{"id":914475,"date":"2017-05-25T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-05-25T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=914475"},"modified":"2017-05-25T14:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-05-25T11:00:00","slug":"the-best-rom-coms-of-all-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=914475","title":{"rendered":"The Best Rom Coms of All Time"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article main-content\" lang=\"en-US\">\n<div class=\"ArticlePageLedeBackground-JMVDp bIwRjk\">\n<header class=\"ContentHeaderWrapper-cqMZiN eJWjwW content-header article__content-header fullbleed\">\n<div data-testid=\"ContentHeaderContainer\" class=\"ContentHeaderContainer-cMdHiZ eFZJeG\">\n<div class=\"ContentHeaderHedAccreditationWrapper-WaWBW fTkfBu\">\n<div data-testid=\"ContentHeaderTitleBlockWrapper\" class=\"ContentHeaderTitleBlockWrapper-cyIGwg dMceKV\">\n<div data-testid=\"ContentHeaderRubric\" class=\"ContentHeaderRubricBlock-aIcNK wvGZo\">\n<div data-testid=\"ContentHeaderRubricDateBlock\" class=\"ContentHeaderRubricDateBlock-kvxmSu jVyBWg\">\n<div class=\"RubricWrapper-dZIqzO bjIFnB ContentHeaderRubricContainer-fiPRfk fRUoUz\"><span class=\"RubricName-gkORYq fCauaT rubric__name\">TV &amp; Movies<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h1 data-testid=\"ContentHeaderHed\" class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE ContentHeaderHed-SVoJX deqABF hRonzj dyRzMH\">The Best Rom-Coms of All Time<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ContentHeaderAccreditation-fcyiw bhgqZY content-header__accreditation\" data-testid=\"ContentHeaderAccreditation\">\n<div class=\"ContentHeaderByline-jXtKQj jgXynP\">\n<div class=\"ContentHeaderBylineContent-dkwwFS fRKSvg\">\n<div data-testid=\"BylinesWrapper\" class=\"BylinesWrapper-vmGrt cZzmZD bylines ContentHeaderBylines-cTXqro ljGzhW\"><span class=\"BylineWrapper-jRoBEm jCAOou byline bylines__byline\" data-testid=\"BylineWrapper\"><span class=\"BylineNamesWrapper-jrdaOa fXeqQN\"><span data-testid=\"BylineName\" class=\"BylineName-kqTBDS dDLLkB byline__name\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE BylinePreamble-itSxDZ deqABF kOfzTl jcgMlx byline__preamble\">By <\/span>Vogue<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<p><time data-testid=\"ContentHeaderPublishDate\" datetime=\"2024-09-10T06:00:00-04:00\" class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE ContentHeaderPublishDate-eNTYkb deqABF mdLVF eFanim\">September 10, 2024<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ContentHeaderLeadAsset-hVxhYG cKzEcn lead-asset ContentHeaderLeadAssetWrapper-gQBTSl ljLtrQ lead-asset--width-fullbleed\" data-testid=\"ContentHeaderLeadAsset\">\n<figure class=\"ContentHeaderLeadAssetContent-kyKlgP eGZaQl\">\n<div class=\"ContentHeaderLeadAssetContentMedia-bwiUDr keSRCn lead-asset__content__photo\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset ContentHeaderResponsiveAsset-cgZUtS coCHna\"><\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"aspect-ratio-container\" class=\"AspectRatioContainer-bEozCe gdSlDC\">\n<div class=\"aspect-ratio--overlay-container\"><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.vogue.com\/photos\/61f953daa575a26062f2debb\/master\/w_120,c_limit\/00-tout-romcoms.jpeg 120w, https:\/\/assets.vogue.com\/photos\/61f953daa575a26062f2debb\/master\/w_240,c_limit\/00-tout-romcoms.jpeg 240w, https:\/\/assets.vogue.com\/photos\/61f953daa575a26062f2debb\/master\/w_320,c_limit\/00-tout-romcoms.jpeg 320w, https:\/\/assets.vogue.com\/photos\/61f953daa575a26062f2debb\/master\/w_640,c_limit\/00-tout-romcoms.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/assets.vogue.com\/photos\/61f953daa575a26062f2debb\/master\/w_960,c_limit\/00-tout-romcoms.jpeg 960w\" sizes=\"100vw\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<div data-attribute-verso-pattern=\"article-body\" class=\"ArticlePageContentBackGround-dcEtzE dRBcvG article-body__content\">\n<div class=\"ArticlePageChunksContent-enJWmu ilcJfn\">\n<div data-testid=\"ArticlePageChunks\" class=\"ArticlePageChunks-fwcPjP cAlDKu\">\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>Determining the best rom-coms can be tricky\u2014after all, the films that move and amuse us are very subjective! What one person finds cloying, another may find adorable; what one finds cringe-y another may find hysterical.<\/p>\n<p>Despite this, there\u2019s no denying the genre\u2019s everlasting appeal. Rom-coms have captured our hearts for centuries\u2014the ancient Greeks were fans, and Shakespeare even wrote a few\u2014with notable peaks and valleys in their power and prevalence. While many in the modern era say the golden age of the rom-com began in 1989 with <em>When Harry Met Sally<\/em> and ended in the early aughts, there are plenty of recent films to prove that the category is alive and well. (<em>La La Land<\/em> and <em>Licorice Pizza<\/em>, anyone?)<\/p>\n<p>However you slice it, the basic recipe for the best rom-coms remains unchanged: one part romantic love plus one part humorous high jinks. The best rom-coms are the ones we want to return to time and again\u2014the ones that blend razor-sharp writing with heartwarming happy endings and enough movie magic to be relatable, charming, and escapist, too.<\/p>\n<p>So, without further ado, here are the best rom-coms for every situation, according to <em>Vogue<\/em>. We hope you love them as much as we do.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Photography Face Head Person Portrait Blouse Clothing Accessories Formal Wear Tie and Jewelry\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/mcdlipi_mg025.jpg\" title=\"mcdlipi_mg025\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Paul Thomas Anderson \/\u00a9 MGM \/ Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Licorice Pizza<\/em> (2021)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>For revisiting the innocence of young love.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A love letter to coming of age in 1970s California, writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson\u2019s <em>Licorice Pizza<\/em>, is nostalgic, heartfelt, and plenty of fun, rife with awkward adolescent moments, teenage hijinks, and gleeful supporting roles from Bradley Cooper and Sean Penn. But the true drama (and romance!) centers around 15-year-old Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) and 25-year-old Alana Kane (Alana Haim), whose will-they-or-won\u2019t-they friendship is about as sweet, relatable, and unexpectedly adventurous as young love gets. (Don\u2019t sleep on the moody score, either; it was created by Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Clothing Apparel Human Person Sweater and Hat\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/mcdemma_uc009.jpg\" title=\"mcdemma_uc009\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Emma.<\/em> (2020)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>For basking in the visual perfection of candy-colored bonnets and frills.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s really no improving on Jane Austen&#8230;but may we be so bold as to say that Autumn de Wilde\u2019s adaptation of the 1815 novel gets pretty darn close? Anya Taylor-Joy shines as the titular character, and her battle of wits with Knightley (Johnny Flynn) imbues the familiar story with endless fun and froth. Side note: Do film costumes get any better?<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Human Person Sunglasses Accessories Accessory Clothing Apparel and Water\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/mcdpasp_hy016.jpg\" title=\"mcdpasp_hy016\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Palm Springs<\/em> (2020)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To make you question the meaning of existence\u2014and fall hard for Andy Samberg.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>By no means is <em>Palm Springs<\/em> a traditional rom-com, but that\u2019s what we love about it. The film features Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti as a pair of strangers who meet at a wedding and end up stuck in the same&#8230;cosmic time loop? To be honest, we don\u2019t really get it either, but luckily, the film is as charming as it is weird. (Which is to say: very.) BTW, the chemistry between Samberg and Milioti is off the charts, even as they\u2019re hurtling through time and space.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Randall Park Human Person Clothing Apparel Transportation Vehicle Driving and Cushion\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/mcdalbe_ec005.jpg\" title=\"mcdalbe_ec005\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy of Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Always Be My Maybe<\/em> (2019)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>For when you can\u2019t decide if there\u2019s a spark between you and that one friend.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>The most meaningful relationships blossom from great friendships. Childhood besties Sasha and Marcus (Ali Wong and Randall Park) haven\u2019t seen each other for 15 years. But when Sasha, now a celebrity chef, returns to hometown San Francisco to open a new restaurant, the duo cross paths once more\u2014and it\u2019s like she never left. As they reconnect, the forever question lingers: Could they be something more than just friends?<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Human Person Clothing Apparel Dance Pose Leisure Activities Interior Design Indoors and Hug\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/mcdcrri_ec061.jpg\" title=\"mcdcrri_ec061\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy of Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Crazy Rich Asians<\/em> (2018)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To remind you that love knows no bounds\u2014scary mother-in-laws be damned.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Based on the novel of the same name by Kevin Kwan, this film takes a deep dive into the splashy, sparkling lives of Singapore\u2019s elite, with the story of Rachel (Constance Wu), who falls in love with Nick (Henry Golding) before learning that his family, headed by terrifying matriarch Eleanor (Michelle Yeoh), is among the richest in Singapore. The central question of whether love can conquer money is almost outshone by the film\u2019s dazzling surroundings and Rachel\u2019s nouveau riche friends, played perfectly by Awkwafina and Ken Jeong.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Dance Pose Leisure Activities Human Person Dance Interior Design and Indoors\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/siu_02318_r.jpg\" title=\"siu_02318_r\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Netflix<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>To All the Boys I\u2019ve Loved Before<\/em> (2018)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To convince you to send<\/strong><em><strong>that<\/strong><\/em><strong>note to your crush.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Based on the novel by Jenny Han, <em>To All the Boys<\/em> was, for many, an instant classic\u2014not least for blessing the world with Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo), the Jake Ryan of the internet era. Lana Condor stars as Lara Jean, a quiet high school kid who relieves her romantic pressures by writing never-to-be-mailed love letters to the objects of her affection\u2014including her older sister\u2019s ex-boyfriend. Until, of course, they get sent out one night.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Kumail Nanjiani Sitting Human Person Pants Clothing Apparel Coat Jacket Jeans Denim and Sweater\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/mcdbisi_ec048.jpg\" title=\"mcdbisi_ec048\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy of Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>The Big Sick<\/em> (2017)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To convince you that love really can conquer all.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>This one isn\u2019t a romantic comedy in the traditional sense\u2014the female lead spends most of the film in a coma\u2014but it will give you a new appreciation for what it means to truly love someone. Comedian and actor Kumail Nanjiani shines as the film\u2019s star, and his fingerprints are all over the film; it\u2019s more or less the true story of how he met his wife, writer Emily V. Gordon, and the two co-authored the script. Watch it when you need a good cry\u2014and a reminder of what true love really looks like.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Clothing Apparel Evening Dress Fashion Gown Robe Human Person Shoe Footwear and Ryan Gosling\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/23-la-la-land.jpg\" title=\"23-la-la-land\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>La La Land<\/em> (2016)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To remind you that following your dreams is always worth it.