If you ever ask me how I chose my major, I’d probably say I followed my love for reading and writing. However, there was another spark that made me want to pursue a career in journalism: I have watched a bunch of movies. More specifically, I am a romance film enthusiast, and I couldn’t help but get obsessed with the fact that a lot of rom-coms have journalists as their main characters.
Journalism has always been a big topic in movies in general. Hollywood made us feel like reporters were heroes, unmasking governmental scandals every week like we were in All the President’s Men (1976). But, especially during the ’90s and ’00s, the rom-com producers found out that their idealized cosmopolitan life of journalists was also the perfect background for a good love story.
After all, who wouldn’t want to be “thirty and flirty and thriving”, living in New York City and always running late to your fashion magazine job with a coffee in hand? I would, and so would the characters of the ten following movies I’m going to recommend.
Therefore, check out my selection of one of my all-time favorite ultra-specific sub-genres: the journalism rom-coms!
- How to lose a guy in ten days (2003)
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Starting with a classic romantic comedy, Andie Anderson (Kate Hudson) is an advice columnist who can teach other women “how to” do anything – even if she thinks her content is kind of shallow. For her next piece, she sets a bold goal: she’ll show everything you should do wrong to make a man leave your life in a week and a half. So, she has to find a guy to be her bait.
And that’s when Benjamin Barry (Matthew McConaughey) appears. He is a charming executive who is so sure of his romantic abilities that he bets with his friends that he can make any woman fall in love with him in ten days. These conflicting interests create a funny game of persistence.
- 13 going on 30 (2004)
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After making a wish during her frustrated 13th birthday party, Jenna Rink (Jennifer Garner) finds herself as a 30-year-old magazine editor in New York City. Trying to understand how her life ended up that way, she goes after her childhood friend Matt (Mark Ruffalo).
Her romantic and social situations aren’t the only things out of the tracks. Poise Magazine, where she works, is being sabotaged by a competitor, and, because of that, she must rebrand the publication.
- Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)
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In this modern adaptation of Pride & Prejudice, Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) is a chaotic 32-year-old woman who works at a publishing company and uses a diary to unburden all the things she wishes were better about her life: her appearance, her relationships, her job. Everything changes when she meets the snobbish lawyer Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), and her charming boss, Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant), starts hitting on her.
Throughout the Bridget Jones trilogy – followed by Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) and Bridget Jones’s Baby (2016) – we not only see Bridget going through her love life but also growing on her job. She becomes a TV reporter and, later, a producer. And good news: a fourth movie was just confirmed!
- Morning Glory (2010)
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Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams) is a hardworking news producer who gets fired from her job at Good Morning New Jersey. Even though her mother advised her to give up on her television aspirations, she started sending her resumée everywhere. And that’s when she finally gets a call from IBS News, who needs a producer to try to save their decadent morning show: Daybreak.
After firing one of the program’s co-hosts, she must convince the grumpy veteran journalist Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford) to present the show alongside the acidic Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton). All of that while also getting romantically involved with a fellow IBS producer, Adam Bennett (Patrick Wilson).
- 27 dresses (2008)
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Ever since she was a kid, Jane Nichols (Katherine Heigl) was obsessed with weddings. And that’s how, by her adult years, she has already been a bridesmaid 27 times. One night, while trying to attend two weddings simultaneously, she met Kevin Doyle (James Marsden), who she later finds out is a wedding journalist. They will eventually meet again as he will return to her the planner she left in the cab they shared.
Meanwhile, her sister is in town and quickly falls in love with Jane’s boss, on whom Jane has had a crush for a long while. The couple decides to get married, and Kevin is hired to cover their story. However, inspired by Jane – but without her consent -, he also starts to write a piece on “perennial bridesmaid”, trying to achieve more serious journalistic pursuits.
