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An Extensive Guide to Romantic Comedies

&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">Romantic comedies &lpar;or &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;rom-coms” for short&rpar; are a staple of Hollywood cinema&period; Pairing together two established stars with a decent script&comma; and usually&comma; one unique variable to set it apart from all other similar films is a sure-fire way for studios to cash in&period; Because of their low budgets&comma; typically simple storylines&comma; and profitable nature&comma; many viewers and critics alike tend to write off rom-coms as just &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;fluff&comma;” and unimportant in the scheme of cinema as a whole&period; Although many rom-coms are just that&comma; there does exist a number that has successfully crafted compelling stories with great performances and a unique take on the genre to build upon one of the largest categories in American film history&period;&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">With Valentine’s Day steadily approaching&comma; I have crafted a list of 14 romantic comedies &lpar;for the 14 days leading up to Valentine’s Day&rpar; which I believe represent the genre very nicely and give a well-rounded history of it&period; Some of these films are Oscar-winners and some have less than 50&percnt; on Rotten Tomatoes&comma; but that is part of the beauty of rom-coms…simply put&comma; they don’t need to be perfect and their imperfections are often what makes them so enjoyable&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">14&period; &&num;8220&semi;About a Boy&&num;8221&semi; &lpar;2002&rpar;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">Hugh Grant is to Britain what Tom Hanks is to America&period; Relatable&comma; charming&comma; and talented&comma; both actors excel at the rom-com because of how likable they are and how easily audiences can relate to and empathize with them&period; Hugh Grant&comma; in particular&comma; has been in several romantic comedies over the years&comma; including classics like&colon; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Love Actually&comma;” &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Four Weddings and a Funeral&comma;” and &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Notting Hill&period;” With many memorable rom-com roles&comma; Grant has cemented himself as a leading man in the genre&period; However&comma; out of all the rom-com he’s been in&comma; I believe his best performance is in the 2002 romantic comedy &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;About a Boy&period;” &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;About a Boy” tells the story of Will Freeman&comma; a wealthy yet irresponsible and immature man who pretends to have a son so that he can date women in a single parent’s support group&period; After one of the women’s sons&comma; Marcus&comma; discovers Will’s plan&comma; he blackmails Will into becoming his friend&period; As Will learns life lessons from Marcus&comma; he also begins to fall in love with a woman who believes his lie that he has a son&period; It is a rom-com that is truly funny and features some fantastic British humor&comma; all the while it successfully adds a positive message &lpar;as many rom-coms try to do&rpar; of having to be able to care about not only others but also yourself before you can let someone else into your life&period; It stars Grant along with Rachel Weisz&comma; Toni Collette&comma; and a young Nicholas Hoult&period; It is equal parts charming and endearing and a good first venture into the rom-com genre&period;&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">13&period; &&num;8220&semi;13 Going On 30&&num;8221&semi; &lpar;2004&rpar;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">What is so wonderful about rom-coms is their generic hybridity&period; Rom-coms don’t have to be <em>just<&sol;em> romantic comedies&comma; they can have elements of other genres like sci-fi&comma; drama&comma; historical fiction&comma; horror&comma; musical and in the case of &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;13 Going on 30&comma;” fantasy&period; This film tells the story of an insecure girl named Jenna who on her 13<sup>th<&sol;sup> birthday in 1987 wishes that she was older&period; Her wish comes true and she literally wakes up in the year 2004 in the body of her future self at the age of 30&period; Thrust into the modern world as her new self&comma; Jenna soon realizes that the person she grows up into may not have been everything she had always dreamed she’d be&period; Similar to the 1980s classic&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Big&comma;” this movie has all the essential romantic comedy tropes&comma; but its fantasy element really separates it from other similar films&period; Jennifer Gardner plays grown-up Jenna effortlessly&comma; as we still feel as though she’s the 13-year-old Jenna from the beginning of the movie&period; And adding to the film’s charm is the movie that widely introduced audiences to Mark Ruffalo&comma; who plays Jenna’s childhood best friend and eventual romantic interest&comma; Matt&period; From an office-party &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Thriller” dance flash mob to a sleepover where the characters belt out &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Love is a Battlefield” this movie is truly just a ton of fun&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;13 Going on 30” is not a perfect film by any