Gregory’s Girl
When I wrote Four Weddings and a Funeral, I wanted it to be half as good as Gregory’s Girl. John Gordon-Sinclair is so natural, and his best friend, Robert Buchanan, is the funniest movie best friend ever. Then it has the most brilliant plot twist and the definitive final romantic conversation with Clare Grogan, dancing on her back under a tree. If anyone’s thinking of writing a romantic comedy, this is the place to start: not with Hollywood stars and pop songs, but with the low-key, local, truthful bliss of Bill Forsyth’s first masterpiece. Richard Curtis, screenwriter and director
When Harry Met Sally
A perfect romcom is as interested in the woman as it is in the man; it acknowledges there are more kinds of love than the romantic kind, and shows the importance of friendship; the characters are believable and the script flawless. There are many great romcoms but only one film ticks all of those boxes and that is When Harry Met Sally. Hadley Freeman, Guardian writer
Moonstruck
Wildly romantic and quite bizarre – Nicolas Cage’s one-armed manic pixie dream breadmaker sweeps in to prevent Cher (a given-up-on-life widow) marrying Cage’s dullard brother, yelling at her: “Playing it safe is about the most dangerous thing a woman like you can do!” Various parties accuse each other of being wolves, others are fixated on the moon, and none of it detracts from the delicious love story at the centre of the movie. Marian Keyes, author
10 Things I Hate About You
The 90s was the decade of the romcom but this is the best of them all, largely down to the wild chemistry between Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger, who play their roles with an edge of bravado tempered by vulnerability. This film never talks down to its audience (it reflects the riot grrrl feminism of the period), is acerbic but warm, and features two of the greatest actors of their generation making out in a beat-up old ride. I’ll never stop loving it. Sirin Kale, Guardian writer
Dirty Dancing
I love Dirty Dancing so much I wrote an entire book about it (it’s called I Carried a Watermelon, thank you for asking). It’s my all-time favourite romantic film because not only is it about how to have the ideal summer love affair, it also deals with sex, class, privilege, friendship, trust, adventure and of course has some of the hottest dancing you will ever see in your life. Katy Brand, comedian
Him & Her
Slovenly couple Becky and Steve (Russell Tovey and Sarah Solemani) hang around their bedsit doing … not a lot. Where’s the rom in that? Because they are also adorably, infectiously, utterly believably in love. Dead funny too, and there’s plenty more comedy from Becky’s horrid sister, Laura, and horrider still fiance, Paul, who pop round for a bicker. More anti-romcom really, but Stefan Golaszewski’s intimate little TV show is more romantic and funnier for it. Sam Wollaston, Guardian writer
The Hundred-Foot Journey
This unabashed romcom, totally unbelievable but also very beautiful, serves up two love affairs, along with haute cuisine and Indian curry. Lovely performances from Helen Mirren and Om Puri in a wonderfully predictable tale that cannot but pluck at one’s heartstrings. Handkerchiefs at the ready. Edward Bowman, Dewsbury
Amélie
Twenty years since its release, I look back on Amélie like a first love – with fondness and nostalgia, in this case for a time before the mass whimsy it spawned began to feel oppressive, and its popularising of random acts of kindness became a social media cliche. Amélie herself – eccentric, introverted, lonely – is a radical romcom heroine, and her love interest, similarly misfit, is tantalisingly out of reach. Yes, it’s syrupy and idealised, but isn’t that what romance – as opposed to real love – is all about? Emine Saner, Guardian writer
Sweet November
No, not the 2001 remake, but the 1968 original starring Anthony Newley and Sandy Dennis. This film is a wildly under-rated classic that deserves a second look. If you can see beyond the 60s-ness of it all (or if, like me, you actively enjoy it) you’ll find an offbeat, funny, tender romcom that will have anyone with a heart weeping by the end. Rose Matafeo, comedian. Rose Matafeo’s show Horndog is on BBC iPlayer from 21 February.
