Recommendations

The appeal of Romantic Comedies is difficult to quantify with (just like real attraction) so much of what makes them work being subject to personal preference. These films are rom-coms that we feel have done what they’ve set out to do, with great chemistry between the leads and sharp, funny scripts. They run the gamut between more fairly chaste offerings and more steamy encounters so you should find something that you’ll enjoy.

Rom-Coms

It Happened One Night (1934)

Director: Frank Capra

Writer: Robert Riskin

Starring: Clarke Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly

Run Time: 1h 45m

UK Certificate: PG

image: Columbia Pictures

Best known for the timeless classic Its a Wonderful Life (1946), Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night (1934) is the blueprint for countless rom-coms which would try to emulate and replicate its formula. The film has spoilt, entitled Ellie (Colbert) running away to be with her new husband that Ellie’s rich father doesn’t approve of. When journalist Peter (Gable) recognises her he quickly realises how lucrative this would be as a newspaper story and accompanies her journey. After many set backs and misunderstandings the two eventually soften towards each other and eventually “break down the walls of Jericho”. The film was a huge success, it won 5 Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay, although Colbert had to be rushed to attend that awards at the last minute as she had no faith in the film. The film is almost a century old but it doesn’t feel it, remaining charming, funny and accessible for modern audiences.

Set It Up (2018)

Director: Claire Scanlon

Writer: Katie Silberman

Starring: Glen Powell, Zoey Deutch, Lucy Lui, Taye Diggs

Run Time: 1h 45m

UK Certificate: 15

image: Netflix

Set It Up has two over worked personal assistants trying to set up their demanding bosses so that they have some free time. The characters take rom-com tropes and to carry out their plan, arranging meet cutes and a kiss-cam at a baseball game. Of course the pair start experiencing the romance that they were attempting to manufacture for their bosses, developing genuine feelings for each other. The chemistry between Powell and Deutch is palpable, notably in the cute pizza scene and it shares a similar feel to rom-coms of the 1990s.

The Lady Eve (1941)

Director: Preston Sturges

Writers: Preston Sturges, Monckton Hoffe

Starring: Henry Fonda, Barbara Stanwyck, Charles Coburn

Run Time: 1h 34m

UK Certificate: U

image: Paramount Pictures

Henry Fonda stars as the bumbling reclusive millionaire Charles who is targeted by group of card sharks on a steamboat trip home. One of the grifters Jean (Stanwyck) takes a liking to him and the two start to plan a future together, when he is tipped off about the apparent nature of his new love interest, he leaves. Scorned Jean vows revenge and sets out to break his heart posing as the titular Lady Eve. Fonda foregoes his usual intensity and proves an able romantic lead against Stanwyck’s witty, scheming Jean/Eve. Regularly cited by critics as one the best movies ever made it is an essential and endearing romantic comedy.

If You Were the Last (2023)

Director: Kristian Mercado

Writer: Angela Bourassa

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Zoë Chao, Natalie Morales

Run Time: 1h 32m

UK Certificate: 15

image: Peacock

A pair of sex starved astronauts who are stranded in space come up with a pact to help get them through their frustrating predicament. This sci-fi-rom-com is adorably cute with its cosy ‘cardboard’ spaceship and lo-fi aesthetics. The early tension of their close confinement is tangible and Chao and Mackie have undeniable chemistry, making you root for them despite the complication of their partners back on Earth. The premise is genius and the domesticity of their situation is perfectly judged with heated debates about what to watch and listen to.

The Lost City (2022)

Directors: Aaron Nee, Adam Nee

Writers: Oren Uziel, Dana Fox, Adam Nee, Aaron Nee, Seth Gordon

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Brad Pitt

Run Time: 1h 52m

UK Certificate: 12A

image: Paramount Pictures

A widowed romance novelist is kidnapped and whisked away to the jungle by a billionaire who believes she holds the key to uncovering an ancient, priceless treasure. Her dashing cover model launches a daring but ill planned rescue with the hopes of becoming her real life hero. Channing Tatum is great at playing this slightly inept action hero who lacks the skills of his fictional counterpart and Sandra Bullock is her usual charming self as the self conscious Loretta. It’s a rom-com that is heavy on the comedy with a sharp script and some surprisingly great action sequences which thankfully don’t detract from the chemistry of the central pair. Like the character herself though, I do wish she’d worn a better outfit to be kidnapped in.

Sliding Doors (1998)

Director: Peter Howitt

Writer: Peter Howitt

Starring: Gwyneth Paltrow, John Hannah, John Lynch, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Zara Turner

Run Time: 1h 39m

UK Certificate: 15

image: Miramax Films

After Helen (Paltrow) is fired from her job she misses her train home by seconds, Sliding Doors explores the possible outcomes of this seemingly minor event. The film splits into two parallel realities, skilfully playing out both scenarios and exploring the consequences of her missed connection. The film is far more high concept and intricate than most romantic comedies and the film does an excellent job of interweaving both of Helen’s possible realities. Paltrow and Hannah are both fantastic and the film boasts a truly excellent supporting cast of characters. Writer/Director Peter Howitt refined his script over seven years, inspired by his own near death experience. Sliding Doors remains one of my favourite rom-coms and I’m glad we live in one of the universes in which it exists.

Overboard (1987)

Director: Garry Marshall

Writer: Leslie Dixon

Starring: Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Edward Herrmann, Mike Hagerty, Roddy McDowell, Jared Rushton

Run Time: 1h 52m

UK Certificate: PG

image: MGM

Admittedly an unconventional rom-com, Overboard works because of the charm of the stars and the undeniable chemistry between the real life couple. Hawn plays Joanna a spoilt heiress who refuses to pay down on his luck handyman Dean, pushing him and his tools off the boat. After going Overboard herself she awakes abandoned by her husband in a psychiatric ward with no memories of her previously life and privilege. Seeing her on the news Dean hatches a plan to get revenge and have her unknowingly work off her debt by claiming that she is his wife “Annie”. Undeniably one of Hawn’s better starring roles, she shines as both Joanna/Annie and Kurt Russell is as always endlessly watchable. Though not a massive financial success the novelty of the premise has had enduring appeal, having been loosely adapted five times and in as many languages.

Published 9th July 2026