The formula for love has been put to the screen for decades. Today, it takes a special movie to blend romance and comedy seamlessly into an hour-and-a-half experience. If you are not looking to cry your eyes out to The Notebook this Valentine’s Day, try one of these hilarious and heartwarming romances (although no promises you won’t cry watching these either!)
27 dresses
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride is taken to an extreme level! The one outlier on this list with no fake relationship of any kind. The eternal bridesmaid becomes the target of the affection of James Marsden’s character, a wedding journalist and overall cynic of love. The lives of these two opposites begin to intertwine, and a genuine relationship forms amid laughter and tears. If you like Bennie and the Jets, this is the rom-com for you!
10 Things I Hate About You
This movie set a generation’s standards for the fake-dating trope. The handsome high school playboy, played by Heath Ledger, is dared to get a date with the intelligent, no-nonsense book lover, played by Julia Stiles. This fake-dating trope turns into a real romance with real consequences as the real and fake feelings blend together. You can’t consider yourself a romantic if you haven’t seen Ledger’s iconic dance scene to ask his girl on a date. You can’t be telling the truth if you don’t cry during Stiles’ ending poem: “But mostly I hate the way I don’t hate you, not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.”
The Proposal
Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock. That’s it.
Well, to be more specific, Bullock plays a strict editor with Reynolds as her assistant. When she forgets to renew her work visa, Bullock fakes a marriage with Reynolds to gain American citizenship. But this marriage includes visiting his entire family and learning that there is more to the other person than meets the eye. This movie is full of laughs from this fake marriage trope and definitely fulfills the romance criteria. And Betty White plays a grandma in this movie; is any more required?
While You Were Sleeping
Another Sandra Bullock movie and another fake relationship trope. These movies never pretended to be drastically different; it’s like picking a favorite ice cream flavor. Bullock’s character is secretly in love with a fellow train commuter, and she saves him from an accident one day that leaves him in a coma. Miscommunication occurs, and the nurse tells the family that she is his fiancé. Not wanting to expose her hidden feelings, Bullock goes along with this. As she spends more time with her “fiancé’s” brother, she begins to catch feelings for him and questions how she truly feels and if the truth would destroy what she’s grown to love. A little love triangle action here for the romance-seekers and some miscommunication for the comedy.
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
Rom-coms have a thing for the number 10, huh? This is another fake dating trope but with a slight twist. Matthew McConaughey bets his boss that he can make any woman fall in love with him in 10 days. His chosen target, played by Kate Hudson, secretly dates him with opposite motives: she wants to prove that you can chase a guy away in 10 days. Full disclosure, viewers may struggle through some very embarrassing moments. Still, the genuine connection and heartbreak that follows is worth it!
So take your pick of fake dating, fake marriage, or fake-fiancé trope, and enjoy a perfect blend of comedy and romance this Valentine’s Day!