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>The highway scene. Ryan Gosling hunkered over the piano. Emma Stone embodying \u201cirrepressible.\u201d His dance on the boardwalk. Her spins. The way she pulls at her dress. The way he grins while he smolders. Their love. It\u2019s a panacea for the reasons we go to the movies. At no point do we believe they won\u2019t end up together, but we stay transfixed\u2014in fact, we tap along. For younger viewers\u2014those of us who might not have drunk down the moving magic of <em>Singin\u2019 in the Rain<\/em>, <em>West Side Story<\/em>, or <em>Gigi<\/em>\u2014Damien Chazelle\u2019s <em>La La Land<\/em> forgives those lapses. It embraces their greatness as it embraces us in its giant, vibrant arms. We lean closer to the screen, not to learn but to feel for the whole experience of youth and performance: all that hope, drive, sweat, and love. Can\u2019t forget love.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Rebel Wilson Dakota Johnson Blouse Clothing Accessories Bag Handbag Blazer Coat Jacket and Adult\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/mcdhoto_ec503.jpg\" title=\"mcdhoto_ec503\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Barry Wetcher \/ \u00a9 Warner Bros. \/ courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>How to Be Single<\/em> (2016)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To remind you that the most important romance you\u2019ll have is with yourself.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>In many ways, <em>How to Be Singl<\/em>e could be considered the anti-rom-com: It\u2019s mostly about what happens when you\u2019re <em>not<\/em> in a relationship. Most of the characters in this film are actively not looking for love\u2014instead, they\u2019re purposely relishing (or learning to relish) their singleness. Alice (Dakota Johnson) has just broken up with her longtime boyfriend in order to find herself; her sister, Meg (Leslie Mann), is about to have a baby on her own via IVF; and her friend Robin (Rebel Wilson) is enjoying the wild freedom that comes with non-stop partying and one-night stands. Of course, romantic dates are made, hot sex is had, and there are plenty of meet-cutes along the way, but the premise of the film remains intact to the end: only when we love ourselves are we ready to truly love someone else in full. With relatable writing and a vibrant ensemble cast rounded out by Alison Brie, Jake Lacy, Colin Jost, and Damon Wayans Jr., it\u2019s a film that will remind you that partnership isn\u2019t everything. As Johnson\u2019s character says at the end, when you\u2019re single, \u201cyou should cherish it.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Jake Lacy Clothing Apparel Coat Overcoat Human and Person\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/01-obvious-child.jpg\" title=\"01-obvious-child\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Obvious Child<\/em> (2014)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To put your one-night stand into perspective.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>Talk about playing with fire: this tender, deeply human comedy from director Gillian Robespierre finds entirely new ways into the story of losing Mr. Wrong, then Finding Mr. Right (by having our hero, a struggling comedian played by the irrepressibly honest and infinitely endearing Jenny Slate, get drunk with Mr. Right, sleep with Mr. Right, get pregnant by Mr. Right, and then deal with the consequences). While riotously funny, <em>Obvious Child<\/em> set a new standard for real-feeling intimacy in comedy; Robespierre\u2019s perfect writing and Slate\u2019s raw but intelligent performance managed to shape a sublime millennial mirror.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Chris Rock Clothing Apparel Car Automobile Transportation Vehicle Human Person and Pedestrian\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/53-top-five.jpg\" title=\"53-top-five\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Top Five<\/em> (2014)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To make you fall for his funny bone.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>Think of it as <em>Funny People<\/em> meets <em>Before Sunset<\/em>, with New York taking the place of Paris. If that notion produces a little eye roll, get those peepers back down, and then on to the screen before you miss some laughs. Rosario Dawson plays a <em>New York Times<\/em> journalist tasked with interviewing a hugely famous comedian, played by Chris Rock, who is attempting to take his career in a new direction (courtesy of an ill-advised serious film about a Haitian revolutionary). Like in <em>Roman Holiday<\/em> before it, here the journalist finds the human being inside of their famous subject, falling for them while trying not to fall for their shtick, or what they represent. As the pair make their way through Manhattan\u2014with visits from Jerry Seinfeld, radio hosts Opie and Anthony, Whoopi Goldberg, and a fantastic supporting job from the ageless Gabrielle Union, playing a reality TV starlet\u2014we can\u2019t help but get on board with their journey.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Best Rom Coms of All Time\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/mcdsili_ec014.jpg\" title=\"mcdsili_ec014\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Silver Linings Playbook<\/em> (2012)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>For the kind of love that drives you crazy.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>A really funny tearjerker following Pat Solatano (Bradley Cooper), a substitute teacher recently released from a mental institution. With no job and no wife, Pat moves in with his parents, determined to rebuild his life by getting his job back, rekindling his marriage (despite the restraining order), and bonding with his father (Robert De Niro) over the Philadelphia Eagles. But then, enter Tiffany Maxwell (Jennifer Lawrence), a recent widow who agrees to help Pat win back his wife if he partners up with her for a dance competition.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Clothing Apparel Human Person Coat and Jacket\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/21-beginners.jpg\" title=\"21-beginners\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Beginners<\/em> (2011)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To better understand your parents.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>\u201cThe History of Sadness\u201d is a sketchbook drawn by Ewan McGregor\u2019s Oliver, a graphic designer who is dealing with the recent coming out of his septuagenarian father, Hal (the late Christopher Plummer\u2014who won an Oscar for his performance). Hal\u2019s new openness about his life inspires Oliver to reevaluate his own sadness and pursue a lovely French actress, Anna. It\u2019s an incredibly touching, difficult story, told mostly in flashback, that involves Oliver coming to grips with his father\u2019s past, his parents\u2019 relationship, his own choices, and his art. But it\u2019s ultimately a love story. A story about how our parents love us and each other\u2014despite the difficulties imposed by society, time, and work\u2014and how we, in turn, learn to love\u2026or not.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Steve Carell Human Person Furniture Chair School Classroom Indoors Room Julianne Moore and Table\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/36-crazy-stupid-love.jpg\" title=\"36-crazy-stupid-love\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div id=\"crazy-stupid-love\">\n<h2><em>Crazy, Stupid, Love.<\/em> (2011)<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>To help you get them back.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>If <em>The 40-Year-Old Virgin<\/em> was evidence that Steve Carell could be a romantic lead, this was the conclusive proof. Alongside Julianne Moore (as the cheating wife he wants to win back) and Ryan Gosling (who plays his cad coach), as well a terrific performance from a teenage son who loves his babysitter (who in turn loves his nice-guy dad), Carell is well matched. Throw in Kevin Bacon as a romantic rival and Emma Stone as a law student just out of Gosling\u2019s reach, and we\u2019re ready to go. It\u2019s a comedy that\u2019s as much about accepting the facts of life\u2014be they middle age, the people we can\u2019t have, or the people we don\u2019t want others involved with\u2014as much as it is about a pursuit or any one relationship. It\u2019s about how love really is sometimes, which can be romantic in its own right.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Alec Baldwin Accessories Jewelry Necklace Adult Person Lamp Dating Romantic Desk and Furniture\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2jk4a9h.jpg\" title=\"2jk4a9h\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">AJ Pics \/ Alamy Stock Photo<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>It\u2019s Complicated<\/em> (2009)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To remind you that romance is possible at any age.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>Choosing a favorite Nancy Meyers film is impossible\u2014they\u2019re all so good! <em>It\u2019s Complicated<\/em> certainly makes a compelling case for the top slot: it has Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, Lake Bell, Rita Wilson, and even John Krasinski\u2014c\u2019mon! When middle-aged Jane, a successful Santa Barbara bakery owner (played by Streep) suddenly finds herself in a zany love triangle with her married ex-husband (Baldwin) and a quirky architect (Martin), all manner of sexy hilarity\u2014and profound self-discovery\u2014ensues. Every actor in this film churns out a stellar performance, while Meyers\u2019 relatable writing and signature, sunshine-y sets are truly at their iconic best. You may not envy Jane\u2019s \u201ccomplicated\u201d situation, but you\u2019ll definitely envy her dream kitchen.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Jason Segel Human Person Clothing Apparel and Sitting\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/mcdfosa_ec015.jpg\" title=\"mcdfosa_ec015\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Forgetting Sarah Marshall<\/em> (2008)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To remind you you\u2019re not the only person who\u2019s ever been dumped.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>How often does a Dracula-puppet musical feature in a genuinely moving romantic comedy? <em>Forgetting Sarah Marshall<\/em> might be the sole film to bear that distinction, and if that sounds bizarre&#8230;it is, but it works. The film follows recently dumped composer Peter (Jason Segel) as he goes on vacation to try to forget his ex Sarah (Kristen Bell)&#8230;only to run into her at a fancy hotel in Hawaii. Luckily, he soon falls for whip-smart hotel clerk Rachel (Mila Kunis), and luckily for the audience, there\u2019s plenty of hilarity along the way, with appearances from the likes of Paul Rudd, Bill Hader, and Maria Thayer.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Michael Cera Clothing Sleeve Apparel Long Sleeve Kat Dennings Human Person Pants and Fashion\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/17-nick-and-norah-alamy.jpg\" title=\"17-nick-and-norah-alamy\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Alamy Stock Photo<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Nick &amp; Norah\u2019s Infinite Playlist<\/em> (2008)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To find<\/strong><em><strong>your<\/strong><\/em><strong>song.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>There\u2019s something almost quaint about Norah\u2019s search for her orgasm. The high schooler, played by Kat Dennings, is demeaned by her fellow classmates for having yet to experience the big <em>O<\/em>. It may sound tawdry, yet this plot point harkens back to a sweeter, John Hughes\u2013era teen comedy (with a few switches flipped) wherein the search for a simple sex act was enough motivation for a number of scenes, if not an entire film. Norah\u2019s lack of fulfillment isn\u2019t what moves the action here; instead, we\u2019re on a search for her best friend and an oh-so-cool band\u2019s secret show, with Nick\u2019s (Michael Cera) hapless band, in his hapless car (a Yugo), through downtown New York City\u2019s music scene. It\u2019s a good-time flick, with cheerful performances and the kind of supporting cast that make 90 minutes seem like a brisk 30. One of these is from Alexis Dziena, who plays Nick\u2019s very recent ex-girlfriend: She toyed with him and never appreciated the music mixes he made for her (spoiler: Norah loves them). Her \u201csexy\u201d dance, in the glaring light of Nick\u2019s high beams, to Hot Chocolate\u2019s \u201cYou Sexy Thing\u201d is one of the great falls from grace, and worth the price of admission.