Always Be My Maybe
I love this film. It’s super silly (there’s a whole subplot featuring Keanu Reeves that leads to a wonderfully wacky scene in an uber-snooty restaurant), hilarious (the character of Jenny and her poetry/terrible cooking/dreadlocks) and sweet (Ali Wong and Fresh Off the Boat’s Randall Park have tangible chemistry). It’s also great to see a romcom with two sexy, witty Asian leads. Priya Elan, Guardian deputy fashion editor
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is a brilliant romcom because it is simply a showcase for chemistry: the easy camaraderie of a group of old friends around a dinner table, the shy smiles of two single people charming the pants off each other, the fickle accord between an actor and her public, the push-pull of flatsharing, and the electric crackle between Hugh Grant and a well-tailored button down. Monica Heisey, writer and comedian
Singin’ in the Rain
This film is pure musical sunshine: a jukebox musical and dance masterclass, with slapstick interludes, glitz, glamour and a fine romance. A virtuoso turn from Gene Kelly, paired with cute-as-a-button Debbie Reynolds provides heart-swelling chemistry that just doesn’t grow old. Most of the dancing is presented without much editing, so there’s a wild joy in the execution of the demanding routines. I also love Jean Hagen and Donald O’Connor in supporting roles; she’s really funny, and he can really dance. Sally Phillips, actor
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Oh so white, oh so posh: this is Richard Curtis before he became saccharine, Hugh Grant as he peaked foppish charm. Its tight script, warmth and wit is an ode to all types of love. For a film centred on weddings, the happy ending is based on a pact of never getting hitched. John Hannah’s “stop all the clocks” eulogy, in understated heartbreak, remains the standard bearer for romcom grief. Frances Ryan, Guardian columnist
Harold and Maude
Wonderfully weird, but life-affirming at the same time. Harold is a teenager who is obsessed with death. While attending a funeral, he meets Maude, an 80-year-old Holocaust survivor. Her zest for life infects Harold to such an extent that his outlook completely changes. Their love for each other is wonderfully portrayed by both actors, the soundtrack by Cat Stevens is beautiful, and the direction by Hal Ashby is sublime. David McCluskey, Manchester
French Kiss
I watch this film every year and never tire of Kevin Kline playing a French thief with a heart of gold, and hypochondriac Meg Ryan giving us peak 90s romcom protagonist. The plot is preposterous (she gives her “nest egg” to a stranger!), but it goes down like a delicious, comforting glass of wine. Bronwyn Sweeney, London
Along Came Polly
How To Lose A Reader in 10 Words? This is a Ben Stiller film featuring much toilet humour. Yet Stiller’s romance with Jennifer Aniston is beside the point. Along Came Polly also features the greatest supporting comedy performance of all time, from the late Philip Seymour Hoffman as a horny, washed-up former child actor. Watching Hoffman throw up brick after brick on the basketball court, shouting “Let it rain!” is the purest joy I know. Thank God there’s a supercut on YouTube. Rhik Samadder, writer
The Wedding Singer
This film is one of the few DVDs to have survived my Marie Kondo purges, because what else can you cling to when you need to see someone like Drew Barrymore falling in love but you also, simultaneously, need to see someone like Adam Sandler experiencing existential dread, and wailing, with his deadpan failed-hopeless-rock star face and his 80s hair: “Oh somebody kill me pleeeease.” Sophie Heawood, writer
Tootsie
This film starts with a perfect love triangle: Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange and Teri Garr. Add in Lange’s father (Charles Durning) falling for Dorothy – also played by Hoffman – and you have an extremely rich and sophisticated romcom. The script is beautifully written, every performance a star turn and it’s a movie I can watch any time. Gurinder Chadha, director
About Time
The male lead (Domhnall Gleeson) learns that he can time travel, but only for short stints – allowing him the chance for several do-overs in an attempt to woo his love (Rachel McAdams). The writing is smart, the twists are good, but there are also dark moments, rather than the usual fluffy romcom obstacles. The father-son bond is beautiful, and Bill Nighy is utterly endearing. Lorna Jane Cook, Michigan
