These are the rom-coms that defined cinema. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the quintessential rom-coms that are peak cinema.
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00:00 "I only waited to say goodbye."
00:02 "Goodbye? We've only just met."
00:06 Welcome to Miss Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the quintessential
00:09 rom-coms that are peak cinema.
00:11 "I'll have what she's having."
00:14 10. Pretty Woman
00:17 Julia Roberts and Richard Gere were a match made in romantic comedy heaven in 1990's
00:23 Pretty Woman.
00:24 "Had to be the top four, right?"
00:27 "It's the best!"
00:28 "Alright, I'm coming up!"
00:30 Originally written as a dark drama, the film was given a comedic makeover.
00:34 The story centers on the characters of Vivian Ward, a Los Angeles sex worker,
00:39 and Edward Lewis, a prominent businessman.
00:42 "What do you want?"
00:44 "What do you do?"
00:46 "Everything. But I don't kiss on the mouth."
00:50 Things progress when he hires her to pretend to be his girlfriend for a week
00:54 as he tries to close an important deal.
00:57 Pretty Woman is one of the highest-grossing rom-coms in history, earning Roberts an Oscar
01:01 nomination for Best Actress and propelling her from rising star to leading lady.
01:06 "So what happened after he climbed up the tower and rescued her?"
01:11 "She rescues him right back."
01:14 9. Harold and Maud
01:16 "Oh, Harold. You make me feel like a schoolgirl."
01:23 Dark, quirky, and ever-so-morbid, 1971's Harold and Maud is one of the most unique romantic comedies ever made.
01:31 Directed by Hal Ashby, the film focuses on Harold, a young man whose fixation with death
01:37 creates tension between himself and his mother.
01:40 "It is time you settle down and stop flitting away your talents on these little amateur theatrics."
01:45 Eventually he meets Maud, a 79-year-old woman whose personality and perspective captivate Harold,
01:51 and soon the two begin a May-December romance.
01:54 What makes Harold and Maud such a special rom-com is its darkness.
01:59 "I couldn't imagine a lovelier farewell."
02:03 "Farewell?"
02:07 It broke the rules of the formula thanks to its subject matter and audible coupling,
02:12 proving that love isn't always rainbows and sunshine.
02:16 8. Amelie
02:18 "Excuse me."
02:21 "Is that you?"
02:24 A feast for the eyes and the heart, Amelie is a whimsical story that blew away moviegoers in the early 2000s.
02:33 Audrey Tartu plays a Parisian waitress who thrives on helping others while avoiding her own loneliness.
02:39 "On August 31st, at 4am, a bright idea strikes Amelie.
02:45 Wherever she is, she will find the owner of the souvenir box and give him back his treasure."
02:50 Eventually, an interaction with a man named Nino forces her to confront the joys of falling in love.
02:56 A critical success, the film went on to become the highest-grossing film in France in 2001,
03:02 and earned a slew of Academy Award nominations, including Best Original Screenplay and Best Foreign Language Film.
03:09 "She's in love."
03:11 "I don't even know her."
03:13 "Yes, you do."
03:15 "Since when?"
03:17 "Since forever. In your dreams."
03:20 The rom-com can be often overlooked due to its light nature,
03:23 but Amelie pushes past that assumption, thanks to its artful and cerebral storytelling.
03:29 7. Love & Basketball
03:32 Who knew basketball could be oh so romantic?
03:35 "Let's see what you got."
03:37 "Hello, bitch."
03:39 "Hi, bitch."
03:41 Set in California, Love & Basketball follows the friendship and courtship of Monica and Quincy,
03:48 two childhood friends whose relationship turns romantic
03:52 as they both attempt to pursue careers in basketball over a number of years.
03:56 Starring Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps, this film was released in the early 2000s,
04:02 and remains one of the best depictions of love on film during that decade.
04:06 "It's not fun for me anymore because you're missing.
04:09 What I'm trying to say is...
04:12 I've loved you since I was 11."
04:17 Writer and director Gina Prince-Bythewood stated that she set out to make a black When Harry Met Sally.