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Olivia Thirlby Human Person Furniture Couch Clothing Apparel and Sitting\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/mcdjuno_fs006.jpg\" title=\"mcdjuno_fs006\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Juno<\/em> (2007)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To remind you that life doesn\u2019t always go as planned, but sometimes that\u2019s okay.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>In <em>Juno<\/em>, Elliot Page gave his breakout performance as the titular pregnant-by-accident teen who soldiers on through high school while preparing to give her baby up for adoption to a painfully needy rich couple (or \u201cbaby-starved wingnuts,\u201d as her father calls them). Juno\u2019s honesty and her backward love story with the adorably nerdy Paulie (Michael Cera) remind us of the true meaning of being cool and that heartache can resolve itself into a tender, resilient future.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Adam Goldberg Human Person Food Meal Dish Glasses Accessories Accessory Stew Drink and Beer\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/mcdtwda_ec031.jpg\" title=\"mcdtwda_ec031\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Two Days in Paris<\/em> (2007)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>For a dose of realism\u2014and Paris, <em>bien sur<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For sheer hilarious, messy, complicated realism, <em>Two Days in Paris<\/em> takes the prize. The brilliant and surprising Julie Delpy writes, directs, and stars as Marion, a young Frenchwoman who has brought her American boyfriend Jack (Adam Goldberg) to her hometown en route from a trip to Venice. They struggle through misunderstandings, language barriers, cultural clashes, encounters with Marion\u2019s many ex-boyfriends, and her unruly parents (played by Delpy\u2019s real-life mother and father, actors Marie Pillet and Albert Delpy), and barely come out the other side. The moral, as Marion says, is that \u201cit\u2019s not easy being in a relationship, much less to truly know the other one and accept them as they are with all their flaws and baggage.\u201d It may not be easy, but it\u2019s highly entertaining to watch them try.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Jude Law Cameron Diaz Face Happy Head Person Smile Dating Romantic Adult Clothing and Scarf\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/mcdholi_ec015.jpg\" title=\"mcdholi_ec015\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Columbia Pictures\/courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>The Holiday<\/em> (2006)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To convince you to just book that vacation already, okay?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There are certain films that get better with repeated views, and Nancy Meyer\u2019s <em>The Holiday<\/em> is definitely one of them. In fact, the idyllic settings\u2014sunny Los Angeles and the snowy English countryside\u2014are enough alone to make it a must-see holiday film. But that\u2019s not the only thing it has going for it; the plot is pretty fun, too. When two heartbroken, fed-up women (Kate Winslet; Cameron Diaz) swap homes over Christmas on a whim, they encounter plenty of unexpected\u2014or, given that this a rom-com, maybe it\u2019s all completely expected\u2014experiences. Their dual-timelines are in equal parts charming, funny, and just-relatable-enough, with plenty of twist and turns to keep everything moving along. Not to mention, there\u2019s plenty of eye candy in the form of Jude Law, Ed Burns, Jack Black, and Rufus Sewell.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Miranda July Clothing Apparel Human Person Tie Accessories Accessory John Hawkes Suit and Coat\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/mcdmean_ec002.jpg\" title=\"mcdmean_ec002\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Me and You and Everyone We\u00a0Know<\/em> (2005)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To inspire you to shoot your shot.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One of the quirkier additions to this list\u2014and it <em>would<\/em> be, coming from the wonderfully wacky mind of Miranda July\u2014<em>Me and You and Everyone We Know<\/em> is about our need to connect and how completely terrifying true intimacy can be. There\u2019s Christine (July) and Richard (John Hawkes), a video artist and a shoe salesman who seem to have something going until Richard cuts it off; Richard\u2019s six-year-old son, Robby (Brandon Ratcliff), and the older woman (Tracy Wright) with whom he begins a flirtation online; two teenage girls (Natasha Slayton and Najarra Townsend) engaged in a troubling back-and-forth with their neighbor (Brad William Henke); and several other strange souls tentatively entering each other\u2019s orbits. \u201cJuly\u2019s debut feature wasn\u2019t the first movie about the internet,\u201d IndieWire\u2019s David Ehrlich observed of the film in 2020, \u201cbut it may have been the first to recognize how we\u2019d express ourselves through it, and how the utopian promise of \u2018social media\u2019 would so plainly reveal how scared we are of getting close to each other.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Human Person and Finger\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/mcdhoto_ec013.jpg\" title=\"mcdhoto_ec013\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy of Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days<\/em> (2003)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To convince you that true love can happen even when you\u2019re trying your hardest not to let it.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Kate Hudson stars as plucky reporter Andie Andersen, who is saddled with the \u201cHow To\u201d beat at a women\u2019s magazine but dreams of reporting about Tajikistan. Challenged to get a guy to break up with her in 10 days, she sets her sights on ad exec Ben Barry (Matthew McConaughey)&#8230;who, little does she know, has made a bet with his coworkers that he\u2019ll be able to make her fall in love with him. Sparks fly, tears are shed, and absolutely epic early-2000s outfits (remember lacy camisoles with low-slung jeans?) are worn.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Human Person Paul Pich Clothing Apparel and Face\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/05-lost-in-translation.jpg\" title=\"05-lost-in-translation\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Lost in Translation<\/em> (2003)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To remind you that not all timeless romances are physical.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There was never any doubt that Scarlett Johansson was going to be a megastar, but Sofia Coppola\u2019s movie\u2014about the lonely wife of a photographer who befriends an over-the-hill movie star (Bill Murray) while visiting Tokyo\u2014is what made the world stand up and realize we were dealing with a serious actor. Like many of the films on this list, <em>Lost in Translation<\/em> takes place in a bourgeois universe, where the greatest thing at risk is someone\u2019s heart or future emotional happiness, but few films have so effectively crystalized the alienation of both travel and marriage, as well as the difficulties of existential malaise. The older man and the younger woman don\u2019t so much meet-cute as crash into each other, picking up each other\u2019s pieces and redeeming each other\u2019s lives as they navigate their surreal setting. It\u2019s a match made in heaven\u2014and without spoiling anything, their goodbye scene is among the best in Hollywood history.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Human Person Clothing Apparel Sleeve Pub and Bar Counter\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/42-love-actually.jpg\" title=\"42-love-actually\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Love Actually<\/em> (2003)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To get you through the holidays.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Love Actually<\/em> is, actually, a rather clich\u00e9d Christmas rom-com, but jeez, we love it anyway. How can we not, with this ensemble cast of British romance all-stars (Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, and Keira Knightley, among others)? The storylines might be a little unbelievable\u2014but, somehow, they are also pretty endearing: There is the prime minister (Grant) who falls for a junior staff member; the quiet suitor who pines for the new bride (Knightley) of his best bud (Chiwetel Ejiofor); the cuckolded boyfriend (Firth) rebuilding his shattered life with the help of his shy housekeeper. Balderdash. All of it. But it\u2019s irresistible. Come on, what are you, made of stone? Try not to shed a tear while watching the final scene, we dare you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Clothing Apparel Human Person Hat and Sleeve\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/mcdsogo_ec028.jpg\" title=\"mcdsogo_ec028\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy of Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div id=\"SGG\">\n<h2><em>Something\u2019s Gotta Give<\/em> (2003)<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>To sate your Hamptons beach-house cravings.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson\u2013fronted romp is the platonic ideal of a Nancy Meyers movie, featuring beachside scenes, cashmere turtlenecks, and endless amounts of kitchen porn. No less charming is the central, slow-building relationship between Nicholson\u2019s rascal bachelor Harry and Keaton\u2019s prim playwright Erica (although the fact that the movie starts out with Harry dating Erica\u2019s daughter\u2014played by Amanda Peet\u2014is pretty cringey, to be sure). Bonus: Keanu Reeves as a hunky doctor with a heart of gold. \u201cWhen something happens to you that hasn\u2019t happened before, don\u2019t you at least have to find out what it is?\u201d Reeves\u2019 character asks at one point. Yes, we\u2019d say. Yes, you do.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Housing Building Human Person Plant Monk Villa House Vase Pottery Potted Plant and Jar\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/mcdunth_ec024.jpg\" title=\"mcdunth_ec024\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Under the Tuscan Sun<\/em> (2003)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To vicariously fulfill the fantasy of running off to Europe after a bad breakup.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Nothing satisfies quite like this early-aughts classic, which finds Frances (Diane Lane) grieving a recent divorce in San Francisco. A wild tour of Tuscany brings her to a villa up for sale, and thus, her big Italian adventure begins. There\u2019s plenty of romance to be had in this film, of course\u2014you can\u2019t impulsively move to Italy without a few flings!\u2014but the best part of <em>Under the Tuscan Sun<\/em> is watching Frances find herself. (Though the appearances from Sandra Oh and Kate Walsh don\u2019t hurt, either\u2014and nor does the quintessentially romantic countryside views.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Human Person Clothing and Apparel\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/mcdmain_ec025.jpg\" title=\"mcdmain_ec025\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy of Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Maid in Manhattan<\/em> (2002)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To get your vintage J. Lo fix.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Long before Jennifer Lopez lit up the screen in <em>Hustlers<\/em>, she was changing sheets and dreaming of true love as Marisa Ventura, a single mom working as a hotel maid who meets a charming senatorial candidate and, through a series of only-in-a-rom-com hijinks, has him believing she\u2019s a socialite. This modern-day Cinderella story showcases J. Lo\u2019s acting talents as well as her chemistry with Ralph Fiennes.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Hugh Grant Tie Accessories Accessory Clothing Apparel Coat Overcoat Human and Person\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/mcdtwwe_ec001.jpg\" title=\"mcdtwwe_ec001\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy of Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Two Weeks Notice<\/em> (2002)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To remind you how extremely charming Hugh Grant can be.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>Hugh Grant + Sandra Bullock = an absolutely unmissable combination. This somewhat slept-on rom-com features Bullock as a grumpy, dedicated environmental lawyer who takes a job with Hugh Grant\u2019s massive company in order to ensure the safety of her beloved local community center. Romantic tension builds alongside genuine friendship in <em>Two Weeks Notice<\/em>, making it the rare rom-com with a happy ending that actually feels earned.