Pretty in Pink
A girl from the wrong side of the tracks (Molly Ringwald); Andrew McCarthy as the “richie” too scared to love her (“His name is Blane? That’s a major appliance!”); his asshole friend with an ashtray for a soul (James Spader) and her desperately, earnestly in love best pal Duckie (Jon Cryer). John Hughes’s unashamedly romantic take on love overcoming money gave hope (naively, maybe) to working-class girls everywhere. We would know ourselves and that would be enough, in the end. Terri White, editor, Empire
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
This TV show is a brave bold twist on the genre, with fantastic musical set-pieces and Rachel Bloom’s clever and touching portrayal of a personality disorder. I return to this series again and again; it’s uplifting, funny, and always delivers that all-important ingredient (one we really need right now) – hope. Joanne Phillips, Cheshire
Heathers
If you are looking for a romcom to watch snuggled up with your partner this Valentine’s Day, you could do a lot worse than Heathers. It is a movie that teaches us that before you can love someone else you must first learn to love yourself. If you must murder a few people on your journey of self discovery, so be it. Tim Renkow, actor and comedian
Born Yesterday
I honestly don’t know why this 1950 romcom is so forgotten. Its star Judy Holliday died young, aged 43, from breast cancer; a tough, smart New Yorker, she once threw her bra pads at a studio exec who tried to grope her. And God she’s funny in Born Yesterday, playing Billie, a chorus girl with a Brooklyn squawk. The film is your classic Pygmalion set-up: Billie’s thuggish tycoon boyfriend thinks she’s a dumb blond so hires a journalist (William Holden) to teach her a thing or two. Holden is sex in specs but still not even close to being worthy enough to tie her shoes. Cath Clarke, writer
Like Water for Chocolate
This is a glorious Mexican film set in the 1900s about a love denied. Youngest child Tita is unable to marry her childhood sweetheart, as she must follow tradition and look after her family. While Tita’s sisters are married off, Nacha, the housemaid, takes charge of teaching Tita how to cook. Tita learns to infuse her meals with emotions and satisfies her desires by cooking ... but the food charged with Tita’s mood at the time of making has some interesting consequences for those eating it! A wonderful film steeped in magical realism about passion and, most of all, true love. Jo, Surrey
Some Like It Hot
Tony Curtis might have described kissing Marilyn Monroe as like “kissing Hitler” but their chemistry with each other and co-star Jack Lemmon is a delight in Billy Wilder’s 1959 classic. Lemmon and Curtis go on the run in drag after witnessing the St Valentine’s Day massacre, and join an all-female band. Mishap and misunderstanding ensue until the very last scene when Lemmon whips off his wig and tells Joe E Brown’s enamoured millionaire: “I’m a man.” He replies: “Well, nobody’s perfect.” Rick Williams, Guardian features production editor
The Kissing Booth
The Kissing Booth is not good by normal standards. The premise – two best friends with a weirdly long list of rules for Best Friendship, including “one can’t shag the other one’s sibling”, with very well-signposted consequences – is by numbers, and the leads are only Netflix-famous. I like it because it’s so naive it has an almost cleansing effect on my competitively cynical family. Zoe Williams, Guardian writer
His Girl Friday
His Girl Friday is the finest example of my favourite type of romcom: the screwball comedy. Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant play off each other wonderfully, manipulating and counterpunching throughout the film. There is a wonderful cameo by Billy Gilbert and the dialogue crackles from start to finish. No matter how many times I watch this film, it remains a pleasure from beginning to end. Nigel Jones, London
Bridesmaids
