For decades, romantic comedies have been considered by the film-going masses to be little more than ‘chick flicks,’ designated as lighter fare that falls more into the guilty-pleasure viewing category than, say, Scorsese’s latest film. However, with the modern era of 24-hour news cycles and social media addiction, there’s nothing like watching two people fall in love to briefly quell the existential angst. These movies allow you to get lost in the moment-by-moment nuances of courtship, and supply you with a hefty dose of witty banter, unlike a plot-heavy piece of Oscar bait.
Despite a lack of rom-coms starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan these days, the genre is experiencing a resurgence, with new movies coming out all the time and old classics finding new audiences. Streaming services are popping out original content faster than it can be consumed, with hidden gems on every platform imaginable. On Netflix alone, there are enough titles to keep you in the world of meet-cutes and quirky dates until you run out of popcorn.
Updated December 21st, 2022: If you are a fan of romantic comedies, you are in luck as this article has been recently updated to reflect titles currently on Netflix.
Viewers often slight themselves sticking to films set in specific genres, when Netflix hosts so many movies that bend genre stereotypes. Rom-coms, although often characterized in their own genre, can cross the lines from period pieces to horror. Luckily, we’ve curated a diversified list of the best rom-coms on Netflix for fans of across the board.
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15 No Strings Attached
Paramount Pictures
No Strings Attached was released in 2011, which seemed to prove a popular year for movies featuring a friends-with-benefits scenario. Six months after the film’s release, Friends With Benefits hit the theaters and was almost the exact same movie with a different cast. The funny thing about the dual release of these two rom-coms was that Ashton Kutcher starred in No Strings Attached, and Mila Kunis, his now wife, was in Friends with Benefits. Both films are delightfully funny, but No Strings Attached holds the charm and playfulness that only can be delivered by Kutcher himself.
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14 Nappily Ever After
Netflix
In Nappily Ever After, Violet (Sanaa Lathan) is plagued by deep-seated insecurities about her natural hair. The insecurities stem from her mother’s criticism of her as a child and her insistence on straightening her hair before she went out in public. As a grown woman, Violet’s diffidence begins to affect her love life negatively. After a challenging break-up, Violet must learn to accept and love herself, and, in turn, she finds love again. According to Sheila O’Malley of Roger Ebert’s website, Lathan’s performance in Nappily Ever After is “fearless.”
13 Holidate
The premise of two people pretending to be a couple, only to end up falling in love in the end, predates the existence of filmmaking itself. Spoiler alert: Holidate is one of those fake-couple-becomes-real-couple movies. Of course, we don’t watch romantic comedies to wonder if the leads will get together in the end — it’s all about seeing the process of how it happens. In this case, Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey play the main characters who fall in love while pretending to be a couple for the sole purpose of being able to bring someone home for the holidays.
12 How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
Paramount Pictures
Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey are delightfully devious in the fan-favorite flick How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, which tells the hilarious story of a hot-shot ad executive who takes on a crucial career bet to make a woman fall in love with him in 10 days, completely unaware that his target is secretly writing an article on how to get a boyfriend to dump them.
Despite the mounting chaos and intentional hijinks that arises for the mismatched couple, genuine feelings and romance develop that lead to major complications for their respective quests. The sizzling chemistry between Hudson and McConaughey helped make the film a box office success, leading to the talented duo to reunite in 2008’s Fool’s Gold.
11 Set it Up
Indie darling Zoey Deutch is infinitely charming opposite Glen Powell in the clever romantic comedy Set it Up. The movie achieves a unique self-awareness as Deutch and Powell’s characters work together to set up their overbearing bosses, orchestrating meet-cutes and spying on them relentlessly in the hopes of creating a relationship that will get their employers off their backs once and for all. Of course, in the process of scheming to create love where there is none, their organic feelings for one another develop. It might seem formulaic, but the payoff is decidedly worth the watch.
10 To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
The second teen romance story on this list, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before explores a novel premise: what if our crushes knew exactly what we thought of them, down to every last embarrassing detail? In the film, high schooler Lara Jean (Lana Condor) accidentally ends up with a stack of love letters sent out to every boy she’s ever liked.
Of course, chaos ensues, but it also manages to resolve brilliantly in a heartwarming way without veering into the overly corny territory. If you can’t get enough after the first installment of To All The Boys, there are two sequels on Netflix as well: To All The Boys: PS I Still Love You and To All The Boys: Always and Forever.
