Romantic Comedy
by bryan-shumaker | created - 12 Aug 2013 | updated - 02 Dec 2014 | PublicRomantic Comedy - Film School, A Cinematic Education. A list of the greatest, and most influential movies in this genre. This is required viewing to receive a passing grade in this particular genre.
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1. Love Actually (2003)
R | 135 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
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, England.
Director: Richard Curtis | Stars: Hugh Grant, Martine McCutcheon, Liam Neeson, Laura Linney
Votes: 531,543 | Gross: $59.70M
2. Hitch (I) (2005)
PG-13 | 118 min | Comedy, Romance
A smooth-talking man falls for a hardened columnist while helping a shy accountant woo a beautiful heiress.
Director: Andy Tennant | Stars: Will Smith, Eva Mendes, Kevin James, Amber Valletta
Votes: 335,450 | Gross: $179.50M
3. 50 First Dates (2004)
PG-13 | 99 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Henry Roth is a man afraid of commitment until he meets the beautiful Lucy. They hit it off and Henry think he's finally found the girl of his dreams until discovering she has short-term memory loss and forgets him the next day.
Director: Peter Segal | Stars: Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Rob Schneider, Sean Astin
Votes: 382,216 | Gross: $120.91M
4. Along Came Polly (2004)
PG-13 | 90 min | Comedy, Romance
A buttoned-up newlywed finds his strictly organized life descend into chaos when he falls in love with an old classmate.
Director: John Hamburg | Stars: Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, Debra Messing, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Votes: 143,664 | Gross: $88.10M
5. The Wedding Singer (1998)
PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy, Music, Romance
Robbie, a singer, and Julia, a waitress, are both engaged, but to the wrong people. Fortune intervenes to help them discover each other.
Director: Frank Coraci | Stars: Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Christine Taylor, Allen Covert
Votes: 162,328 | Gross: $80.25M
6. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)
R | 111 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Devastated Peter takes a Hawaiian vacation in order to deal with the recent break-up with his TV star girlfriend, Sarah. Little does he know, Sarah's traveling to the same resort as her ex - and she's bringing along her new boyfriend.
Director: Nicholas Stoller | Stars: Kristen Bell, Jason Segel, Paul Rudd, Mila Kunis
Votes: 302,481 | Gross: $63.17M
7. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Harry and Sally have known each other for years, and are very good friends, but they fear sex would ruin the friendship.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, Bruno Kirby
Votes: 242,747 | Gross: $92.82M
8. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
R | 117 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Over the course of five social occasions, a committed bachelor must consider the notion that he may have discovered love.
Director: Mike Newell | Stars: Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell, James Fleet, Simon Callow
Votes: 166,169 | Gross: $52.70M
9. Definitely, Maybe (2008)
PG-13 | 112 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A political consultant tries to explain his impending divorce and past relationships to his 11-year-old daughter.
Director: Adam Brooks | Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Rachel Weisz, Abigail Breslin, An Nguyen
Votes: 173,263 | Gross: $31.97M
10. A Lot Like Love (2005)
PG-13 | 107 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Unacquainted Emily and Oliver join the mile-high club together on the way from LAX to NYC--end of story. Except that they keep meeting constantly over the next seven years..
Director: Nigel Cole | Stars: Ashton Kutcher, Amanda Peet, Taryn Manning, Aimee Garcia
Votes: 71,210 | Gross: $21.84M
11. 40 Days and 40 Nights (2002)
R | 96 min | Comedy, Romance
After a brutal break-up, a young man vows to stay celibate during the forty days of Lent, but finds the girl of his dreams and is unable to do anything about it.
Director: Michael Lehmann | Stars: Josh Hartnett, Shannyn Sossamon, Paulo Costanzo, Adam Trese
Votes: 75,817 | Gross: $37.95M
12. He's Just Not That Into You (2009)
PG-13 | 129 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
This Baltimore-set movie of interconnecting story arcs deals with the challenges of reading or misreading human behavior.