This film has all the warm, fuzzy energy of a romcom but slyly sends up the genre too, so it’s perfect for anyone who’s unattached on Valentine’s Day. It’s badly behaved and spiky with a sublime script and the mother of all strong female casts (Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Rebel Wilson). Annie is its car-crash singleton whose best friend, Lillian, is getting hitched, while she is having no-strings sex with Jon Hamm and failing to see that Chris O’Dowd’s traffic cop is perfect husband material. But the heart of this love story is in its female friendships/frenemies. Sure, there’s a big splashy wedding at the end, but the real tearjerker is the eye-watering “bathroom scene”. Watch it and weep. Arifa Akbar, Guardian chief theatre critic
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
Lara Jean is a sweet Asian girl who adores her family but is also shy. She feels deeply but cannot express her true feelings to the boys on whom she has crushes. The first film in this trilogy sees her fall for the charming Peter Kavinsky after starting a fake relationship with him. She struggles to decide whether or not to give him a chance, or date another of her former crushes. Antima Singh, Madhya Pradesh, India
Date Night
There’s something about watching an exhausted couple, trapped in an endless routine and desperately trying to carve out one night of escapist romance that really sparks joy in me. Especially at the moment. Even when Steve Carell and Tina Fey become embroiled in a convoluted gangster crime spree and have to deal with very different feelings towards a topless Mark Wahlberg, you still root for them. It ends, of course, with their everyday life being mythologised – but a final, full-tongue snog suggests something’s changed. Michael Cragg, writer
The 40-Year-Old Version
Radha Blank’s film is much more than a romantic comedy – it’s a reflection on ageing and promise, what it means to be creative over the course of a lifetime, and the many and nefarious ways that that creativity can be thwarted. But it’s also extremely funny, and romantic in a way we rarely see on screen; a woman embarking on a new relationship and a revived creative passion at the start of her fifth decade. It is a reminder of just how difficult it is to find a film in which something (anything!) good happens to a woman as she reaches her 40s. Blank’s movie is a hugely entertaining antidote to all the romcoms – in every form, written over centuries – that suggest a woman’s life begins and ends with marriage. Kira Cochrane, executive editor, features
Her Yerde Sen (Everywhere I Go)
This is a Turkish TV show that will take you through a rollercoaster of emotions. It tells the story of Demir Erendil (Furkan Andiç), who returns to Istanbul to discover that half his home is owned by a woman, Selin Sever (Aybüke Pusat). Neither wants to sell their half, which leads to them sharing the house. The show is a breath of fresh air when it comes to romcoms, depicting one of the most balanced and communicative relationships I have ever seen on screen. Anonymous, Netherlands
Sabrina
On paper, Sabrina is ridiculous: how could a 24-year-old Audrey Hepburn ever be believed as homely? Why would attending a Parisian cooking school transform her into a bombshell? And why would she choose sensible businessman Linus (played by a craggy Humphrey Bogart) over his playboy younger brother David (William Holden, with whom Hepburn was having an affair)? But as is the case with so many Billy Wilder films, the jokes hold up, as does the surprising chemistry between Bogart and Hepburn. A real joy. Sian Cain, Guardian Books online editor
Flirting
John Duigan’s 1991 film is graced by a trio of then little-known actors: Noah Taylor, Thandie Newton, and Nicole Kidman. The on-screen romance is hindered by Taylor’s hilarious teen awkwardness in the face of Newton’s unabashed self-assurance. It’s as charming as anything Hugh Grant ever starred in, deepened by its skilful analysis and indictment of racism. And did I mention that it is uproariously funny? Blair Chartier, New York
Girls Trip
Never have I cackled in a cinema as much as I did watching this riotous, outrageous and hilarious story about love in its most glorious and complex form: female friendship. This is not a traditional boy-meets-girl delusional fantasy, it is an sharply written tale of a group of friends who have grown apart coming together for a weekend together, accidentally getting high and realising that sometimes the most important relationships in our lives are the ones we take for granted. Every single second of this film is pure gold. Jenny Stevens, Guardian features commissioning editor