04:24 At the centre of the film are characters who are often underrepresented on the big screen,
04:29 and Love & Basketball provides a long overdue space for them in this cinematic slam dunk.
04:35 [Music]
04:44 Number 6. His Girl Friday
04:46 Based on the 1920s stage play The Front Page, His Girl Friday is a smart, quip-filled rom-com.
04:53 "Well, would you mind if I sat down?"
04:55 "There's been a lamp burning in the window for you, honey, here."
04:58 "Oh, I jumped out that window a long time ago, Oliver."
05:01 Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell play ex-spouses,
05:05 editor Walter Burns and star reporter Hildegard "Hildy" Johnson,
05:10 who both work for the same newspaper.
05:12 In order to foil Hildy's engagement, Burns sets up one last story for them to cover.
05:18 "Walter, Walter, listen. I've got the whole story on how Williams got that gun escaped, and I got it exclusive."
05:24 "Yeah, yeah, that's right, and it's a pip."
05:26 In addition to its fun premise, Friday was a game-changer when it came to dialogue.
05:31 Not only are the lines razor-sharp and witty,
05:34 but the characters' dialogue overlaps one another, creating a natural, realistic feeling.
05:39 "Who are you?" "What are you doing?" "Who is she?" "This is Mr. Baldwin, Bruce's mother."
05:42 "What are you doing?" "Shut up!" "I won't shut up! You're doing something wrong!"
05:45 "Mother, please!" "Take her out of here!" "Now, wait a minute, Walter!"
05:47 Over 80 years after its release, Friday is still hot off the presses.
05:53 Number 5. City Lights
05:55 One of the earliest romantic comedies, City Lights is regarded as one of Charlie Chaplin's greatest films.
06:01 Chaplin's beloved Little Tramp character falls head over heels for a blind flower girl who believes that he is rich.
06:17 From there, the Little Tramp encounters many mishaps as he tries to scrape together the funds to help his new crush with medical treatment.
06:24 "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."
06:27 The film was created after the birth of sound in the motion picture industry,
06:39 but Chaplin was firm on making it a silent film.
06:42 City Lights remains a time capsule of a bygone era where silence spoke volumes.
06:48 Number 4. Roman Holiday
06:50 When Roman Holiday was released in 1953, Audrey Hepburn only had a handful of credits to her name.
06:56 Playing opposite screen veteran Gregory Peck, this was Hepburn's first starring role, which would eventually earn her an Academy Award.
07:04 "I was looking at all the people out here. It must be fun to live in a place like this."
07:09 "Yeah, it is, there's moments."
07:11 In the Italian-set flick, she plays a princess who earns the chance to briefly leave behind her royal duties
07:17 and venture around Rome with a reporter, played by Peck.
07:20 They soon fall in love, but things end on a bittersweet note.
07:24 "I will cherish my visit here in memory as long as I live."
07:31 What makes Holiday so special is that it introduced audiences to a screen icon
07:38 and launched the career of one of the industry's most recognizable and celebrated figures.
07:43 Blessed with beautiful cinematography and beautiful costumes, Roman Holiday is one adventure we never want to end.
07:50 "And then at midnight I'll turn into a pumpkin and drive away in my glass slipper."
07:55 "And that'll be the end of the fairy tale."
07:58 Number 3. The Philadelphia Story
08:00 Forget love triangles, this one's a love square.
08:03 "Sometimes for your own sake, Red, I think you should have stuck to me longer."
08:06 "I thought it was for life, but the nice judge gave me a full pardon."
08:09 In The Philadelphia Story, Katherine Hepburn plays Tracy Lord,
08:14 a woman caught between the affections of her ex-husband, her very rich and new fiancé, and a journalist.
08:21 The three men are played by Cary Grant, John Howard, and James Stewart, and the flick won Stewart an Oscar.
08:27 "I do hope you'll stay for my wedding."
08:29 "We'd like to very much."
08:30 "Well, that was our idea."
