This has been a great year for romantic comedies carried by their stars’ chemistry, with well-matched on-screen couples like Billy Eichner and Luke Macfarlane in Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
From Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore in 50 First Dates to Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton in Something’s Gotta Give to Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks in Zack and Miri Make a Porno, there were plenty of 2000s romcom couples with palpable chemistry.
Margaret Tate & Andrew Paxton (The Proposal)
Critics weren’t too kind to The Proposal, but it was a hit with audiences and even the most negative reviews agreed that Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds carried the movie with their impeccable on-screen chemistry.
Bullock plays Margaret Tate, the demanding editor-in-chief of a big-city publisher, while Reynolds plays Andrew Paxton, her assistant. Initially, Margaret just marries Andrew so she can keep her visa status and he can get a promotion, but of course, very real romantic feelings eventually prevail.
Henry Roth & Lucy Whitmore (50 First Dates)
Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore share such easy on-screen chemistry that they’ve worked together a handful of times across a few decades. One of their sweetest and most moving collaborations, 50 First Dates, has a unique premise for a romcom.
Barrymore plays Lucy Whitmore, who has short-term memory loss, and Sandler plays Henry Roth, a marine veterinarian who’s so smitten by her that he’s willing to reintroduce himself and woo her every single day.
Andy Stitzer & Trish Piedmont (The 40-Year-Old Virgin)
Judd Apatow’s feature directorial debut, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, is a much more heartfelt film than its crude high-concept premise would suggest. When middle-aged Andy Stitzer reveals that he’s never had sex, his co-workers just want to help him arrange a casual hook-up with no strings attached.
But when he meets Trish Piedmont, the owner of a confusing eBay store, he falls head over heels in love. Comedy superstar Steve Carell and indie darling Catherine Keener were perfectly matched for both the quirky nuances and the comic potential of this on-screen dynamic.
Amélie Poulain & Nino Quincampoix (Amélie)
It’s rare that a foreign-language movie catches on and becomes Amélie became an exception to this rule.
Audrey Tautou stars as the titular Amélie Poulain, whose selfless quest to help people find happiness ultimately leads her to find true love with Nino Quincampoix, played by Mathieu Kassovitz.
Elle Woods & Emmett Richmond (Legally Blonde)
At the beginning of Legally Blonde, Reese Witherspoon’s Elle Woods is dumped by her boyfriend simply because she’s blonde and he believes that makes her unintelligent. By the end of the movie, after she’s proven those stereotypes wrong by becoming a successful lawyer, he’s willing to take her back.
But by then, she’s fallen for a new suitor who actually appreciates her for who she is: fellow attorney Emmett Richmond, played by Luke Wilson at his deadpan best.
Zack Brown & Miriam Linky (Zack And Miri Make A Porno)
Kevin Smith’s underrated gem Zack and Miri Make a Porno adheres to the Apatow school of crude comedy as it uses a crass sex farce premise – two lifelong platonic friends in need of quick cash decide to shoot their own X-rated adult movie – to tell a surprisingly sweet love story as Zack and Miri confront their feelings for one another.
From Katherine Heigl to Charlize Theron, Seth Rogen has starred opposite many great actors in romantic comedies, but Elizabeth Banks – Miri to his Zack – perfectly matched his goofball charms.
David & Natalie (Love Actually)
There are many different love stories told in the sprawling interconnected plotting of Richard Curtis’ ensemble romcom epic Love Actually, but the romance that fans enjoy the most is between the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and his new secretary.
On paper, this romantic entanglement crosses a few professional boundaries, but Hugh Grant and Martine McCutcheon share enough chemistry to make David and Natalie’s dynamic work.
Peter Bretter & Rachel Jansen (Forgetting Sarah Marshall)
Jason Segel wrote and starred in the quintessential breakup movie, Forgetting Sarah Marshall. He plays Peter Bretter, a musician whose TV star girlfriend dumps him. When he goes to Hawaii to move on, he finds Sarah and her new beau, a famous rock star, staying at the same resort.
Peter ends up falling for the hotel receptionist, Rachel Jansen, played by the brilliant Mila Kunis. The movie makes some strong points about relationships by contrasting Rachel’s kindness and with Sarah’s self-absorption.
Bridget Jones & Mark Darcy (Bridget Jones’ Diary)
Throughout Bridget Jones’ Diary, the first chapter in the saga of Renée Zellweger’s shamelessly imperfect singleton, Bridget is caught in a love triangle with feelings for both her childhood friend Mark Darcy, played by Colin Firth, and her boss Daniel Cleaver, played by Hugh Grant.
Although Mark initially dismisses Bridget as “a verbally incontinent spinster who smokes like a chimney, drinks like a fish, and dresses like her mother,” he ultimately finds himself falling for her.
Harry Sanborn & Erica Barry (Something’s Gotta Give)
Nancy Meyers’ Something’s Gotta Give is the ultimate “odd couple” romcom. Jack Nicholson plays Harry Sanborn, a rich playboy in his 60s who only dates women under the age of 30, while Diane Keaton plays Erica Barry, a successful playwright in her 50s, and the mother of one of Harry’s dates. When a heart attack confines Harry to Erica’s beach house for a few days, they initially feel like they’re living their worst nightmare.
But, as they get to know each other better, they realize they have a lot in common and end up falling in love. Nicholson and Keaton are two of the greatest actors of all time, and they proved to be well-matched in the roles of Harry and Erica.