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Human Person Clothing Apparel Coat and Lab Coat\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/11-bridget-jones-diary.jpg\" title=\"11-bridget-jones-diary\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Bridget Jones\u2019s Diary<\/em> (2001)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To remind you that fuckboys will be fuckboys.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Hollywood does this silly, shitty thing when they want to make it clear that a woman is \u201cfunny\u201d: They make her clumsy. \u201cDid you see that? She fell down in front of the boss she has a crush on while carrying many things! What a wit!\u201d Thankfully, this film\u2014which remains pretty true to its bestselling source material\u2014is actually funny, and so is Ren\u00e9e Zellweger as the titular character Bridget Jones. At 32, Jones finds herself to overweight (though that\u2019s debatable), in a dead end job, and running short on romantic options. So, in an attempt to improve her situation, she decides to keep a diary where she tracks not only her alcohol intake and her weight, but also her feelings about men in her life: her caddish colleague, Daniel (Hugh Grant), and her pill of a childhood friend, Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). When both begin vying for her hesitant affections in their respectively charmless ways, a classic love triangle ensues. Who will win\u2014the nice guy or the jerk? Trick question: Bridget wins, of course.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Footwear Clothing Shoe Apparel Human Person Sunglasses Accessories Accessory and Pants\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/mcdlebl_ec001.jpg\" title=\"mcdlebl_ec001\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: MGM\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Legally Blonde<\/em> (2001)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To vindicate your Prada obsession.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The film that brought us the \u201cbend and snap\u201d doesn\u2019t disappoint. Reese Witherspoon delivers perhaps her most iconic performance as Elle Woods, a sorority girl turned law student who gets herself into Harvard Law School to win back her douchebag boyfriend, but quickly learns there\u2019s more to all this law stuff than meets the eye. Elle may develop her intellect and find love with a cute lawyer (Luke Wilson), but more importantly, she does it all without compromising on her killer sense of style\u2014or her values. And, really, has there ever been a better line reading than Jennifer Coolidge\u2019s \u201cI\u2019m taking the dog, dumbass\u201d?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Human Person Clothing Apparel Face Smile Costume and Crowd\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/13-bring-it-on.jpg\" title=\"13-bring-it-on\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Bring It On<\/em> (2000)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To get you pumped up.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is the pregame of romantic comedies. It\u2019s a love story\u2014between millennial hotties Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Bradford\u2014packed into 98 minutes of jokes, rivalries, teen romance, and ridiculous cheers. (\u201cHate us \u2019cause we\u2019re beautiful\u2014well, we don\u2019t like you either. We\u2019re cheerleaders. We. Are. Cheerleaders!\u201d) Some of us have defended this movie since it bowed (and then cartwheeled into an aerial walkover) in 2000 as a sharp appreciation of teen culture and teen cinema, both devoid of cynicism and long on wordplay. If you agree, welcome to the squad. If not, please keep in mind, \u201cThis is not a democracy; it\u2019s a cheer-ocracy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Human Person and Furniture\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/msdbuim_ec004.jpg\" title=\"msdbuim_ec004\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy of Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div id=\"Cheerleader\">\n<h2><em>But I\u2019m a Cheerleader<\/em> (2000)<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>To make your rom-com collection a little less straight and narrow.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Directed by Jamie Babbit, this dark comedy centers around a religious high-school cheerleader Megan (Natasha Lyonne) sent away to \u201cstraight camp,\u201d where the staff attempts to turn her and her fellow queer teens toward the Lord. Unfortunately for them, that doesn\u2019t quite work out, as Megan falls hard for her fellow female camper Graham (Clea Duvall). Even two decades later, <em>But I\u2019m a Cheerleader<\/em> holds up as one of the campiest, sweetest, and\u2014to be frank\u2014<em>very few<\/em> lesbian rom-coms out there.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Human Person Clothing Apparel Footwear Shoe Stage Dress Sleeve Long Sleeve and Female\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/msdmico_ec018.jpg\" title=\"msdmico_ec018\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy of Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Miss Congeniality<\/em> (2000)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To soothe your feminist, down-with-the-patriarchy soul.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>Rom-coms don\u2019t get more fish-out-of-water than <em>Miss Congeniality<\/em>, in which Sandra Bullock\u2019s Grace plays an FBI agent who goes undercover at a beauty pageant to unmask a killer. Originally cynical about all things pageant-related, Grace ends up building real friendships amid all the hairspray and lipstick; and, of course, she builds a little more than a friendship with her coworker, played by Benjamin Bratt. Bonus: This film features one of the best makeover montages of all time, set to \u201cMustang Sally.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Clothing Apparel Evening Dress Gown Robe Fashion Human and Person\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/20-ten-things-i-hate-about-you.jpg\" title=\"20-ten-things-i-hate-about-you\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>10 Things I Hate About You<\/em> (1999)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To make it a girls\u2019 night.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This movie, a teen-ready take on <em>The Taming of the Shrew<\/em>, offers some cute turns from youngsters Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Julia Stiles, and Larisa Oleynik, but ask most women, and the performance that sticks out is Heath Ledger\u2019s, whose thuggish Patrick Verona made many of us weak in the knees. Like <em>Bring It On<\/em>, and unlike most other films, especially teen films, this one is female-focused. They\u2019re the moral centers. The heroes we cheer for. And they are active in as much as the narrative as they are subject to it (rare!).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Human Person Cushion Clothing Apparel Pillow and Sitting\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/25-how-stella-got-her-groove-back.jpg\" title=\"25-how-stella-got-her-groove-back\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>How Stella Got Her Groove Back<\/em> (1998)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To unplug from the office.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The movie that has inspired 90% of vacation hookup jokes since 1998 (but seriously, we need to talk about Taye Diggs in a puka shell necklace; the man can make anything look good). Workaholic executive and single mom Stella (Angela Bassett) finds more than she bargains for when her best friend, played by Whoopi Goldberg, convinces her to take a much-deserved Caribbean vacation. Cheeky, subversive, and sexy as hell, this movie turned the tables on so many male-dominated rom-coms (courtesy of one very hot and heavy matchup between Bassett and Diggs, playing some 20 years her junior)\u2014and passes the Bechdel test with flying colors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Best Rom Coms of All Time\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2jhn41m.jpg\" title=\"2jhn41m\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Alamy Stock Photo<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>You&#8217;ve Got Mail<\/em> (1998)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To help cast your sworn enemies in a gentler light.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Nora Ephron simply didn\u2019t miss. Starring Tom Hanks and queen of cozy rom-coms Meg Ryan, <em>You\u2019ve Got Mail<\/em>\u2014inspired by the 1937 Hungarian play *Parfumerie\u2014*tells the story of bookstore superstore mogul Joe Fox and Kathleen Kelly, an independent bookstore owner. How do two \u201990s business rivals end up (spoiler alert) falling in love? Over email, of course!<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Clothing Apparel Human Person Footwear Shoe Sitting Furniture and Chair\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/40-rushmore.jpg\" title=\"40-rushmore\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Rushmore<\/em> (1998)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To help you determine how far to take it.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>This is writer-director Wes Anderson\u2019s most completely stylish movie, and perhaps his best. (Like all Anderson\u2019s best work, it was cowritten with Owen Wilson.) Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman) is a scholarship student at a private school. His academics are dismal, but he\u2019s game for any and all extracurriculars, especially the over-the-top plays he produces and directs. He gets into a contest for the affections of a widowed first-grade teacher with local industrialist\u2014and his newfound mentor\u2014Herman Blume (Bill Murray). Several phenomenal executions come together in this film, including the ensemble cast, the just-on-this-side-of-believable production design, and an absolutely killer classic-rock soundtrack. But what pushes it above the rest is the utter drive of both Max and Herman, as love and competition gain primacy over every aspect of their lives. They\u2019re both willing to burn the village to save it, which is simultaneously hilarious to watch and cathartic to anyone who\u2019s ever had a crush.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Human Person and Lighting\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/32-theres-something-about-mary.jpg\" title=\"32-theres-something-about-mary\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>There\u2019s Something About Mary<\/em> (1998)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To remind you that guys will try<\/strong><em><strong>anything<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>Before we had a president who bragged openly about grabbing women \u201cby the pussy,\u201d this is what qualified as a gross-out film. Amid scenes of semen being used as hair gel and testicles jammed in zippers, the Farrelly Brothers managed to concoct an amiable story about the nerdy Ted (Ben Stiller) hiring a private detective to find Mary (Cameron Diaz), the object of his unrequited love in high school. Despite the over-the-top locker-room gags (that scene with Diaz\u2019s sticky hair lives on in infamy!), the movie has virtually no sex and manages to emerge as hilarious, sweet, and satisfying.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Clothing Apparel Human Person Tie Accessories Accessory Sleeve Long Sleeve Overcoat and Suit\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/22-the-wedding-singer.jpg\" title=\"22-the-wedding-singer\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>The Wedding Singer<\/em> (1998)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To freeze some already cold feet.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>Set in the \u201980s, this film centers on Adam Sandler\u2019s Robbie Hart, a recently jilted wedding singer (and hopeless romantic) who helps Drew Barrymore\u2019s Julia plan her wedding to the wrong man. Sandler and Barrymore\u2019s chemistry is very strong, and this film\u2014not <em>Mad Love<\/em>, sorry\u2014established the actress as rom-com gold (see <em>Never Been Kissed<\/em>, <em>50 First Dates<\/em>, and <em>Fever Pitch<\/em>). The romance is great, the jokes are great, the costumes are great, and\u2014not to ruin anything\u2014but Billy Idol is pretty great too. It\u2019s a nice day for a white wedding, indeed!<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Human Person Clothing Apparel and Restaurant\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/43-as-good-as-it-gets.jpg\" title=\"43-as-good-as-it-gets\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>As Good as It Gets<\/em> (1997)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To help you look past his neuroses.