As peak movie-watching season approaches, we could all enjoy getting some popcorn and watching a good movie. Romantic comedies, better known as rom-coms, are currently some of the most popular movies. Some rom-coms, such as Mean Girls and 10 Things I Hate About You, have been watched by the majority of our generation. There are also lesser known movies of this category that are just as good, but not as recognized. These movies below are some of my must watch rom-coms that everyone should enjoy, popular or not. Each movie was hand selected and recommended by a CHS student or staff member!
10 Things I Hate About You:
This movie is a classic rom-com and the highest recommended out of all of these movies. It follows the life of Kat and Bianca Strafford, two sisters with different ideas on love. In order for popular 15 year old Bianca to date the boy she likes, her dad says that loner 18 year old Kat has to date someone. At the same time, 15 year old Cameron attempts to date Bianca by paying Patrick, a mysterious 18 year old who plays by his own rules to date Kat. From paintball to parties to extravagant promposals, this movie has it all. It takes you alongside the teenagers’ relationships as they blossom through sweet acts and messy fights. This movie shows the development of Kat as she branches out and Bianca as she becomes less naive and conceited. 10 Things I Hate About is a classic to add to your watch list.
27 Dresses:
27 Dresses focuses on Jane Nichols, a girl in her 20s who’s been a bridesmaid 27 times. She tends to put other needs before her own, as she vigorously plans and attends weddings of all of her friends, sometimes on the same night. When her younger sister Tess gets engaged to the man she secretly loves, her boss at her wedding planning job, she starts to question her life as a constant wedding guest and people pleaser. At one of these weddings, she meets Kevin Doyle, a pessimistic writer with completely different romantic ideals to Jane. When she leaves her holy grail planner in a cab they share, he takes it into possession and takes her into his heart, using it to follow her to events. 27 Dresses is a beautiful love story of a girl who plans so many weddings but never thinks she will attend on her own.
My Best Friend’s Wedding:
My Best Friend’s Wedding tells the story of Julianne Potter (Jules), a 27 year old food critic in New York City. Her and her best friend, Michael O’Neal, made a promise to marry each other if they were not married by 28. When her birthday is just 3 weeks away, Michael tells her that he is engaged. Jules does think much of the arrangement until she realizes that she has feelings of her own for Michael. Jules spends those weeks before his wedding doing all she can to break up their engagement, from setting up job offers to forgiving emails. Throughout the movie, Michael’s feelings deepen for Jules as she takes him on an emotional roller coaster full of sabotage and deceit. When Michael and his fiance, Kimmy, figure out her plan, Michael has to decide between his loving, rich, fiance and his lifelong friend.
13 Going on 30:
13 Going on 30 is a hilarious take on a teenage girl’s wishes. 13 year old Jenna Rink wants to grow up, and quickly. After an embarrassing 13th birthday party, all she wants to do is be 30 years old. When she almost kisses her best friend, Matty Flamhaff, some “magic wishing dust” falls onto her. Suddenly, she wakes up in a bougie 5th avenue apartment with a huge closet and a young boyfriend. She soon learns that she is the editor of a large fashion magazine, Poise. Confused, she desperately tries to locate Matty, only to be turned away. As she adjusts to her adult life, heading a magazine, attending parties, and trying to be a good girlfriend, Jenna realizes that her adult self is not as good a person as she’d hoped. She also learns that growing up might not be as good as it seems. 13 Going on Thirty is a classic coming of age film that teaches us to be careful what we wish for.
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days:
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is a classic rom com about an advice columnist, Andie Anderson. When she runs out of boring article ideas, she decides to push the boundaries of what she can write about, declaring she will describe how to lose a man in only 10 days. In order to write the article, she picks a man that she will try to get to break up with in 10 days or under. Coincidentally, she chooses Ben Berry, an executive that has just bet he can get any girl to fall in love with him. Together, they torture eachother, each comited to the relationship for their own purpose. However, they didn’t expect that they would fall in love along the way. This movie is one of the top picks, with its iconic soundtrack and fashion, along with the plot that entrances us all.
She’s All That:
She’s All That is a rom com about Zack Siler, a popular boy at his high school in Southern California. When his girlfriend, Taylor, cheats on him, he claims that she is replaceable with any girl in the school. Zack’s friend disagrees and bets him to turn any random girl from school into the prom queen in six weeks. He accepts, and his friend chooses Laney Boggs, a quiet artsy girl. He attempts to talk to her, making many unwanted advances on Laney. She tries to reject him, but reluctantly agrees to go to a party with him. Meanwhile, Taylor is still embarrassed by her breakup and jealous of Laney, leading her to try to sabotage their relationship. As Prom approaches and Zack and Laney start to get closer, everything seems to be going well for Zach until Taylor intervenes. This movie led to the movie “He’s All That” and has become a fan favorite on Netflix.
16 Candles:
In Suburban Chicago, high school sophomore Samantha Baker (Sam), hopes that her 16th birthday will be the start of a new era for her. However, when the day comes, her family forgets because of her self-absorbed sister’s wedding. On her birthday, the senior she secretly loves, Jake, finds out her feelings for him. She worries that her unpopularity will drive him away, but she still tries to get him to notice her while he dates a party girl. Meanwhile, Sam has to reject flirting from a desperate freshman, Ted. Ted and Sam start to become friends, and he opens up about her love for Jake to him after giving him a favor after he made a bet with his friends. This movie is more comedic than romantic, and will have you laughing and cringing at the constant mistakes these teenagers make.
