If you need more comfort movies to forget about your finals for a little, I have the perfect list for you
Nothing feels better than lying on your couch or bed after a long day with a cozy blanket and your favorite snacks and putting on your favorite comfort movies. For me, it is always a romantic comedy. In honor of finals coming up and taking over our lives, I offer you the ultimate list of my favorite romantic comedies of all time. The list would be too long if I were to rank and mention them all, so instead, here are 12 of them to get you started:
12. “What Women Want” (2000)
Based on the million-dollar question on every man’s head, “What do women want?” the movie takes us on a fun adventure along with Mel Gibson and his newly discovered ability to hear women’s thoughts. I watched this for the first time when I was around 14 years old, and since then I have regularly daydreamed about the scene where they dance jazz in her apartment balcony with New York City below them. A classic and a must-watch, especially because of young Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt.
11. “Crazy Rich Asians” (2018)
If there are 100 Michelle Yeoh fans, I am one of them; if there is one Michelle Yeoh fan, it is me; if there are no Michelle Yeoh fans, I have died. I watched this movie mainly because of her and Henry Golding, who I instantly fell in love with. However, I stayed because of the plot and set design. We get some great views into the world of luxury and Golding’s fictional rich family, and at the same time, we get beautiful dresses and dramatic shots from some of my favorite Asian actors of all time. And of course, just the final wedding scene is worth a review of its own.
10. “Made of Honor” (2008)
I am a simple person; I see Patrick Dempsey, and I click play. This was true, too, back when I watched this at 11 years old. The movie gives us long-term friends-to-lovers, a lot of lingering stares, beautiful countryside views and a Speak Now by Taylor Swift level scene of a wedding interruption. It also shows Dempsey in a tiny Scottish skirt trying to throw a tree trunk to win his friend’s hand in marriage. Trust me, it is a must-watch.
9. “Set It Up” (2018)
I watched this one out of boredom on a random weekend, and it was so worth it. Few movies do the workplace romance as well as this one does. The teamwork of Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell trying to set up their bosses together and falling in love in the process? An Oscar-worthy performance, in my opinion. It has some great lines, some great scenes and amazing chemistry.
8. “Clueless” (1995)
I cannot recall the first time I watched this movie, but it changed my life. I was quoting Cher’s “As if!” for a really long time and was obsessed with wearing plaid matching sets. This movie was made for vibes and for the girls, and I enjoyed it on my first and 15th watches just the same. Also, young Paul Rudd in a romantic comedy is a rare gem that we should give more credit and appreciation to.
7. “10 Things I Hate About You” (1999)
To put it into perspective, I will tell you that I still know the poem at the end of this movie by heart. My aunt and uncle told me once that I looked like Julia Stiles if she was brunette, and I ran with it. So, it is fitting that this is one of my favorite movies of all time. It is loosely based on Shakespeare’s “The Taming of The Shrew” but takes it into a nice twist of friendship and found love between two people who are often outshined by their reputations. It is the prototype of a rom-com, and it also has Heath Ledger looking gorgeous and singing “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” a song that will be playing at my future wedding.
6. “Look Both Ways” (2022)
This movie meant so much to me, it is hard to explain it. I started it mostly because of Lili Reinhart, but only the first couple of minutes had me falling from my seat. The film takes us down two parallel roads, one in which the main character, Natalie, gets pregnant with her best friend’s baby, and one in which the test comes out negative. Her two lives start out as complete opposites, but somehow, they lead to similar outcomes. The theme it brings up about how the curbs that life throws at us do not have to break our dreams makes me soft inside, and I did cry at the end when she looks back and realizes how far she has come. Also, yes, it is a romantic comedy at its core, but it is so much more than that, you’ll need to watch it to understand.
5. “Leap Year” (2010)
I watched this with my mom sometime as a young teenager and fell in love with the Irish countryside. The story tells us about our main character, played by Amy Adams, and her trip to Dublin, Ireland, during a leap year, since a tradition says on February 29 (i.e., leap day), women can propose to men. Adams tries to get on time to Dublin to propose to her current boyfriend, but she gets into every kind of trouble along the way, from a canceled flight to a car falling into the mud and missing a train twice. Thankfully, along the way, she finds someone better and gives us a great love story development to watch.
4. “Mamma Mia” (2008)
This one is a given, and I almost didn’t include it because, to me, it is about so much more than just romantic love. This movie is about a mother and daughter, perseverance, friendship and giving love a second shot. It also has an all-star cast and Meryl Streep singing one of the most amazing ABBA songs, “The Winner Takes It All.” If you have not watched this movie yet, drop everything, stop reading this and go watch it. If you have watched it, then finish this article first and then watch it.
3. “Always Be My Maybe” (2019)
Ali Wong is one of my favorite actresses, and this has to be one of the best projects she’s ever been a part of. We have childhood best friends to lovers because I’m a sucker for those, and we also have subplots of family legacies, grief and the different faces of success. Also, it has the funniest Keanu Reeves cameo and an ending that made me sob. It is a must-watch, and I recommend bringing along some tissues.
2. “When Harry Met Sally” (1989)
This is the blueprint of the blueprint, the greatest rom-com, the top of the tower, the cream of the crop. The only reason it is not number one is that I am biased and put my favorite movie in number one. Just picture Meg Ryan, and picture her well, and then imagine an average guy (played by Billy Crystal), and then picture love, but not quickly; think very slow, burning, hidden love. This is the peak of the friends-to-lovers pipeline, and it is the best example of a slow burn done right; it takes them so many years to get together that their love is fully marinated and cooked by the time they kiss. If I haven’t convinced you yet that this is the greatest of them all, I leave you with this quote: “I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” No further comment.
1. “Love, Rosie” (2011)
I have so much to say about this movie and so little that can truly encapsulate what it means to me. Once again, it is a friends-to-lovers, but just like the last one, it takes them a really really long time to get to the love part. We get to watch two of my favorite actors, Lily Collins as Rosie and Sam Claflin as Alex, go through their lives completely clueless about the love they hold for each other. They make many mistakes, friends and enemies and get into multiple failed relationships before they realize the love of their lives has been in front of them the entire time. I cry, I laugh and I love this movie, and I will probably watch it with my friends as a reward for passing my finals at the end of this week.