Lifestyle of a Fashionista

My first rom-com post covered some of the royals of rom-coms; this post includes more royalty and more categories I’ve created. I will put stars next to my favorites. A favorite is a movie I quote, has my favorite outfits, I would watch again, have watched several times, and share with friends. Movie titles without a rating I haven’t watched or don’t remember.

Rom-Com Royalty (continued)

Freddy Prince Jr.

**Christmas with You (2022 on Netflix)

**She’s All That (1999 on HBO max)

***Head Over Heels (2001)

Down to You (2000 on Hulu)

Summer Catch (2001 rent)

Gwyneth Paltrow

*****Sliding Doors (1998 on HBO max) One of my favorites.

***Shakespeare in Love (1998 on Paramount+)

**View From the Top (2003 on Hulu)

*Shallow Hal (2001 on Hulu)

Emma (1996 on Hulu)

The Anniversary Party (2001 rent)

The Pallbearer (1996 rent)

Great Expectations (1998 on Hulu)

Love and Other Disasters (2006 rent)

Diane Keaton

It’s Complicated (2009 on Hulu)

Baby Boom (1987 on Paramount+)

Book Club (2018 on Paramount+)

Because I Said So (2007 rent)

Maybe I Do (2023)

Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler

***50 First Dates (2004 on Peacock)

**The Wedding Singer (1998 on HBO max)

*Blended (2014 on HBO max)

Drew Barrymore

From Movieweb, Drew Barrymore’s Best Rom-Coms, Ranked

***Fever Pitch (2005 rent), The Red Sox as part of a rom-com makes this one of my favorites.

**Never Been Kissed (1999 on Disney+)

**He’s Just Not That Into You (2009 on Hulu)

**Going the Distance (2010 on HBO max)

Adam Sandler

From BuzzFeed, I Ranked Every Adam Sandler Rom-Com From Worst To Best

***Just Go With It (2011 on Netflix)

*Funny People (2009 on Prime Video)

*Big Daddy (1999 on Prime Video)

*Mr. Deeds (2002 on Peacock)

Reese Witherspoon

***Your Place or Mine (2023 on Netflix)

**How Do You Know (2010 on Hulu)

*Four Christmases (2008 rent)

*Home Again (2017 rent)

***Sweet Home Alabama (2002 on Apple TV+)

***This Means War (2012 on Peacock)

***Legally Blonde (2001 rent)

***Just Like Heaven (2005 rent)

**Pleasantville (1998 rent)

**Penelope (2006 on Prime Video)

Vanity Fair (2004 rent)

The Importance Of Being Earnest (2002 on HBO max)

Cameron Diaz

From E News, What’s Not to Love About Cameron Diaz and Her Iconic Rom-Coms

****The Holiday (2006 on Paramount+)

**Bad Teacher (2011 rent)

*The Other Woman (2014 on HBO max))

**In Her Shoes (2005 on Hulu)

**The Sweetest Thing (2002 rent)

**There’s Something About Mary (1998 on Apple TV+)

*What Happens in Vegas (2008 on HBO max)

**She’s The One (1996 on Hulu)

**The Mask (1994 rent)

*The Other Woman (2014 on HBO max)

Keanu Reeves

****Always Be My Maybe (2019 on Netflix)

**Something’s Gotta Give (2003 on Hulu)

**Destination Wedding (2018 on Hulu)

Jennifer Lopez

From People, A Guide to Jennifer Lopez’s Romantic Comedies Through the Years

*The Backup Plan (2010 on Paramount+)

**(Marry Me (2022 on Prime Video)

*Monster-In-Law (2005 rent)

**Maid in Manhattan (2002 on HBO max)

*Shall We Dance (2004 on Hulu)

**Jersey Girl (2004 on Paramount+)

Gigli (2003 rent)

Katherine Heigl

From Buzzfeed, Katherine Heigl’s Best Rom-Coms, Ranked From Worst To Best

***27 Dresses (2008 rent)

**Life As We Know It (2010 rent)

**The Ugly Truth (2009 on Hulu)

*Knocked up (2007 on Peacock)

Ashton Kutcher

**No Strings Attached (2011 on Paramount+)

**A Lot Like Love (2005)

*New Year’s Eve (2011 rent)

*Killers (2010 on HBO max)

*What Happens in Vegas (2008 on HBO max)

