The 20 Best Rom-Coms on Netflix: ‘Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,’ ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai,’ and More

20. ’27 Dresses’ (2008)

Critically reviled upon release, ’27 Dresses’ has, like many romantic comedies of its nature, aged well over the years into a nostalgic comfort watch. The painfully relatable story of a perpetual bridesmaid sparing with a cynical reporter in the lead-up to the nuptials of her sister and the man she secretly loves is about as predictable and formulaic as your average wedding reception playlist. But its glossy, shiny love story still feels transporting thanks to lead star Katherine Heigl’s committed performance as the hopeless romantic at the film’s center. Made during her brief period as a comedic leading woman — a short late aughts era that birthed influential ‘Knocked Up’ and the genuinely terrible ‘Ugly Truth’ — ’27 Dresses’ works as a showcase for how good Heigl is as a frothy rom-com lead, and how much more opportunities she deserved than the ones she got. —WC

19. ‘The Half of It’ (2020)

The tale of Cyrano de Bergerac has been directly adapted more than a dozen times, most recently with Peter Dinklage as its star in 2021. Edmond Rostand’s 1897 play has inspired as many romantic comedies, from 1987’s ‘Roxanne’ to 2009’s ‘The Ugly Truth.’ Still, Netflix original ‘The Half of It’ stands out as a winning coming-of-age story anchored by its endearing but grounded queer lead and a story that pushes boundaries, albeit gently. Leah Lewis plays Ellie Chu: an artsy, straight-A student whose homework-for-hire business lands her in the middle of a blossoming romance between jock Paul (Daniel Diemer) and the passionate Aster (Alexxis Lemire). Writer/director Alice Wu spins an infectious LGBTQ love story with her trio of leads and, though it isn’t wholly revolutionary, what ‘The Half of It’ lacks in bombast it makes up in joy. —AF

18. ‘Duck Butter’ (2018)

Co-written with star Alia Shawkat, director Miguel Arteta’s ‘Duck Butter’ is decidedly uneven but spectacular at moments. The breezy then claustrophobic dramedy (perhaps the most serious fare on this list) accompanies two women on a quest to ‘fast-forward ten years’ of their would-be romance by spending 24 uninterrupted hours together. Shawkat’s unsure and cynical Nima begins the slightly meta film as a struggling actress in a Duplass brothers production (with Jay and Mark playing themselves!) But when faced with the effervescent tumultuousness of Laia Costa’s Sergio — a Latin-American singer and painter with an intimidating magnetism — Nima is forced to confront what she really wants. —AF

17. ‘Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga’ (2020)

Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams deliver a rom-com and so much more in director David Dobkin’s ferociously silly (if seriously uneven) ‘Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.’ Lars Erickssong and Sigrit Ericksdóttir are best friends and small-time musicians from Iceland with dreams of making it big. Winning the famed international songwriting competition would put the pair — ill-received at home and woefully unprepared for the spotlight — on the global map. But the couple’s complicated will-they-won’t-they threatens to undo Lars’ over-the-top ambition as Sigrit’s unrequited love cuts deeper. The Netflix original earned a nod for Best Original Song with the epic ballad ‘Husavik’ at the 93rd Academy Awards. —AF

16. ‘Set It Up’ (2018)

Arguably the breakthrough title in Netflix’s burgeoning library of original romantic comedies, Claire Scanlon’s charming throwback relies on some old staples of the genre: adorable leads with big chemistry and a slightly convoluted plot designed to throw them together as frequently as possible.

Harper (Zoey Deutch) and Charlie (Glen Powell) are a pair of overworked assistants whose lives are dominated by their demanding bosses, but when the pair meet-cute in the lobby of their office building, they hatch a plan to set up their superiors (played by Lucy Liu and Taye Diggs), all in hopes that a romance will distract them from further ruining their lives. Inevitably, it’s Harper and Charlie who fall for each other, but Katie Silberman’s script has a lot of fun getting them to that point, and damn if it isn’t a joy to see a new pair of rom-com superstars emerge in Deutch and Powell. —KE

15. ‘Mamma Mia!’ (2008)