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>There are few actors who can go toe-to-toe with Jack Nicholson. Director James L. Brooks found a suitable sparring partner in Shirley MacLaine with <em>Terms of Endearment<\/em> and struck gold again nearly 15 years later with Helen Hunt. Hunt plays a waitress with a sick child for whom Nicholson\u2014a mean, racist, homophobic, obsessive-compulsive writer and a regular customer in the restaurant where she works\u2014has some affection. Bring in Nicholson\u2019s neighbor, a gay artist (played by Greg Kinnear) who has to lean on Nicholson\u2019s character for help (beginning with care for his adorable dog), add a road trip, and you\u2019ve got yourself one of the most delightful, well-thought-out comedies of the \u201990s. The movie takes its time, but it\u2019s to our benefit\u2014Brooks allows us to get to know each of these people, and them each other, intimately, which means when the jokes, and the romance, land, they land hard and then stay around. (Plus, who among us could resist Nicholson growling, \u201cYou make me wanna be a better man\u201d?)<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Best Rom Coms of All Time\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/583899144.jpg\" title=\"583899144\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>My Best Friend&#8217;s Wedding<\/em> (1997)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>For a showdown between Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>All hail rom-com royalty Julia Roberts in this \u201990s classic. She plays Julianne \u201cJules\u201d Potter, a 28-year-old who realizes she\u2019s in love with her old friend, Michael O&#8217;Neal (Dermont Mulroney), only after he announces his engagement to college student Kimmy Wallace (Cameron Diaz). What\u2019s a girl to do but try to break them up? Will she succeed? Who knows, but one thing is certain: you cannot watch this film without getting the song <em>I Say a Little Prayer For You<\/em> stuck in your head. You\u2019ve been warned.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Human Person Interior Design Indoors Bar Counter Pub Ben Affleck Clothing Apparel and Sitting\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/47-chasing-amy.jpg\" title=\"47-chasing-amy\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Chasing Amy<\/em> (1997)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To give comic books their due.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>A comic book artist (Ben Affleck) with an inseparable best friend (Jason Lee) falls for a beautiful gay girl (Joey Lauren Adams)\u2014who then falls for him\u2014only to discover he can\u2019t handle it. Comic books? Lesbian conversion? Best buds? Sounds like a romantic comedy made by men, for men. And it is! But Kevin Smith also managed a somewhat nuanced exploration of friendship and art, as well as of contemporary romantic standards in his rejiggering of the love triangle. Simultaneously, at a time when every other joke on <em>Friends<\/em> involved gay panic, he was portraying multi-dimensional concepts of lesbian identity. What could be identified as a typical male-driven fantasy could also be seen as a \u201990s <em>Torrents of Spring<\/em>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Human Person and Finger\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/41-jerry-maguire.jpg\" title=\"41-jerry-maguire\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Jerry Maguire<\/em> (1996)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To help you locate your other half.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>Cameron Crowe has a couple of films on this list (<em>Almost Famous<\/em> came close, but is ultimately more coming-of-age than true rom-com) with good reason: He understands people and how they tick. Despite its memorably demonstrative, over-the-top lines, like \u201cYou complete me\u201d and \u201cShow me the money,\u201d <em>Jerry Maguire<\/em> is ultimately a movie about how people really fall in love. Sure, Ren\u00e9e Zellweger loves Tom Cruise from the beginning\u2014it\u2019s a movie, after all, and he <em>is<\/em> Tom Cruise\u2014but the true magic of <em>Jerry Maguire<\/em> is its exploration of what happens after that first kiss and after the honeymoon period, when we have to really love our person as a person\u2014and not just see them and their adorable puppy (or, in this case, an adorable son, played by Jonathan Lipnicki) as an escape or alternative from our own lives. In other words, this is a rom-com that goes deep.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Human Person Clothing Apparel and Hat\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/06-clueless.jpg\" title=\"06-clueless\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div id=\"Clueless\">\n<h2><em>Clueless<\/em> (1995)<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>To remind you to reevaluate your checklist.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>The motherless daughter, caring for her father and looking for her prince, is a trope that goes back to fairy tales. But in the hands of Alicia Silverstone (who plays our hero, Cher) and writer-director Amy Heckerling, this contemporized version of the Jane Austen story <em>Emma<\/em> is an instant classic. Set in a vivid, plastic, privileged kids-are-adults version of Beverly Hills and filled with now-iconic lines (\u201cWhatever!\u201d; \u201cAs if!\u201d), lunatic high fashion, and decidedly unrelatable problems, it somehow maintains a storybook sensibility\u2014and manages to keep our sympathies with the lovelorn Cher, whose insipidness is overshadowed by her charity, loyalty, and genuine goodwill. We believe she deserves love, and if she gets smart enough to stop looking for it in the \u201cright\u201d places, we want her to find it. The film holds up decades later\u2014and so does Paul Rudd\u2019s ageless charm. (Seriously, how does he still look the same?!)<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Best Rom Coms of All Time\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/159838795.jpg\" title=\"159838795\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>While You Were Sleeping<\/em> (1995)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>For the oddest love triangle of all.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>Meet Lucy (Sandra Bullock), a Chicago Transit Authority token collector longing for more than the company of her cat (gorgeous as it is). Her daily highlight? A cutie commuter named Peter (Peter Gallagher). But after Lucy saves Peter from an oncoming train and accompanies him to the hospital, she\u2019s mistaken for his fianc\u00e9e while he remains in a coma. The plot thickens further as Lucy finds herself falling in love with Peter\u2019s family\u2014and, most intriguingly, his brother, Jack (Bill Pullman).<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Clothing Apparel Nature Human Person Outdoors Vehicle Car Transportation Automobile and Snow\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/50-four-weddings-and-a-funeral.jpg\" title=\"50-four-weddings-and-a-funeral\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Four Weddings and a Funeral<\/em> (1994)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To get you through wedding season.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>How can you not love a wedding movie whose first pages of dialogue are just the word <em>Fuck<\/em>? As much as we commiserate, this is ultimately Hugh Grant\u2019s movie. And a little Andie MacDowell\u2019s movie. But mostly Hugh Grant\u2019s. It\u2019s the film that introduced us to his stumbling, bumbling, yet confident Etonian charms and wit (which we\u2019d witness again and again in <em>Nine Months<\/em>, <em>Notting Hill<\/em>, <em>Music and Lyrics<\/em>, <em>About a Boy<\/em>, and more). The story of Grant and his friends attending their friends\u2019 weddings\u2014and one funeral\u2014perfectly captured the romance of nuptials as well as all the stress, commitment, and emotional&#8230;what do the British call it?&#8230;oh yes, <em>bother<\/em> that comes with that period in your life where your friends are tying the knot. The question this rom-com dares ask is this: In all this wedding madness, can you be the odd man out and still be happy?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Best Rom Coms of All Time\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/msdmuwe_ec008.jpg\" title=\"msdmuwe_ec008\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Muriel\u2019s Wedding<\/em> (1994)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To help you tell your real friends from the sham ones.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Muriel (Toni Collette), a daydreamer and the target of the bitchy girls she considers her friends, wants nothing more than to get out of her small town and away from her awful father, move to Sydney, and get married. When she makes off with her parents\u2019 savings, reunites with a fellow outcast from her town, and is offered the chance to marry a gorgeous South African swimmer who needs a visa, she can make her dreams come true. As much of a coming-of-age story as a rom-com (Muriel may be in her 20s, but she has much growing up to do), this film does a brilliant job of cutting the legs out from underneath our expectations by giving us exactly what we\u2019ve always wanted and tying us up in the strings attached.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Human Person Grocery Store Shop Steve Zahn Market and Supermarket\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/48-reality-bites.jpg\" title=\"48-reality-bites\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Reality Bites<\/em> (1994)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To make you fall in love with your friends\u2014and the \u201990s.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In what was then a cult hit and is now a piece of iconic \u201990s nostalgia catnip, a post\u2013<em>Edward Scissorhands<\/em> (and post\u2013Johnny Depp) Winona Ryder plays Lelaina Pierce, an aspiring documentarian assisting an obnoxious TV host in Houston (hilarious portrayed by John Mahoney, of later <em>Frasier<\/em> fame). She and her grungy, Gen X friends\u2014played by Steve Zahn, Janeane Garofolo, and a simmering Ethan Hawke (who may be more than just a friend)\u2014are just trying to figure out who they are, and what they want out of life. In Ben Stiller\u2019s feature directorial debut, he also plays a yuppie executive at an MTV-like network whose budding romance with Lelaina and interest in her work brings the real world crashing into the friend group\u2019s post-collegiate hipster haze. Aside from the nonstop \u201990s fashion buffet that is Winona\u2019s and Janeane\u2019s wardrobes (mom jeans, crop tops, baby doll dresses, cardigans, men\u2019s shirts, blazers, chokers, mary janes!), there\u2019s also love and heartbreak, sex and slacker-dom, best friend drama and even a little bit of betrayal. Not to mention, plenty of the era\u2019s cultural best: Lisa Loeb, Dickies, baby bangs, the Gap, and a blink-and-you\u2019ll-miss-it cameo appearance from Soul Asylum\u2019s Dave Pirner\u2014as well as some of the era\u2019s worst, including the perpetual threat of the HIV and AIDS epidemic and expensive 1-900 calls to the psychic hotline. All and all, it\u2019s a picture-perfect snapshot of hipster \u201990s-ness with plenty of memorable one-liners: \u201cHe\u2019s so cheesy, I can\u2019t watch him without crackers\u201d and \u201cWelcome to the winter of our discontent\u201d truly do stand the test of time. What more could we want, really?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Clothing Formal Wear Suit Accessories Tie Adult Person Jewelry Necklace Head and Face\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/mcditco_ec075.jpg\" title=\"mcditco_ec075\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">TriStar\/courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>It Could Happen to You<\/em> (1994)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To remind you that there are some things money can\u2019t buy.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Overshadowed by some of the buzzier rom-coms of the \u201990s, 1994\u2019s <em>It Could Happen to You<\/em> deserves a second look. A New York City cop (Nicolas Cage) doesn\u2019t have enough cash to tip a diner waitress (Bridget Fonda), so instead of running to a bank, he offers to split the earnings of his lotto ticket, if he were to win. After he does win, the salt-of-the-earth cop follows through on his promise to give the struggling divorc\u00e9e the cash\u2014much to the displeasure of his wife (Rosie Perez)\u2014and the pair end up falling in love and taking a hot-air balloon over Central Park. Scandalous? Kind of. Improbable? Definitely. But it <em>is<\/em> a rom-com, after all\u2014and we can\u2019t help but root for its happy ending.