**Just Married (2003 on Prime Video)

Jennifer Aniston and the Actors in Friends

From BuzzFeed, I Watched Every Single Jennifer Aniston Rom-Com — So Here They Are Ranked

**The Object of My Affection (1998 rent)

****Picture Perfect (1997 on Hulu)

***The Switch (2010 on Prime Video)

**Rumor Has It (2005 rent)

**Bruce Almighty (2003 on Prime Video)

**The Bounty Hunter (2010 on Prime Video)

**She’s The One (1996 on Hulu)

*Along Came Polly (2004 on Netflix)

*We’re the Millers (2013 on HBO max and Hulu)

***Just Go With It (2011 on Netflix)

**He’s Just Not That Into You (2009 on Hulu)

*Mother’s Day (2016 rent)

Office Space (1999 on Prime Video and Hulu)

Guest Stars and Other Friends Cast

*Wanderlust (2012 rent) also starring Paul Rudd

*Over Her Dead Body (2008 rent), starring Paul Rudd

The Opposite Sex and How to Live With Them (1992 on Netflix) starring Courteney Cox

Love Sick (2014 on Pluto TV) starring Matt LaBlanc

The Pallbearer (1996 rent) with David Schwimmer

Matthew Perry

**The Whole Nine Yards (2000 rent) 

*17 Again (2009 rent)

*A Night In The Life Of Jimmy Reardon (1988 rent)

**Fools Rush In (1997 on Hulu)

Three To Tango (1999 on Tubi or rent)

Serving Sara (2002 on Tubi or rent)

Lisa Kudrow

**Table 19 (2017 rent)

**P.S. I Love You (2007 on Prime Video)

All Over the Guy (2001)

Nods to Shakespeare

I enjoy a movie with a nod to Shakespeare and a retelling of classic stories.

***10 Things I Hate About You (1999 on Disney+), “The film was inspired by none other than William Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew, re-imagining the titular shrew as Kat Stratford, the willful and deliberately single sister of local sweetheart Bianca. As Bianca’s multiple love interests seek to win her over, they encounter a formidable obstacle: the girls’ father has forbidden Bianca to date until her sister does. With the prospect of Kat Stratford finding a beau of her own seeming incredibly bleak, the boys enlist a mysterious bad boy, Patrick Verona, to win over the older Stratford sister.” Movieweb

***Much Ado About Nothing (1993 on Prime Video), In this Shakespearean farce, Hero (Kate Beckinsale) and her groom-to-be, Claudio (Robert Sean Leonard), team up with Claudio’s commanding officer, Don Pedro (Denzel Washington), the week before their wedding to hatch a matchmaking scheme. Their targets are sharp-witted duo Benedick (Kenneth Branagh) and Beatrice (Emma Thompson) — a tough task indeed, considering their corresponding distaste for love and each other. Meanwhile, meddling Don John (Keanu Reeves) plots to ruin the wedding.

***Deliver Us From Eva (2003 on Peacock), Eva doesn’t let her 3 sisters’ men push them around. She’s always butting in. How to pacify Eva? Find her a man. The men pay a playboy to be that man. The problem is – he falls in love with Eva. Based on “The Taming of the Shrew” IMDb

**Just One of the Guys (1985 -rent), When Terry Griffith (Joyce Hyser) loses her high school’s writing competition, she’s convinced that it’s because she’s a girl. So Terry decides to change high schools and pose as a boy to prove her point. Her brother, Buddy (Billy Jacoby), helps her pass as a guy so well that she is soon making friends with the boys at school, including the attractive Rick (Clayton Rohner), who becomes her new best friend. But her gender-swapping makes things difficult when she falls in love with him.

*Never Been Kissed (1999 on Prime Video and Apple TV+), Josie Geller (Drew Barrymore), a baby-faced junior copywriter at the Chicago Sun-Times, must pose as a student at her former high school to research contemporary teenage culture. With the help of her brother, Rob (David Arquette), Josie infiltrates the inner circle of the most popular clique on campus. But she hits a major snag in her investigation — not to mention her own failed love life — when she falls for her dreamy English teacher, Sam Coulson (Michael Vartan).

