10 Things I Love About Rom-Coms

Every time I hear The Smiths play, I immediately think of what I like to consider a psychological thriller: “500 Days of Summer.” Dubbed a “comedy/romance” movie, this film takes you through the awful situationship of Tom and Summer; you get first-hand experience of what “talking stages” are like nowadays. These types of so-called rom-coms might be up your alley, but what about the cheesy, gushy ones from the 90s and 2000s? To me, a rom-com should have cheesy—but heartfelt—elements that make the film worth watching, however, it seems as if those are incapable of being produced recently. Now, I would consider myself a romantic comedy expert, so here’s my list of some of the best romantic comedies ever produced. 

If you’ve seen “500 Days of Summer” I urge you not to judge films that Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in too quickly because he also stars in “10 Things I Hate About You.” Right off the bat, this movie screams “rom-com.” Based on Shakespeare’s play “Taming of the Shrew,” this movie follows a nerdy new guy as he attempts to ask out the deemed “hottest girl at school.” When he finds out she can’t date until her formidable, love-hating sister does, he pays the “bad boy” to take her on dates. I could watch this movie on repeat, I mean it’s the perfect rom-com. It features school stereotypes, the whole “I was a bet” speech, and a cheesy performance on the school bleachers. What more could you ask for? 

Another top-tier movie is “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.” Starring Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey, you see the love story unfold between a journalist who is attempting to lose a guy in 10 days and a marketing executive who conversely is trying to make a girl fall in love with him in 10 days. Don’t worry, this movie also features a musical number and the “I was a bet” speech. And, it will definitely give you some tips on how not to act in a relationship…

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“27 Dresses,” “Ugly Love,” “Pretty Women,” “13 Going on 30,” and “She’s All That,” are also masterpiece romantic comedies. If you’re looking for some tough watches though, I have those as well. Firstly, if you’re attempting to find a movie and you land on a recent Netflix Original, then it’s almost always going to be bad.

 “He’s All That” is an attempt at a gender-swapped “She’s All That,” and they did not hit the mark. At all. If you’ve seen “She’s All That,” then you probably can figure out the plot. If you haven't, then you’ll follow Addison Rae’s (red flag #1) character as she attempts to make the mysterious boy at school her prom date as a dare. You’re not missing much if you don’t watch this movie, I promise. Netflix released “A Family Affair” this summer and if you plan on watching it I recommend watching Prime Video’s “The Idea of You.” They both have the same plot and are equally as bad: they follow a mom inappropriately falling in love with a rich famous boy closer to their daughter’s age than them. In fact, The Idea of You is actually about a mom falling in love with the pop star her daughter has a crush on. Interesting, right?

While some good romantic comedies have been released more recently, it’s obvious that they will never measure up to the ones from the early 2000s. Sure you can easily predict the plot of any of them (they fall in love and end up together), but the older ones have a sort of feel that newer movies severely lack. And, we can’t forget about the awful soundtracks the newer films have—we can omit “Anyone But You” because they brought back a Natasha Bedingfield classic. This is just my opinion, of course, there are still great movies out there, but none of them will hit as hard as the oldies.