Top 10 Rom-Coms

10. When You Were Sleeping (1995)

If my memory serves me right, this movie put Sandra Bullock on the map. She stars as Lucy, a forgettable train toll operator who happens to daydream about this businessman who comes in daily. Lucy rescues this man, who is now in a coma, and by some misunderstanding, everyone thinks she is his fiance. She ends up meeting Peter's (Peter Gallagher) entire family. She is obligated to keep the lie going, first to not upset anyone, later because she falls in love with all of them, being an orphan during the Christmas season. The conflict begins when Peter's brother, Jack, shows up and gets suspicious of Lucy, and then a unique and intimate connection develops. I loved this movie because the scenes reminded me of my family, a loving, meddling ball of chaos who mean well but don't always get it right. 

9. 13 Going on 30 (2004)

Jennifer Gardner has established herself as the relatable queen. By that, I mean she is pretty, but you can still see her reflected as your best friend. She doesn't send out femme fatale vibes, and she is always likable. She starts in this movie about 13-year-old Jenna, a victim of fashion magazines. She decides she wants to be "thirty, flirty and thriving," which I find hilarious since I remember being thirty and not recalling all three simultaneously. Jenna wakes up in the body of her 30-year-old self but the mind of a 13-year-old, with a naked man in her apartment and a successful job in a fashion magazine with friend-enemy Lucy (Judy Greer) and bumping into childhood friend Matty (Mark Ruffalo). She learns the meaning of that proverbial saying, "Be careful what you wish for," now that she has the career and the life of a woman she barely recognizes, so far removed from the things and people that bring her joy. If I know the choreography of Michael Jackson's "Thriller," it is because of this movie. In the end, Jenna can go back to being 13 years old and make completely different choices, and it made me wonder what I would change about my choices if I were given the opportunity to go back and do things all over again? 

8. Never Been Kissed (1999)

My sister and I consider this a cult classic. We have seen it more times than any other movie. Drew Barrymore plays Josie, an introverted newspaper copyeditor who never gets over her high school rejection. Josie is pushed to go undercover back to high school to dig out stories about today's youth. In her return, she finds herself in the same nerd-status position as before, but her luck changes as soon as her brother infiltrates high school and makes her "popular," showing that really is all it takes, one person to say you are ok so that others start believing you are. David Arquette plays the brother who hasn't succeeded in adulthood, proving that some people might just peek in high school. In the process, Josie finds herself attracted to her literature teacher, Sam (Michael Vartan) and makes some questionable choices with her fashion, dancing, and overall persona. Many scenes in this movie bring me enormous shame for Barrymore's character, which is fun and mortifying to watch. This movie would only work in the time it was released because even now, as an adult, the whole student-teacher relationship gives me the creeps. But thinking about the year it was released, me going through my last year of high school, feeling a bit of a nerd and equally unwanted, this movie gave me hope and continues to do so. 

7. 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

The oldest plot line in Hollywood history; a guy (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) wants a girl (Larissa Oleynik), and the guy finds a dumb but rich guy (Andrew Keegan) to pay the other guy (Heath Ledger) to hang out with her perpetually annoyed sister (Julia Stiles). The deal doesn't go as planned, as more feelings are involved, and nothing really is as black and white as first portrayed. What I liked about this movie were the little jokes and the massive amounts of sarcasm thrown in every line. Every character was interesting in their own way; the single father that didn't want his girls getting pregnant, the school counsellor who missed her calling writing soft porn books, the popular girl who isn't as dumb as expected, the dangerous boy who is actually pretty mellow and the hostile feminist teenager who is actually pretty nice once you get to know her. Shot in Seattle with a killer soundtrack, this movie won my heart when I was young. It brought me love and gave me an edge to get rid of the undesired mush.

6. To All The Boys I Have Loved Before (2018)

Of all the movies on my list, this is the most current one, the one when I am actually older than the characters when I watched it for the first time. Lara Jean (Lana Condor) has a secret crush on her best friend, her sister's boyfriend. She decides to write him a letter, like the ones she had written to other boys she once loved, but the letter gets out of hand when her sister mails these letters to all of the recipients, pulling the lid off Lara Jean's secrets. Lara Jean makes a pack with one of these boys, Peter (Noah Centineo), but things go differently than planned, as usual. I liked this movie because Lara is not the typical white teenage girl character, and in an 80s rom-com, she would probably be reduced to a sidekick, but here she is, stealing the heart of the hottest boy in school. Also, if I were 20 years younger, I would have a mad crush on Noah Centineo; he is funny, charming and handsome; what more can a girl want? 