08:31 "I'm so glad that it occurred to you. The house is in rather a mess, of course."
08:35 A critically and publicly acclaimed classic, audiences lined up in bad weather to see the film at Radio City Music Hall,
08:42 creating queues longer than the venue had ever seen at the time.
08:46 Released in December of 1940, The Philadelphia Story brought some humour and lightness to American audiences during a dark time in the world.
08:55 "Awash with champagne was Will Q. Tracy's pleasure dome on the nuptial eve of Tracy Samantha."
09:03 "Tracy, whee!"
09:05 Number 2. It Happened One Night
09:07 Starring Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable, It Happened One Night is pure rom-com joy.
09:14 "I wish you'd stop being playful."
09:16 "Oh, so sorry, sorry."
09:18 Shot in black and white, the 1934 flick is about an heiress and a reporter who fall for each other after being thrown together while on a road trip.
09:26 Not only did Night become an Academy Award winner for Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Picture,
09:32 it also came out during a historically significant time in Hollywood.
09:36 The film was one of the last pictures released in the "pre-code" era, which saw the stringent censorship of American-made films.
09:43 "What are you gonna do?"
09:45 "It's a system, all my own."
09:47 The flick marks a turning point in the industry, which saw creativity and freedom of artistic expression stifled.
10:01 Thankfully, this romantic screwball comedy happened just in the nick of time.
10:06 "You know, you weren't bad jumping in like that. You've got a brain, haven't you?"
10:15 Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
10:19 There's Something About Mary
10:21 There's something we simply can't resist about this 90s rom-com gem.
10:25 "You know, maybe you should just like move down here and marry me."
10:28 "Hahahahaha."
10:31 Four Weddings and a Funeral
10:33 This super romance tugs on your heartstrings.
10:37 "I really feel, um, in short, to recap in a slightly clearer version, in the words of David Cassidy in fact,
10:46 while he was still with the Partridge family, I think I love you."
10:50 But I'm a cheerleader.
10:52 5, 6, 7, 8. Who do we appreciate? This satirical rom-com.
10:57 "1, 2, 3, 4, you're the one that I adore. 5, 6, 7, 8, don't run from me 'cause this is fake."
11:07 Broadcast News
11:09 Breaking news, this romantic comedy is a must-watch.
11:13 "In the middle of all of this, I started to think about the one thing that makes me feel really good and makes immediate sense, and it's you."
11:21 "Oh, Bubba."
11:24 Brown Sugar
11:25 Nothing is sweeter than this early 2000s pic.
11:28 "Dre, I've been in love with you from the first day I saw you."
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11:54 1. When Harry Met Sally
11:56 "Well, I guess we're not gonna be friends then."
11:58 "Guess not."
11:59 "That's too bad. You were the only person that I knew in New York."
12:04 When Harry Met Sally has all the ingredients of the perfect romantic comedy.
12:08 Two lovable comedic actors, a "will they or won't they" plot, and equal parts laughter and heart.
12:14 "Watch that fringe and see how it flutters. When I drive them high-stepping strutters, nosy folks will peek through the shutters and their eyes."
12:23 "Well, pop!"
12:24 Set against the backdrop of New York City, Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal play enemies turned best friends,
12:30 who test the limits and dynamics of female and male friendships.
12:34 The film defined the rom-com and made its screenwriter, the queen of rom-coms, Nora Ephron, a household name.
12:42 "It's an ape, a going ape."
12:44 "It's a baby!"
12:45 "Planet of the Apes!"
12:47 "Planet of the Apes? You just said it's a baby. How about Planet of the Dopes?"
12:49 "It doesn't look like a baby."
12:50 Over 30 years later, it's still setting the standard for every rom-com that has come after it.
12:57 Which rom-com defined cinema for you? Be sure to let us know in the comments.
13:02 "This is just like in the movies, remember? The lady vanishes when she says to him, 'You're the most obnoxious man I've ever met.'
13:06 "The most contemptible."
13:07 "Then they fall madly in love."
13:09 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from MsMojo.
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13:17 [Music]