9 Someone Great
Someone Great is a very modern telling of a very sad love story that sprinkles in comedy thanks to the highly animated cast. Jenny (played by Gina Rodriguez) gets dumped by her long-time boyfriend Nate (played by LaKeith Stanfield). Shortly after, she spirals into a deep depression and makes the decision to move to San Francisco. Before her big move, Jenny and her two closest girlfriends take on New York City for one last hoorah. The film concludes with a confrontation between Nate and Jenny, and closure is surely delivered.
8 The Duff
Lionsgate / CBS
The Duff is arguably one of the best teen rom-coms of the 2010s. After Bianca (played by Mae Whitman) learns that she has been designated her high school’s “Duff,” she enlists the help of popular jock Wesley (played by Robbie Amell) to help coach her on changing her image in exchange for tutoring him so that he can graduate. Bianca succeeds in gaining the attention of her crush Toby (played by Nick Eversman), but soon realizes that she is actually falling for Wesley. In true teen rom-com fashion, the two reconcile at prom, and in the end Bianca gets the guy.
7 She’s Gotta Have It
40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks
The romantic comedy genre is one with a notable lack of diversity, which many great filmmakers today are working hard to rectify. So, if you’re on Netflix hunting for some silver-screen representation, or simply want to watch a great 80s movie, then look no further than the Spike Lee joint She’s Gotta Have It. So before its time in premise, the movie about a woman exploring the New York City dating pool by dating three guys who have nothing in common has recently been adapted into a television series, also available to watch on Netflix.
6 Crazy Stupid Love
Warner Bros.
Crazy Stupid Love not only features a stacked cast, but delivers a plot that is both hilarious and heartfelt. Cal Weaver (played by Steve Carell) finds out that his wife (played by Julianne Moore) had an affair with a co-worker, resulting in a separation between the two. He meets Jacob (played by Ryan Gosling) at a popular bar, where Jacob offers to help Cal reinvent himself. In the midst of all the madness, Jacob unknowingly finds himself falling for Cal’s oldest daughter Hannah (played by Emma Stone). The family finds itself intertwined in a messy situation on multiple ends.
5 When Harry Met Sally…
Columbia Pictures
Undeniably one of the most iconic rom-coms of all time, When Harry Met Sally… stars Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal as the titular characters whose enduring friendship remains uncomplicated due to an intentional lack of romance between them, with the pair exploring the age-old question, “Can men and women ever just be friends?” Ryan and Crystal are sensational in the charming Rob Reiner picture, and the comedy famously features a memorable sidesplitting scene in which Sally fakes female pleasure in a diner full of people, resulting in the forever quotable line “I’ll have what she’s having.”
4 Always Be My Maybe
Another boundary-pushing romantic comedy is the Netflix original Always Be My Maybe, which was co-written by and co-stars comedian Ali Wong, who is no stranger to breaking ground, best known for performing her stand-up special Baby Cobra while she was very pregnant.
Taking place in San Francisco, the story unfolds when Wong’s character reconnects with her childhood neighbor (Randall Park) when returning home after becoming a successful New York City restaurateur. Only in the Bay Area to open up her latest fine-dining outpost, things get complicated when old feelings are dredged up.
3 The Lucky One
The Lucky One is one of the many Nicholas Sparks adaptations to have emerged in the 2010s. Zac Efron plays Logan Thibault, a US Marine who finds a photo of an unknown woman while on tour, and credits her as his guardian angel. Upon his return, he searches for the woman so that he can thank her for being his good luck charm while away, but can’t seem to find the right words to explain his feelings. Beth Clayton (played by Taylor Schilling) is the woman from the photograph, and, in true Sparks fashion, they find themselves uncontrollably falling in love.
2 Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between
Netlix
Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between tells the story of two high school sweethearts who promise to break up before college. On their last night of high school, the two plan to share one last night of dates, but Aidan (played by Jordan Fisher) hopes to change his girlfriend’s mind. Clare (played by Talia Ryder) is adamant about the breakup remaining permanent, and despite Aidan’s attempts, the two part ways after a fight. The ending shows the two meeting again while Clare is on summer break, suggesting that another Hello, Goodbye movie is in the works.
1 The Kissing Booth
The Kissing Booth is a Netflix original movie that showcases three films starring Joey King, Jacob Elordi, and Joel Courtney. King plays Elle, a high school girl who has had a crush on her best friend Lee’s (Joel Courtney) brother since childhood. When she signs up to run the school’s kissing booth at the spring carnival, Elle is pushed face to face with her crush Noah, and the two have to work together. The three-film series shows the ups and downs of the couple’s relationship from start to finish, and leaves the ending up for interpretation.