The Big Sick
Had I not known The Big Sick was based on the story of how its writers, Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V Gordon, met, I might have found it implausible. An updated version of While You Were Sleeping and nothing more. In their hands, and with Ray Romano on career-best form, it’s a modern classic that delicately and effortlessly weaves in a handful of other plot lines – racism, standup, pressure from immigrant parents, the embarrassment of having to poo at a new partner’s house – to create a nourishing, often hilarious and, crucially, believable whole. Andy Welch, Guardian assistant production editor
Music and Lyrics
This film is basically a thesis on why liking things that gratify us (pop songs, romcoms) isn’t such a bad thing. Rather, these forms of cultural expression are art in their own way. Music and Lyrics also celebrates the creative process while parodying the 80s music scene – plus, Kristen Johnston’s performance as a fangirl, grown, is charming and inspired. Liza Palmer, North Carolina
Muriel’s Wedding
Is Muriel’s Wedding a romcom? The eponymous wedding is a sham that quickly ends in divorce; the film’s central romance is between suburban misfit Muriel and Abba. When Muriel commits minor fraud to escape her backwater town, she meets her true soulmate, Rhonda, who teaches her that she’s actually far cooler than her oppressors. Together they discover the life-changing magic of a well executed dance routine in a scene that never fails to make my heart sing. Joe Stone, Guardian Weekend commissioning editor
Sleepless in Seattle
This film features a great script (courtesy of Nora Ephron), a somewhat kooky soundtrack (Gene Autry, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole) and lots of different kinds of love: familial love, friendship, lost love and, of course, found love. All told with humour and tenderness; it’s the one I’d save from the waves. Stephanie Staton-Young, Guildford
Bridget Jones’s Diary
This film’s charm lies in its ability to take romcom tropes and knock them out of the park. Or in this case, out of the window of a Borough Market restaurant, soundtracked by Geri Halliwell’s unhinged cover of It’s Raining Men while Sally Phillips gasps gleefully and Generic Gay Best Friend yells: “Fight! It’s a real fight!” A classic. Dylan B Jones, writer
Crossing Delancey
This is the story of bookish boho heroine, Isabelle, who is besotted with the married owner of the New York bookstore where she works. Her Jewish bubbe (grandma) is desperate to pair her off with Sam, a local pickle salesman, to whom Isabelle feels superior – but Sam turns out to have hidden depths. It chimes for me because I used to be a sucker for pretentious, arty blokes, until I met my pickle salesman. Felicity Everett, Gloucestershire
Grosse Pointe Blank
John Cusack’s hitman for hire (“I killed the president of Paraguay with a fork”) goes to his 10-year high-school reunion, where some unfinished business with his former sweetheart, played by Minnie Driver, awaits. Oh, and he might find time for a spot of work while he’s there … The genius of Grosse Pointe Blank is the way two utterly incompatible genres – a charming school-reunion romcom and bloody action flick – coexist without the tone ever jarring. Dan Aykroyd and a killer soundtrack are mere bonuses. Maxton Walker, Guardian features subeditor
She’s All That
This is the American Dream of romcoms: a handsome, popular jock falls in love with an intelligent, quirky, art student. Laney Boggs walking down the stairs, soundtracked by Sixpence None the Richer’s Kiss Me is an iconic moment, but the whole film is filled with teenage wit and sweetness. Nazia Jahan, London
Lovesick
The premise of Lovesick – hapless Dylan (Johnny Flynn) attempts to contact his previous sexual partners after testing positive for chlamydia – paired with its original title, Scrotal Recall, are precisely the reasons I was late to this romcom party. But this Glasgow-set, flashback-heavy story of flatmates looking for love balances a good dose of will-they-won’t-they tension with a little mystery, a surprising tenderness and plenty of laughs – an irresistible sitcom combo. Leah Harper, Guardian features commissioning editor
The Mirror Has Two Faces
