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Poll: What Is the Best Romantic Comedy Ever?

For this opinion column, we're talking about Baby Boomers on, so "It Happened One Night" and "Some Like It Hot" don't count. I've got my list. What's yours?

 

I was shocked—shocked!—to find out what Moviefone picked as the Top 25 romantic comedies of all time.

Although I might agree with their top choice.

Yes, I'm a 54-year-old man, and I shouldn't admit it (in the off chance my high school or college buddies actually read this) but I'm a sucker for romantic comedies. Unfortunately, I don't think we get a lot of good ones anymore.

There was a time when it seemed like Hollywood was producing a truly great romantic comedy once a year. Nowadays, the movies that fall under that heading come off (to me, at least) as unscripted or over-the-top, lacking the elegance or charm of their counterparts from the 1980s or '90s.

That's my opinion, anyway, and I'm sticking with it.

Here are my top 10 of the past 35 years or so, based solely on my failing memory, which means there's certain to be one or two I'll come up with later that are waaaay better than these:

1. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

2. You've Got Mail (1998)

3. The American President (1995)

4. Pretty Woman (1990)

5. Four Weddings And a Funeral (1997)

6. Notting Hill (1999)

7. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

8. Groundhog Day (1993)

9. Big (1988)

10. Moonstruck (1987)

 

Others worth nominating

  • Tootsie
  • As Good as it Gets
  • Music and Lyrics
  • Bridget Jone's Diary
  • Annie Hall
  • City Slickers (?)
  • Shall We Dance?
  • Runaway Bride
  • Dave
  • The Wedding Planner
  • Love, Actually
  • How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
  • LA Story

 

Tell us your favorites in the comments field.

  • What's the best romantic comedy since 1975?

    (Voting has been closed for this question)
    • When Harry Met Sally...
        32 (23%)
    • You've Got Mail
        13 (9%)
    • The American President
        9 (6%)
    • Pretty Woman
        12 (8%)
    • Four Weddings And a Funeral
        3 (2%)
    • Notting Hill
        4 (2%)
    • Sleepless in Seattle
        12 (8%)
    • Groundhog Day
        3 (2%)
    • Big
        0 (0%)
    • Moonstruck
        11 (8%)
    • Return to Me
        3 (2%)
    • The Princess Bride
        10 (7%)
    • High Fidelity
        1 (0%)
    • My Best Friend's Wedding
        3 (2%)
    • The Goodbye Girl
        3 (2%)
    • LA Story
        1 (0%)
    • Other (5 points for comment)
        16 (11%)
    Total votes: 136
  • Your vote will only count once. This is not a scientific poll. View Results Vote!
Related Topics: Holiday Guide 2011, Movies, Patch, Top Romantic Comedies of All Time, Valentine's Day 2012, and When Harry Met Sally

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Darren McRoy

3:44 pm on Thursday, February 9, 2012

How about The Princess Bride? Seems like a shoo-in (and at 1987, sneaks in the 25-year cap.)

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Dawn Fleming

3:46 pm on Thursday, February 9, 2012

"French Kiss" and "An Affair to Remember"

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Joe O'Donnell

5:09 pm on Thursday, February 9, 2012

I never considered "Groundhog Day" a romantic comedy, but if you say so, Rick, Bill Murray's classic gets my vote. ("Love, Actually" is my guilty-pleasure No. 2.)

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Sandy Kaczmarski

7:12 pm on Thursday, February 9, 2012

Not sure how You've Got Mail made the list ... Not one of my picks. Would have to agree with most, but I'd put Moonstruck higher on the list.

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Rick Nagel

7:43 pm on Thursday, February 9, 2012

I forget to mention "A League of Their Own" as an also-ran—although that's on the border line of romantic comedy. "Groundhog Day" was on the Moviefone or one of the other Top 10 lists. Is "An Affair to Remember" considered a romantic comedy? I thought that one was a tear-jerker. And finally, I think "You've Got Mail" might have been left off some lists because it's a remake of "The Shop Around the Corner," which is made RC Top 10 lists. I just liked that one a lot. :)

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JMZ

8:08 pm on Thursday, February 9, 2012

How about "Return to Me"? That's one of my all time favorites.

