The
Sport of Courtship

Comedies are always hard to rate because what one thinks of as comedy is really a personal choice.  Romantic Comedies seem even harder to pull off and we had to dig deep to find really good movies.  Most Romantic Comedies are average and fade into oblivion once released.  These have stood the test of time.

Romantic Comedies give all of us a chance to laugh at the silly things we do in the name of love!

Boy did we duke it out at Couples Company about this one.  Half the staff said, "Something About Mary isn't a romantic comedy!" The other half insisted it is. Once we dissected the script we confirmed this movie is in fact a classic romantic comedy storyline and our top pick. So what if it wasn't marketed as such. This is the one and only movie we know of that can make you cry because you are laughing so hard!  It’s the best cure for a tough day and if it doesn’t make you laugh, check your pulse.  Are you sure you are alive?

Set in 1985 and 1998, (Ted) Matt Damon is delightfully slimy as the voyeuristic private detective sent by the hopelessly bumbling (Ted) Ben Stiller to track down his high school sweetheart played by (Mary) Cameron Diaz. Lin Shaye (Magda) and Jenson W. Earl Brown (Warren) turn in great supporting performances.  This movie is full of surprises and leaves you guessing to the very end, what will happen next?!?

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If you’ve ever believed in Fairy Tales, Pretty Woman is your kind of movie.  Vivian (Julia Roberts) is a Hollywood hooker, normally the last stop on society's track who happens to run into Edward Lewis (Richard Gere), an industrial tycoon/corporate raider.  At first, he tries to keep it all business.  Stating all he needs is a date for the week and no romantic entanglements.  But within days he falls for the vivacious and slightly unconventional Vivian.  Both characters go through dramatic personal changes and the fairy tale ending is one of the reasons, Pretty makes the top 5 list of the Best Romantic Comedies. TOP

This is a movie for anyone who has fallen in love and lost him or her and would really like a second chance.  Katherine Hepburn plays Tracy, a member of Philadelphia society about to marry another man.  On the eve of her wedding, ex-husband Dexter (Cary Grant) shows up and completely messes with her resolve.  Two photographers are present to record the next day’s events, only one, played by James Stewart falls in love with the beautiful Tracy.  Twelve hours before her wedding, Tracy now has 3 men vying for her attention.  She does marry one in the end, but not whom you think.  Considered one of the top screwball comedies, Philadelphia story captures the pre WWII innocence and imparts several ominous lines, one specifically relating to holocaust, six years before this fact comes to light. TOP

Winner of the Academy Award® for Best Picture 1977, Annie Hall is one of Woody Allen’s masterpieces covering the romantic ups and downs of a Jewish writer (Woody Allen) and a Protestant singer (Diane Keaton), circa 1970’s.   Playing upon the opposites attract and then make good comedy trying to figure out how to make the relationship work, Annie Hall delivers in both entertainment and laughs.  And winning the Best Picture award was no small feat...Star Wars was its main competition. TOP

What does a married man do when his wife leaves for the summer and Marilyn Monroe moves in above him?  This is the movie with the white dress flying up that left an indelible memory on the minds of men for decades to come.  From “Undies in the ice box” to a number of coquettish lines of innuendo, The Seven-Year Itch is the epitome of why Marilyn Monroe became the sex symbol of a dozen generations. TOP

 If you love classic screwball comedies mixed with a little romance and a lot of dreaming, don’t miss this original version of My Man Godfrey.  It’s the story of an heiress (Carol Lombard) who finds a bum at a dump (William Powell) and transforms him into a butler and a respectable person.  Unbeknownst to her, he’s actually a millionaire who is soured on love and decided to drop out of society.  She has designs on marrying him, much to her parent’s dismay.  He has ulterior motives, wanting to teach the filthy rich a few much-needed lessons in humility.  Released in the waning days of the great depression, this film takes you back to a simpler time when issues, like the film were generally black and white.   TOP

This is our only animated film and we are extremely delighted to include Shrek in our list of Top Romantic Comedies for two reasons.  We really like the main message of the movie: “It’s not what is on the outside that counts but the heart that makes a person beautiful”.  We also are really happy to see DreamWorks SKG hitting its stride; call it payback for all of the naysayers in the late nineties.  During this time Hollywood elite were brutal toward this new studio.  This hilarious romantic comedy mixes together all of the genius that define DreamWorks dream team and founders Spielberg, Katzenberg and Geffen.  You’ll love it and your older kids will love it!  The humor is witty and the story is inspiring. TOP