Get Over It (2001 on Starz), “Loosely based on `A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, this story centres on Berke Landers, a high school student who is down on his luck. After losing his girlfriend, he resolves to get her back by any means possible.” Stars: Ben Foster, Kirsten Dunst, Melissa Sagemiller, Sisqó, Shane West, Colin Hanks, Zoe Saldana, Mila Kunis, Swoosie Kurtz, Ed Begley Jr., Carmen Electra and Martin Short. 

She’s The Man (2006 on Paramount+), Viola Johnson (Amanda Bynes) is in a real jam. Complications threaten her scheme to pose as her twin brother, Sebastian, and take his place at a new boarding school. She falls in love with her handsome roommate, Duke, who loves beautiful Olivia, who has fallen for Sebastian! As if that were not enough, Viola’s twin returns from London ahead of schedule but has no idea that his sister has already replaced him on campus.

**Shakespeare in Love (1998 on Paramount+) Is a Tale about a fictional relationship between William Shakespeare and a young woman who poses as a man in order to star in one of the writer’s plays. It stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Colin Firth, Ben Affleck, and Judi Dench.

LGBTQ+ Love

From BuzzFeed, These 14 Queer Rom-Coms Will Have You Feeling Every Single Emotion

Love, Simon (2018 on Hulu)  based on the novel Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli. The film stars Nick Robinson, Josh Duhamel, and Jennifer Garner.

***Kissing Jessica Stein (2001 on Hulu) written and co-produced by the film’s stars, Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen. 

***Bros (2022 on Peacock) starring Billy Eichner (screenplay writer) and Luke Macfarlane

**Chasing Amy (1997 on Paramount+) written and directed by Kevin Smith and starring Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, and Jason Lee. 

**In & Out (1997 rent)  starring Kevin Kline, Tom Selleck, Joan Cusack, Matt Dillon, Debbie Reynolds, Bob Newhart, Shalom Harlow, and Wilford Brimley.

***The Birdcage (1996 on HBO max) stars Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman, and Elaine May. A remake of the 1978 French classic, La Cage aux Folles

But I’m a Cheerleader (1999 on Showtime or rent) dark teen comedy starring Natasha Lyonne

I Love You Phillip Morris (2009 Stars Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor. The movie is based on a true story and biography titled I Love You Phillip Morris: A True Story of Life, Love, and Prison Breaks.

Imagine Me & You (2005 rent) starring Piper Perabo and Lena Headey

Happiest Season (2020 on Hulu) Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis. Also starring Dan Levy, Allison Brie, and Aubrey Plaza

The Half of It (2020 on Netflix) coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Alice Wu. It stars Leah Lewis, Daniel Diemer, and Alexxis Lemire, with Enrique Murciano, Wolfgang Novogratz, Catherine Curtin, Becky Ann Baker, and Collin Chou in supporting roles. The film is a modern loose retelling of the 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac

Straight Up (2019 on Netflix) A romantic-comedy drama with a twist; a love story without the thrill of copulation.Todd and Rory are intellectual soul mates. He might be gay. She might not ... Directed by James Sweeney. Sweeney stars in the film with Katie Findlay, Dana Drori, James Scully, Tracie Thoms, Betsy Brandt and Randall Park

Fire Island (2022 on Hulu) written by and starring Joel Kim Booster. The film co-stars Bowen Yang, Conrad Ricamora, James Scully, and Margaret Cho. Inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

Single All the Way (2021 on Netflix) Holiday rom-com starring Michael Urie, Philemon Chambers, Kathy Najimy, Luke Mcfarlane, and Jennifer Coolidge.

Crush (2022 on Hulu) High School rom-com starring Rowan Blanchard

Young Love, High School Love, or Old Flames meet again

*****Adventures in Babysitting (1987 on Disney+) stars Elisabeth Shue, Keith Coogan, Anthony Rapp, and Maia Brewton, and features cameos by blues singer/guitarist Albert Collins and singer-songwriter Southside Johnny Lyon in one of my favorite scenes. “Nobody leaves here without singing the blues.”

****13 Going On 30 (2004 on Peacock) starring Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo

***Some Kind of Wonderful (1987 on HBO max)  starring Eric Stoltz, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Lea Thompson. Written by John Hughes.

****Mean Girls (2004 on Paramount+) written by Tina Fey, and starring Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, Amanda Seyfried 

****Clueless (1995 on Paramount+) written and directed by Amy Heckerling. It stars Alicia Silverstone with supporting roles by Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy and Paul Rudd.

