According to Letterboxd, the 10 best rom-coms of all time
In homage to Valentine’s Day and the celebration of love, it’s time to indulge in some classic feel-good rom-coms. While some might argue that the nature of rom-coms means viewers know how they’ll play out, there’s something reassuring about the simplicity and familiarity of these benevolent stories.
There have been many attempts at making a good rom-com film over the years, but not many have managed to achieve classic status. Put your worries aside because Letterboxd has made it easy for you to identify the best rom-com movies of all time, including a few When Harry met Sally…, Amelie And 500 days of summer.
10 ‘500 Days of Summer’ (2009)
Tom (Joseph Gordon Levitt) is a greeting card writer and hopeless romantic who turns into his new colleagues Summer (Zooey Deschanel). Although they initially didn’t want to admit they liked each other, they hit it off pretty quickly after Summer made the first move. A casual relationship quickly turns into a serious one. While Tom has always been certain that Summer is “the one,” it’s apparent that Summer has always had doubts about their relationship. So Tom is caught off guard when Summer decides to break up with him.
500 days of summer is presented in a non-linear narrative that jumps back and forth within the 500 days of their relationship. Tom tells about their beginnings of getting to know each other until the moment when the relationship went wrong. Yes, it’s a classic boy meets girl story, but one that feels more grounded in reality.
9 “It Happened One Night” (1934)
A spoiled heiress, Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert), ran away and killed the pilot “King” Westley (Jameson Thomas) against her father’s wishes. On a bus bound for New York City, Ellie sits next to reporter Peter Warne (Clark Gable) who recognizes them. He gives her a choice: either she gives him an exclusive story and he will help her reunite with Westley in return, or he will inform her father of her whereabouts. But when the bus breaks down and they have to embark on several adventures of their own, they begin to fall in love.
As It happened one night was released in 1934, and the on-screen story became the basis for every single romantic comedy filmed since. In other words, the film pioneered a timeless story that many romantic comedies have reused many, many times.
8th ‘Amelie’ (2001)
Amelie Poulain (Audrey Tautou) is a young girl isolated from the real world from a young age because she was raised by eccentric parents who mistakenly believed she had a heart defect. Amélie’s keen imagination is the only thing that keeps her company. At 18 she moved to Paris to work as a waitress in an eccentric café. And since Amélie is experiencing what life has to offer for the first time, she often helps people – something that makes her happy. In doing so, she discovers what it means to lead a meaningful life and experiences experiences such as falling in love with Nino (Mathieu Kassowitz) is a feeling that makes life worth living.
Unlike most rom-coms, Amelie It’s not just about falling in love with someone, it’s about falling in love with the world. Since this is a movie that teaches its audience that the only way to find love is by doing the things that make them happy, even viewers who don’t like romantic comedies will appreciate it.
7 ‘The Apartment’ (1960)
Bud Baxter (jack lemmon) is a clerk at an insurance company in New York City. Desperate for a promotion, he allows four managers working at the same company to use his apartment as a hideout for their extramarital affairs. But when Bud asks the elevator operator, Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine), on whom he has a crush, he discovers on a date that she is the mistress of his manager Mr. Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray), who also uses his apartment for his affairs. Now Bud must choose between Fran and his career.
Not only is The apartment Considered one of letterboxed’s best rom-com films of all time, it’s also been nominated for numerous awards, including winning five out of ten Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and more.
6 “Groundhog Day” (1993)
A TV weatherman, Phil Connors (Bill Murray), travels to Punxsutawney to cover the annual Groundhog Day celebrations. The next day he wakes up Sonny & Cher‘s “I Got You Babe” and later covers the celebration of Groundhog Day. The next day, the day after, etc. Phil keeps waking up on February 2nd and reliving the same day over and over again. Realizing that he is stuck in a time warp, he realizes that his actions have no consequences and uses them to his advantage to manipulate others.
