristen Bell, Jon Favreau, and Ken Jeong not enough for you? Lots of comedy? It checks that box too. Four couples trying to solve years and years worth of problems on an beautiful island? Bachelor in Paradise totally ripped this movie off. By FAR the funniest scene in this movie is Vince Vaughn challenging the resort's concierge to a battle of Guitar Hero for passage to the party side of the island, but the only one I could find on YouTube is way too grainy to clip in here so I put the second best one.
9. Hitch
If I asked my dad what his favorite RomCom is he would 100% say Hitch. Will Smith as the Date Doctor and Kevin James as the awkward accountant who needs help to woo a rich heiress make for a hilarious duo. All the storylines get tangled up in a web of love, lies, and laughter. This one doesn't stray too far from the formula I mentioned earlier, but it's charming and we do get some good hi-jinks from Will Smith and Kevin James. The dancing scene I clipped here and Benadryl scene get me and my dad rolling every time. This is where I learned how to dance myself.
8. Knocked Up
Judd Apatow is the master of the RomCom and Knocked Up is the first of a few of his movies to make the list. I love the cast of this movie. Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, and Leslie Mann are your big 4. Throw in Jason Segel, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, and Martin Starr, who are basically playing themselves, and hilarity ensues. Sure, that means there will be crude jokes, but Knocked Up has a really sweet and clever side to it. In no universe should Katherine Heigl end up having a baby with someone that looks like Seth Rogen but she does. And Paul Rudd in his begrudging dad role here is so dang funny. He and Seth Rogen play off each other well in the double date scene I clipped in. Sift through the crude humor in this one and you'll find a nice message about working at relationships, valuing family, and embracing responsibility.
7. Bull Durham
But this is a baseball movie? Yup, that's right and one of the best. But Bull Durham is also one of the best RomComs with its blend of sports, romance, drama, and comedy. Kevin Costner is at his finest as Crash Davis, the aging catcher brought in to mentor the young pitcher, Nuke LaLoosh (Tim Robbins). Nuke is armed with a big league heater but absolutely no control over it or his emotions. The third part of this trio, and the one that brings the romance, is Annie Savoy, played by Susan Sarandon. Annie, a fan of the Bulls, takes it upon herself to have an affair with a member of the team each year. The three become entwined in a triangle of life, love, and baseball. Crash struggles with his career ending while Nuke tries to make the big leagues and Annie searches for something more than a fling every season. It's really funny, and Costner and Robbins give us some of the best interactions and quotes. It was so hard to choose a clip for this movie because all of them are so good, so you'll just have to watch it to see everything else.
6. Crazy Rich Asians
These Asians are a little crazy and a lot rich. I love this movie because it's so different. It's colorful and fun and there's no big conflict for the two lovers until we get a big twist. In a lot of my other entries on this list, I relate more to the men, but in Crazy Rich Asians I find myself relating to Rachel (Constance Wu). Is it because she's a woman of modest means that attracts a dude that's basically a friggin' prince, or is it because she's an economics professor and I teach high school economics? Who's to say? I love her in this movie so much that when Nick's (Henry Golding) crazy rich Asian family starts trying to split the two up, I want to beat down his grandma with a right hook to the dome. The cast is great, Wu crushes it, Golding and Awkwafina are both rising stars, and Gemma Chan will be in Marvel's The Eternals later this year. I'm excited for the sequel, although the wedding scene (clipped here), the mahjong scene, and the end scene in Crazy Rich Asians did make my eyes rain. Man, I cried a lot.
5. Bridesmaids
I'm writing this on Sunday night while I watch the Oscars and the two leads from Bridesmaids were just on stage. Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig (who co-wrote the movie) shine in this one. The bridal party is a wild crew made up of Melissa McCarthy, Rebel Wilson, Ellie Kemper, and Rose Byrne. Throw in Jon Hamm as Wiig's FWB and you've got a killer comedic cast. Rivalries are established, secrets get spilled, feelings get hurt, and there's some excellent airplane comedy - "There is a colonial woman on the wing!" - but in the end (as always) all wounds are healed and things end happily for the bridesmaids.