means but it’s funny&comma; sweet&comma; and has a great romantic plotline&comma; making it an essential rom-com to be viewed&period;&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<div class&equals;"wp-block-image"><figure class&equals;"aligncenter size-large"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;tulanemagazine&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;Screen-Shot-2020-01-26-at-12&period;57&period;23-PM&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-8231"&sol;><figcaption>&&num;8220&semi;13 Going On 30&&num;8221&semi; &vert; <em>IMDB<&sol;em><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure><&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">12&period; &&num;8220&semi;Never Been Kissed&&num;8221&semi; &lpar;1999&rpar;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">One of the most popular kinds of romantic comedies is the teen rom-com&period; Often taking place in a high school setting&comma; some of the most memorable include the likes of &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;10 Things I Hate About You&comma;” &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Clueless&comma;” &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Pretty in Pink&comma;” etc&period; However&comma; one that is highly representative of them all and is genuinely such a fun film is &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Never Been Kissed&period;” Released in 1999&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Never Been Kissed” follows Josie Geller&comma; a young reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times who&comma; on her first research assignment&comma; goes undercover in a high school and registers as a student&period; With terrible memories of her time in school&comma; Josie tries to navigate her way through high school once again&comma; only this time around trying to infiltrate the popular clique&period; Problems soon arise for Josie as she deals with the pressures of her journalist assignment and pretending to be a student&comma; while she starts to fall for her English teacher&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Never Been Kissed” can be cheesy at times but a funny script and a relatable and vulnerable performance from Drew Barrymore help to make it something special&period; The film never gets too serious which works well here as it is a great example of a rom-com that doesn’t try to be anything more than what it is&comma; fun and heartwarming entertainment&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Never Been Kissed” is the type of movie that you can watch whenever and know you’ll enjoy it&comma; it is a feel-good movie and one that is sure to put you in a good mood&period; &nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">11&period; &&num;8220&semi;Lost in Translation&&num;8221&semi; &lpar;2003&rpar;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">What separates &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Lost in Translation” from the rest of the movies on this list is that it is the only movie on here that could arguably not be classified as a rom-com&period; Why would this film be on a list strictly for rom-coms you may ask&quest; Well&comma; the answer is because this movie can definitely be classified as a romance&comma; and it can also definitely be classified as a comedy&period; Although it doesn’t have the same sensibilities and tones as most rom-coms&comma; this movie still has the two main elements that define the genre&comma; which is why it is still deserving of a spot on my list&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Lost in Translation” follows Bob Harris&comma; an aging actor from America who is in Tokyo to film a Japanese whiskey commercial&period; Staying at the same hotel Bob is staying at is recent college graduate Charlotte&comma; who is in Japan with her photographer husband for his work&period; In a new city and by themselves&comma; Bob and Charlotte’s paths cross in the hotel and friendship between the two soon forms… whether or not it blossoms into something more than a friendship is something they have to decide&period; Starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson in the lead roles&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Lost in Translation” is easily one of my favorite movies of all-time&period; It is artfully and delicately directed&comma; and the performances are so subtle and nuanced that the chemistry between the two main characters seems so authentic&period; Bob and Charlotte are nothing alike on paper&comma; but they still seem to have a genuine connection that transcends all of their differences and makes the movie all the more captivating&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Lost in Translation” is Sofia Coppola’s second feature-length film and also her best&comma; earning her an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay&period; This movie also gave Bill Murray his only Oscar nomination to date&comma; for his role as Bob Harris&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Lost in Translation” is funny&comma; heartbreaking&comma; beautiful&comma; and devastating all at once&comma; and is probably the most dramatic of the movies on this list&semi; but its bittersweet feel and comedic nature make it deserving of a spot nonetheless and also help it to be categorized as a romantic comedy&comma; although extremely unique in comparison to the rest of the genre&period;&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure data-amp-lightbox&equals;"true" class&equals;"wp-block-gallery