Director: Ken Kwapis | Stars: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connelly, Morgan Lily
Votes: 182,246 | Gross: $93.95M
13. Dan in Real Life (I) (2007)
PG-13 | 98 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A widower finds out the woman he fell in love with is his brother's girlfriend.
Director: Peter Hedges | Stars: Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche, Dane Cook, Alison Pill
Votes: 106,999 | Gross: $47.64M
14. Shallow Hal (2001)
PG-13 | 114 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A shallow man falls in love with a 300-pound woman because of her inner beauty.
Directors: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly | Stars: Jack Black, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jason Alexander, Joe Viterelli
Votes: 144,789 | Gross: $70.84M
15. Date Night (2010)
PG-13 | 88 min | Comedy, Crime, Romance
In New York City, a case of mistaken identity turns a bored married couple's attempt at a glamorous and romantic evening into something more thrilling and dangerous.
Director: Shawn Levy | Stars: Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Mark Wahlberg, Taraji P. Henson
Votes: 172,183 | Gross: $98.71M
16. Serendipity (2001)
PG-13 | 90 min | Comedy, Romance
A couple search for each other years after the night they first met, fell in love, and separated, convinced that one day they'd end up together.
Director: Peter Chelsom | Stars: John Cusack, Kate Beckinsale, Jeremy Piven, Bridget Moynahan
Votes: 121,379 | Gross: $50.29M
17. Friends with Benefits (2011)
R | 109 min | Comedy, Romance
A young man and woman decide to take their friendship to the next level without becoming a couple, but soon discover that adding sex only leads to complications.
Director: Will Gluck | Stars: Mila Kunis, Justin Timberlake, Patricia Clarkson, Jenna Elfman
Votes: 394,580 | Gross: $55.80M
18. The Proposal (I) (2009)
PG-13 | 108 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A pushy boss forces her young assistant to marry her in order to keep her visa status in the U.S. and avoid deportation to Canada.
Director: Anne Fletcher | Stars: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson
Votes: 360,364 | Gross: $163.96M
19. 27 Dresses (2008)
PG-13 | 111 min | Comedy, Romance
After serving as a bridesmaid 27 times, a young woman wrestles with the idea of standing by her sister's side as her sibling marries the man she's secretly in love with.
Director: Anne Fletcher | Stars: Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Malin Akerman, Brian Kerwin
Votes: 175,142 | Gross: $76.81M
20. Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)
PG | 104 min | Comedy, Romance
A college grad lands a job as a financial journalist in New York City to support where she nurtures her shopping addiction and falls for a wealthy entrepreneur.
Director: P.J. Hogan | Stars: Isla Fisher, Hugh Dancy, Krysten Ritter, Joan Cusack
Votes: 83,112 | Gross: $44.28M
21. Made of Honor (2008)
PG-13 | 101 min | Comedy, Romance
Hannah surprises Tom, her best friend who is secretly in love with her, with the news of her engagement to a wealthy man. Things take a complicated turn when she asks Tom to be her maid of honor.
Director: Paul Weiland | Stars: Patrick Dempsey, Michelle Monaghan, Kevin McKidd, Kadeem Hardison
Votes: 76,051 | Gross: $46.01M
22. The Wedding Date (2005)
PG-13 | 90 min | Comedy, Romance
Single-girl anxiety causes Kat Ellis to hire a male escort to pose as her boyfriend at her sister's wedding. Her plan, an attempt to dupe her ex-fiancé, who dumped her a couple years prior, proves to be her undoing.
Director: Clare Kilner | Stars: Dermot Mulroney, Debra Messing, Jack Davenport, Amy Adams
Votes: 56,303 | Gross: $31.73M
23. The Wedding Planner (2001)
PG-13 | 103 min | Comedy, Romance
Mary Fiore is San Francisco's most successful supplier of romance and glamor. She knows all the tricks. She knows all the rules. But then she breaks the most important rule of all: she falls in love with the groom.
