By Emma Weidmann | Arts and Life Editor
As Valentine’s Day turns the corner, love is in the air. Let your search for the perfect movie for a night in stop with us at the Arts and Life desk. Here are our recommendations for the best romantic comedies.
Emma Weidmann | Arts and Life Editor
Without a doubt, “When Harry Met Sally” is the best romantic comedy of all time, dare I say one of the best movies ever made. OK, maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, but I love this movie more than anything. This is the story of two people who meet at college and hate each other. They meet again — and again — years later, always running into each other in the most unlikely of places. From the airport to the bookstore, from “just friends” to a night that changes everything, this movie is sharply cynical but warmly witty. It melts my heart every time.
I’ll shut up about this movie, but if you know me, you know I never really do.
My rom-com runner-up is “Set It Up,” a Netflix original. I have to hand it to Netflix; this is one of its best original movies. Glen Powell as a 20-something-year-old workaholic that’s obsessed with climbing the corporate ladder is the perfect foil to Zoey Deutch’s leading lady. Watch out Zooey Deschanel — there’s a new Zoey in Hollywood, and she’s quirky. Really quirky.
Avery Ballmann | Arts and Life Writer
Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo play the perfect couple in the awkward throwback rom-com, “13 Going on 30.” My favorite part of the movie is how Garner starts the movie at 13 years old and after a little sprinkling of birthday dust, she is magically 30 years old. Throughout the movie, she finds herself in being this new age, while also reconnecting with her childhood best friend (Ruffalo). I also enjoy the cute ’80s cameos that appear throughout the movie such as the music and the colorful outfits.
Anne Hathaway and Chris Pine fall in love in this amazing sequel to the original, “Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.” I love the arranged marriage trope because it’s so against Hathaway’s character and the modern woman. The two actually end up falling in love along the way, which is my favorite type of plot. If you watch this movie, you must watch the original “Princess Diaries,” because that movie, though missing a love interest, is just as entertaining.
Olivia Turner | Arts and Life Writer
February is a month of love, and if there’s one thing I love, it’s to laugh. When it comes to giving the giggles, no pair compares to Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock in “The Proposal,” a Valentine’s Day classic. Witness book editor Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) join her assistant Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds) for a trip to his home in Alaska. There’s a catch — she is unexpectedly and hilariously forced to pose as Paxton’s bride-to-be, but how make-believe will their love turn out to be?
Like I said, humor is a hook for me and that’s why I love “The Princess Bride” so much. Although this medieval rom-com is not your typical run-of-the-mill laugh, its quirky characters and hysterical circumstances will leave a lasting impression, along with the unbreakable romance between Buttercup (Robin Wright) and Wesley (Cary Elwes). I can hear the tune of Mark Knopfler’s “Storybook Love” playing in my head just thinking of this film.