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Andie MacDowell Clothing Apparel Human Person Coat Overcoat Jacket Suit and Face\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/16-groundhog-day.jpg\" title=\"16-groundhog-day\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Groundhog Day<\/em> (1993)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To make you consider what you could have done differently.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A cynical Pittsburgh weatherman (Bill Murray) is sent to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, with his producer, Rita (Andie MacDowell) on a dead-end assignment: to cover Groundhog Day. And boy, is it a dead end. Murray gets stuck there, not just in a snowstorm, mind you, but in a continuous loop, where no matter what he does\u2014including committing suicide\u2014he wakes up in the same hotel on the same day. At first, the weatherman is predictably bummed, but eventually, he uses all the information he\u2019s picked up living the same day over and over to better himself and the lives of those around him, eventually impressing Rita with his change of personality. Watching Bill Murray is fun, watching Bill Murray struggle is really fun, and watching Bill Murray caught in a space-time logjam, wrestling with moral philosophy while pursuing Andie MacDowell, is the most fun. \u201cJust watch out for the first step, it\u2019s a doozy!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Clothing Apparel Human Person Interior Design Indoors Coat Ross Malinger and Jacket\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/08-sleepless-in-seattle.jpg\" title=\"08-sleepless-in-seattle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div id=\"Sleepless\">\n<h2><em>Sleepless in Seattle<\/em> (1993)<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>To get you to take a chance on love again.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Tom Hanks had been responsible for some \u201980s hits\u2014<em>Splash<\/em> and <em>Big<\/em>\u2014but with Nora Ephron\u2019s 1993 film about a widower whose son calls into a radio show in an attempt to find him a new wife, he cemented himself as America\u2019s favorite, well, person. Meg Ryan, his competition for that title in the \u201990s, plays an unhappily engaged <em>Baltimore Sun<\/em> reporter who writes Hanks\u2019s character on a whim, asking him to meet her at the top of the Empire State Building (see: <em>An Affair to Remember<\/em>) on Valentine\u2019s Day. Utterly contrived but utterly charming, this quick, silly, funny film is pabulum superfood for anyone who believes in second chances and true love.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Steve Martin Accessories Formal Wear Tie Adult Person Art Painting Conversation and Chair\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/m8dfaof_ec0132520father2520of2520the2520bride.jpg\" title=\"m8dfaof_ec0132520father2520of2520the2520bride\"><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Father of the Bride<\/em> (1991)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To remind you that family comes first.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Before she was writing straightforward love stories, Nancy Meyers updated the 1950s film <em>Father of the Bride<\/em> for the \u201990s. With Steve Martin as the uptight father struggling to keep his cool ahead of his little girl\u2019s wedding\u2014and backyard basketball sessions set to the Temptations\u2014the film has become a father-daughter must-see. (The 2022 version, directed by Gaz Alazraki and written by Matt Lopez, is also pretty funny\u2014and just as sweet.)<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Richard Gere Tie Accessories Accessory Human Person Coat Clothing Overcoat Apparel and Suit\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/18-pretty-woman.jpg\" title=\"18-pretty-woman\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Pretty Woman<\/em> (1990)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To inspire some big changes.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>Is there a rom-com list that doesn\u2019t include this movie? What\u2019s left to say about the 1990 tale of the beautiful, charming sex worker and the Wall Street corporate raider who meet and fall in love? Here\u2019s director Garry Marshall\u2019s (and Julia Roberts\u2019 and Richard Gere\u2019s) genius with this film: They convince us the whole thing is kind of a lark. This film takes place in the late 1980s; a high-water mark in terms of the HIV crisis and a particularly dangerous time to be in sex work. That\u2019s not on our minds when we watch this movie (barring an early scene discussing methods of birth control), though; we think about stomping divots and Richard Gere conquering his fear of heights. Such are its delights! The film also has one of the best glow-up scenes of all times featuring some pretty influential fashion\u2014we still drool over Roberts\u2019 polka-dot polo match get-up.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Best Rom Coms of All Time\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/msdsaan_fe005.jpg\" title=\"msdsaan_fe005\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div id=\"Say-Anything\">\n<h2><em>Say Anything&#8230;<\/em> (1989)<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>To help you figure out if he\u2019s worth the trouble.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>If for no other reason, you need to see this movie so that you\u2019ll understand what it means when someone holds a boombox over his head outside the window of the woman he loves. Like most of the teen romance flicks on this list, <em>Say Anything&#8230;<\/em> doesn\u2019t end at the big dance. This movie, from director Cameron Crowe (and produced by James L. Brooks), is far too sophisticated for such a middling finale. And it\u2019s too busy diving into the angsty, all-consuming, awkward challenge that is young love, as embodied by consummate underdog Lloyd Dobler and his attempts to woo the beautiful valedictorian Diane Court.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"best diners in movies\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/12-best-diners-in-movies.jpg\" title=\"12-best-diners-in-movies\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>When Harry Met Sally&#8230;<\/em> (1989)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To help you escape the friend zone\u2014and appreciate the importance of timing.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>If this list were a top-20, this film would still be on it. Same with top 10\u2014and five. It\u2019s in the running for the best rom-com of all time because it is sassy, sultry, snappy, cinematic perfection, thanks to words from Nora Ephron and direction from Rob Reiner. It\u2019s something of an epic of the genre, spanning more than 10 years of the kind of friendship (between Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal\u2019s characters) where no one can help but ask, \u201cWhy aren\u2019t those two together?\u201d Should friends ever sleep together? If they do, what happens next? This movie should be watched by every college student on the planet. Bonus tip: Watch this with a boyfriend, and pay attention to what happens to his face during Meg Ryan\u2019s most famous scene, in which she illustrates just how easy it is for a woman to fake an orgasm.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Human Person Coat Clothing Apparel Vehicle Transportation Car Automobile Taxi and Cab\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/51-coming-to-america.jpg\" title=\"51-coming-to-america\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Coming to America<\/em> (1988)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To help you find your prince.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>It\u2019s unfair that Eddie Murphy only has one entry on this list. The guy ruled the \u201980s and made some of the era\u2019s great comedies\u2014<em>Trading Places<\/em>, <em>Beverly Hills Cop<\/em>, <em>48 Hrs<\/em>.\u2014but this is really the only one where the romance narrative rules supreme. In short: Murphy plays the prince of a fictional African nation who is unsure about his arranged marriage, and so heads to what he suspects will be greener pastures in search of his queen. So where better to start than Queens, New York? Essentially slumming it with his best friend (a terrific Arsenio Hall), Murphy\u2019s character finds work at a McDonald\u2019s-type restaurant where he falls in love with the owner\u2019s daughter, a woman who just might fit the bill. It\u2019s a super simple story that elicits big laughs in every scene, but it\u2019s also a clever send-up of class and race that simultaneously owns itself as perhaps the ultimate Reaganite comedy: If you are rich and follow your heart, you can be even richer!<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Amy Irving Human Person and Hair\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/msdcrde_ec006.jpg\" title=\"msdcrde_ec006\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Warner Bros\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Crossing Delancey<\/em> (1988)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To remind you to listen to your<\/strong><em><strong>bubbe.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>In Joan Micklin Silver\u2019s <em>Crossing Delancey,<\/em> Amy Irving is Isabelle \u201cIzzy\u201d Grossman, a woman who has it all\u2014dear friends, an interesting job, a rent-controlled Manhattan apartment\u2014except, to her grandmother Ida\u2019s chagrin, a husband. While Izzy lusts after Anton (Jeroen Krabb\u00e9), a worldly, married, author she meets at the bookstore where she works, Ida sets her up with a matchmaker, who in turn introduces Izzy to Sam (Peter Riegert), the owner of a nearby pickle shop. Though Izzy resists his unassuming charms at first, passing Sam off to a girlfriend, eventually, realizations and regrets give way to a happy reconciliation.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Harrison Ford Tie Accessories Accessory Human Person Clothing Suit Coat Overcoat and Apparel\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/52-working-girl.jpg\" title=\"52-working-girl\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Working Girl<\/em> (1988)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To help you get your boss\u2019s job.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>First, consider the cast: Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford\u2014who owned the \u201980s in Hollywood and made this his only rom-com\u2014Sigourney Weaver, Joan Cusack, Oliver Platt, Alec Baldwin (at his douchiest), and Kevin Spacey. Next, look at the director: Mike Nichols\u2014if there is a pantheon for romantic films, he probably has Zeus\u2019s seat. Finally, the shoulder pads; my god, the shoulder pads. Were doorways made wider in the 1980s? <em>Adventures in Babysitting<\/em> aside, this movie is really as feminist as mainstream movies got in the \u201980s. Melanie Griffith plays Tess McGill, a wily business school graduate working as a secretary at an investment bank with such memorable one-liners as \u201cI have a head for business and a bod for sin.\u201d When her boss (Weaver) steals her idea for a merger and then ends up out of commission (temporarily bedridden after a ski accident), Tess rises to the occasion: scheming with the support of her friends and maybe-lover (Ford), conniving, flirting, and using some good old-fashioned elbow grease to outwit her superiors, beat the boys, and claim the position she\u2019s rightfully earned. Griffith is miraculous (one critic compared her to Marilyn Monroe; younger viewers might see a mold for Alicia Silverstone\u2019s Cher), taking a role that could have just been \u201ccute\u201d and elevating it to nuanced and beguiling. That\u2019s what this film is\u2014so much so, we\u2019ll forgive you if, after watching it, you suddenly have a soft spot for shoulder pads.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Clothing Apparel Evening Dress Fashion Gown Robe Human Person Dress and Texture\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/msdbrne_fe006-1.jpg\" title=\"msdbrne_fe006-1\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Broadcast News<\/em> (1987)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To deal with your workplace crush(es).<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>In the mid to late \u201980s, there was nothing bigger than TV news and James L. Brooks, and <em>Broadcast News<\/em> was their meeting ground. After the slap-happy, very silly, and very male comedies of the late \u201970s and early \u201980s (think <em>Animal House<\/em>, <em>Porky\u2019s<\/em>, and <em>Revenge of the Nerds<\/em>), and alongside epic big-budget projects like <em>Ghostbusters<\/em> and the original <em>Indiana Jones<\/em>, Brooks continued to redefine what rom-coms could be with this sprawling, occasionally dramatic, but never self-serious workplace comedy. We root for Albert Brooks\u2019s Aaron Altman, the brainy, nervous, serious journalist who competes for the affections of neurotic producer Jane Craig (Holly Hunter) against the impossibly polished (and intellectually inferior) Tom Grunick (William Hurt). Brooks is the producer behind films like <em>Bottle Rocket<\/em>, <em>Say Anything<\/em>, and <em>Big<\/em>, and TV series like <em>Mary Tyler Moore<\/em>, <em>Taxi<\/em>, and <em>The Simpsons<\/em>. No one knows how to get at our hearts\u2014thoughtfully, gracefully, and with humor\u2014like he does.