When it comes down to it, the Watch With Us team agrees that our favorite genre is romantic comedy.
The rom-com genre is timeless, with so many endlessly watchable and funny feel-good movies featuring some of the best movie stars of all time — from black-and-white screen legends like Clark Gable to modern A-listers like Julia Roberts.
This April, we have four recommendations for rom-coms to watch if you’re looking to experience a bona fide masterpiece.
Our first pick is Bridget Jones’s Diary, the classic 2000s love triangle starring Renée Zellweger, Hugh Grant and Colin Firth.
Bridget Jones (Zellweger), a 32-year-old publicity assistant, decides she needs to turn her life around. In the New Year, she commits to keeping a diary in order to keep herself accountable for things like quitting smoking, drinking less and losing weight. It soon seems that Bridget is really manifesting the life that she wants when the womanizing boss she only fantasizes about, Daniel Cleaver (Grant), begins flirting with her. But things become far more complicated when she finds herself caught between the affections of two men: Daniel and his ex-friend, Mark (Firth).
Bridget Jones’s Diary has maintained its status as an enduring rom-com partly due to its refreshingly honest portrayal of womanhood, as Bridget is shown to be a flawed woman struggling to navigate issues with her identity, her body and modern dating. Bridget is ultimately an endearing and memorable character through her many funny and relatable inner monologues, and no one could have played her better than Zellweger. The movie is a warm exploration of the desire for love and self-acceptance.
‘It Happened One Night’ (1934) — TubiIn this classic Old Hollywood rom-com, bratty heiress Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) elopes with a successful pilot named King Westley (Jameson Thomas), which causes her irate father to corner her on a yacht to try forcing her into getting an annulment. So, what does Ellie do? She jumps overboard, escaping and swimming to shore, where she manages to catch a Greyhound bus bound for New York City. On board, she becomes acquainted with a cynical reporter named Peter Warne (Clark Gable), who ends up offering to help her in exchange for an exclusive. However, Peter can’t help but fall for the spirited young woman.
The romantic comedies of today owe their share of debts to It Happened One Night — it provides a definitive blueprint for the “enemies to lovers” trope that turns a simple premise into something utterly captivating due to a sharp screenplay and pair of magnetic performances from Colbert and Gable. Despite being nearly 100 years old, Frank Capra‘s direction is unmistakably modern, with fast-paced editing, close-ups and dynamic camera angles that give the movie a lively feel that still holds up.
‘About Time’ (2013) — Amazon Prime VideoOn his 21st birthday, Tim Lake (The Paper‘s Domhnall Gleeson) learns from his father (Bill Nighy) that all the men in their family are time-travelers, and while the rules of their powers make them unable to change the course of history, they are still able to change the course of their own, individual lives. Tim decides to use time travel to improve his less-than-stellar dating life, and when he meets Mary (Rachel McAdams), he uses his special abilities to win her heart. However, as Tim’s life goes on, he comes to realize that using time travel to escape the normal problems of mortality isn’t a cure-all.
Though the narrative of About Time might be scattered with various plot holes related to the particularities of the time-travel constraints, it’s easily looked over in favor of the irresistible charms of the film — chiefly, through the palpable chemistry between McAdams and Gleeson. Despite (or maybe because of) the totally absurd nature of the narrative, director Richard Curtis manages to suffuse a charming sincerity into the writing and filmmaking to craft a totally lovable blend of fantasy and rom-com.
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When television composer Peter Bretter (Jason Segel) is dumped by his celebrity girlfriend, Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), Peter doesn’t take it very well, spending his days indoors eating giant bowls of cereal. To try and get over the breakup, Peter books a relaxing getaway to Oahu, Hawaii — but shortly after he arrives, he finds his ex is already staying there with her new boyfriend, rockstar Aldous Snow (Russell Brand). Against the advice of his best friend (Bill Hader), Peter stays and tries to make the most of the trip, and he ends up befriending the pretty hotel receptionist, Rachel (Mila Kunis).
Forgetting Sarah Marshall manages the impressive distinction of being a romantic comedy geared towards men and male heartbreak, and what results is both funny and tender. The film is a silly yet warm-hearted look at forgiveness and learning to move on from heartbreak, and Segel is terrific in embodying the character of the painfully humiliated and heartsick Peter. And not to spoil anything, but the in-universe Dracula puppet musical is kind of iconic.