aligncenter columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex"><ul class&equals;"blocks-gallery-grid"><li class&equals;"blocks-gallery-item"><figure><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;tulanemagazine&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;Screen-Shot-2020-01-26-at-12&period;59&period;01-PM&period;png" alt&equals;"" data-id&equals;"8233" data-full-url&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i2&period;wp&period;com&sol;tulanemagazine&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;Screen-Shot-2020-01-26-at-12&period;59&period;01-PM&period;png&quest;fit&equals;1158&percnt;2C690&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1" data-link&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;tulanemagazine&period;com&sol;&quest;attachment&lowbar;id&equals;8233" class&equals;"wp-image-8233"&sol;><&sol;figure><&sol;li><&sol;ul><figcaption class&equals;"blocks-gallery-caption">&&num;8220&semi;Lost in Translation&&num;8221&semi; &vert; <em>The Belcourt<&sol;em><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">10&period; &&num;8220&semi;500 Days of Summer&&num;8221&semi; &lpar;2009&rpar;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">&nbsp&semi;&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;500 Days of Summer” does not have an inventive story by any means&comma; as it follows a couple before&comma; during&comma; and then after their relationship has ended&period; However&comma; where &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;500 Days of Summer” sets itself apart from other rom-coms with this generic storyline&comma; is the way in which the plot actually unfolds&period; After Tom is dumped by his girlfriend Summer&comma; he thinks back upon the 500 days he has known her and tries to pick apart where things went awry&period; Jumping back and forth between a multitude of days in their almost 2 years of knowing one another&comma; the movie tracks the trajectory of Tom and Summer’s relationship throughout its highs and lows&period; With a simple concept&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;500 Days of Summer” is made exponentially better by the artistic and creative way the story is told&period; Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zoey Deschanel play Tom and Summer respectively&comma; and watching them during their &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;honeymoon” phase and also during the obvious deterioration of their relationship is really quite heartbreaking&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;500 Days of Summer” can be rather serious at times but its somewhat avant-garde and artistic nature help to provide a lot of comedic relief&comma; and makes an otherwise fairly depressing breakup film a more lighthearted movie about love&comma; romance and the problems that can arise from dating&period; With an exceptional and entertaining plot&comma; fantastic acting&comma; and a particularly innovative and unconventional storytelling style&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;500 Days of Summer” is definitely a rom-com worthy of watching and one that is sure to put a smile on your face during its first viewing&comma; and all the viewings afterward&period; &nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">9&period; &&num;8220&semi;Pretty Woman&&num;8221&semi; &lpar;1990&rpar;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">A major factor in determining whether or not a rom-com will be successful is the chemistry between the two lead actors&period; No matter how good the script is&comma; a romantic comedy will fall flat on its face if the audience doesn’t buy into the romance of the on-screen couple&period; A great example of a good movie made better by the chemistry of the two leads is the 90’s classic &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Pretty Woman” starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts&period; This movie tells the story of a very wealthy businessman named Edward who pays a prostitute&comma; Vivian&comma; to pretend to be his girlfriend&period; Although their relationship begins based merely on a monetary proposal&comma; the two soon begin to develop real feelings for one another and try to make their two completely different lifestyles work&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Pretty Woman” is one of the most financially successful rom-coms of all time and it is also what catapulted Julia Roberts into stardom&period; Roberts and Gere have amazing chemistry in this film&comma; and as you’re watching you feel as though the couple on screen is not only falling in love but that they’re also genuinely having fun in the process&period; The two play flawlessly off of one another which helps to cement &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Pretty Woman” as a staple rom-com&period;&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<div class&equals;"wp-block-image"><figure class&equals;"aligncenter size-large"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;tulanemagazine&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;Pretty&lowbar;Woman&lowbar;Still&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-8242"&sol;><figcaption>&&num;8220&semi;Pretty Woman&&num;8221&semi; &vert; <em>HollywoodReporter&period;com<&sol;em><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure><&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">8&period; &&num;8220&semi;Sleepless in Seattle&&num;8221&semi; &lpar;1993&rpar;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">Most rom-coms try to give the two