**Reality Bites (1994 on Peacock) post high schoool graduation rom-com. Directed by Ben Stiller, in his directorial debut. It stars Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke and Stiller, with supporting roles by Janeane Garofalo and Steve Zahn. 

**Easy A (2010 on Peacock) starring Emma Stone, Stanley Tucci, Patricia Clarkson, Thomas Haden Church, Dan Byrd, Amanda Bynes, Penn Badgley, Cam Gigandet, Lisa Kudrow, Aly Michalka, and Malcolm McDowell. The screenplay was partially inspired by the 1850 novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

**Secret Admirer (1985 on Prime Video) starring C. Thomas Howell, Lori Loughlin, Kelly Preston and Fred Ward.

*Valley Girl (1983 rent) directed by Martha Coolidge and starring Nicolas Cage, Deborah Foreman, Michelle Meyrink, Elizabeth Daily, Cameron Dye and Michael Bowen. The plot is based loosely on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

****Can’t Buy Me Love (1987 on Prime Video) starring Patrick Dempsey and Amanda Peterson. Can you go from geek to cool by “dating” the head cheerleader?

***Lucas (1986 on HBO max)  starring Corey Haim, Kerri Green, Charlie Sheen, Winona Ryder, and Courtney Thorne-Smith. 

**Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter is Dead (1991 on HBO max) starring Christina Applegate, Joanna Cassidy, Keith Coogan, John Getz and Josh Charles. 

**John Tucket Must Die (2006 rent) directed by Betty Thomas. Stars Jesse Metcalfe, Brittany Snow, Ashanti, Sophia Bush, and Penn Badgley

Love with Deception, Lying, Misleading, Secrets, Missunderstadings, and Complicated Relationships

The movies in this category involve characters who lie, pretend to be someone else, have a secret or are misleading in their actions. Also included are films where the characters have complicated relationships because of jobs, kids, family, time travel, money, love triangles, problematic exes, and miscommunication.

****Amélie (2001) French-language romantic comedy film. It tells the story of a shy waitress, played by Audrey Tautou, who decides to change the lives of those around her for the better while dealing with her own isolation. The film features an ensemble cast of supporting roles, including Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Lorella Cravotta, Serge Merlin, Jamel Debbouze, Claire Maurier, Clotilde Mollet, Isabelle Nanty, Dominique Pinon, Artus de Penguern, Yolande Moreau, Urbain Cancelier, and Maurice Bénichou. (and a traveling gnome)

The Parent Trap (1998 on HBO max), directed and co-written by Nancy Meyers starring Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson star as a divorced couple who separated shortly after their identical twin daughters’ birth; Lindsay Lohan 

**You Again (2010 Disney+) stars Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, Odette Yustman, James Wolk, Victor Garber, Billy Unger, Kyle Bornheimer, Kristin Chenoweth, and Betty White

****Palm Springs (2020 on Hulu) Love and time travel.

****Crazy Rich Asians (2018 on HBO max) Love is complicated with a pushy rich family.

***Only You (1994 on Hulu) Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr. in Italy. Can they fall in love if she still believes that she is intended to be with someone else?

**Someone Like You (2001 on Hulu) Stars Ashley Judd, Greg Kinnear, Hugh Jackman, Marisa Tomei, and Ellen Barkin, and follows a heartbroken woman looking for a reason why she was dumped.

*Just my luck (2006 on Hulu) Is Lindsay Lohan lucky in love?

***Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004 on Prime Video) A complicated love story starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. The film features an ensemble supporting cast that includes Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, and Tom Wilkinson. Wikepedia

The Best Man (1999 on Prime Video) The film stars an ensemble cast led by Taye Diggs and Nia Long, with the debut of Regina Hall.

*Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008 on Prime Video) starring Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis and Russell Brand. The film, which was written by Segel and co-produced by Judd Apatow, was released by Universal Pictures. The opening scene was inspired by something that happened to Segal with an ex.

***Something at Tiffany’s (2022 on Prime Video) A ring mix-up around the holidays. Cute story with a great cast.

***Definitely, Maybe (2008 on Prime Video) A cute story about love told by a single dad, starring Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz, Elizabeth Banks, Abigail Breslin, and Kevin Kline. 

