20 underappreciated rom-coms that are worth discovering

Starring Rachel McAdams, Domhnall Gleeson, and Bill Nighy, About Time is equal parts funny and touching. And while it’s a love story between a man and a woman, it’s also a love story between a father and son with a beautiful bond. It’ll have you sobbing when it’s all said and done. 

John Tucker Must Die doesn’t get nearly enough credit for the mid-aughts classic that it is. Featuring some absolute icons from the decade like Brittany Snow, Sophia Bush, Ashanti, and Jenny McCarthy, John Tucker Must Die is a hilarious take-down of a high school player and one of the few times where we’ll forgive the actors for very clearly not being teenagers. 

Friends with Benefits came out the same year as No Strings Attached, a movie with essentially the same plot. No Strings Attached is often regarded as the better movie of the two, but Friends with Benefits deserves more credit. It’s funny, has two great leads, and has touching subplots that add depth. 

It seems impossible for a Nancy Meyers film to be considered underrated, but such is the case for It’s Complicated . To make matters more confounding, it stars Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, and Alec Baldwin. Don’t let the fact that it’s a love story about people in their middle ages deter you. It’s Complicated is a great film. 

Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray at the height of their careers? Jennifer Coolidge as the selfish and glamorously tacky evil stepmother? Regina King? How is this movie not more beloved by everyone on planet Earth? It’s got a happy ending and iconic one-liners, and it’s a far better re-imagination of Cinderella than Another Cinderella Story. 

A movie starring two of the funniest actors of this generation should get much more praise than it ever has. Tina Fey and Steve Carrell shine in Date Night. They’re believable as a couple, and it’s refreshing to see a story about a married couple falling back in love with each other rather than the same old rom-com format of two people’s first attempt at a relationship.

By and large, untraditional rom-coms get left out of the conversation of best rom-coms in favor of options we’re more familiar with. But the off-beat nature of Juno is exactly what makes it such a great rom-com. No other ensemble could’ve made this script come to life in such a beautiful and authentic way. 

Some might say Easy A is more of a coming-of-age story, but we’re in the camp that it’s a rom-com and one that needs to be included in every list of greatest rom-coms of all time. Easy A is clever and laugh-out-loud funny, and just as the film as a whole doesn’t get enough credit, it doesn’t get mentioned nearly enough as one of Emma Stone’s best roles. 

This movie earned an Oscar nomination for its script for a reason. Did Groundhog Day or Notting Hill? Nope. Bridesmaids might not come to mind as a rom-com, but it is. It certainly gets credit for its comedy legacy (as it should), but it’s time Bridesmaids is recognized in the same category as legendary rom-com favorites. 

Four Weddings and a Funeral has all the elements of a beloved rom-com — a man with an accent, a darling meet-cute, great fashion, and a kiss in the rain — yet it’s still widely considered an outlier when it comes to the best rom-coms of all time. Four Weddings and a Funeral deserves justice. It’s just as good as any other rom-com of its time. 

Just Like Heaven is often written off because of its odd premise, but if you look past the fact that Mark Ruffalo is falling in love with a ghost (or a half-ghost since she’s not technically dead yet?), it’s actually a sweet and funny movie with excellent leads. If you’ve never seen it, or it’s just been a while, give this one another chance. 

Had Brittany Murphy had just a little bit more time, she would’ve ascended to rom-com royalty along with Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan, and Hugh Grant.  Little Black Book was smart and funny, it featured seasoned actors who shine on screen, and it didn’t get enough attention when it was released. 

Of all the rom-coms that Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler have starred in together and separately, 50 First Dates is often at the bottom of the list, and that is a travesty. It’s set in Hawaii. Barrymore and Sandler are both hilarious in it. It has a unique plot and a happy ending. What more could anyone want out of a rom-com?

Just Friends takes place at Christmastime, so it’s usually thought of solely as a Christmas movie, but aside from its setting, there isn’t much that’s Christmasy. Still, the Christmas element bars it from being as highly regarded as a rom-com as it deserves. Ryan Reynolds plays unlikable so well that it’s nearly impossible to believe he’s not actually a jerk, and it makes for a great movie. 

Midnight in Paris is just another example of a spectacular rom-com that’s ignored because it doesn’t have the typical elements of the genre. Owen Wilson stars as a writer struggling to finish his first novel, and while on a trip to Paris, he discovers himself and parts of history he never expected. There’s both the dissolution and the beginning of a love story, and it’s a great comfort rom-com when you’ve exhausted all your cheesy options. 

Some say Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock have no chemistry in The Proposal, and while that position isn’t entirely off-base, that doesn’t make it a bad rom-com. It’s still hilarious and written around a classic rom-com trope. And it’s got a great cast. 

No matter how often you watch She’s the Man, it’s just as funny as the first time. She’s the Man doesn’t unfold like a typical rom-com, but it has classic elements of one while still allowing the protagonist to achieve her non-romantic goal. Amanda Bynes is an absolute riot in this film. 

We need Andy Samberg to star in as many rom-coms as possible. He’s proved himself to be a hilarious lead time and again, and in Palm Springs, he proved that he can also perform in a more serious tone. Rom-coms might never be the same as they were in the ‘90s, but Palm Springs is evidence that the genre is still worth watching amid its evolution. 

(500) Days of Summer gets credit for being a good film, but it isn’t rated highly enough as a rom-com because it doesn’t have a happy ending … or at least not the ending you might want for the characters. But it has the ending that the characters deserve, and it’s a good reminder that rom-coms can end differently than expected and still be great. 

Of all the rom-coms in the history of rom-coms, none feature as unexpected of a love story as Lars and the Real Girl . This film hasn’t quite ascended into cult-classic status, but it deserves to. With fantastic performances from Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, and Patricia Clarkson, Lars and the Real Girl is quirky and smart and a rom-com everyone should watch at least once.