5. The Holiday (2006)

I couldn't care less about Cameron Diaz's character and love story; I have disliked her and everything she has done since "My Best Friend's Wedding." I find her annoying. I know there is no logic behind this, but I wanted Julia Roberts to end up with her best friend. Cameron is not the reason I like this movie. I like this movie because of Kate Winslet. This actress has grown on me, slowly but surely; her choice of work and films only gets more interesting with time. This time, she is Iris, this brilliant editor in a toxic relationship with his stupid ex-boyfriend, who decides enough is enough; it's time for a change. So she swaps houses with Diaz, so she goes to LA, and Diaz goes to this little town outside of London. We have all been there, in Iris' shoes, wanting to pull away from these men who have some sort of magic hold on us, making us feel good and bad about ourselves simultaneously, without really not committing to us. She starts this friendship with this music composer, Miles (Jack Black), and together, they plot a plan to get their new friend, Arthur, an old retired Hollywood director, to get the courage to walk to accept an award. On this trip, Iris regains the confidence in herself and the courage to cut ties with this toxic man, and only then is she open to a new beginning with a man who loves her right. 

4. Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)

Rene Zellweger gained 30 pounds to play this average 30-something single woman struggling in the dating world and figuring out his career in London. This modern and weird adaptation of Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I say weird because I didn't find Elizabeth to be an intelligent, proud woman in the original version. In this movie, Bridget is not precisely smart or driven and gets into these unfortunate, shameful situations that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Bridget finally thinks she has found "the one" in the fascinating new editor, Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant), only to have her heart broken when things get serious. In the middle of all of this, Bridge meets Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), a dry lawyer from a wealthy family who seems like he is constantly annoyed by her but turns out to be quite a catch. I don't think I could ask for anything more in a "make-believe man" than Mark Darcy; he is good, intelligent, and, in the end, passionate.

3. Crazy Stupid Love (2011)

Of all the leading men in Hollywood, Steve Carrell wouldn't be one I would particularly like. But I'm attractive, endearing, and believable. This story starts with an unhappy wife going through the motions of a flavourless date in a routine she hates now, wanting a divorce at the end of it. I love watching Julianne Moore, but I really hated her here; her character, married for more than 20 years to Carrell's character, had cheated on him with a co-worker and now wanted a divorce. On the other side, we have aspiring lawyer Hannah (Emma Stone) getting rejected by her safe choice of a boyfriend, Richard (Josh Groban), who wants to spice up her life by having a fling with the hot guy from the bar (Ryan Gossling). The last love story is the one with one of Carrell's kids, his 14-year-old son, hopelessly in love with his babysitter, Jessica. It all collides in a beautifully disastrous scene where Kevin Bacon gets punched in the face. I loved this movie because each character goes through a metamorphosis to discover love, discover themselves, or rediscover love. I particularly love the makeover scene where Gossling tries to get Carrell to update his wardrobe to seize his new bachelor status. Equally lovable is the "Dirty Dancing" scene with Stone and Gossling, in which he shows her "the move" to get women into bed with him. This is where you laugh and cry and everything in between movies.

2. Someone Like You (2001)

Not a lot of people know of this movie, but this movie made its way to my heart many years ago. Ashley Judd stars in this movie about a romantic turns cynic TV producer who decides to prove a theory about how men treat relationships with women; once they have lured the new target with sad stories about previous relationships, they have a brief honeymoon period until eventually, they get bored and moved on to the next prey. Judd's test subject is her new colleague, played by Greg Kinnear, who lets her stranded when he gets cold feet, making Judd move in with his playboy producer, Eddie, played by Hugh Jackman. There are many cute moments in this movie, many relatable moments, as she spirals out of control into a total freakout when her theory is proven wrong. I love it because it shows that people can surprise you, that sometimes you find love in the most unexpected places, and that people may say and don't mean something, but others speak louder with actions than words. 

1. Love Actually (2003)

Situated in London, this is a collection of stories that carry on simultaneously during Christmas. Somehow, the stories overlap as some of the characters know each other. I loved this movie from the moment I watched it in the theatre. Every story has something for everyone; a widower advising his pre-teen son how to get a girl, the best man secretly in love with his best friend's wife, the prime minister and his crush with an assistant with a potty mouth, some porn doubles that find a connection, a has-been rockstar making a comeback and his faithful manager, and my favourite; the man that falls in love with a woman that doesn't even speak the same language. I am older now; I watched this movie when I was 21, when the concept of soulmates was the most intriguing part of the love formula. This movie speaks about attraction, sacrifice in love, platonic love, young love, and mature love, but even if the outcome is not happy, it still has a glimmer of hope. If this movie is playing on any channel or available on any streaming service, I will watch it; it always makes me happy. 

*Bonus. Silver Linings Playbook (2012) 

This is probably not what you call a conventional rom-com, but it sends these vibes nonetheless. Pat (Bradly Cooper) is a man with bipolar disorder working through his mental health problems while he lives with his family. He meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a depressed, self-destructive mess of a woman, and they decide to enter a dance competition together. Pat intends to get back with his estranged wife by winning the competition. Pat's therapist encourages him to see the silver linings in his life to avoid triggering his panic attacks and violent outbursts. Tiffany is manipulative and sad, she keeps getting in these on-sided relationships where she is only used to numb the pain of the loss of her husband. This film's dark moments are full of suffering combined with funny and corky moments, proving that life is lived on a grey scale, not blacks and whites. This performance earned Lawrence an Oscar, and the film received several nominations. I liked it because it is a perfect example of how love can find you in the most inconvenient of times, and there is always someone out there who gets you and loves you the way you need.