Rom-Com Movie Tournament: Round One! Vote for Which Romantic Comedy You Think Is the Best of All Time

By Kelsey Klemme Feb 01, 2020 2:00 PMTags
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All's fair in love and war!

Therefore, it's fitting that today we are kicking off our first-ever romantic comedy movie tournament.

As we're entering February, love is on our minds with Valentine's Day just a few weeks away, so of course we're loading up our Netflix queues with plenty of laugh-out-loud movies that also have us reaching for the tissues with their happily-ever-afters.

So, which is the best of all time? That is up to you to decide! 

We're bringing this to a vote to declare a winner, and the only way for a film to advance is to be in the top percentile each round until we see three films show down for the ultimate title.

We've narrowed the field down to our favorite 36 rom-coms and now it's time for you to sound off!

Check out the movies in contention below, which range from touching teen romances to classics we can recite every line of.

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This time around, the top 50% of selections, or 18 films, will advance to the next round, where you'll have to return once again to make sure your fave keeps making the cut.

So take a look below and be sure to share with your friends so your favorite movie couple ends up immortalized with the title of starring in the best rom-com of all time!

Crazy Rich Asians

Based on the popular book by the same name, Crazy Rich Asians follows Rachel Chu on her trip to Singapore to meet her boyfriend's family, only to find out that they are one of the richest families in the country.

As she is thrown into the spotlight, she must deal with trying to keep her sense of self while trying to fit in, and learning if this is even what she wants.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Imagine if your crush learned all your secret, deepest thoughts about them. Now, imagine if five of your crushes learned that!

In To All the Boys I've Loved Before, also based on a popular book, that's exactly what happens to Lara Jean after her younger sister mails out love letters Lara had written, but never mailed, to her crushes. Including one to her older sister's ex.

To avoid confronting him, Lara strikes up a fake relationship with Peter Kavinsky, another one of the letter recipients, but as their fake dating progresses, real feelings develop.

Knocked Up

This hilarious and star-studded rom-com played out what it would be like if two very different people ended up having a baby after a one-night stand.

Crazy, Stupid Love

Grab the tissues, because this heartwarming movie that interconnects so many love stories still hits us right in the feels.

After Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) learns his wife has cheated on him, he enlists playboy Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling) to help him become a hit with the ladies.

Meanwhile, Jacob's player tendencies are derailed when he meets Hannah (Emma Stone) and watching the two recreate the Dirty Dancing lift is still our favorite Stone/Gosling collaboration.

When Harry Met Sally

The quintessential romantic comedy starring Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal is still one of our favorite stories about two friends who end up falling for one another.

We'll have what she's having.

The Big Sick

Based on the real life love story of Emily V. Gordon and Kumail NanjianiThe Big Sick follow Kumail, a standup comedian who falls for Emily after meeting at one of his shows, even though he worries what his traditional Muslim family will think of her.

However, when Emily suddenly falls into a coma, Kumail finds himself getting closer with her parents and reconciling the relationship with his own as everyone waits to see if she'll pull through.

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

Advice columnist Andie and marketing executive Ben are each trying to impress their respective bosses. Andie is working on a piece on how you can drive a man away while Ben is trying to prove he can make any woman fall in love with him.

The two start dating one another, unaware of the other's ulterior motives, but things get complicated when real feelings start to develop.

But I'm a Cheerleader

In this satirical rom-com, Megan (Natasha Lyonne) is sent to a gay conversion camp after her religious parents are concerned that she may be a lesbian.

While at the camp, Megan initially tries to go with the program, but starts to come to terms with herself and her sexuality as she starts to fall in love with another female camper.

(500) Days of Summer

As the narrator says at the very beginning of this movie, this is not a love story.

But it's still a sweet, funny and heartbreaking portrayal of what it looks like to fall for someone that isn't your person and what you can learn along the way.

It's Complicated

After Jake (Alec Baldwin) walks out on Jane (Meryl Streep) with another woman, she swears him off as just a friend.

However, when she strikes up an affair with her now-remarried ex-husband, things get complicated for their family as well as with Adam (Steve Martin), whose also falling for Jane.

Hitch

Hitch (Will Smith) is a successful dating coach whose got his toughest client yet (Kevin James) on his hands.

While Hitch tries to teach his bumbling protégé, he starts to fall for another woman named Sara (Eva Mendes) but is thrown off his game when his usual charms don't seem to work on her.

Someone Great

In some ways, this film is the anti-romantic comedy as it kicks off with a breakup between Jenny, a journalist, and her boyfriend after she gets a job to move to San Francisco.

However, the movie is still full of funny moments and romantic flashbacks as we watch Jenny and her two best friends navigate one last crazy night in New York City before she leaves.

Love, Simon

Simon (Nick Robinson) is a closeted gay teen with a growing crush on his unknown pen pal.

However, when a classmate finds out about Simon's sexuality and love letters, he threatens to out him unless he is able to successfully set him up with Simon's friend, Abby.

Simon is confronted with having to lie to his friends to keep his secret, and as the movie unfolds he learns about the value of having true friendships and the boldness to accept himself to find love.

Sleepless in Seattle

After Sam's son Jonah calls into a radio program wanting a new wife for his dad, hundreds of women fall for the architect, including engaged Annie Reed. 

Annie writers to Sam to meet her on the observation deck of the Empire State Building on Valentine's Day, and the rest is a happily ever after.

You've Got Mail

Local bookstore owner Kathleen Kelly is at odds with corporate book chain owner Joe Fox, making them sworn enemies.

However, to neither of their knowledge, they have been writing to one another via an anonymous Internet romance, and when the moment of realization hits in this movie, the tears flow.