Director: Adam Shankman | Stars: Jennifer Lopez, Matthew McConaughey, Bridgette Wilson-Sampras, Justin Chambers
Votes: 86,538 | Gross: $60.40M
24. Maid in Manhattan (2002)
PG-13 | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A Senatorial candidate falls for a hotel maid, thinking she is a socialite, when he sees her trying on a wealthy woman's dress.
Director: Wayne Wang | Stars: Jennifer Lopez, Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, Stanley Tucci
Votes: 96,203 | Gross: $94.01M
25. The Back-up Plan (2010)
PG-13 | 104 min | Comedy, Romance
A woman conceives twins through artificial insemination, then meets the man of her dreams on the very same day.
Director: Alan Poul | Stars: Jennifer Lopez, Alex O'Loughlin, Michaela Watkins, Eric Christian Olsen
Votes: 52,275 | Gross: $37.49M
26. Two Weeks Notice (2002)
PG-13 | 101 min | Comedy, Romance
A lawyer decides that she's used too much like a nanny by her boss, so she walks out on him.
Director: Marc Lawrence | Stars: Sandra Bullock, Hugh Grant, Alicia Witt, Dana Ivey
Votes: 125,938 | Gross: $93.35M
27. While You Were Sleeping (1995)
PG | 103 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A hopelessly romantic Chicago Transit Authority ticket booth operator is mistaken for the fiancée of a comatose patient.
Director: Jon Turteltaub | Stars: Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman, Peter Gallagher, Peter Boyle
Votes: 114,014 | Gross: $81.06M
28. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
PG | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A recently widowed man's son calls a radio talk-show in an attempt to find his father a partner.
Director: Nora Ephron | Stars: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Ross Malinger, Rita Wilson
Votes: 190,882 | Gross: $126.53M
29. Runaway Bride (1999)
PG | 116 min | Comedy, Romance
A reporter is assigned to write a story about a woman who has left a string of fiancés at the altar.
Director: Garry Marshall | Stars: Julia Roberts, Richard Gere, Joan Cusack, Hector Elizondo
Votes: 104,508 | Gross: $152.26M
30. Notting Hill (1999)
PG-13 | 124 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A set of circumstances makes Anna Scott, a famous actress, fall in love with William Thacker, owner of a bookstore in Notting Hill. But the paparazzi's fascination with her complicates their bond.
Director: Roger Michell | Stars: Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts, Richard McCabe, Rhys Ifans
Votes: 342,307 | Gross: $116.09M
31. You've Got Mail (1998)
PG | 119 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Book superstore magnate Joe Fox and independent book shop owner Kathleen Kelly fall in love in the anonymity of the Internet, both blissfully unaware that he's trying to put her out of business.
Director: Nora Ephron | Stars: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Greg Kinnear, Parker Posey
Votes: 229,691 | Gross: $115.82M
32. Pretty Woman (1990)
R | 119 min | Comedy, Romance
A man in a legal but hurtful business needs an escort for some social events, and hires a beautiful prostitute he meets... only to fall in love.
Director: Garry Marshall | Stars: Richard Gere, Julia Roberts, Jason Alexander, Laura San Giacomo
Votes: 362,444 | Gross: $178.41M
33. Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Bridget Jones is determined to improve herself while she looks for love in a year in which she keeps a personal diary.
Director: Sharon Maguire | Stars: Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Gemma Jones
Votes: 263,617 | Gross: $71.54M
34. 500 Days of Summer (2009)
PG-13 | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
After being dumped by the girl he believes to be his soulmate, hopeless romantic Tom Hansen reflects on their relationship to try and figure out where things went wrong and how he can win her back.
Director: Marc Webb | Stars: Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Geoffrey Arend, Chloë Grace Moretz
Votes: 558,043 | Gross: $32.39M
35. Secretary (2002)
R | 107 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A young woman, recently released from a mental hospital, gets a job as a secretary to a demanding lawyer, where their employer-employee relationship turns into a sexual, sadomasochistic one.
Director: Steven Shainberg | Stars: James Spader, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jeremy Davies, Lesley Ann Warren
Votes: 98,617 | Gross: $4.06M
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