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Cher Human Person Suit Coat Clothing Overcoat Apparel Tie Accessories Accessory Hair and Robe\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/10-moonstruck.jpg\" title=\"10-moonstruck\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Moonstruck<\/em> (1987)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To get past that one little (or gigantic) flaw.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>In one of her most quintessential roles to date, Cher plays a widowed bookkeeper in Brooklyn Heights confronting her parents\u2019 infidelity (and fallibility) who\u2014whoops!\u2014falls for her fianc\u00e9\u2019s younger brother (Nicolas Cage), who sports a prosthetic wooden hand after an accident with a bread slicer. Just go with it! Their first night together produces one of the great moments in the annals of rom-coms: When Cage tells Cher he loves her, she slaps him, saying: \u201cSnap out of it!\u201d The film portrays a New York that doesn\u2019t really exist anymore\u2014for one thing, Brooklyn Heights is full of bankers now. It\u2019s a window to another time, when marriage meant something different in male-dominated second-generation immigrant families, and the fight that Cher\u2019s character puts up against the social order is both important and revelatory (she won an Oscar for her efforts). You end up cheering not just for her romance, but also for an entire insurgency.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Clothing Apparel Human Person Dating and Outdoors\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/15-princess-bride.jpg\" title=\"15-princess-bride\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>The Princess Bride<\/em> (1987)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To get<\/strong><em><strong>him<\/strong><\/em><strong>into rom-coms.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>\u201cIs this a kissing book?\u201d a little boy (Fred Savage) asks his grandfather, who is at his bedside to read him <em>The Princess Bride<\/em> when he\u2019s home sick from school. Sure is, but it\u2019s also a tale of swashbuckling, cruel kings, giants, swordsmen, poison, monsters, rebels, and knights\u2014without a dull or unfunny moment. The kid (and the viewer) is quickly on board. More than anything, it\u2019s a tale of true love, and fantastic as it might be, the adventure that leads the stable boy, Westley (Cary Elwes), back to his mistress, Buttercup (an impossibly beautiful Robin Wright), has left few hearts unmoved and few faces without smiles. How many of us have drempt of finally finding our own Welsey, whose eternal devotion is always expressed with a simple: \u201cAs you wish.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Tie Accessories Accessory Human Person Clothing Apparel Animal Pet Canine Mammal and Dog\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/27-something-wild.jpg\" title=\"27-something-wild\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Something Wild<\/em> (1986)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To reevaluate the nice guy (and the bad boy).<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>Before Jonathan Demme decided to scare the pants off an entire generation (and win an Oscar) with <em>The Silence of the Lambs<\/em>, he was an \u201980s funnyman, and this is his best work. It\u2019s the story of a mild-mannered exec (played by Jeff Daniels), whose sedentary life is turned upside down by the wildly adventurous, somewhat grifting Lulu (Melanie Griffith)\u2014whose checkered past includes a roustabout, criminal ex-boyfriend played by Ray Liotta. The idea of a \u201ccrazy\u201d girl coming in and turning a straight man\u2019s existence topsy-turvy is repeated countless times in this genre, from <em>Bringing Up Baby<\/em> to <em>The Girl Next Door<\/em>. Demme\u2019s alchemy here is to infuse the trope with unpredictability. The comedy keeps us on the edge of our seats by compounding the will-they-won\u2019t-they question with sudden breaks into violence, threats, or chase. Rom-coms don\u2019t get more exciting than this.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Human Person Make Out Kiss and Kissing\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/26-tootsie.jpg\" title=\"26-tootsie\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Tootsie<\/em> (1982)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To get dressed up for.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman) is a New York actor who is such a perfectionist, no one wants to work with him. So he does what any rational man would do: He dresses as an entirely different person\u2014an older woman who goes by the name of Tootsie\u2014and lands a role on a soap opera where he becomes a sensation. Problems arise when he falls in love with his costar (Jessica Lange)\u2014and a fellow castmate, an older man, falls in love with <em>him<\/em>. It\u2019s madcap and zany but also profoundly funny, with insights aplenty\u2014it sends up television, sexism, and New York society\u2014and performances that were Oscar-worthy (Lange\u2019s in particular\u2014of <em>Tootsie<\/em>\u2019s 10 Oscar nominations, she\u2019s the only one who walked away with a statue).<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Human Person Interior Design Indoors Clothing Apparel Coat Jacket Face and Hair\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/49-grease.jpg\" title=\"49-grease\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Grease<\/em> (1978)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To get you dancing your troubles away.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>The \u201950s nostalgia of the 1970s culminated with this unreal musical about the return to high school for summer lovers Danny Zuko (John Travolta) and Sandy Olsson (Olivia Newton-John). It\u2019s hard for current viewers to understand just how big John Travolta was at the time; the year this film bowed, 1978, the two top-selling albums were the soundtracks to <em>Saturday Night Fever<\/em> (another Travolta film) and this one. And that was in a year when the Rolling Stones released <em>Some Girls<\/em> and Bruce Springsteen dropped <em>Darkness on the Edge of Town<\/em>. In this irresistibly playful film, Travolta embodies the bursting sexuality of the newly emerged teen culture, but at the same time, he\u2019s a tampered-down throwback\u2014we buy him drag racing cars and singing with his gang, the T-Birds, whose rivals are the Scorpions, and making clumsy moves at the drive-in. Similarly, the Pink Ladies, a popular clique headed by Rizzo (Stockard Channing), deliver their wiseacre lines with a fair dose of irony. These skirts know what\u2019s up, and that\u2019s what makes us interested, and invested, in their outcomes. And the songs\u2014<em>Greased Lightenin\u2019, Summer Nights<\/em>\u2014well, they still hit.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Woody Allen Face Head Person Photography Portrait Accessories Glasses Clothing Coat and Jacket\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/msdanha_ec021.jpg\" title=\"msdanha_ec021\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\"><em>Annie Hall<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Annie Hall (1977)<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>To remind you that not all relationships are built to last.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>Love is too weak a word for what we feel for <em>Annie Hall<\/em>, and we\u2019re not alone\u2014the film is widely regarded as one of the best rom-coms of all time. Starring writer-director Woody Allen as the neurotic Alvy Singer and Diane Keaton as the la-di-da-ing titular character, the film explores the intricacies of love, romance, and loss\u2014with no shortage of Allen\u2019s signature quirkiness or self-deprecating humor. Told through voice-over, flashbacks, and direct-to-camera monologues, it is also a narrative tour de force, one that was considered groundbreaking for its time, especially thanks to its unconventional, bittersweet ending. But the true charm of <em>Annie Hall<\/em> will always and forever be Keaton\u2019s iconic performance; her androgynous menswear style is still influencing fashion today.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Hair Human Person Jewelry Necklace Accessories Accessory and Wig\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/44-shampoo.jpg\" title=\"44-shampoo\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Shampoo<\/em> (1975)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To confirm that, yeah, he\u2019s probably cheating.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>There\u2019s a lot going on in <em>Shampoo<\/em>\u2014the story of an L.A. hairdresser (Warren Beatty) who is sleeping with, well, everyone (including Julie Christie, who plays a prime target of his affections)\u2014which, at first glance, could just be another \u201970s sex comedy. Keep in mind, though, that it\u2019s directed by Hal Ashby, the king of thoughtful, offbeat romances, and was also written by Beatty, a major voice of the Hollywood Left in the 1970s. The film, released a year after Nixon\u2019s downfall, takes place on the eve of Nixon\u2019s election in 1968, so there\u2019s a good deal of interplay between the politics and the sexual politics that were in the air as the counterculture died, the pill became mainstream, and the country saw itself in a whole new, darker light. That said, Beatty\u2019s portrayal of the harried, discursive, libidinous George is irresistible even without context, as is the performance given by a young Goldie Hawn, who illuminates every frame\u2014and perfectly counteracts Beatty\u2014with blonde California light, and a heart-melting, downy innocence.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Best Rom Coms of All Time\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/msdwhup_ec004.jpg\" title=\"msdwhup_ec004\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>What\u2019s Up, Doc?<\/em> (1972)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To help you embrace a little chaos.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>A spirited, San-Francisco-set riff on George Cukor\u2019s screwball classic <em>Bringing Up Baby<\/em>, Peter Bogdanovich\u2019s <em>What\u2019s Up, Doc?<\/em> has everything: the gorgeous, golden tresses of one Barbra Streisand; Ryan O\u2019Neal, doing his best interpretation of a nerdy musicologist; a hysterical Madeline Kahn; a very seductive duet of \u201cAs Time Goes By\u201d; four identical plaid suitcases; and one of the most hilariously elaborate car-chase sequences ever committed to screen.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Ruth Gordon Clothing Apparel Human Person Coat and Overcoat\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/46-harold-and-maude.jpg\" title=\"46-harold-and-maude\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Harold and Maude<\/em> (1971)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To justify your May-December romance.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a question that lingers throughout most of <em>Harold and Maude<\/em>\u2014the story of a death-obsessed young man (he enjoys driving a hearse, attending funerals, and faking his suicide) who falls for a much, much older woman: Are these two going to get it on? It sounds sophomoric, but it\u2019s actually essential. Harold and Maude are separated by approximately 60 years; for the movie to hit home, for us to believe that love is truly about what we share, not what we look like or other aesthetic values, we have to believe a genuine attraction has formed. No one prodded existentialism (especially in films deemed \u201cromantic\u201d) like director Hal Ashby, and <em>Harold and Maude<\/em> is no exception. The darkly funny tale will leave you questioning just what is important to you in your own conception of love\u2014and, moreover, in your life.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Human Person Hug and Robert Redford\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/mcdbain_ec103.jpg\" title=\"mcdbain_ec103\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Barefoot in the Park<\/em> (1967)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To push you out of your comfort zone.