Ah, the romantic comedy. The rom-com. The chick flick, if you’re nasty. I’m not ashamed to say it’s my favorite genre, in the same way Valentine’s Day is my favorite holiday. To paraphrase Joanna “JoJo” Levesque in the subversive teen rom-com Aquamarine, love is the closest thing we humans have to magic. I can’t think of a single human emotion more worthy of celebration, close attention, and artistic consideration. Netflix seems to understand that, offering a plethora of rom-coms for the picking.
Consider the necessary ingredients of a good rom-com: First, there’s the script. The dialogue must sound like real people talking to each other; the characters, too, must feel like real people — even if they’re sidekicks. The jokes must actually be funny (hard) and the love story has to be swoonworthy without being corny or overly sentimental (even harder). But of course, even a perfect script can’t make up for a lack of chemistry between the romantic leads. Not only must they be individually charming and genuine, but we have to feel the sparks flying when they’re together, too. It’s a tall order, and when a movie hits on that perfect combination, it’s a joy and — I’ll say it — a real honor to witness. Still, I’ll admit that as a lover of the genre and an appreciator of the absurd, I can actually garner some real delight from a certain kind of bad Netflix rom-com, especially if it involves Vanessa Hudgens. What can I say? Netflix can, on occasion, stumble its way into true camp.
Whether you’re looking for a good rom-com on Netflix or a so-bad-it’s-good rom-com on Netflix, you’re in luck: I’ve watched a significant percentage of the offerings, and I’ve whittled those hours of my life I can never get back into a curated list of the best romantic comedies on Netflix. Enjoy.
1.
The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love
In my humble opinion, this 1995 indie is the cream of the crop. It’s as much a coming-of-age tale as it is a romance, and it centers on a pair of high-school girls, Randy and Evie, who meet when Evie (Nicole Ari Parker), a popular girl, drives into the gas station where Randy (Laurel Holloman) works. The relationship that ensues is complicated, silly, and sweet, and the movie reaffirms that love is real.
2.
The Incredible Jessica James
As its title suggests, this is a film that truly lives and dies by its protagonist, Jessica James. Luckily, said protagonist, an aspiring playwright going through a tough breakup, is played by the exuberantly charming and very funny Jessica Williams. She goes on several bad dates, one of which is with Boone (Chris O’Dowd), a recently divorced Irishman. Reader, their chemistry is electric in both the romantic and comedic sense.
3.
An Affair to Remember
Made in 1957 and starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, An Affair to Remember is a romance for the ages, and although it contains as much tragedy as comedy, the quick-witted rapport between Nickie Ferrante (Grant), a famed fuckboy, and Terry McKay (Kerr), a former nightclub singer who’s got moxie and spunk, gives the movie a levity that helps propel you through it. The two meet on a boat, both on their way to meet their respective beloveds, but they can’t help falling in love en route. It is, as they say, a classic for a reason, and it even served as inspiration for Nora Ephron’s Sleepless in Seattle, which contains multiple references to An Affair to Remember.
4.
Two Weeks Notice
I don’t think there’s any such thing as a bad Sandra Bullock rom-com, and despite its wobbly politics, this is a pretty great one. Bullock plays Lucy, a lawyer and activist fighting to stop gentrification and corporate development, especially in her home neighborhood of Coney Island. Hugh Grant stars as George, the charming playboy who happens to be a billionaire real-estate developer. He convinces her to work for him, and even though I’m sure you can predict what follows, their chemistry is worth witnessing.
5.
13 Going On 30
Yes, it’s kind of weird that this is a rom-com where Jennifer Garner plays a 13-year-old trapped in the body of a 30-year-old. Somehow it works. It works so well, in fact, that 13 Going on 30 is one of the most treasured in the rom-com canon.
6.
Always Be My Maybe
This friends-to-lovers story stars Ali Wong as celebrity chef Sasha Tran and Randall Park as her childhood best friend, Marcus Kim, who works for his dad’s AC business but harbors latent musical dreams. The two of them reconnect when she returns to San Francisco to open a restaurant. Park and Wong are very funny together, and the movie has real heart.
7.
The Wedding Planner
This movie may just be J.Lo’s finest thespian achievement, even though they made her Italian. It’s a rom-com classic for a reason; she’s the wedding planner who can’t seem to get married herself, and Matthew McConaughey is the groom marrying the wrong girl. Together, they make early-aughts magic.
8.
Miss Congeniality
Here, Bullock is the tomboyish Gracie Hart, who goes from beating up boys on the playground to working as an FBI agent whose empathy during an undercover job gets her demoted — until, of course, the Miss United States beauty pageant is threatened with an act of terrorism and Gracie simply must transform into a beauty queen and enter the pageant herself. Once she becomes hot, her longtime partner Eric Matthews (Benjamin Bratt) starts to take notice of her in a new way. This movie would be nothing without Sandra Bullock, but thanks to Sandra Bullock, it’s one of the most widely loved rom-coms of the early aughts.
9.
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
In terms of Netflix’s in-house productions, this is one of the best — not just within its genre, but in general. We can credit that to both Jenny Han’s delicious plot (she wrote the book the film is based on) and to Lana Condor’s Lara Jean Song Covey, whose sister mails out her secret love letters and ignites a series of romantic trials and tribulations — in particular with Noah Centineo’s charming Peter Kavinsky.
10.
Notting Hill
This is one of the true highlights of the golden age of romantic comedies, with Julia Roberts doing what she does best: being a movie star. Her character, Anna, is an actress who walks into a bookshop owned by William (Hugh Grant). It takes several meet-cutes for these two cuties to work it out, but, spoiler alert, they ultimately do.
11.
The Knight Before Christmas
An absurdist masterpiece. Watch it with your goofiest friends and perhaps a mind-altering substance or two.