Rom-Coms I've Never Seen

As a female, I am very drawn to the romantic comedy genre (also known as chick flicks). I love the cheesiness, the romance, the “will they, won’t they?”, all the cliches, the misunderstandings, and all that fun stuff. I have never been a fan of romantic dramas (like The Notebook or Titanic or Dear John or things of the like). I like the comedic side of romance, not the drama. I like happily ever afters as opposed to sadness and heartbreak.

I’ve been watching a whole bunch of rom-coms/chick flicks that I’ve never seen before just for the heck of it. I’ve watched the same few over and over again for years, and I’ve heard good things about several others. So, with my free time this week, I binge-watched a whole bunch of new ones.

I won’t lie, some of them weren’t all that great, some were mediocre, and some were freakin’ fantastic! What I look for in rom-coms is real suspense in the romance. Like, even though you know the couple is going to get together (because, let’s face it, they always do), it’s still pretty torturous and suspenseful; whether from the acting, the scenarios, or all of the above. I also enjoy really good comedy, enjoyable plots and scenarios, real conflict, a complete resolution that wasn’t obtained TOO easily, excellent on-screen chemistry between actors, is relatable, cheesy but not TOO cheesy, and has a strong ending.

So, that is what I have been judging these new movies on.

I’ll be giving my mini reviews on each of the movies below (Check out my reviews of my all-time favorite Rom-Coms HERE). Here we go in alphabetical order:

Definitely, Maybe

A daughter asks her father how he and her mother met. He tells her about his love affair with three different women without revealing which one is actually her mother.

This one was sort of average, I thought. That is to say, it had its strong moments and then weak moments. I didn’t really like the ending that much either. The acting was pretty stellar though. I love Ryan Reynolds! And his little girl was super cute. I can’t talk about it all that much without getting spoiler-y, but basically I wasn’t super thrilled with how it turned out. 1) I thought it was super abrupt 2) The buildup was a little drawn out at times. I did think it was a cute idea though, it just had some weak spots. I wish it had felt more like an unreliable narrator since it was supposed to be the dad telling the story (like How I Met Your Mother did). That probably would have improved it greatly. 6/10

Down With Love

In the 1960's, author Barbara Novak writes a best-selling book "Down With Love" which encourages women not to fall in love, to pursue independence and careers in place of serious relationships. This upsets the entire male population including ladies' man magazine writer, Catcher Block, who decides to make her fall in love with him and write an exposee on her as a fraud.
Alright, this one had a very promising set-up and was pretty good for the majority of it, but then totally lost it by the third act. It had the stupidest, most outlandish twist and insufferable ending. I was expecting it to be a "liar reveal" story where a character lies throughout most of the narrative, is eventually found out, then the other character(s) mope about it for a time, but then they realize they want the liar in their life after all and they all live happily ever after. This was surprisingly not the case, it was a lot weirder. I honestly would've preferred the cliche because what they did was too ridiculous. I can't discuss it without spoiling it, but... maybe if they hadn't gone SO far with the twist. It was such a huge jump for both characters and it was super out of place. Anyways, it was a good setup and I enjoyed the first 2/3s of it a bit (I would've liked to see Catcher actually falling in love with her a little more instead of being so manipulative). Also, the stylistic choices were very on point.  It was homaging 1960s romantic comedies, which to give it credit, it did a very good job; the costumes, the certain type of sexual tension, the obviously fake backdrops, the music, etc. it was a very well-made movie. However, I’ve never been a huge fan of older rom-coms. They’ve always seemed a lot more convoluted and forced than more modern ones. I suppose that’s why I didn’t like this one that much. It was too much like an old rom-com. So props to the movie for doing a good job, it just wasn’t my cup of tea. 5/10.

Fever Pitch

Ben has been a devout Red Sox fan for twenty-three years, but when he starts dating Lindsey, he must choose between her and the team he has loved his entire life.

I was surprised how much I liked this one. I was actually hesitant to watch this one at first because it didn’t sound all that compelling, but my curiosity to see Jimmy Fallon in an acting role overpowered everything else, so I watched it. And, like I said, I really liked it. It was different than a lot of rom-coms I’ve watched because it wasn’t about a couple getting together. It was portraying a couple and their struggles working together. I thought it was fascinating how it portrayed a relationship with ups and downs and compromises. I really liked it. My roommate pointed out how it was difficult to choose a side because both characters had valid points, but then they also had their defects. It was just like a real-life couple. It was also very funny and entertaining. 8/10.

How Do You Know

Professional softball player, Lisa, has just been dropped from her team; she begins a relationship with a clueless baseball player Matty while at the same time, she goes on a blind date with a business man, George, who is in trouble with the law for fraud.

This movie was all over the place. It wasn't completely terrible, but it seemed a little unfocused. The fact that Lisa was a softball player who was dropped was barely addressed and was pretty much completely forgotten by the end of the film. There was a lot of focus on George's business failings, which was fine, but it made it seem like he was the main character... which he wasn't. The beginning of the film was setting it up to make Lisa the central focus, but by the end, she was practically a side character. It was all very jumbled. It also did seem to drag on for a little too long. It should've been shortened or some subplots should've been added and/or focused on more. Also, the idea of "how do you know?" wasn't really addressed, which was weird since that was the title of the movie. Only once did Matty bring it up towards the beginning. But, I was still pretty entertained by it and I was actually in suspense for a while about who she would pick. 6/10.