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Adapted from the play by Neil Simon\u2014a master of the genre on Broadway\u2014Gene Saks\u2019s <em>Barefoot in the Park<\/em> stars Robert Redford and Jane Fonda as the newlyweds Paul and Corie Bratter; he sort of a stiff, she the more easy-going and optimistic one. Spanning the couple\u2019s first few days in their new apartment\u2014a leaky, creaky walk-up in Greenwich Village\u2014<em>Barefoot<\/em> is somewhat less about falling in love (although there is a charming subplot concerning Corie\u2019s mother and one of their neighbors, Victor Velasco) than endeavoring to stay in it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Best Rom Coms of All Time\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/msdgrad_ec002.jpg\" title=\"msdgrad_ec002\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div id=\"Graduate\">\n<h2><em>The Graduate<\/em> (1967)<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>To help you sort out what to do with the rest of your life.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is the only film on this list that is <em>least<\/em> certainly a rom-com; it caused a bit of a row, in fact. Some of us believe that this movie is ultimately too sad to give the viewer the warm fuzzies they depend on this genre for; others argue that this line of thinking may confuse what\u2019s depressing with what\u2019s complicated. The story of the listless Benjamin Braddock, recent college graduate who begins an affair with his father\u2019s partner\u2019s wife, and ends up falling for her daughter, did more to advance the critical value of comedy than perhaps any other film. There may be no more iconic line than Dustin Hoffman\u2019s \u201cMrs. Robinson, you\u2019re trying to seduce me,\u201d but this movie is so much more than dialogue. (Note: Hoffman might have been playing 21 when he said this line, but the actor was 29; Anne Bancroft, as Mrs. Robinson, was all of 35.) Oft-quoted, ripped off, referenced, and discussed, Mike Nichols\u2019s 1967 romp through Braddock\u2019s postcollegiate uncertainties was released a few months after the Summer of Love, as the counterculture had peaked and what Hunter S. Thompson called the \u201chigh and beautiful wave\u201d was getting ready to roll back. Young America was, and to some extent still is, Benjamin Braddock, which reveals the power of this film.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Sunglasses Accessories Accessory Human Person Vehicle Transportation Car and Automobile\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/09-breakfast-at-tiffanys.jpg\" title=\"09-breakfast-at-tiffanys\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Breakfast at Tiffany\u2019s<\/em> (1961)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To help you leave the past behind.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>No one has stolen more hearts than Holly Golightly. Based on Truman Capote\u2019s 1958 (harsher) novella of the same name, <em>Breakfast at Tiffany\u2019s<\/em>\u2014the story of a friendship struck between a rarely employed writer, Paul Varjak, and his neighbor, the na\u00efvely beautiful Golightly (Audrey Hepburn), a freewheeling party girl whose lifestyle is paid for by the rich suitors who surround her\u2014is a building block of our Hollywood romantic fantasies. It has it all: unrequited love, expectations dashed, self-discovery, and even an undeniably racist portrayal of an Asian landlord (played by Mickey Rooney)\u2014a detail that can be difficult to ignore in the modern era. That said, there are generations of viewers who consider this the greatest rom-com of all time. And, of course, its influence on fashion continues to transcend.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain William Holden Audrey Hepburn Adult Person Clothing Hat Accessories Formal Wear Tie and Car\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/mbdsabr_ec0012520sabrina.jpg\" title=\"mbdsabr_ec0012520sabrina\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\"><em>Sabrina<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Sabrina<\/em> (1954)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To remind you of the magic a true glow-up can reveal.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Who hasn\u2019t wished for their own <em>Sabrina<\/em> story? An unnoticed (but lovely!) girl goes away to Paris, and through some sort of French magic re-emerges as Audrey Hepburn. In the 1954 film, Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, and William Holden star in one of the most delightful love triangles of all time, giving us all hope that with a cooking class and a haircut, our crush will fall for us, too. This might just be Hepburn at her most endearing\u2014leaving no question of her enduring charm or stylish appeal. \u201cI have learned how to live, how to be in the world and of the world, and not just to stand aside and watch. And I will never, never again run away from life\u2014or from love, either,\u201d she says at the film\u2019s end. Swoon!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Jane Russell Clothing Apparel Marilyn Monroe Elliott Reid Human Person Fashion and Tie\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/mbdgepr_fe067.jpg\" title=\"mbdgepr_fe067\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>Gentlemen Prefer Blondes<\/em> (1953)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To make you root for the little girls from Little Rock.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In this glittering Howard Hawks comedy\u2014the one that gave us Marilyn Monroe\u2019s rendition of \u201cDiamonds Are a Girl\u2019s Best Friend,\u201d God bless it\u2014Monroe and Jane Russell star as Lorelei Lee and Dorothy Shaw, two best friends-slash-showgirls who know exactly what they want: to marry rich (Lorelei) and handsome (Dorothy). But that, it turns out, is not as simple as it sounds\u2014especially when a meddling would-be father-in-law, a private detective, and the elderly owner of a diamond mine get involved.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Roman Holiday  by William WylerAnn a Princess encumbered by strict rules never has a moment of freedom to herself. She...\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/vacances_romaines___1954__de__william_wyler_3066.jpeg\" title=\"vacances_romaines___1954__de__william_wyler_3066\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div id=\"Holiday\">\n<h2><em>Roman Holiday<\/em> (1953)<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>To take a break from yourself.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>There\u2019s a wonderful moment in <em>Roman Holiday<\/em>\u2014the story of a European princess, played by Audrey Hepburn, who tires of her duties and runs away from her handlers while visiting Rome\u2014where Joe (Gregory Peck), a reporter showing her the city, puts his arm in the Mouth of Truth (a statue that supposedly bites off the hand of liars) and removes it with his hand missing. The princess screams\u2014Hepburn was apparently not acting here\u2014and then recovers. It\u2019s a metaphoric yawp for all that a romantic comedy should be. It\u2019s being taken by surprise, taken by a stranger, the discovery of a new side of oneself while falling for someone else. And that\u2019s just <em>one<\/em> moment!<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Best Rom Coms of All Time\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/gettyimages-1311656968.jpg\" title=\"gettyimages-1311656968\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div id=\"Rain\">\n<h2><em>Singin\u2019 in the Rain<\/em> (1952)<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>To kick-start your career goals.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>Here\u2019s the thing: You\u2019re not really allowed to like <em>La La Land<\/em> if you don\u2019t like <em>Singin\u2019 in the Rain<\/em>. Or, you at least have to watch it; it\u2019s the original musical about making it in Hollywood. The story of a sellout leading man (Gene Kelly) who falls for the chorus girl (Debbie Reynolds) who might just change his life (and he hers), this 1950s romp through 1920s Hollywood really has it all: singing, dancing, and bedrock songs like \u201cMake \u2019Em Laugh,\u201d \u201cGood Morning,\u201d and, of course, \u201cSingin\u2019 in the Rain.\u201d It\u2019s cute as hell and tap-happy to the extreme.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Katharine Hepburn Human Person Clothing and Apparel\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/04-philadelphia-story.jpg\" title=\"04-philadelphia-story\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><em>The Philadelphia Story<\/em> (1940)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To get you over getting over your ex.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>The credits of <em>The Philadelphia Story<\/em> read like something out of a dream: Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart vying for the love of Katharine Hepburn. It\u2019s produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz (writer of <em>All About Eve<\/em> and <em>Cleopatra<\/em>), and directed by George Cukor (who made 1954\u2019s <em>A Star Is Born<\/em>, <em>Justine<\/em>, and <em>My Fair Lady<\/em>, and once told Marilyn Monroe, \u201cThat will be just fine, darling,\u201d when, about to film a skinny-dipping scene for <em>Something\u2019s Got to Give<\/em>, she expressed her concern that she only knew how to dog-paddle). <em>The Philadelphia Story<\/em> relies on some dependable tropes\u2014lovers who\u2019ve fallen out; a will-they-or-won\u2019t-they-get-back-together situation\u2014that have provided romantic tension for everything from <em>A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream<\/em> to <em>Crazy, Stupid, Love<\/em>. But it\u2019s Hepburn, aiming for a comeback following some serious bombs, and her witty repartee with her two love interests, Grant (her yacht-designing reformed bad boy of an ex-husband) and Stewart (a tabloid reporter), that is the movie\u2019s bread and butter. The Main Line has never been so well represented.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr koTknX responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Human Person Clothing and Apparel\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/19-bringing-up-baby.jpg\" title=\"19-bringing-up-baby\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ jNLyNY caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF mdLVF gxwcqg caption__credit\">Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div id=\"bringing-up-baby\">\n<h2><em>Bringing Up Baby<\/em> (1938)<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>To make your arguments a little sweeter.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridWrapper-cFSKbf cxzKYj grid grid-margins grid-items-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hkPQhP lnoYVP grid-layout--adrail narrow wide-adrail\" data-journey-hook=\"grid-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-beYvyV kCPYUp grid--item grid-layout__content\">\n<div class=\"BodyWrapper-kzyFNv nCpFP body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\" data-testid=\"BodyWrapper\">\n<div class=\"body__inner-container\">\n<p>Here\u2019s how cute rom-coms were in the 1930s: The entire plot rests on a dog burying the bone of a brontosaurus. Katharine Hepburn, whom the movie was written for, plays a whimsical, adorable socialite who has become besotted with an otherwise engaged (literally and figuratively) paleontologist, played by Cary Grant, and is trying to keep him around so he won\u2019t go marry some pill. Her strategy for doing this is to invite him to her house so that he can help her bring a baby leopard to the city. (Later, the dog and the leopard wrestle.) This is what we call a screwball comedy. It\u2019s also priceless, with Hepburn peppering Grant in her sweet, Gatling gun style, and Grant, playing stiff, as if any man, never mind a mild-mannered paleontologist, could ever resist such wiles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p> Source URL: https:\/\/www.vogue.com\/article\/best-rom-coms-streaming-hangover-help<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TV &amp; Movies The Best Rom-Coms of All Time By Vogue September 10, 2024 Determining the best rom-coms can be tricky\u2014after all, the films that move and amuse us are very subjective! What one person finds cloying, another may find adorable; what one finds cringe-y another may find hysterical. Despite this, there\u2019s no denying the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":914477,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[50],"class_list":["post-914475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-vogue-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/914475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=914475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/914475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/914477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=914475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=914475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=914475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}