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Robert Bykowski

10:29 pm on Thursday, February 9, 2012

I've always been fond of "Waitress" and "High Fidelity", personally.

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Matthew Hendrickson

11:23 pm on Thursday, February 9, 2012

I'm all for the High Fidelity recommendation!

Stewart Levine

5:09 am on Friday, February 10, 2012

Groundhogs Day, with Bill Murray

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Stewart Levine

5:10 am on Friday, February 10, 2012

I also liked the film The Road to Wellville, it is another lesser known film, but with great actors and a hilarious script. check it out on imdb or rent it if you get the time.

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Beth Bales

7:42 am on Friday, February 10, 2012

You have a lot of my favorites on that list, including "You've Got Mail," which I would put above "When Harry Met Sally." "American President" is one of my all-time favorites; I think I can recite most of the lines. Somehow, with "Pretty Woman," which I like all right, I get stuck on the hooker part...

And "My Best Friend's Wedding" should be on there, too.

"Officer and a Gentleman" is pretty romantic, though I'm thinking it may not be a comedy.

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Beth Bales

7:43 am on Friday, February 10, 2012

One of my co-workers would add "Chocolate."

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Rick Nagel

7:53 am on Friday, February 10, 2012

And I forgot "The Goodbye Girl," and a bunch of other Neil Simon choices. Didn't Richard Dreyfuss win the Academy Award for Best Actor for that one?

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Alex Keown

7:59 am on Friday, February 10, 2012

No Roxanne or LA Story?!?!?!?! I'm appalled.

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Rick Nagel

8:20 am on Friday, February 10, 2012

I added a poll, just for the heck of it.

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Mary Kay Coleman

9:11 am on Friday, February 10, 2012

Hope Floats is one of our favorites also some ice skating movie with a hockey player that my daughter watched over and over........thanks nicer start to the day than snow and problems!!!

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Cronan

9:20 am on Friday, February 10, 2012

I Love You Man, if you haven't seen it you should =) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1155056/

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Joe O'Donnell

9:52 am on Friday, February 10, 2012

Solid Bro-mantic comedy, for sure.

Jon Cunningham

11:38 am on Friday, February 10, 2012

Continental Divide. John Belushi and Blair Brown. Part in Chicago, part in Colorado.

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Tara Elgass

1:14 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012

so many good ones here - I will have to rewatch some of them that I haven't seen in a while. My personal favorites are "Bridget Jones' diary", "Nottinghill" and "When Harry Met Sally".

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Super Concerned Citizen

3:20 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012

E.t. (A boy and his alien), Brokeback Mountain (a man and his...man); Das Boot (A man and his submarine) ; Thelma & Louise (a woman and her woman [With Brad Pitt!!]); and my personal favorite Raising Arizona

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Cathy Grimes

7:09 am on Tuesday, February 14, 2012

According to Will Farrell, that's Derrick Rose's favorite movie.

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Karlie Baker

7:34 am on Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Haha, Cathy, I'm glad someone else brought that up!

Steve Jurkovic

5:25 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012

This is the first list I have ever seen where I've actually seen every movie! If The American President or Notting Hill are on, I have to stop what I'm doing to watch them.

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Karlie Baker

6:09 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012

No one's mentioned "The Wedding Date" yet, so I will! Also, everything on the aforementioned list with Meg Ryan, and "The Cutting Edge" (which I had totally forgotten about!).
It's not a romantic comedy, but I think the Will Ferell/Maggie Gyllenhal scenes in "Stranger Than Fiction" are downright adorable.

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Brian Howell

6:17 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012

No one has mentioned "While You were Sleeping." That's a gross oversight. Great movie.

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Ice Man

8:59 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012

How about "Continental Devide"? It is a lesser known John Belishu flick.

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Susan Sayers

8:46 am on Saturday, February 11, 2012

What about "Waiting to Exhale?" VERY funny! =)

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Lisa

1:45 pm on Saturday, February 11, 2012

The Princess Bride- the whole premise is about twoo wuv...

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Beth Bales

8:35 am on Sunday, February 12, 2012

"Dave," with Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver

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Kathleen Neville

6:06 pm on Sunday, February 12, 2012

"Same Time Next Year" with Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn was cute.

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