****Lars and the Real Girl (2007 on Prime Video) A quirky love story starring Ryan Gosling.

**The Nanny Diaries (2007 on Paramount+) Starring Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Alicia Keys, and Laura Linney based on a book.

***Coming to America (1988 on HBO max) Lots of comedy and a little bit of love with Eddie Murphy. Can a future king find love in Queens?

***He Said, She Said (1991) Stars Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth Perkins as two journalists working in the same office with a complicated love story. Watch the story from two different points of view.

**My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002 on HBO max) Written by Nia Vardalos, who also stars in the film as Fotoula “Toula” Portokalos, a middle-class Greek American woman who falls in love with White Anglo-Saxon Protestant Ian Miller.

*Boomerang (1992 on HBO max) Stars Eddie Murphy as an ad-exec and features Halle Berry, David Alan Grier, Martin Lawrence, Grace Jones, Eartha Kitt and Chris Rock.

**Friends with Benefits (2011 on HBO max) Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis. 

***Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011 on HBO max) Starring Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei and Kevin Bacon. The Dirty Dancing move is something Gosling did on dates prior to filming.

****Dan in Real Life on (2007 on Apple TV+) A complicate love story with family fun and drama. Stars Steve Carell, Alison Pill, Juliette Binoche, Dianne Wiest, John Mahoney Emily Blunt, and Dane Cook. One of my favorites.

*The Five-Year Engagement (2012 on Prime Video or Apple TV+) Emily Blunt and Jason Segal, will they every get married?

**Down with Love (2003 rent) Inspired by 1960s love stories,  stars Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor,

***Hitch (2005 rent) Can a matchmaker find love? starring Will Smith, Eva Mendes, Kevin James, and Amber Valletta.

***Groundhog Day (1993 rent) Bill Murray and Andy McDowell repeating the same day to find love.

****Roxanne (1987 rent) starring Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah It is a modern retelling of Edmond Rostand’s 1897 verse play Cyrano de Bergerac, adapted by Steve Martin. Funny and cute.

****Working Girl (1988 rent) starring Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, and Melanie Griffith. Deception and a love triangle with a solid soundtrack by Carly Simon.

***Little Black Book (2004 on HBO max) Is omission a betrayal? starring Brittany Murphy, Holly Hunter, Ron Livingston, Julianne Nicholson, and Kathy Bates. With a nod to Carly Simon makes a cameo appearance at the end of the film.

**As Good as it Gets (1997 rent) Written by James Brooks, stars Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, and Greg Kinnear 

**Silver Linings Playbook (2012 on Hulu) based on a book, stars Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence (won an oscar for this role), with Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker, Anupam Kher, John Ortiz and Julia Stiles in supporting roles.

The Incredible Jessica James (2017 on Netflix)

**Love and Other Drugs (2010 rent) based on Jamie Reidy’s 2005 non-fiction book Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria, Josh Gad and Gabriel Macht, the film tells the story of a medicine peddler in 1990s Pittsburgh who starts a relationship with a young woman suffering from an illness that leads to Parkinson’s disease.

*Uptown Girls (2003 rent) Brittany Murphy and  Dakota Fanning. Can a down on her luck rockstar’s daughter find success and love?

***How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998 on Starz) adapted from Terry McMillan’s best-selling 1996 novel of the same title. The film stars Angela Bassett, Taye Diggs (in his film debut), Whoopi Goldberg, and Regina King. 

***Long Shot (2019 on Hulu) The plot follows a journalist (Seth Rogen) who reunites with his former babysitter (Charlize Theron), now the United States Secretary of State. Love and politics are complicated.

Love Jones (1997 on HBO max) stars Larenz Tate, Nia Long, Isaiah Washington, Bill Bellamy, and Lisa Nicole Carson.

****Defending Your Life (1991 rent) Written, directed, and starring Albert Brooks, the film also stars Meryl Streep. about a man who finds himself on trial in the afterlife, where proceedings examine his lifelong fears, to determine whether he’ll be (yet again) reincarnated on Earth. 

**Broadcast News (1987 rent) written, produced and directed by James L. Brooks. Stars William Hurt, Albert Brooks, and Holly Hunter

**The Big Sick (2017 on Prime Video) written by Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani based on a true love story.

**50/50 (2011 on Prime Video and Hulu) starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Anjelica Huston. The film is loosely inspired by Will Reiser’s own experience with cancer, with Rogen’s character Kyle based on Rogen himself. 

