For every great rom-com, it seems like 20 half-hearted romantic comedies were just made-for-streaming slop.
The best romantic comedies are the ones with magnetic couples at the center of their stories that can stand the test of time.
Watch with Us‘ team has selected our picks for the five best rom-com movie masterpieces you need to watch on Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu and more.
Our selections include a handful of recent films as well as some modern rom-com classics that need more love from viewers.
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‘Your Monster’ (2024)
Scream‘s Melissa Barrera takes the lead in Your Monster as Laura Franco, an actress who is enduring a bad breakup and a cancer diagnosis that leaves her feeling bereft. Laura’s ex-boyfriend, Jacob Sullivan (Edmund Donovan), has taken the play they wrote together and used it to further his career. All Laura has left is her childhood home, where a literal monster is waiting for her.
Monster (Tommy Dewey) turns out to be just what Laura needs to move on with her life, and he gives her the romance that she desires. But this is a horror comedy, and Laura’s courtship with Monster isn’t without its dark twists.
Your Monster is streaming on Netflix.
‘Date Night’ (2010)
Date Night is an action rom-com that featured Steve Carell and Tina Fey when they were still starring in The Office and 30 Rock, respectively. The story follows a married couple, Phil (Carell) and Claire Foster (Fey), as they desperately attempt to reignite their romance after settling into a boring daily life. On their date night, the Fosters steal a reservation that was meant for another couple, the Tripplehorns (James Franco and Mila Kunis), only to be mistaken for them by some very dangerous men.
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Telling the truth doesn’t help, since no one believes they aren’t the Tripplehorns. Even the cops can’t be trusted since two corrupt officers are hunting them down. The Fosters’ only hope is to find the real Tripplehorns and discover why so many dangerous people are looking for them.
Date Night is streaming on Hulu.
‘500 Days Of Summer’ (2009)
500 Days of Summer is all about the relationship between Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel) and Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) — it just doesn’t play out in chronological order. Tom and Summer begin their romance when they’re coworkers at a greeting card company and close personal friends. They don’t see eye-to-eye about love and romance, but they like each other enough to see if they have a future together.
Throughout the film, viewers witness the ups and downs of the relationship. They can’t simply cover up their differences with their shared physical attraction for each other. Does Tom’s romance with Summer have an expiration date? Or can he find his way with Summer and build a lasting connection with her?
500 Days of Summer is streaming on Hulu.
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‘We Live in Time’ (2024)
Like 500 Days of Summer, We Live in Time lets the events of its story play out in non-linear order. It’s all about the highs and the lows of the courtship of Tobias (Andrew Garfield) and Almut (Florence Pugh). Their bond is very strong, but Almut has a debilitating illness that may derail their plans for life before they’ve even begun.
It’s not a question of whether Almut and Tobias are in love and want to be together; it’s about how much time they’ll have and what they choose to do with that time. There are no easy answers, but there is a swoon-worthy romance between the two leads.
We Live in Time is streaming on HBO Max.
‘Emma’ (1996)
There have been a few adaptations of Jane Austen‘s Emma, but the 1996 film starring Gwyneth Paltrow is one of the best. It also came at a time when Paltrow was a rom-com queen and a rising star. Platrow plays Emma Woodhouse, a young woman in the early 19th century who believes it’s her calling in life to play matchmaker to the people around her.
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Emma’s brother-in-law, George Knightley (Jeremy Northam), disapproves of her ambitions, but she disregards him to weave a tangled web of romance as she sees fit. Unfortunately for Emma, she doesn’t always accurately guess which people are best suited for each other. That sets off a cascading wave of heartbreak that may alienate Emma from her friends.
Emma is streaming on Paramount+.
