These rom-coms are reviving the genre. Welcome to MsMojo and today we’re looking at the best recent romantic comedies that are making us believe in love once again.
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00:00 "We need a meat cube. Like, every great romance has a meat cube."
00:05 Welcome to Ms Mojo, and today we're looking at the best recent romantic comedies that
00:10 are making us believe in love once again.
00:12 "Oh, it's a pretty cute story. Do you want to tell it, bub?"
00:16 "No, you go for it, bub."
00:20 Number 10. Somebody I Used to Know
00:22 We love when a real-life couple collaborates to bring a new story to the screen. And we
00:27 love it even more when that movie is actually pretty good.
00:31 "I am full service, my friend. I am the life of the party."
00:36 Somebody I Used to Know was written by husband and wife team, Alison Brie and Dave Franco,
00:41 and is directed by Franco. Brie stars as Allie, a reality TV showrunner, who heads back home
00:46 after hearing her show is going to be cancelled.
00:49 "Oh, wow, wow, wow. That was a good one."
00:56 "That was brutal."
00:58 There, she runs into an old flame who is getting married. The best romance in this movie isn't
01:03 necessarily between Allie and her ex-boyfriend, but rather Allie's relationship with herself.
01:07 "But it was you. You just need to let go and get back to you, who you really are. It's
01:17 not too late."
01:19 Plus, the film marks a reunion between Brie and Community co-star Danny Puddy, which we
01:24 love to see.
01:25 Number nine, Happiest Season.
01:27 "I know why you're worried, but don't be. I am all in on Christmas."
01:34 This holiday rom-com hit our screens in 2020, when audiences were desperate for a new movie
01:39 to talk about during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the reception of Happiest Season wasn't
01:44 spectacular, we still think Clea Duval's film deserves a spot here. We can argue about
01:49 how healthy the relationship is between Abby and Harper, played by Christian Stewart and
01:52 Mackenzie Davis.
01:53 "I'm suffocating you."
01:55 "Or not, but just-"
01:57 "I feel really suffocated in the closet that you've shoved me back into."
02:00 "You're creeped to this."
02:02 However, the fact that the film centers around a relationship between two women, and can
02:06 inspire these conversations, is a breath of fresh air. It got audiences talking and strayed
02:10 away from the heteronormativity of most holiday films.
02:14 "Everybody's story is different. There's your version, and my version, and everything in
02:24 between."
02:25 Number eight, Palm Springs.
02:27 Science fiction, romance, and comedy mix seamlessly in director Max Barbacau and writer Andy Sierra's
02:32 2020 film, Palm Springs.
02:34 "My God."
02:35 "Do you see them too?"
02:38 "Are they real?"
02:41 "Who cares?"
02:44 The movie stars Kristen Milioti as Sarah, a woman who ends up stuck in a time loop on
02:48 the day of her sister's wedding. But she isn't alone in her purgatory. Andy Samberg's Niles
02:53 is caught up in the same recycled day.
02:55 "Today is yesterday, and tomorrow is also today. It's one of those infinite time loop
03:03 situations you might have heard about."
03:05 Playing off of a classic like Groundhog Day was a risk, but the clever script and charming
03:09 direction bring something new to the familiar concept. Plus, the chemistry between Milioti
03:13 and Samberg is off the charts.
03:15 "In case I don't see you again, I love you too."
03:24 Number seven, I Want You Back.
03:26 "Having a rough week."
03:27 "Me too."
03:28 "Just got dumped."
03:29 "Oh, me too."
03:33 What if two spurned lovers decided to con their ex-partners into getting back with them?
03:38 That might not sound like a surefire premise for a romantic comedy, but the combined power
03:42 of Charlie Day and Jenny Slate can do a lot.
03:45 "Hey, what do we think about this, though? Is this a stay night at the club?"
03:50 "Um, you look like Catwoman."
03:51 The lengths that the two main characters go to to sabotage their exes' new relationships
03:55 can be fairly extreme. Day and Slate excel at that kind of absurdity, though, and they
04:00 actually have pretty natural chemistry despite all the chaos. By the end of the film, even
04:05 if you're turned off by some of the pair's shenanigans, you probably can't help but admit
04:09 that they deserve each other.