romantic leads as much screen time together as possible&comma; which is a formula that obviously worked for the previous movie on my list&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Pretty Woman&period;” However&comma; in the case of &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Sleepless in Seattle&comma;” the two leads share less than 5 minutes together on the screen&comma; but the movie still manages to make it work&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Sleepless in Seattle” tells the story of Sam&comma; a recently widowed man with an 8-year-old son whom he lives in Seattle with&period; After calling into a radio talk-show to discuss his grief after the death of his wife&comma; women all over the country fall for Sam&comma; including Annie&comma; a reporter from Baltimore&period; Inspired by the film&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;An Affair to Remember” Annie writes a letter to Sam asking to meet on the observation deck of the Empire State Building on the night of Valentine’s Day&comma; which her friend mails for her&period; Although Annie is already in a relationship&comma; and Sam begins one as well&comma; Sam’s young son decides to take matters into his own hands to make their romantic meeting happen&comma; after he reads Annie’s letter addressed to his dad&period; Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan star in this film and it is one of the three romantic comedies they did together&period; With an already established chemistry between the two&comma; these two actors didn’t even need to spend time together on screen for audiences to understand and feel the tangible chemistry between the two&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Sleepless in Seattle” is a heartwarming flick that delivers on all spectrums for a romantic comedy and is one centered around Valentine’s Day making it all the more relevant for viewing&period;&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<div class&equals;"wp-block-image"><figure class&equals;"aligncenter size-large"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;tulanemagazine&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;Screen-Shot-2020-01-26-at-12&period;59&period;50-PM&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-8234"&sol;><figcaption>&&num;8220&semi;Sleepless in Seattle&&num;8221&semi; &vert; <em>IMDB<&sol;em><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure><&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">7&period; &&num;8220&semi;Forgetting Sarah Marshall&&num;8221&semi; &lpar;2008&rpar;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">Judd Apatow is quite simply a comedic genius&period; He is responsible for bringing the adult comedy back to life and is the brain behind some of the best comedies made in the 21<sup>st<&sol;sup> Century and arguably all-time&period; With a number of instant-classics under his belt&comma; the one that I believe most typifies the rom-com genre and is an exemplary model of just how funny romantic comedies can be is &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Forgetting Sarah Marshall&period;” This film features an all-star cast including Jason Segel&comma; Mila Kunis&comma; Kristen Bell&comma; Russell Brand&comma; Paul Rudd&comma; Bill Hader&comma; and Jonah Hill&period; This movie is laugh-out-loud funny and only seems to get better with every re-watch&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Forgetting Sarah Marshall” tells the story of Peter Bretter &lpar;Segel&rpar; an aspiring musician who is dating one of television’s most popular stars&comma; Sarah Marshall &lpar;Bell&rpar;&period; After she abruptly ends their relationship and starts another with worldwide pop phenomenon Aldous Snow &lpar;Brand&rpar;&comma; Peter becomes extremely depressed&period; In an attempt to cheer himself up&comma; Peter goes on vacation to Hawaii only to realize when he gets there&comma; that his ex and her new boyfriend are staying in the same hotel as him&period; Comedy is not easy&comma; but each and every actor in this movie is hilarious&period; Russel Brand steals every scene he’s in&comma; and Mila Kunis &lpar;who is no rookie to the rom-com&rpar; gives her most memorable romantic comedy performance in this one&comma; just edging out her role in &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Friends with Benefits&period;” This movie is an essential Apatow feature&comma; and also a fantastic entry into the genre&period;&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">6&period; &&num;8220&semi;Moonstruck&&num;8221&semi; &lpar;1987&rpar;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">A vital plotline that occurs in many romantic comedies revolves around the idea of family&period; Some rom-coms like&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;My Big Fat Greek Wedding&comma;” and &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Hannah and Her Sisters&comma;” make family the focus of the film&comma; and one example that does it so well is the 1988 critically acclaimed picture&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Moonstruck&period;” Directed by the brilliant Norman Jewison and starring Cher &lpar;in an Oscar-winning performance&rpar; alongside a young Nicolas Cage&comma; this movie is a quintessential entry into the romantic comedy genre&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Moonstruck” follows Loretta Castorini&comma; a woman in her late thirties who has already been widowed&period; Loretta lives in New York with her very traditional Italian family who is extremely invested