Rom-coms. Romantic comedies that never fail to make you feel good. I love them.
But they have to be funny. I hate mushy intense romantic movies. Bleurgh.
And of course, they have to have a hunky-dunky male lead otherwise what's the point?
Here's a list of the top nine rom-coms {in no specific order} that I love to watch over and over again:
1. Leap Year
My cousin Rubina introduced me to this movie and ohmigod I'm so glad she did!
Anna {Amy Adams} has a perfect life with a steady boyfriend. She expects him to propose one night and when he doesn't, decides to follow him to Dublin, Ireland, to propose to him, as she's heard of an Irish tradition where on Feb 29th a lady can propose to her man and he has to accept. But on the way she gets stuck in a small town called Dingle in Ireland where she meets our hero, a surly but gorgeous innkeeper called Declan O'Callaghan. He agrees to drop her to Dublin for a fee.
This has got to be one of the funniest rom-coms I've watched. Declan's 'diddly-eye's, him referring to Anna's precious Louis Vuitton bag as 'Louie', Anna's stupid antics and the funny side characters will have you in stitches.
Declan: [slams Anna's suitcase on the ground] How does that work?
Anna: Can you be careful with that, it was a gift from my boyfriend!
Declan: He bought you a suitcase?
Declan: Come on. Ah, is it yourself Louie? Can I give you a hand getting into the car Louie? She named her suitcase, she's a crackpot.
2. The Wedding Date
Dermot Mulroney. My absolute favourite rom-com actor.
Here he stars alongside Debra Messing as a... wait for it... male escort. Kat has to attend her sister's wedding and her ex-fiancé's going to be there. Out of desperation she decides to hire a male escort- Nick Mercer- as her 'wedding date' to make her ex jealous and shut all of her nagging relatives up.
This movie is filled with beautiful music, gorgeous scenes of the English countryside and some really nice lines on love. I guarantee it will leave you smiling like an idiot when it's over.
Nick: Close your eyes. Close your eyes. Close... your... eyes. You're safe. You can relax. I'm not going to kiss you. He's gonna be so sorry he lost you, so stop worrying. Forget the past. Forget the pain. And remember what an incredible woman you are. You do that and he'll realize what he lost.
Kat: Holy crap. You're worth every penny.
3. 10 Things I Hate About You
Based on Shakespeare's Taming of The Shrew, this is a high school movie with a twist. Kat and Bianca are two sisters and their protective dad won't let pretty Bianca {the younger sister} date unless tough individualistic Kat does. So Patrick {Heath Ledger} is being paid by Cameron {a very young and cute Joseph Gordon-Levitt} to date Kat {Julia Stiles} so that he can date Bianca. Patrick's cheek and Kat's toughness make them the perfect pair, but she just won't admit it.
This is a very light movie and will have you laughing over all the typical American high school antics, or the way Kat keeps dissing Patrick.
Patrick: Well maybe you're not afraid of me but I'm sure you've thought about me naked, huh?
Kat: [sarcastically] Am I that transparent? I want you, I *need* you, oh baby, oh baby.
4. Bridget Jones's Diary
Bridget {Renee Zellweger} can't control her weight, can't stop smoking, is still single, and isn't getting anywhere with her job. So on New Year's she decides to keep a diary in a bid to get her life under control. That's not much help since she keeps chasing the wrong guy {Hugh Grant} while Mr. Darcy {Colin Firth} isn't given a chance. Watch this one purely for Renee Zellweger's brilliant comedic timing.
Bridget: Here is the man we like to call Mr., uh,
[to herself]: Titspervert. Titspervert.
Fitzherbert. Because... that is his name.
5. Chocolat
WARNING: DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE WITHOUT COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF CHOCOLATE AT HAND.
Vianne Rocher {Juliette Binoche} and her 6 year old daughter move to a small town in rural France and open a chocolaterie. The rigidly moral town folk are opposed to her and her 'sinful' chocolates but soon learn to accept her.
This movie has chocolate being made, decorated, eaten or displayed in almost every scene. And on top of that, it has a gypsy Johnny Depp. Be prepared to die from yearning.
Luc Clairmont: [at confession] Each time I tell myself it's the last time, but then I get a whiff of her hot chocolate, or...
Madame Audel: ...Seashells. Chocolate seashells, so small, so plain, so *innocent*. I thought, oh, just one little taste, it can't do any harm. But it turned out they were filled with rich, sinful...
Yvette Marceau: ...And it *melts*, God forgive me, it melts ever so slowly on your tongue, and tortures you with pleasure.
6. Bride Wars
Liv {Kate Hudson} and Emma {Anne Hathaway} have been best friends since childhood. Both have dreamed of getting married at the Plaza in June, with the famous Marion St. Claire as their wedding planner. Their boyfriends propose on the same day and so they visit Marion to plan their weddings and book dates for the Plaza. However, due to Marion's secretary's mistake, their weddings are scheduled for the same day. None of them are willing to choose another venue. Best friends become enemies as they try to sabotage each others' wedding.