- Down with Love (2003)
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This has to be one of my favorite underrated rom-coms. Set in the 1960s, the feminist aspiring writer Barbara Novak (Renée Zellweger again) publishes a book that states that women should free themselves from love, have non-commitment relationships and replace their need for men by eating chocolate.
Seeing this, the womanizer journalist Catcher Block (Ewan McGregor) decides to prove she is not loyal to her own words by trying to make her fall in love with his alter ego Major Zip Martin. This rom-com works as a tribute to the “no-sex sex comedies” of the 1960s, having its aesthetic completely inspired by that. Also, it has a mind-blowing plot twist!
And a curiosity about it: during the closing credits, Barbara and Catcher have a musical number, which was last-minute added to the movie. The reason for that? Renée and Ewan’s last films before Down with Love were Chicago and Moulin Rouge!, respectively, and they decided they had to sing together.
- Groundhog Day (1993)
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Every year, in Punxsutawney, a small town in Pennsylvania, on February 2nd, Groundhog Day is celebrated. According to the traditions, a groundhog is supposed to leave its burrow on that date. If the animal emerges from its den and sees its shadow, returning inside, winter will last six more weeks. If the groundhog doesn’t see it, spring will arrive earlier. And that’s what the narcissistic television weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is set to cover.
After a monotonous day, he, his producer, Rita (Andie MacDowell), and his cameraman are forced to stay in town because of a blizzard. However, he wakes up in his hotel only to find out he’s living Groundhog Day over again. Stuck in this time loop, Phil will descend into madness by living life without consequences. From committing crimes to having one-night stands; from committing suicide in multiple ways to confessing his love for Rita.
- Roman Holiday (1953)
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One of the most iconic actresses of all time, Audrey Hepburn, in Roman Holiday, plays Ann, a princess of an unnamed nation. She is touring through some European capitals, but, due to a hard day in Rome, she gets a sedative from a doctor. After that, she decides to escape and explore the city by herself, only to fall asleep on a park bench.
Ann gets found by Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck), an American reporter, who takes her to his apartment for safety. He just later discovers that she is the missing princess, and decides to make some money by getting an exclusive interview with her. Then, he offers to show her around the city – and guess what? They fall in love!
- Set it up (2018)
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Harper (Zoey Deutch) and Charlie (Glen Powell – yes, he was doing rom-coms way before Anyone But You) are underpaid assistants to harsh bosses. She works for the owner of a sports journalism empire and has dreams of pursuing a career in journalism. He works for a high-strung venture capitalist, and has hopes of a promotion.
The two of them meet as they work in the same building, and, after complaining of their awful job situation, they come up with a plan: making their bosses fall in love so that they would stop overworking them. However, Harper and Charlie’s game of manipulation might have consequences on their own love lives as well…
- Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
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Trying to end his widower father’s loneliness, a young boy calls a radio station, on Christmas Eve, in order to get him a date. After getting emotional over what Sam (Tom Hanks) was going through, many women across the country started writing letters to him. Amongst them, Annie (Meg Ryan), a journalist from Baltimore, travels to Seattle to cover his story.
Before she left, she was engaged but felt like her relationship was missing something. After watching An Affair to Remember (1957), she gets inspired to send a letter to Sam inviting him to meet her in the Empire State Building on Valentine’s Day. His son is the one who finds the letter and believes she might be the right person for his dad.
- Bonus: Notting Hill (1999)
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Yes, I’m aware that the protagonists of Notting Hill are an actress and a bookstore owner. However, not only is it my favorite rom-com, but it has a perfect journalistic scene.
Anna (Julia Roberts) invites William (Hugh Grant) to meet her in her hotel. When he arrives there, the place is filled with reporters, who want to question her and her castmates about their latest movie. Desperate to talk to Anna, William pretends to be a journalist from Horse and Hound magazine – but is unfortunately told to interview her and the other actors as well.
So, I’m ending this article with a reminder for you to study before your next interview!
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The article above was edited by Beatriz Oliveira.
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