It’s ridiculous, it’s cheesy, it’s gaudy, it’s cinema. Phyllida Lloyd’s 2008 adaptation of the ABBA jukebox musical ‘Mamma Mia!’ is, over 10 years later, still an utter cringeworthy delight. Aside from Amanda Seyfried, none of the cast in this story of a young woman’s wedding and her quest to find her long-lost father are all that great singers — Pierce Bronson’s ‘SOS’ is forever a blight on an otherwise delightful film — but they all have the star-quality that this project needs, with Meryl Streep as a lovely romantic hero and Bronson, Stellan Skarsgård, and Colin Firth at their DILFiest, plus ringers like Christine Baranski and Julie Walters in plum supporting roles. In the dead of winter, there’s nothing like taking an ABBA-fueled trip to Greece, and ‘Mamma Mia!’ can provide you that from your Netflix homepage. —WC

14. ‘The Incredible Jessica James’ (2017)

Jessica Williams dazzles as the titular ‘Incredible Jessica James’ in writer/director James C. Strouse’s hidden gem from 2017. Having recently broken up her with ex-boyfriend Damon (LaKeith Stanfield), the newly single playwright seeks out different experiences in New York City, meeting blind date Boone (Chris O’Dowd) along the way. Both are struggling to get over their past relationships, and quickly bond through their parallel heartbreak. Through imaginative flashbacks and dream sequences, audiences watch as Jessica grapples with feelings old and new for a fresh feminist perspective on a familiar romantic formula. —AF

13. ‘Sixteen Candles’ (1984)

After you finish your 10 millionth ‘To All the Boys I Loved Before’ rewatch on Netflix, why not take the time to visit one of the film’s greatest inspirations? The directorial debut of teen film whisperer John Hughes, ‘Sixteen Candles’ stars a fantastic Molly Ringwald as shy sophomore Samantha, whose sweet sixteen is completely forgotten by her family due to her sister’s upcoming wedding. As the day goes on, she attempts to speak to her longtime crush Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling, in a classic teen film heartthrob role), while dealing with her friend Ted (Anthony Michael Hall) and his crush on her. The plot is one you’d find in many a classic coming-of-age film, but it’s rendered empathetically by Hughes’s clear-eyed script and Ringwald’s grounded performance. Like many of Hughes’ work, there’s some ugly stuff here — several scenes of questionable consent, extremely casual racist Asian stereotypes — but it remains one of film’s greatest teenage dreams for a reason. —WC 

12. ‘The Lovebirds’ (2020)

‘The Lovebirds’ introduces its starring couple four years into a crumbling relationship. Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani are instantly recognizable as charismatic counterparts doomed for mutual destruction: sniping over everything from dinner plans to ‘The Amazing Race.’ When the would-be exes collide with a criminal organization in the midst of a breakup, however, they’re forced to problem-solve in a kind of a hyper-high stakes session of couples therapy caught somewhere between ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ and ‘The Big Lebowski.’ Though ‘The Lovebirds’ script sometimes falters, Michael Showalter brings the same confident direction that made ‘The Big Sick’ a smash. —AF

11. ‘Always Be My Maybe’ (2019)

By the time Nahnatchka Khan’s breezy feature directorial debut ‘Always Be My Maybe’ offers up a hearty wink at ‘Pretty Woman,’ the Netflix original feature has already earned its stripes as the online streamer’s next great rom-com. Khan’s film pulls liberally from the genre playbook — stars and co-writers Ali Wong and Randall Park haven’t been shy about the film’s early inspirations, especially classics like ‘When Harry Met Sally’ — but it also offers its own charms thanks to Wong and Park, who delight both on-screen and on the page.

And while ‘Always Be My Maybe’ doesn’t reinvent its genre, it’s a welcome addition that contributes cultural diversity to a typically white-dominated screen space, and leans into tropes that have always made rom-coms (well, good rom-coms) such a joy to watch. —KE

10. ‘Long Shot’ (2019)

Before second gentleman Doug Emhoff, there was first mister Fred Flarsky — both of them Jewish, but only one of them real. Don’t feel sorry for the fictional one, though, as Fred’s hilarious journey from Vice-like gonzo journalist to America’s most powerful beta male is the stuff of one of the most under-appreciated rom-coms in recent years. Seth Rogen adds a new edge to his usual charming schlub routine as a Vice-like gonzo journalist who writes himself out of a job before a brief encounter with his former babysitter, current Secretary of State, and potential future POTUS (Charlize Theron as Charlotte Field) leads Fred down a new career path as a political speechwriter. 