This movie doesn't focus on romance but on friendship, especially the close bond a woman shares with a best friend. Liv and Emma's antics to sabotage each other are funny but most of all it's heartwarming to watch how strong their friendship is.
Marion St.Claire: It was quite a wedding and as I stood there watching I realized something I'd forgotten a long time ago. Sometimes in life there really are bonds formed that can never be broken. Sometimes you really can find that one person who will stand by you no matter what. Maybe you will find it in a spouse and celebrate it with your dream wedding. But there's also the chance that the one person you can count on for a lifetime, the one person who knows you sometimes better than you know yourself is the same person who's been standing beside you all along.
7. Kate & Leopold
Dear Hugh Jackman, I think I speak collectively for womankind when I say this: WHY THE HELL DON'T YOU STAR IN MORE ROM-COMS?
Ok, now that I got that out of the way...
Kate {Meg Ryan} lives in New York in the present day. Leopold {Hugh Jackman} is a Duke living in 1876. Due to a time gap he makes it through to modern New York and meets Kate. He falls in love with her. But she lives in the now. He, quite literally, lives in the past. Can love transcend time?
There could not have been a more perfect pick to play Leopold than Hugh Jackman. He's the epitome of chivalry and gentlemanliness straight from the 19th century. Watching this movie will have you wondering why the heck weren't you born in the 19th century.
Leopold: That thing is a damned hazard!
Kate: It's just a toaster!
Leopold: Well, insertion of bread into that so-called toaster produces no toast at all, merely warm bread! Inserting the bread twice produces charcoal. So, clearly, to make proper toast it requires one and a half insertions, which is something for which the apparatus doesn't begin to allow! One assumes that when the General of Electric built it, he might have tried using it. One assumes the General might take pride in his creations instead of just foisting them on an unsuspecting public.
Kate: You know something? Nobody gives a rat's ass that you have to push the toast down twice. You know why? Because everybody pushes their toast down twice!
Leopold: Not where I come from.
Kate: Oh, right. Where you come from, toast is the result of reflection and study!
Leopold: Ah yes, you mock me. But perhaps one day when you've awoken from a pleasant slumber to the scent of a warm brioche smothered in marmalade and fresh creamery butter, you'll understand that life is not solely composed of tasks, but tastes.
8. Only You
My colleague had recommended I watch this movie before I went on holiday by myself to Italy, since this movie is filmed there. I am so, so thankful to him or I wouldn't have known about this over-the-top cute flick or ever seen Robert Downey Jr. and Marisa Tomei this young and gorgeous.
Faith {Marisa Tomei} is a big believer in destiny. When she is 11, an Ouija board tells her the name of her soulmate is Damon Bradley. 14 years later, she's just gotten engaged to her boyfriend, a boring podiatrist, who's name is NOT Damon Bradley. But Faith still is a big believer in destiny and when one of her fiancé's friend's calls to congratulate him, and tells her his name is Damon Bradley, she knows she has to meet him. Unfortunately, he's on his way to Venice. She rushes to the airport with her sister-in-law to pursue him.
This has got to be the cutest rom-com of them all and by far my most watched. RDJ is compelling and adorable, Marisa Tomei in that white dress is breathtaking, plus you get to see the beauty of Italy as they move from one city to another.
Faith: How could you do this to me?
Peter: Because I'm in love with you!
Faith: Ha! What kind of an excuse is that?
9. The Holiday
Amanda {Cameron Diaz} lives in glamorous Los Angeles, USA. Iris {Kate Winslet} lives in a cottage in Surrey, England. Both are fed up with their love lives. Both need to take a break and decide to house-swap for the Christmas holidays. Both find love while holidaying, in the form of Miles {Jack Black} and Graham {Jude Law}, who is also Iris' brother. They learn a lot about themselves, and love, in the process.
Beautiful scenes, amazing dialogues and Arthur Abbott's lessons on 'gumption' make this a feel-good movie through-and-through.
Iris: I understand feeling as small and as insignificant as humanly possible. And how it can actually ache in places you didn't know you had inside you. And it doesn't matter how many new haircuts you get, or gyms you join, or how many glasses of chardonnay you drink with your girlfriends... you still go to bed every night going over every detail and wonder what you did wrong or how you could have misunderstood. And how in the hell for that brief moment you could think that you were that happy. And sometimes you can even convince yourself that he'll see the light and show up at your door. And after all that, however long all that may be, you'll go somewhere new. And you'll meet people who make you feel worthwhile again. And little pieces of your soul will finally come back. And all that fuzzy stuff, those years of your life that you wasted, that will eventually begin to fade.
If you're wondering why this is a list of nine and not ten movies, it's just because this is a list of flicks I absolutely lurrrve and don't want to include one more just to make it a round number.
Happy watching! xxx
