This Valentine’s, I outdid myself on the amount of romantic comedies I watched. This year I just needed a bit more of the comfort that comes with watching a “rom-com.” Watching a rom-com is an incredibly sacred experience to me, as the joy they bring is a welcomed experience (especially during a stressful school semester). There is an obvious scientific reason for why rom-coms are so popular, seeing as they bring an efflux of dopamine and serotonin every time you watch one. Beyond some of the predictable clichés in these movies, rom-coms offer light and happiness that you cannot find in a lot of other movies. The rom-coms I have included in this list have offered me positivity during stressful times, and that is why I have kept coming back to them. These movies are a part of a proven formula that has lifted me out of my depressed, stressed, or just negative mood time-and-time again. These movies offer an escape to an ideal world where happy endings are guaranteed, providing assurance in an often disappointing world.
As a big believer in fate and destiny, seeing these specific love stories carried out in a wholesome way has made me deeply connect to the messages, the characters, and the perspective of love in these movies. In no particular order, these are eight of my absolute favorite and rewatchable rom-coms that I cycle through the year when I am feeling down.
Jab We Met
Okay, so I take back saying “in no particular order,” because this movie is number one on any favorite movie list I can make. If you are friends with me, I may have tried to force you to watch this at least once in our friendship, because this movie can bring me out of a bad mood like no other. Not only can I recite almost every line (in the order it was said…), but I can write a thesis on the impact this movie has had on so many people, and honestly stay tuned for that. For the sake of the other seven movies on this list, I will just say that this movie is a must-watch and I cannot encourage you enough to see it. The movie is about destiny, or maybe fate, bringing a depressed and heartbroken businessman and a happy but naive girl together on a train ride that intertwine their lives together for a beautiful journey.
You’ve Got Mail
Every time I watch this movie I have the urge to get my hair cut like Meg Ryan’s, and while I definitely cannot pull that off, I can surely appreciate my favorite Nora Ephron movie. I will take this movie any day over Sleepless in Seattle and the other popular rom-coms starring Meg Ryan.
The Map of Tiny Perfect Things
This movie is a little known Amazon Prime gem that got lost amidst the pandemic, but certainly deserves some appreciation. The story is so incredibly cute, well-acted and executed, and will definitely bring a smile to your face. It is also science fiction in the sense that it is about two people being stuck in a time-loop. The chemistry between the main characters and the charm they bring, as they set out to find all the tiny things that make that one day perfect, is what makes this movie special.
Pride and Prejudice (2005)
When I told some friends I was writing this article and that I was including this movie on the list, they also had the same thought. Some iterations of this movie, I guess this one included, cannot technically be considered a rom-com. But after I brought up Matthew Macfadyen’s hand flex, and when we ended up talking about just that for a while, I made up my mind to include this version of the movie on this list. So again, while this is not technically a rom-com, one can argue that the incorporation of a very popular rom-com trope of “enemies-to-lovers” and the fact that this resulted in about 300 versions of the story adapted into rom-coms, this deserves a spot on this list. I should not even have to try to convince anyone to watch this movie based on Jane Austen’s beloved novel.
10 Things I Hate About You
This and this is all the convincing anyone can need.
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan
This is another Bollywood rom-com that I just love and can rewatch. This movie is also big on destiny bringing two people together, and its title translates to “My Brother’s Bride.” The title itself sounds intriguing and has so many Easter eggs hidden throughout the movie for fans of Bollywood itself, making it one of my favorite rom-coms to rewatch.
Notting Hill
Ugh, just Hugh Grant being his charming self with Notting Hill as a backdrop. This is such a classic rom-com, and has a great meet-cute, grand gesture, and banter that is sweet and engaging. This is an incredible execution of the rom-com genre, and again using Notting Hill as a backdrop certainly helped make it special.
Man-Up
This one is also not very well known, but it does have a pre-Fleabag Phoebe Waller-Bridge and some unexpected but wonderful chemistry between the main actors. It’s genuinely very funny and was written by someone who has a podcast You Had Us At Hello that focuses on rom-coms. Maybe because this movie is written by someone who is a fan of the genre, the love she has for a rom-com translates so well onto the screen and results in a very enjoyable end-product.