Just Friends

In high school, Chris was friend-zoned by his best friend, Jamie. Ten years later, Chris returns to his hometown as a successful music executive and meets Jamie again, this time determined to win her affections.

I did not like this one hardly at all. When it started, I thought maybe it would get better towards the end... it didn’t. I think I hated it more by the end. The two lead characters had absolutely no chemistry and I was not rooting for them to get together at all. The only reason I wanted them together was because I didn’t want her to end up with the other guy. I wished that the movie had showed them actually be friends and then slowly move out of the friend-zone, but no, it just jumped right in and hardly gave us any background on these two characters’ history. Anyway, the only saving grace was Ryan Reynolds. His facial expressions and reactions to things were hilarious. It was exactly my reaction to some of the weird crap that was going on. I was laughing out loud sometimes at his deadpan delivery and horrified/disgusted reactions. Other than that, I don’t think this movie had much to offer. 4/10.

Just Go With It

A plastic surgeon pretends to be married in order to pick up women (pretending to be in a bad marriage in order to get sympathy). One day, he meets the girl of his dreams and decides he wants to settle down... until she finds his fake wedding ring and thinks he is actually married. He recruits his assistant to play his wife in order to convince her that they are divorcing. Complications continue to arise as his assistant's kids get involved and a family trip is planned.
I was surprised at how much I really enjoyed this one. I thought it would get under my skin with all the lies and deception like these stories sometimes do, but it actually managed to be really sweet and fun. It was also very funny and had me laughing out loud at parts. It did get a bit raunchy at times, but I wouldn't say it was anything TOO extreme. Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston surprisingly had very good chemistry. Points because I was really rooting for them to get together. I was also very impressed that when the ruse was eventually up, it didn't turn into a liar-reveal story. 8/10. 

Just Like Heaven

A widowed man moves into an apartment only to find it haunted by the spirit of its previous tenant who insists that she is still alive.

I loved and adored this movie! Holy cow! It sounds like kind of a strange concept, but it was conveyed very well. The two leads pulled it off and I was in suspense the whole time. They had such cute banter and I loved the slight mystery surrounding everything (mystery is always extra points in my book). I have to say, a lot of the time, memory loss is handled poorly in movies and TV, but this one managed to pull it off. I loved all the connections made throughout the film that came into full circle by the end. It was such an adorable flick that I just can’t go into detail about without getting spoiler-y. Basically, it left me feeling all warm and fuzzy by the end. 9/10.

Kate and Leopold

An 18th century duke falls through a portal in time, meets a 21st century woman, and they fall in love. 
I really liked the concept (and Hugh Jackman is a babe), but this movie was just sort of average. It was largely boring for a lot of it. The stuff not involving the duke was pretty dull and not very compelling. Kate was not a super interesting character, but the duke, Leopold was hilarious. Every scene involving him was my favorite. I loved seeing the fantasy that every girl has of meeting a guy with old fashioned manners. But, like I said, it was just sort of average. It wasn't THAT funny or interesting, but just interesting enough. 6/10.

Never Been Kissed

A young, socially-awkward reporter goes undercover at a high school and experiences the horrors of becoming unpopular all over again.

This movie was pretty much everything I expected. It was super cute, but also super awkward. (Not like awkwardly made, just like awkward situations and stuff.) It did hurt my soul sometimes. The secondhand embarrassment is very strong. I mean, I was literally covering my face at times because I couldn’t take it. There’s some stuff in there that if you think about it... it’s kind of weird and creepy, but in this scenario, it’s perfectly fine. Man, if you watch the movie, you’ll understand what I’m talking about. I still really liked it. It was cute and relatable. 7/10

What Happens in Vegas

Down on their luck, Joy and Jack go to Las Vegas to forget their troubles. They wind up meeting and getting married on the same night. The next day, they agree to get an annulment, but after they hit the jackpot at a slot machine, complications arise. The judge at their hearing sentences them to six months of marriage before settling the matter of their money.
I enjoyed this one quite a bit. I was really invested in the characters which I feel a lot of rom-coms lack. It was definitely one of the funnier ones I watched (I enjoy some good slapstick and screwball comedy which this was full of). I think it did a fairly decent job of having the characters actually fall for each other over time instead of it just abruptly happening after disliking one another for the majority of the film (which is the bane of these types of movies). I also enjoyed the battle of the sexes, the quote straight from the film "men and women were not meant to coexist" got me laughing. Even though there were a few things that fell flat, I still enjoyed the film a lot. 7/10.

27 Dresses

Jane has been in 27 weddings, but none have been her own and she is in love with her boss who doesn’t give her the time of day. One day, her little sister comes into town and her boss falls hard for her. Meanwhile, Jane repels the advances of a newspaper columnist who wants to write about her perpetual bridesmaid-ness.

I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to watch this one, but here we are. I liked this one quite a bit. It wasn’t as funny as a lot of the other ones on this list, but it was very cute and extremely relatable. I don’t know what there is to say about it except that. I was in so much pain with the main character as she watched the man she loved get engaged to her little sister. And like I said before, it was very relatable. I felt for the main character. 7/10.