in her love life&period; After Loretta is proposed to by her boyfriend&comma; Johnny&comma; she insists that he invite his estranged brother to the wedding&period; While Johnny is away before their wedding&comma; Loretta meets and falls quickly in love with his brother&comma; Ronny&period; Not sure what to do&comma; she turns to her some of her family members for help&comma; who also seem to be having romantic issues of their own&period; With a fairly grounded premise&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Moonstruck” is in no way groundbreaking as far as romantic comedies go&period; However&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Moonstruck” is an example of a film where the sum of its parts adds up to something great&period; The characters seem real&comma; the jokes are funny&comma; and Cher steals the show with her relatable and hopeful performance as Loretta&period; There is something innately warm about this movie and it provides everything you could want from a rom-com&period;&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">5&period; &&num;8220&semi;The Princess Bride&&num;8221&semi; &lpar;1987&rpar;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The Princess Bride” is not only one of my favorite films&comma; but is also a romantic-comedy that has so many different elements to it which help to make it so memorable&period; To quote the grandpa from the movie&comma; it has&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Fencing&comma; fighting&comma; torture&comma; revenge&comma; giants&comma; monsters&comma; chases&comma; escapes&comma; true love&comma; miracles&&num;8230&semi;” It truly has everything&period; Directed in 1987 by Rob Reiner&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The Princess Bride” was not very popular upon its initial release&comma; but through word of mouth and the proliferation of VHS tapes following its release&comma; the movie has since gained a cult following over the years and has become a pop culture phenomenon&period; A story within a story&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The Princess Bride” starts with a young boy in bed with a fever who receives a visit from his grandpa&period; Reluctantly&comma; the grandson allows his grandpa to read him an old adventure novel entitled&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The Princess Bride&period;” The narration from the grandpa as he reads the book is what comprises most of the film&comma; as we follow the story in the novel of two lovers who will do anything to be together&period; This movie is campy&comma; action-packed&comma; hilarious and full of so many memorable lines and performances&comma; but above all this movie is about love&period; Mixing present-day humor with a medieval love story works amazingly here&comma; making &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The Princess Bride” not only wildly unique but also a fantastic romantic comedy as well&period;&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<div class&equals;"wp-block-image"><figure class&equals;"aligncenter size-large"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;tulanemagazine&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;Screen-Shot-2020-01-26-at-1&period;00&period;44-PM&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-8235"&sol;><figcaption>&&num;8220&semi;The Princess Vibe&&num;8221&semi; &vert; <em>Studio Binder<&sol;em><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure><&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">4&period; &&num;8220&semi;Some Like It Hot&&num;8221&semi; &lpar;1959&rpar;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">The oldest movie on my list comes in the form of the 1959 classic&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Some Like It Hot&period;” Very few movies actually withstand the test of time&comma; and the few oldies that are revered are frequently thought of as &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;outdated&period;” However&comma; in the case of &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Some Like It Hot&comma;” this could not be less accurate&period; Even after 60 years&comma; all of the movie’s jokes still land&comma; the story is still so much fun&comma; and the performances are all still great&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Some Like It Hot&comma;” tells the story of two band musicians&comma; Joe and Jerry&comma; who accidentally witness a mafia murder&period; With the mob now chasing them&comma; Joe and Jerry disguise themselves as women and join an all-female jazz band to lay low&period; However&comma; things get complicated when Joe falls in love with one of the girls in the band&comma; and a rich man begins to fall in love with Jerry&comma; who’s disguised as a woman&period; If this plot sounds familiar to you&comma; it may be because this is the movie that directly inspired the Wayans’ brothers’ adaptation of it&comma; with the 2004 cult classic&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;White Chicks&period;” &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Some Like It Hot” stars Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon at the peak of their careers&comma; and they have a flawless dynamic together in this film&period; This movie also stars Marilyn Monroe as Sugar&comma; Joe’s love interest&comma; and although today Monroe is often viewed simply as a pop culture icon of the 50s&comma; this movie reminds you of just how talented she was as an actress&period; Don’t let the release year deter you from this classic&comma; as &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Some Like It Hot” is still hysterically funny today&comma; and is definitely one of the greatest comedies of all-time and subsequently one of the best rom-coms too&period; Simply put&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Some Like It Hot” truly gives meaning to the word timeless&period;&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">3&period; &&num;8220&semi;When Harry Met Sally&&num;8221&semi; &lpar;1989&rpar;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">If you haven’t heard of this movie I can assure you that you know one of the most famous lines in all of cinema that comes from it&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;I’ll have what she’s having&period;” &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;When Harry Met Sally” is the second film on my list to feature Rob Reiner&comma; and it is also the second to feature Meg Ryan as well as Billy Crystal&period; Together&comma; all three helped craft one of the most memorable romantic comedies ever created&period; The premise is very straightforward and does not have a major twist or anything of that nature&comma; which is a testament to how brilliant the script and the performances of Ryan and Crystal were&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;When Harry Met Sally” follows the two title characters&comma; who first meet whilst arguing about whether or not men and women can stay in a platonic friendship&period; A decade after their first meeting&comma; Harry and Sally meet again by chance and become good friends&comma; attempting to stay just friends&comma; without any romantic implications&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;When Harry Met Sally” follows a simple premise and typifies a highly formulaic romantic comedy&comma; but what makes it so memorable is that it truly is the best of its type&period; The writing&comma; acting&comma; and direction help to separate it from other similar films and propel it to its status as one of the greatest rom-coms and a staple of 80s cinema&period;&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<div class&equals;"wp-block-image"><figure class&equals;"aligncenter size-large"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;tulanemagazine&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;Screen-Shot-2020-01-26-at-12&period;56&period;31-PM&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-8230"&sol;><figcaption>&&num;8220&semi;When Harry Met Sally&&num;8221&semi; &vert; <em>USA Today<&sol;em><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure><&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">2&period; &&num;8220&semi;Tootsie&&num;8221&semi; &lpar;1982&rpar;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Tootsie” takes from the spirit of &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Some Like It Hot&comma;” with the idea of a man falling in love with a female co-worker while pretending to be a woman&semi; however&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Tootsie” adds to it critically&period; Whereas &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Some Like It Hot” uses the idea of creating a false identity for comedic effect&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Tootsie” uses it to propel the story forward and also to develop the protagonist as he begins to understand women from the perspective of &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;being” one&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Tootsie” follows Michael Dorsey who can no longer find work as an actor&period; Desperate for work&comma; Michael comes up with the idea of no longer trying to find jobs as an actor but instead as an <em>actress<&sol;em>&period; Michael then creates a character of his own named Dorothy Michaels&comma; and he auditions as her at a soap opera where Dorothy gets a starring role&period; As Dorothy becomes more and more popular amongst fans of the show&comma; Michael tries his best to juggle pretending to be a female actress while falling in love with his female co-star&comma; Julie&period; Starring Dustin Hoffman and Jessica Lange&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Tootsie” features two amazing actors&comma; both of whom being Oscar-winners&period; Their performances are human and you empathize with both throughout the film&comma; truly caring about the story as it unfolds&period; This movie uses it comedic elements to its advantage by making an absurd premise feel grounded in reality while still addressing some serious concepts relevant to love&comma; romance&comma; work&comma; gender&comma; and sex throughout its runtime&period; Featuring some amazing supporting roles courtesy of Bill Murray and Teri Garr&comma; this movie is a gem and one of the best rom-coms ever made&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">1&period; &&num;8220&semi;Annie Hall&&num;8221&semi; &lpar;1977&rpar;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">As I have mentioned throughout this list&comma; rom-coms are often thought of as fluff and are very rarely recognized by both critics and audiences alike&period; However&comma; one romantic comedy that was loved by fans&comma; critically acclaimed by critics&comma; a massive success at the box office&comma; and swept award shows was 1977’s &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Annie Hall&period;” Written&comma; directed&comma; and starring Woody Allen&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Annie Hall” is one of the only romantic comedies to be acknowledged