**Bridesmaids (2011 on Prime Video) directed by Paul Feig, written by Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig. Also stars Maya Rudolph. Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Ellie Kemper, and Wendi McLendon-Covey 

*Isn’t it Romantic (2019 on Hulu)  What is a true love story? Starring Rebel Wilson, Liam Hemsworth, Adam DeVine, and Priyanka Chopra

***About Fate (2022 on Prime Video) Emma Roberts and Thomas Mann in a complicated and fun love story.

The Prince and Me (2004 on Paramount+) starring Julia Stiles, Luke Mably and Ben Miller, with Miranda Richardson, James Fox and Alberta Watson.

**What Women Want (2000 on Paramount+) Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt

**Sabrina (1995 rent) and (1954 on Paramount+)

***Laws of Attraction (2004 rent)  Stars Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore as high-powered divorce attorneys stumbling into love.

****Legal Eagles (1986 rent) directed by Ivan Reitman. Starring Robert Redford, Debra Winger, and Daryl Hannah. A complicated legal case and love story.

**Mrs. Winterborne (1997 on HBO max)  starring Shirley MacLaine, Ricki Lake, and Brendan Fraser. It is loosely based on Cornell Woolrich’s novel I Married a Dead Man.

**Crocodile Dundee (1986 on HBO max) stars Paul Hogan (writer) and  Linda Kozlowski. Inspired by the true-life exploits of Rod Ansell.

***When in Rome (2010) stars Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel. Also starring Dax Shepard, Don Johnson, Anjelica Huston, Danny DeVito, and Will Arnett.

**Keeping the Faith (2000 rent) A love triangle between childhood friends involving a priest and a rabbi. Ben Stiller, Edward Norton (in his directorial debut), Jenna Elfman, Eli Wallach, and Anne Bancroft. 

**Chances Are (1989 rent) starring Cybill Shepherd, Robert Downey Jr., Ryan O’Neal, and Mary Stuart Masterson 

**Friends with Kids (2012 rent) written, produced, and directed by Jennifer Westfeldt, who also stars in the film with Adam Scott, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Chris O’Dowd, Megan Fox, and Edward Burns 

**She’s Having a Baby (1989 HBO max) written by John Hughes and starring Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern.

*Lala Land (2016 rent) stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. Dancing, singing, and falling in love.

**Housesitter (1992 rent)  starring Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn. A con-artist who worms her way into the life of a reserved architect by claiming to be his wife.

**Overboard (1987 on HBO max) directed by Garry Marshall, starring real life couple Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell

*Overboard (2018 on Hulu) a remake that stars Eugenio Derbez, Anna Faris, Eva Longoria, and John Hannah.

***It Could Happen to You (1994 on Tubi)  starring Nicolas Cage and Bridget Fonda in a plot inspired by a real-life news story

**Made of Honor (2008 Netflix)  Patrick Dempsey, Michelle Monaghan, and Sydney Pollack

**The Truth About Cats and Dogs (on HBO max)

****Moonstruck (1987 on Showtime or rent) starring Cher, Nicolas Cage, Danny Aiello, Olympia Dukakis, and Vincent Gardenia. 

**Arthur (1981 rent) Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli

**Tootsie (1982 on Paramount+) directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Dustin Hoffman. Its supporting cast includes Pollack, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Bill Murray, Charles Durning, George Gaynes, Geena Davis 

**No Reservations (2016 rent) Love in the kitchen.  Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart, and Abigail Breslin

***Dave (1993 rent) Love, politics and impersonations. Directed by Ivan Reitman, written by Gary Ross, and starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver. Frank Langella, Kevin Dunn, Laura Linney, Ving Rhames, Charles Grodin, and Ben Kingsley appear in supporting roles.

**New in Town (2009 rent) starring Renée Zellweger, Harry Connick Jr., and Siobhan Fallon Hogan.

***Return to Me (2000 rent) directed by Bonnie Hunt and starring David Duchovny and Minnie Driver. 

**The Wedding Date (2005 rent) starring Debra Messing, Dermot Mulroney, and Amy Adams. Based on the 2002 novel Asking for Trouble by Elizabeth Young.

***Yesterday (2019 rent) A British rom-com where Himesh Patel stars as struggling musician Jack Malik who suddenly finds himself as the only person who remembers the Beatles and becomes famous for performing their songs.