04:10 "Remember what you told me about how the slow burn that gets under your skin, you said
04:15 that that's the rarest kind of person, Emma. You're my slow burn."
04:21 Number six, Always Be My Maybe.
04:23 Ali Wong and Randall Park are two stars we can always count on to show us a good time.
04:28 "Hey, everybody here tonight, we're so glad you could step into our zone and tomorrow
04:33 say..."
04:34 "They're still really good."
04:35 Add a little Keanu Reeves in the mix, and you've got yourself a quality rom-com. Always
04:39 Be My Maybe follows childhood friends who lose touch after hooking up as teenagers.
04:43 Almost two decades later, they meet again and try to answer that age-old question, "Can
04:48 love conquer all?"
04:49 "You still have the corona?"
04:50 "In the same condition, too."
04:51 "Oh."
04:52 "Oh, lock stopped working in 2007."
04:59 Watching Wong and Park play two old flames trying to see if they can have a relationship
05:03 is delightful. The two play up the silliness of the movie without compromising on the romance.
05:07 "So my question is this, Sasha Tran, can I hold your purse for you?"
05:15 Number five, Rya Lane.
05:16 "It's Dom, right? I'm Yaz."
05:17 "Nice to meet you."
05:24 An exceptionally strong feature directional debut for Rain, Alan Miller, Rya Lane follows
05:29 two South Londoners as they deal with the fallout from their respective breakups. Main
05:33 characters Yaz and Dom charm the audience in this walk-and-talk kind of movie, carried
05:38 by the chemistry between actors Vivian O'Para and David Johnson.
05:42 "It was just this immediate, deep, animal attraction."
05:49 Not only does their connection leap right off the screen, but cinematographer Olin Colliday
05:54 delivers arguably one of the most beautifully shot rom-coms in recent memory. The colorful
05:59 joy and sparkling conversation of Rya Lane makes it a must-see for fans of the genre.
06:04 "If looks can kill you, would be an Uzi."
06:07 "You're a shotgun, bang, what's up with that thing? I wanna know. God has a hand,
06:11 straight up, way up, hold up, it's the lover."
06:14 Number four, To All The Boys I've Loved Before.
06:16 "I was used to being invisible, but now people were looking at me, talking about me."
06:25 In a lot of ways, 2018 was the year for the revival of the romantic comedy. Netflix played
06:30 a large part in that movement, in part with its teen romantic comedy To All The Boys I've
06:35 Loved Before.
06:36 "Hi."
06:37 "There's no one like you, Covey."
06:42 Based on the book by Jenny Horne, the movie follows Lara Jean Covey, a teen who becomes
06:46 embroiled in scandal when a series of love letters she's written over the years are
06:50 suddenly delivered. To try and save face, she agrees to fake-date one of the recipients
06:54 of the letters, the popular Peter Kavinsky.
06:57 "Two more rules. You have to watch Sixteen Candles with me because it's a classic, and
07:03 we can never tell anyone that this relationship is fake."
07:06 Actors Lana Condor and Noah Centineo play into the fun and the yearning of the false
07:10 relationship trope perfectly.
07:13 Number three, Fire Island.
07:14 "Just be careful. You have to trust me."
07:18 "I like what friends are, something?"
07:21 "Something like that."
07:22 When it comes to adaptations, the works of Jane Austen are a popular choice. In 2022,
07:27 Fire Island joined the canon of contemporary takes on the author's writings.
07:32 "So, you a big reader?"
07:36 "I am."
07:39 Inspired by Pride and Prejudice, the movie translates the story to the present day and
07:43 sets it in the gay villages off the coast of New York State. Writer Joel Kim Booster,
07:48 who also stars in the film, provides fresh takes on race, class, and LGBTQIA+ communities
07:55 in the midst of the familiar tale.
07:57 "So yeah, we're poor. Not like poor poor, but poor as in none of us have a chance in
08:02 hell of buying property ever. But this is what brought us together."
