Pretty much ever since movies have been made, there have been romantic comedies. The genre usually revolves around an idealistic young man or woman looking for love amidst a humorous backdrop of ridiculous plot lines and the belief that true love is all but a guarantee.
Over the years, the genre developed across a wider scope to include screwball comedies and others, but ultimately, for a movie to be considered a romcom, it has to involve a blending of genres (comedy and romance, of course) where two well-matched lovers find a way to either reconcile their feelings for one another or be united in the final act.
You've seen them, you've loved them, but do you know which of the thousands of romcoms out there are the very best of them all? If you don't, fear not; we've got you covered!
The aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes has provided us with the information we need to identify which movies to see, and which movies to skip. It all comes down to an aggregation of critical and audience responses, which means there is a mathematical formula to determine whether or not a movie is any good.
There are quite a few romcoms rated with a 94% or higher, including a few of the coveted 100% ratings. Which, of course, is not to say there aren't some terrible RomComs out there. To highlight the very best... and absolute worst, we present these 22 Best Romantic Comedy Movies According To Rotten Tomatoes (And 3 Stuck With 0%)
JUNO (94%)
Juno was released in 2007 as a coming of age/romantic comedy about a young girl who has to come to with "adulting" when she gets pregnant. Juno MacGuff is played by Ellen Page who ends up carrying Michael Cera's child while only 16 and still in high school.
It's a film that could have stayed closer to drama, but ended up squarely within the realm of comedy.
The movie nailed it on the awards circuit with an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
Other Oscar nominations included Best Picture and Best Actress for Page's performance.
THE APARTMENT (94%)
The Apartment is a film from 1960 about a man named C. C. "Bud" Baxter, played by Jack Lemmon, who works at an insurance company. In order to secure a promotion, he lets out his Upper West Side apartment to his bosses at the firm so they can conduct their extramarital affairs.
As the film progresses, Bud falls in love with an elevator operator named Fran Kubelik, played by Shirley MacLaine, unaware that she was one of the women taking advantage of his apartment with another man.
The film was selected by the American Film Institute for inclusion in the United States Library of Congress' National Film Registry.
TRAMPS (95%)
Released in 2016, Tramps is one of the newer films on this list. The movie starred Callum Turner as Danny, a struggling, yet aspiring chef working in Queens, New York. Grace Van Patten plays Ellie, a hustler who returned to NYC looking for an easy score.
The couple meets when Danny lands a driving gig one evening only to find himself escorting Ellie in a less-than-legal transference of property.
After losing a briefcase, the couple find themselves on a whirlwind adventure that sees them slowly drawn to one another in a comedic take on the concept of "opposites attract."
FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL (95%)
Back in the '90s, it was difficult to find a romcom not starring the ever-charming Hugh Grant. In this 1994 story about Grant's adventures in finding love on screen, he plays Charles, who progresses from one social setting to another while courting the affection of Andie MacDowell's Carrie.
As the title suggests, those social events include four weddings and a funeral.
The movie is often lauded for its unique take on British humor, focusing on the awkward social situations Grant portrays so well.
The movie was a smash hit when it was released and was even honored with Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Original Screenplay.
MANHATTAN (95%)
1979's Manhattan. The story tells the tale of Isaac Davis (Woody Allen), a 42-year old comedy writer who is shamelessly dating a 17-year-old girl played by Mariel Hemingway.
Through the course of the film, Allen falls for Diane Keaton, the mistress of his best friend, who represented a certainly more age-appropriate relationship.
Manhattan was filmed in black and white to further glorify the idealized beauty of New York. As with many on this list, it has been chosen for preservation at the National Film Registry.
ENOUGH SAID (95%)
Enough Said came out in 2013 and was the last film starring James Gandolfini prior to his ing in June of that year. It's fitting that his final film highlighted his acting talents portraying a loving and funny character, which was unlike his most famous role of Tony Soprano.
The film finds Gandolfini's Albert dating Eva, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Eva finds out that Albert is the ex-husband of her client and closest friend, Marianne, played by Catherine Keener.
Having heard the horror stories about Albert from her friend without realizing the two men were one and the same, Eva must come to with the man she is falling in love with.
BRINGING UP BABY (95%)
One of the earliest examples of a romcom came in the form of the 1938 screwball comedy, Bringing Up Baby. In this film, Cary Grant plays a paleontologist who finds himself stuck in a number of ridiculous situations involving Katherine Hepburn's Susan Vance, an heiress who has a pet leopard named Baby.
The part of Vance was written specifically for Hepburn to highlight her personality, which came off perfectly on screen.
Bringing Up Baby is often considered to be one of the greatest screwball romcoms of all time having been chosen for preservation at the National Film Registry. It sits at #88 on the AFI's 100 Greatest American Films of All Time List as well.
THE LAYOVER (0%)
It's not an easy accomplishment to achieve, but 2017's The Layover succeeded in attaining a 0% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie stars Alexandra Daddario and Kate Upton as childhood friends who find themselves on a flight with Matt Barr sitting between them.
Both women are immediately attracted to the gentleman, which leads to the two friends competing for his attention.
The film was universally panned and even found itself being compared to the actual unpleasantness of being stuck on a layover at a large airport. Other comments like "an unholy mess" and less flattering have been thrown at a movie that perhaps shouldn't have been made.
TO ALL THE BOYS I'VE LOVED BEFORE (96%)
Lara Jean Song Covey is a 16-year-old student who spends most of her days fantasizing about romance but is too scared to seek it out in her own life. Over the years, she wrote love letters to several boys she had crushes on but never sent them as she preferred to keep the fantasy going.
Her sister decided one day to send out all the letters in the hopes of jump-starting Lara Jean's life. As you can imagine, this results in some interesting situations.
To All the Boys I've Loved Before was released in 2018 as an adaptation of a novel of the same name released back in 2014.
APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR (96%)
Appropriate Behavior premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, where it was exceptionally well-received. The movie was written, directed, and starred Desiree Akhavan who took on the role of Shirin, a bi woman living in Brooklyn, New York.
Shirin finds herself homeless and without a job, after her girlfriend, Maxine, breaks up with her and boots her from their apartment.
The story continues as she tries to move on with her life while trying to reconcile her relationship with Maxine. As the score indicates, Appropriate Behavior was beloved by critics for being "funny, unique, and entirely inappropriate."