****Michael (1996 on HBO max) directed by Nora Ephron. Stars John Travolta, Andie MacDowell, William Hurt, Bob Hoskins, Joey Lauren Adams, and Robert Pastorelli 

**Grumpy Old Men (1993 on HBO max) starring Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret, Burgess Meredith, Daryl Hannah, Kevin Pollak, Ossie Davis and Buck Henry.

**The American President (1995 on Hulu or rent) written by Aaron Sorkin. Micheal Douglas and Annette Bening. Martin Sheen, Michael J. Fox and Richard Dreyfuss star in supporting roles.

**Under the Tuscan Sun (2003 rent) directed by Audrey Wells and starring Diane Lane. Based on Frances Mayes’ 1996 memoir of the same name.

***A Fish Called Wanda (1988 on Prime Video) written by Charles Crichton and John Cleese. It stars Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, and Michael Palin.

***Blind Date (1987 rent) directed by Blake Edwards and starring Bruce Willis (in his first credited lead role) and Kim Basinger.

***Seems Like Old Times (1980) Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase

*Summer School (1987 rent) Directed by Carl Reiner and starring Mark Harmon, Kirstie Alley and Courtney Thorne-Smith.

Meet Cute (2002 on Peacock) starring Kaley Cuoco and Pete Davidson, involves time traveling.

Love and Sports

***Jerry Maguire (1996 on Netflix) Love and a sports agent. Written, produced, and directed by Cameron Crowe; it stars Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., Renée Zellweger, and Regina King. 

Just Wright (2010 on Peacock) Love and basketball, starring Queen Latifah and Common.

Love & Basketball (2000 on HBO max) written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood in her feature film directorial debut. stars Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps

Bull Durham (1988 on HBO max) Love and baseball. Stars Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, and Tim Robbins.

***Major League (1989 rent) Love and baseball. Stars Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes, James Gammon, Bob Uecker, Rene Russo, Margaret Whitton, Dennis Haysbert, and Corbin Bernsen.

****Bring It On (2000 rent) Cheerleading and love. The film stars Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Jesse Bradford, and Gabrielle Union. 

***Wimbledon (2004 on Prime Video) stars Paul Bettany as a tennis pro (once ranked 11th) and Kirsten Dunst as an up-and-coming tennis star. Sam Neill and Jon Favreau co-star.

****Karate Kid (1984 on Prime Video) stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue and William Zabka.

****Bend it Like Beckham (2002 on Disney+) stars Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anupam Kher, Juliet Stevenson, Shaznay Lewis, and Archie Panjabi

Love, Action, and Comedy

***Knight and Day (2010 rent) starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz.

****Romancing the Stone (1984 Prime Video) directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Diane Thomas. Starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner.

**Bird on a Wire (1990 rent) Goldie Hawn and Mel Gibson

**Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010 on Netflix) based on the graphic novel series Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O’Malley. It stars Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Chris Evans, Anna Kendrick, Brie Larson, Aubrey Plaza, and Ellen Wong.

Musical Rom-Coms (with some drama)

**Mamma Mia (2008 rent)

***Grease (1978 on Paramount+)

****Dirty Dancing (1987 on Paramount+)

****Footloose (1984 on HBO max)

***Footloose (2011 on Prime Video)

****Pitch Perfect (2012 rent)

Older rom-coms: 40s, 50s, 60s

***Desk Set (1957 rent)

**Roman Holiday (1953 rent)

The Shop Around the Corner (1940 rent)

Funny Face (1957 on Paramount+)

His Girl Friday (1940 on Prime Video)

It Happened One Night (1934 rent)

The Seven Year Itch (1955 on Hulu)

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953 rent)

The Apartment (1960 on Paramount+)

Guys and Dolls (1955 musical on Prime Video)

****Singing in the Rain (1952 on HBO max)

The End

This marks the end of my rom-com lists, I’m sure I forgot to include some famous rom-coms, but I did my best to fit my favorites. (Here is a link to Wikepedia’s full list of rom-coms: List of romantic comedy films)

After putting together my lists, I realized it’s hard to recreate rom-com magic from earlier years, but I will continue to root for the success of new rom-coms.

From Vanity Fair, The State of the Union: Why There’s Still Hope for Rom-Coms