08:06 The entire supporting cast is hysterical. Plus Conrad Ricamora is a modern-day Darcy.
08:12 Sign us up, please.
08:13 Number two, Set It Up.
08:15 "You like expensive stuff and let a 23-year-old walk all over you and yet you're tolerable."
08:23 If we had our way, Glenn Powell and Zoe Deutsch would make a series of romantic comedies together
08:28 to rival those of Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. The pair's chemistry shines through in one
08:32 of the best rom-coms of 2018, Set It Up.
08:36 "We're at work."
08:38 "It's almost midnight. Grow up."
08:40 Powell and Deutsch play two assistants who try to make their bosses a little less intense
08:45 by nurturing a romantic connection between them. Lucy Liu and Taye Diggs deliver worthy
08:50 performances in supporting roles, but the movie rests largely on the shoulders of the
08:54 two leads.
08:55 "Just stop making me laugh."
08:56 "I'm serious."
08:57 "Stop making me laugh."
08:58 "I'm not trying to. I mean it, okay?"
08:59 "Stop! It is in my possession. I got this."
09:03 They're playful, passionate, and genuine, everything you could ever want from a rom-com
09:07 pairing.
09:08 Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
09:12 The Big Sick. Sadder than most, but still a rom-com at heart.
09:15 "Heckling doesn't have to be negative."
09:17 "So if I was like, 'Oh my God, you're amazing in bed,' that would be a heckle?"
09:23 "Yeah, and now you're getting more laughs than me, and I don't like that. Do you want
09:27 to come up, do my job?"
09:29 The Lost City. Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum bring the adventure rom-com back.
09:34 "Maybe next time I toss a gun at you, you can catch it instead of ducking."
09:38 "What about the next time you toss a gun at me, you say, 'Hey, Alan, catch!' and then,
09:42 you know, maybe do that before you throw it."
09:44 Rosaline. The Shakespeare to rom-com pipeline continues.
09:47 "For you."
09:48 "I engraved it myself."
09:49 "I shall wear it always."
09:50 "Okay."
09:51 The Lovebirds. Issa Rae and Camille Nanjiani make being on the run look fun.
10:02 "We know he's dead, but we didn't kill him."
10:05 "But he just said he killed him."
10:06 "No, I said I hit him with my car."
10:08 "You clearly worked, you killed the guy with your car."
10:11 "I was driving, and we broke up, and I got distracted, and I ran through a red light."
10:16 The perfect find. Gabrielle Union shines in this fashion-forward novel adaptation.
10:20 "All right, I hear you. I hear you. Put it behind us. That's it."
10:25 "Because we're professionals."
10:26 "Completely."
10:27 "We do our jobs."
10:28 "Do our jobs."
10:29 "Not each other."
10:30 "Not each other."
10:31 "There you go."
10:32 "But tonight I want to ruin you."
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10:52 1. Crazy Rich Asians
10:54 2018 gave us several quality romantic comedies, but nothing charmed audiences quite like Crazy
10:59 Rich Asians.
11:00 "Wow. I think I've just fallen in love with you all over again."
11:10 Based on the novel by Kevin Kwan, the movie became the highest-grossing romantic comedy
11:14 of the 2010s, and for good reason. The film follows Rachel Chu, a professor who goes with
11:19 her boyfriend Nick to Singapore and meets his family.
11:22 "The universe has spoken. It wants you over there. Come to Singapore."
11:27 Upon arrival, she realizes that his family isn't just rich — they're crazy rich. Everything
11:32 about Crazy Rich Asians delivers on its promise of opulence from the sets to the locations
11:37 to the wardrobe. There's plenty of humor and drama to be found, and we love the chemistry
11:41 between the two leads, played by Constance Wu and Henry Golding.
11:45 "I know this is a far throw from a hidden paradise. But wherever you are in the world,
11:52 that's where I belong."
11:55 Did we miss any of your favorite rom-coms? Let us know in the comments below.
11:59 "You know, you might be the James Dean of this kind of stuff, but I've never had a boyfriend
12:03 before."
12:04 "You have the references of an 80-year-old woman."
12:08 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo. And be sure
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