4. Wedding Crashers
Owen Wilson and Vince Vaugh crashing weddings to meet women? Sign me up. Wedding Crashers has a killer cast and is an absolutely laugh out loud comedy and I love it. Vaughn and Wilson are hilarious in this one and so is Bradley Cooper in a very underrated role as "Sack." The football scene I clipped in is so dang funny. I like almost everything Rachel McAdams does, but this might be my favorite role of hers. She is the perfect girl next door and it's easy to see why John (Wilson) wanted to steal her away from Sack. The supporting cast is so funny, that's one thing the best romantic comedies have in common. Wedding Crashers also has one of Will Ferrell's best bit roles in a hilarious cameo.
3. Jerry Maguire
Yes, it's another sports movie, but Jerry Maguire is so much more than that. And hey, we have another one of tonight's Oscar winners - Renee Zellweger. Tom Cruise plays the titular role of Jerry Maguire, but its Zellweger as Dorothy who really takes the cake in this movie and makes you feel all the feels. When questionable ethics cause Jerry to leave his job, Dorothy is the only one that follows him on his walkout. When she pours her heart out to her sister (played by Bonnie Hunt) it makes you really love the character and want her to be happy with Jerry. And her son is so freakin' cute. Round out the cast with Regina King and Cuba Gooding Jr. as the eccentric Rod Tidwell, and you've got yourself one of my very favorite movies of all time. Geez, I cry a lot in this one too. Especially the clip I attached here. Watch that and tell me you didn't bawl like a baby. I'll call you a liar.
2. The Big Sick
Ok I just very recently watched this and I very nearly put it at number one. It really should be 1-A instead of 2. I love this movie so much. The Big Sick is based on the real life romance of Pakistani comedian Kumail Nanjiani and American writer Emily Gordon. They co-wrote the script together. Kumail plays himself in the movie and Zoe Kazan plays Emily. The movie follows the ethnically diverse couple who must deal with problems when Emily becomes very sick. The Big Sick has more depth than your standard RomCom as Kumail struggles with his own family and Emily's and it's so heartwarming. You pull for both members of the couple the whole time. It's engaging and thoughtful and I cried a lot and it has possibly the funniest joke I have ever heard uttered on screen. I really wanted to clip it in here but I didn't because I want you to go watch this movie more. Kumail Nanjiani's stand up special, "Beta Male," is on Spotify and I can't recommend it enough. He is great in this and in Silicon Valley and I can't wait to see him in The Eternals!
1. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
If I'm going to a desert island, I'm taking this movie with me 10/10 times. Jason Segel wrote a great story and played the role of a guy trying to run away from a break up perfectly. Of course, things take a turn when his ex, the titular Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), shows up on in Hawaii with her new rock star beau, Aldous Snow (Russell Brand). This is my favorite Mila Kunis role and Jonah Hill is hilarious as he keeps trying to get Snow to listen to his demo tape. Supporting roles from Bill Hader and Paul Rudd put this one in the upper echelon of romantic comedies. I quote the weather line from Paul Rudd in the surfing scene I clipped in all the time and no on ever gets it. Russell Brand's songs are absolutely ridiculous and so is Kristen Bell's fake spoof of a TV show - Crime Scene: Scene of the Crime. Again, it's all the supporting roles that make this movie so great. I wish I could clip in all my favorite scenes, but you'll just have to watch this one to see them all!
So there you have it, 10 of my very favorite Romantic Comedies for Valentine's Day. I'm off to see Birds of Prey this weekend so that review will be up soon! Thanks for reading and be sure to leave a like or comment letting me know what your favorite RomComs are, and subscribe to Drive in Double!
- BH
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