Just Friends

Chris Brander has finally made it as a bigtime successful music manager after being tortured by his high school classmates. So, he's horrified when his flight diverts back to his hometown over the holidays.

While there, he runs into his childhood best friend and forever crush Jamie, and all the reinventing he has done on himself flies right out the window as he tries to win her over.

Along Came Polly

This neurotic love story centers on Reuben (Ben Stiller), a risk analyst, as he pushes himself to try new things when he starts dating Polly (Jennifer Aniston), who is far more spontaneous that he's ever been.

However, when Polly discovers that Reuben has picked her over his ex in part because of a risk assessment formula, she takes off and Rebuen has to put himself out there to get her back.

Pretty Woman

Big mistake, huge!

You know this classic by now, where Vivian, a sex worker, and her client, Edward, start to fall for one another after spending time together in LA.

But despite our many re-watches, we still never fail to laugh and cry at one of the most defining movies in the genre.

The Wedding Singer

When a down-on-his-luck wedding singer (Adam Sandler) falls for Julia, there's just one problem: she's set to get married.

He must work against the clock to get her to fall for him before she walks down the aisle.

The Holiday

Quick, book an Airbnb!

At least, that's what you'll want to do after watching the home-swapping romance The Holiday, where two women switch places for the holidays to get away from their respective situations only to find themselves in flirty, fun new ones.

Always Be My Maybe

Childhood best friends Sasha and Marcus reconnect when Sasha, a celebrity chef, is back home to launch her latest restaurant.

This laugh-out-loud funny movie features hilarious co-stars (and a huge surprise cameo) while also exploring the realistic struggles when one partner does not want to settle on their ambitions.

Sweet Home Alabama

You can't ride two horses with one ass!

In this Southern-charmed romcom, fashion designer Melanie (Reese Witherspoon) heads back to Alabama to get her estranged husband to finally sign their divorce papers so she can be free to marry her new fiancé.

However, the longer she is back home with her roots, the more she questions which life path is truly right for her.

Set It Up

Work can be cutthroat, especially if your boss only cares about their job.

That's why Harper and Charlie, two assistants, decide to utilize all the deep information they know about their superiors to set them up in a relationship that will free up their own personal time.

Along the way, though, Harper starts to wonder if what they are doing is right and Charlie starts to question his own unfulfilling romantic relationship as his friendship with Harper blossoms.

Trainwreck

Amy (Amy Schumer) is a magazine writer sworn to non-monogamy from years of her father instilling in her that relationships cannot work.

However, as she profiles a charming sports doctor (Bill Hader), Amy starts to fall in love and consider if she should grow up or continue her partying ways.

The Best Man

Chaos ensues after Harper (Taye Diggs) releases a bestselling novel that is loosely based on his friend's lives, forcing them to face truths they've been hiding from one another.

She's All That

After hotshot Zach is dumped by his girlfriend for a reality TV star, he takes on a challenge to make the school's nerdiest outcast into a popular girl.

Of course, things get complicated as he develops feelings for her, and also when his secret is revealed.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

After getting unceremoniously dumped by superstar Sarah Marshall (Kirsten Bell), Peter (Jason Segel) goes to Hawaii to unwind, only to run into his recent ex with her newest boyfriend.

He befriends the hotel clerk (Mila Kunis) to help take his mind off of sharing the same resort with his former love, and in the process of getting past his ex starts to open up to a new love while improving himself.

Never Been Kissed

Josie Geller (Drew Barrymore) is sent undercover to her old high school to research teen culture, but hits a snag in her plan when she's triggered by her own bad memories from her time at school as well as when her brother infiltrates the cool kids clique.

Meanwhile, Josie also faces a moral dilemma when she falls hard for her English teacher.

13 Going on 30

All 13-year-old Jenna Rink wants to be is thirty and flirty and thriving, and she gets that wish thanks to a little magic dust.

Now a successful magazine editor in New York, Jenna starts to wonder if this is really the life she wanted after reconnecting with Matty, her childhood best friend who has always been in love with her.

27 Dresses

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride!

Katherine Heigl, one of the mid-2000s rom-com queens, stars in this film as Jane, a woman whose been in 27 weddings as a bridesmaid and is now staring down another one when her sister gets engaged to the man of Jane's dreams.

Meanwhile, Jane grows closer with Kevin, whose secretly a reporter working an angle about her frequent bridesmaid status. 

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Poll

Rom-Com Movie Tournament: Round 1

Vote for your favorite rom-com movie to get it to the next round!
But I'm a Cheerleader
0.2%
(500) Days of Summer
1.4%
Knocked Up
0.4%
It's Complicated
0.8%
Hitch
1.1%
Someone Great
0.1%
The Big Sick
0.6%
Love, Simon
1.1%
Crazy, Stupid Love
6.1%
Sleepless in Seattle
5.2%
You've Got Mail
5.7%
Just Friends
0.7%
Along Came Polly
0.2%
Pretty Woman
10.4%
The Wedding Singer
2.8%
The Holiday
5%
Always Be My Maybe
0.5%
Sweet Home Alabama
9.3%
Set It Up
0.3%
Trainwreck
0.1%
The Best Man
0.7%
She's All That
0.9%
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
1.1%
Never Been Kissed
2.3%
13 Going on 30
2.4%
27 Dresses
1.1%
Bridget Jones' Diary
3.6%
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
2.5%
The Proposal
5.5%
There's Something About Mary
0.9%
10 Things I Hate About You
6.6%
Four Weddings and a Funeral
1.6%
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
5.3%
To All the Boys I've Loved Before
2.1%
Crazy Rich Asians
2.3%
When Harry Met Sally
8.9%
Voting For This Poll Has Closed!
Watch E!'s original movie Why Can't My Life Be a Rom-Com? Sunday, Feb. 19, at 9 p.m.