One day he seduces his producer Rita Hanson (Andie MacDowell). But after many days and attempts to seduce her, he fails every time. Things only start to improve for Phil when he changes his manipulative attitude and instead uses the time warp to help people. In turn, Rita begins to see Phil differently. Although Groundhog Day falling into many genre categories, it is ultimately a love story, as love was what it took to change for the better.
5 “The Great Sick” (2017)
Kumail Nanjiani (who plays a fictionalized version of himself) is a Pakistani immigrant who aspires to become a stand-up comic in New York City. After one of his shows he decides to meet the girl Emily (Zoe Kazan), who harassed him during his performance. They soon develop feelings for each other. At home, Kumail’s parents pressure him to meet various Pakistani women and accuse him of an arranged marriage. This leads to a heated argument between Kumail and Emily and they decide to break up.
However, the next day, Kumail receives word that Emily has been hospitalized and is in a coma. Devastated, he visits Emily invariably every day and even becomes friends with her parents. Based on Kumail Nanjiani and his wife’s relationship, Emily V Gordon, The big sick examines the struggles and cultural differences faced by a multiracial couple.
4 “Annie Hall” (1977)
The film opens with comedian Alvy Singer (Woody Allen), who reflects on the early years of his childhood and upbringing before revealing the full story of his relationship with a nightclub singer, Annie Hall (Diana Keaton). Alvy examines the struggles of their relationship and how it was ultimately ended by realizing their differences.
Unlike a lot of rom-com movies Annie Hall is a more realistic idea of what romantic relationships can be. Not all relationships last and not all stories have happy endings.
3 “The Princess Bride” (1987)
Based on the 1973 William Goldman novel of the same name, The Prince’s Bride follows the story of a young woman, Buttercup (Robin Wright), who lives in the Kingdom of Florin. After her lover Westley (Cary Elwes) is presumed dead from a ship attack, she is forced to rescue Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon). But before her wedding ceremony, she is kidnapped by three outlaws but luckily she is being pursued by a masked man who turns out to be her lost love Westley. Now they must brave whatever evil comes their way and finally reunite.
Since its release The Prince’s Bride has become a cult classic and is considered “a perfect film”, partly because it’s extremely quotable, but also because it breathes new life into an old damsel-in-distress tale. The film was frequently included in top film lists and was voted one of the top 100 greatest screenplays of all time by the Writers Guild of America.
2 ’10 Things I Hate About You’ (1999)
Sophomore Cameron (Joseph Gordon Levitt) falls in love with Bianca (Larisa Olejnik), but learns that she is forbidden from dating until her older sister Kat (Julia Stiles) starts dating. Cameron tries to solve his problem by asking his new friend, Senior Joey Donner (Andrew Keegan) to find a guy who could take on her: bad boy with a tarnished reputation, Patrick Verona (the late Heath Ledger).
But there’s a twist: for $500, Patrick has to make Kat fall madly in love with him, only to break her heart before the end of the school year. But the more time Kat spends with Patrick, the more she develops feelings for him. Featuring an iconic cast and storyline, 10 things I hate about you remains a force to be reckoned with.
1 “When Harry Met Sally…” (1989)
Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (meg ryan) are recent college graduates from the University of Chicago who share a cab to New York City for their new jobs. During the car ride, the two have different ideas about whether men and women can be platonic friends without sex getting in the way, an idea Sally supports but Harry denies. After the trip, they part ways. Five years later they meet again on a flight, this time both meeting with other people. Harry insists they become friends, but Sally refuses.
Another five years pass and they meet in a bookstore. This time, they agree to maintain a friendship, but as they spend more time in each other’s company, they develop a mutual attraction, testing the very idea they’ve fought over for the past decade . When Harry met Sally… has remained one of the most memorable rom-coms for many reasons: great story, great performances and of course, who could forget that iconic diner scene?
https://collider.com/best-romantic-comedies-ranked-letterboxd/ According to Letterboxd, the 10 best rom-coms of all time