‘Long Shot’ doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel as Fred and Charlotte fly around the world and bond over ‘Game of Thrones’ spoilers, but the movie has a lot of fun pushing its ‘will they/won’t they?’ mechanics into ‘would she/how could she?’ territory, the chemistry between its leads is sweet enough to make a certain kind of sense, and director Jonathan Levine keeps the world around them so well-balanced that the story is able to absorb a rocket-based assassination attempt, a leaked masturbation video, and even the shocking reveal that someone is a Republican without overwhelming its characters. If ‘Long Shot’ settles for a degree of bipartisanship it doesn’t seem to believe in, this sharp but cuddly rom-com will still go down as one of the only studio movies about the Trump-era political ecosystem that managed to find love in a hopeless place. —DE

9. ‘Kicking and Screaming’ (1995)

Before he was getting Oscar nominations for scenes where Scarlett Johannson and Adam Driver yell at each other — or, more recently, co-writing the script to the ‘Barbie’ movie — Noah Baumbach made his feature directorial debut with ‘Kicking and Screaming.’ Not to be confused with the raunchy 2005 comedy about Will Ferrell coaching a children’s soccer team, Baumbach’s low-key but sharp debut focuses on a group of college graduates who stick around their university’s town out of fear of facing the real world. Josh Hamilton, years before he became one of cinema’s best dads in ‘Eighth Grade,’ leads the cast as the slacking writer Grover, whose blasé approach to growing up is thrown out of order when his girlfriend Jane (Olivia d’Abo) accepts a fellowship in Prague, leaving him with only memories of her. 

Although the film — so drenched in the ennui of its cast of adults in arrested development — never quite becomes the conventional studio romantic comedy that it flirts with, Grover’s struggles to grow up for the sake of his relationship provide the ambling character study its backbone; the film even climaxs with Hamilton giving an impassioned speech at the airport, desperate to reunite with his beau. Plus, like all good rom-coms, they got an absolute ringer to play the lead’s parent: Elliot Gould should really be the dad in every romantic comedy. —WC 

8. ‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’ (2018)

Netflix’s vise grip on the new wave rom-com market is tight, but the streaming giant has also found time to zero in on a previoulsy underserved subgenre: teen-centric rom-coms. Hit charmer ‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’ cracks what should be an obvious code: find a sweet protagonist, and even the most outlandish of storylines can work.

Featuring a knockout performance from Lana Condor, the Susan Johnson story takes Jenny Han’s best-selling YA novels and turns them into a very cute feature. The film follows Condor’s Lara Jean after her (secret!) love letters are released into the world, a wild idea that allows other, more grounded emotion to take wing.

Mostly, though, ‘To All the Boys’ keeps a tight hold on the formula of every rom-com and adapts it for the younger set. Every beat of the film might be obvious, but that doesn’t detract from the enjoyability of watching an indelible young heroine like Lara Jean figure out her own life and just maybe fall in love in the process. —KE

7. ‘The Holiday’ (2006)

Nancy Meyer’s best film ‘The Holiday’ is a two-hour rom-com that never feels stretched out because it’s actually two films in one. Kate Winslet is an English newspaper columnist whose heart is broken when her ex gets engaged to another woman. Cameron Diaz is an American film trailer producer who dumps her cheating boyfriend. To get over their mutual heartaches, the two agree to a home-swap, and take a trip to their respective countries, where they find new love. A large part of what makes the film so good is its pitch-perfect casting; Winslet and Diaz are lovable leading ladies, while Jack Black and Jude Law have never been hotter than they are as the sensitive romantic men who swoop the two off their feet. There are better rom-coms on Netflix, but there probably isn’t a more comforting rom-com on Netflix. —WC 

6. ‘Plus One’ (2019)

Low-key and slight, ‘Plus One’ is stealthily among the most charming and smartest rom-coms of its era. The indie gem from directors Jeff Chan and Andrew Rhymer stars Jack Quaid and Maya Erskine as long-term friends Ben and Alice, now in their late twenties and in the period of their life where all of their social circle is getting married. When the two get invited to a combined 10 weddings over one summer, they agree to be each other’s plus ones for every ceremony they’re invited to, an arrangement of convenience that (of course!) unearths some buried feelings from the platonic besties. It’s undeniably derivative of many rom-com greats (most prominently ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral,’) but ‘Plus One’ works because it smartly captures the uncertainty and anxiety of watching everyone else seemingly move on to a new stage of their life when you haven’t figured out your own. It helps that Quaid and (especially) Erskine are so strong in their roles, injecting winning sardonic humor into the modest affair. —WC