by the Oscars winning in four of the five major categories for Best Picture&comma; Best Screenplay&comma; Best Director&comma; and Best Actress&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Annie Hall” is one of the most unique movies I’ve ever seen&colon; characters speak directly to the audience breaking the fourth wall&comma; cartoons appear on the screen&comma; and it has a meta&sol;self-reflexive style of its own&period; The film is narrated by the protagonist Alvy Singer&comma; who speaks to the audience as he tries to understand how his relationship with his ex-girlfriend Annie Hall went wrong&period; There are no faults with this movie&comma; the direction is cutting edge&comma; the script is smart and funny&comma; and the performances are all top-tier&comma; specifically Diane Keaton as the titular character&comma; Annie Hall&period; Keaton and Allen made several movies together and even dated in real life so it is no surprise that their on-screen chemistry is some of the best in film history&period; While watching this movie so many of the jokes and tropes that are found in the majority of rom-coms are visible in it&comma; and that is because &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Annie Hall” set the standard for all other rom-coms after it&period; I rarely use the word &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;perfect” to describe films&comma; but &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Annie Hall” is one of the few that merits that kind of praise&period; Not only is it a perfect movie&comma; but it truly is a perfect romantic comedy&comma; and well deserving of the &num;1 spot on my list&period;&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<div class&equals;"wp-block-image"><figure class&equals;"aligncenter size-large"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;tulanemagazine&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;annie-hall&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-8236"&sol;><figcaption>&&num;8220&semi;Annie Hall&&num;8221&semi; &vert; <em>Variety&period;com<&sol;em><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure><&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h4 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">Full List&colon;<&sol;h4>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">14&period; About a Boy&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">13&period; 13 Going on 30&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">12&period; Never Been Kissed&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">11&period; Lost in Translation&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">10&period; 500 Days of Summer&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">9&period; Pretty Woman&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">8&period; Sleepless in Seattle&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">7&period; Forgetting Sarah Marshall&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">6&period; Moonstruck&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">5&period; The Princess Bride&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">4&period; Some Like It Hot&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">3&period; When Harry Met Sally&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">2&period; Tootsie&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">1&period; Annie Hall <&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">Cover Photo&colon; Elite Daily<&sol;p>&NewLine; <&excl;-- WP Biographia v4&period;0&period;0 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"wp-biographia-container-top" style&equals;"background-color&colon; &num;FFEAA8&semi; border-top&colon; 4px solid &num;000000&semi;"><div class&equals;"wp-biographia-pic" style&equals;"height&colon;100px&semi; width&colon;100px&semi;"><img alt&equals;'' src&equals;'https&colon;&sol;&sol;secure&period;gravatar&period;com&sol;avatar&sol;459bdee1e0a0485e2e698b904af6e3692a0887adaba532895f9b55af43554ad6&quest;s&equals;100&&num;038&semi;d&equals;wp&lowbar;user&lowbar;avatar&&num;038&semi;r&equals;g' srcset&equals;'https&colon;&sol;&sol;secure&period;gravatar&period;com&sol;avatar&sol;459bdee1e0a0485e2e698b904af6e3692a0887adaba532895f9b55af43554ad6&quest;s&equals;200&&num;038&semi;d&equals;wp&lowbar;user&lowbar;avatar&&num;038&semi;r&equals;g 2x' class&equals;'wp-biographia-avatar avatar-100 photo' height&equals;'100' width&equals;'100' &sol;><&sol;div><div class&equals;"wp-biographia-text"><h3>About <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;tulanemagazine&period;com&sol;author&sol;rfeldman&sol;" title&equals;"Reece Feldman">Reece Feldman<&sol;a><&sol;h3><p><&sol;p><div class&equals;"wp-biographia-links"><small><ul class&equals;"wp-biographia-list wp-biographia-list-text"><li><a href&equals;"mailto&colon;r&&num;102&semi;&&num;101&semi;&&num;108&semi;&&num;100&semi;&&num;109&semi;a&&num;49&semi;&&num;64&semi;&&num;116&semi;ulane&period;&&num;101&semi;&&num;100&semi;&&num;117&semi;" target&equals;"&lowbar;self" title&equals;"Send Reece Feldman Mail" class&equals;"wp-biographia-link-text">Mail<&sol;a><&sol;li> &vert; <li><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;tulanemagazine&period;com&sol;author&sol;rfeldman&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;self" title&equals;"More Posts By Reece Feldman" class&equals;"wp-biographia-link-text">More Posts&lpar;26&rpar;<&sol;a><&sol;li><&sol;ul><&sol;small><&sol;div><&sol;div><&sol;div><&excl;-- WP Biographia v4&period;0&period;0 -->&NewLine;

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