This movie is deliciously ridiculous, old-fashioned and filled with romantic hijinks. Jeff Bridges plays Greg, a handsome maths teacher who is looking for a partner but has zero interest in sex. He finds Rose (Barbra Streisand), who goes from ugly duckling to gorgeous swan in an attempt to make him fall in love with her. This was the third time Streisand directed, and the result is charming, watchable and endlessly quotable. Sandro Trindade, Barcelona
Last Holiday
A lonely singleton blowing her life savings on a trip to a lavish European ski resort after learning she has a terminal disease might not sound like the ideal setup for a fluffy romcom. But then you haven’t witnessed Queen Latifah in Last Holiday – an actor so charismatically full of life that only she can carry this clunky concoction from slapstick on the ski slopes to sensuous kitchen scenes with chef Gérard Depardieu and into the muscular arms of love interest LL Cool J. Welcome wanderlust. Ammar Kalia, Guardian assistant TV editor and global music critic
Serendipity
This film has got warm and festive feeling to it – without being so overtly Christmassy as to not be watchable outside the holiday season. You root for the main characters to end up together – every moment they are close to finding each other keeps you fixed to the screen. A truly under-rated film. Abbee Hanlon, London
So I Married an Axe Murderer
The dialogue, the pacing, the soundtrack, the unforgettable one-liners (my favourite being: “In my opinion, most Scottish cuisine is based on a dare”). Mike Myers is amazing in dual roles, an appetiser of his forthcoming Austin Powers work. In a way, the film is a love story to the 90s – a simpler time without mobile phones or the internet, either one of which would have solved the plot in five minutes and deprived us of this gem, making it a perfect escape vehicle from modern tedium. Jonathan, Oregon
Roxanne
Few actors combine sweetness and sexiness as well as Daryl Hannah (who once touched my knee under a restaurant table, though it was totally innocent and I’m not still thinking about it 21 years later). But she’s just one reason to love this update of Edmond Rostand’s 1897 verse play Cyrano de Bergerac. Co-star Steve Martin, who adapted the story and relocated it from 17th-century Paris to 80s smalltown America, wrings every drop of humour from his character, an immense-nosed fire chief forced to woo the woman he loves on behalf of a hunky but thick-as-a-brick underling. There’s wordplay, swordplay (sorta), physical comedy and an unashamedly sentimental centre. Glorious stuff. Phil Daoust, Guardian deputy features editor
Enchanted
Enchanted does a fantastic job of blending fairytale love and fantasy with the bitter reality of human emotion, expectations and unwritten rules of society. It’s a fun and enjoyable depiction of our innate stiffness when it comes to relationships, and pushes us to be a little more spontaneous and magical. All the while entertaining us with a catchy soundtrack to which, admittedly, I know all the words to. Stu Carter, Cheltenham
Mum
From the moment You’re Gonna Miss Me kicks in at every episode’s start, this perfectly pitched sitcom had me enraptured. The achingly slow will they/won’t they between Lesley Manville’s eponymous widow and old family friend Michael (played with husky reserve by the always splendid Peter Mullan) is at times painful, but ultimately a beautifully accurate reflection of reality, full of joy and pathos. It is one of the few times that new love “later” in life has been portrayed on screen – and even the grumpy grandparents’ constant griping is interrupted by tender moments. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry – and, at only three short seasons, you’ll miss it when it’s gone. Toby Moses, acting Guardian TV editor
How to Talk to Girls at Parties
This film is based on the Neil Gaiman short story of the same name and expands greatly on the premise. A young punk boy named Enn gets dragged along to a party and meets Zan, the girl from out of this world. Their relationship plays out even less conventionally than you might expect. They sing together and their song transcends our understanding of sound and biology. A new culture is born, one that is filled with hope. Maybe it’s exactly what folk need right now. Marc Ruadh, West Lothian