5. ’13 Going on 30′ (2004)

An utter sparkly delight, Gary Winick’s ’13 Going on 30′ is a smart update and gender flip on the ‘Big’ plot that injects a bit of ’80s throwback charm for good measure. In 1987, geeky tween Jenna desperately wants to be a member of the ‘Six Chick’ clique that rules her school, only to be humiliated by them on her birthday. When she wishes to be ’30, flirty, and thriving’ on a dollhouse sprinkled with magic wishing dust, she wakes up as an adult, played by Jennifer Garner. Now a cold-blooded fashion mag editor in New York City, she struggles to adjust to the new time period and repatch her relationship with old geeky best friend Matty, now a total stud (Mark Ruffalo). Garner is a dazzling lead, so perfectly innocent and awkward as a teen in an adult body, while Ruffalo’s scruffy charm makes for one of 21st-century rom-coms most likable pairings. —WC

4. ‘Something’s Gotta Give’ (2003)

Nancy Meyers prompted a kind of Keatonaissance with 2003’s irresistible golden years romance ‘Something’s Gotta Give.’ The movie was Diane Keaton’s biggest box-office success in nearly a decade, restoring one of the genre’s all-time queens to the top of her game, and reminding moviegoers of the comedic gifts she first displayed in the (considerably more complicated) movies of Woody Allen. She earned a well-deserved Oscar nomination for her turn as happily single playwright Erica Barry, first wooed by Keanu Reeves’ dreamboat of a doctor, then by Jack Nicholson as a moneyed Lothario with a taste for younger women — namely her own daughter, played by Amanda Peet.

Keaton and Nicholson’s chemistry both in and out of the bedroom begs the question of why these two icons had never co-starred in a romantic comedy before (‘Reds’ doesn’t quite fit the bill). While Meyers’ Hamptons-set kitchen porn is on full display here, the emotions are grounded and real, often bruising but always funny. A post-breakup montage of Erica screaming for an entire day is absolutely peak Keaton, and the ending is still worth arguing about more than a decade later. —RL

3. ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ (1986)

Legendary for launching Spike Lee’s career, microbudget triumph ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ is frequently cited as a revolutionary turning point in the representation of Black women and Black sexuality on screen. Tracy Camilla Johns stars as Nola Darling: a free-spirited artist whose polyamorous attraction entangles her with three different men (Tommy Redmond Hicks, John Canda Terrell, and Lee himself). The 1987 feature is an imperfect film, frequently criticized for a scene involving sexual assault; Lee himself has described the sequence as a major regret. But its raw magnetism is essential to understanding Lee’s career and makes Netflix’s serialized take on the film an even more gratifying watch. —AF

2. ‘You’ve Got Mail’ (1998)

An oh-so-perfect snapshot of a specific time in the late ’90s when bookstores were still thriving and AOL was all the rage, ‘You’ve Got Mail’ still feels remarkably timeless. That’s largely because its story is an update of the 1937 play ‘Parfumerie,’ previously adapted into the classic ‘The Shop Around the Corner,’ and the tale of pen pals who spar in person but coo at each other in the written word has a classical nature to it that transcends dated Barnes & Nobles references.

It also helps to have stars like Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, reunited from ‘Sleepless in Seattle,’ as the leads. Hanks twists his good-guy image to play a sharp-tongued and ruthless (if, of course, ultimately golden-hearted) bookstore executive, while Ryan has never been more grounded and luminous than as unlucky in love small store owner Kathleen. Their chemistry makes the film both a cozy comfort blanket and an emotional wallop, ending on a tearful reconciliation that ranks as one of the great rom-com conclusions. —WC

1. ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ (1998)

‘Love is friendship.’ That simple but maddening sentiment kicks off a love triangle for the ages in writer/director Karan Johar’s 1998 Bollywood classic ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’: a bittersweet and bubbly story of young love, missed opportunity, and female friendship starring genre icons Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, and Rani Mukerji. When Rahul — a charismatic flirt practically attached at the hip with his tomboyish best friend Anjali — falls for new girl Tina, he clumsily mangles what was once an unbreakable friendship. Years in the future, with some help from his adorable daughter also named Anjali (Sana Saeed), Rahul gets a second a chance with his would-be college sweetheart. Come for the promise of silly but still flashy ’90s hip hop choreography and costuming combined with stunning Indian dance. Stay for what’s quite possibly the most romantic gazebo scene of all time. —AF