The 'rom com' genre hasn't exacted been the most reputable over the years.
Many assume romantic comedies are lame, predictable and unconvincing. But surely such labels could be applied to most genres?
In any case, there have been complaints that there have been fewer romantic comedies made in recent years, and that the ones that do make it to the big screen are poor in quality. We don't think that's the case at all. In fact, we'd argue that the last ten years have produced some super romantic comedies. Below we've chosen our the 11 best rom coms from the past decade.
If you're wondering where the likes of 'La La Land' and 'Scott Pilgrim vs the World' are to be found, we've chosen pure romantic comedies for the sake of simplicity.
11. 'The Proposal'
You can't get much cheesier than 'The Proposal' but damn, do Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock have amazing chemistry in this movie. Bullock is the boss and Reynolds is her assistant, who she insists on marrying her so she can keep her visa status in the U.S. and avoid deportation to Canada. 'The Proposal' showed Reynolds' knack for comedy, as did other rom coms like 'Definitely, Maybe'. However it was his turn as the 'Merc with the Mouth', aka Deadpool, that would shoot him to world recognition.
10. 'Trainwreck'
Judd Apatow - known for 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin' and 'Knocked Up' among others - directs Amy Schumer in her star-making movie. She plays a party girl who loves drinking and sleeping around but may just change her ways when she meets a sports doctor named Aaron Conners (Bill Hader). John Cena and LeBron James prove that they have comedic chops in this feature too.
9. 'Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist'
Michael Cera and Kat Dennings have never been more adorable than they are here as two love-struck high school students. Cera's Nick is the base player for Queercore band The Jerk Offs. Dennings' Norah is the daughter of a wealthy record producer who shares Nick's passion for music. The two end up on an unforgettable night out in New York as they, alongside Nick's bandmates and Norah's friend Caroline, go in search of the secret location where their favourite band, Where's Fluffy?, are playing.
8. 'Crazy Rich Asians'
Out this year and based on the bestselling novel of the same name, 'Crazy Rich Asians' recently beat 'The Proposal' to become the highest grossing romantic comedy in a decade. The film stars Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Gemma Chan, Awkwafina and Ken Jeong and tells the story of a native New Yorker meeting the parents of her fiancé for the first time. She discovers they are among the richest people in Singapore and struggles to be accepted by them.
7. 'Set It Up'
Every so often, Netflix produces a great original film. 'Set It Up' is one of them. Reuniting 'Everybody Wants Some!!' stars Glen Powell and Zoey Deutsch, the two young actors play the respective PAs of Taye Diggs and Lucy Liu's characters. They hatch up a plan to set their bosses up with one another so they can finally get their own free time. Eating pizza drunk in the middle of the night has never seemed more romantic.
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6. 'Man Up'
In spite of its crap name, 'Man Up' is actually a gem of a movie. Lake Bell plays a single woman in her 30s who after being mistaken for a stranger's blind date, realises she may have found her perfect man in a 40-year-old divorcé played by Simon Pegg. Bell and Pegg's chemistry is note-perfect and it's hard to pick which gives the more charming performance as both are just the sweetest. Irish actress Sharon Horgan also pops up in the film.
5. 'Silver Linings Playbook'
Renowned for earning Jennifer Lawrence an Oscar for Best Actress, 'Silver Linings Playbook' also got nods for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Editing. Bradley Cooper plays a man with bipolar disorder who is released from a psychiatric hospital and moves back in with his parents. He then meets the recently widowed Tiffany Maxwell (Lawrence), who suffers from depression, and is convinced to enter a dance competition as her partner.
4. 'The Big Sick'
This low budget feature ended up becoming one of the highest-grossing independent and acclaimed films of 2017. Kumail Nanjiani plays the lead, an Uber driver trying to break into stand-up comedy who falls for a grad student named Emily (Zoe Kazan). Emily contracts a strange illness that leads to Kumail meeting her feisty parents (played brilliantly by Ray Romano and Holly Hunter). Kumail and his real-life wife, Emily V. Gordon, wrote the screenplay which is based on their own relationship.
3. 'Crazy, Stupid, Love'
Boasting a terrific cast that includes Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei and Kevin Bacon, 'Crazy, Stupid, Love' looks at love across different generations. Primarily, the story follows Cal (Carell), who after his wife Emily (Moore) comes asking for a divorce, befriends Jacob (Gosling), who is a pro at picking up women. However Jacob's player ways come into question when he meets Hannah (Stone). Meanwhile Cal's son is experiencing love and heartbreak for the first time. This movie touches your heart as much as it does your funny bone.
2. 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall'
Ten years old this year, 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' just misses out on our top spot. The film features Jason Segel as Peter, a music composer for TV who is left devastated after his girlfriend of five years, Sarah (Kristen Bell), dumps him. He goes on holiday to Hawaii to forget about Sarah - but low and behold, she is there with her new boyfriend, rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand). But it's not all bad news as Peter soon meets the beautiful receptionist Rachel (Mila Kunis). Highlights include Jonah Hill's one-liners and the Dracula musical that provides the film's finale.
1. '500 Days of Summer'
'500 Days of Summer' blew everyone away when it hit cinemas in 2009. Today, it still has a lot of poignant things to say about love, relationships, miscommunication, expectations, heartbreak and healing. As it says at the start, 'this is a story of boy meets girl, but you should know upfront, this is not a love story.' Therein lies its genius. Real life friends Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel respectively play a young man named Tom in love with love and the enigmatic young woman, Summer, he falls in love with. It's unlikely any other film you've seen before - and let's not forget, it's got a class soundtrack.