My 11 Favorite Romantic Comedies

110) Clueless

Starring: Alicia Silverstone, 1995

I think “Clueless” is a movie that adults miss out on because they write it off as stupid teenage flak. And to a point, it is. But “Clueless” is a revolutionary film, and manages to be smart, quick, sharp, and slick in its stupidity. Plus, with the recent exception of a certain schmalzy vampire film, very few movies in recent history have defined a generation as much as this little movie about a shallow, ditzy teenager. Alicia Silverstone, who plays Cher, a rich Beverly Hills teenager, who is completely clueless in that she has no idea how clueless she is. Cher’s outrageous clothes and trendy language set the pace for the 90s, while managing to be edgy, witty, and downright hilarious.

9) Sabrina

Starring: Audrey Hepburn, William Holden, Humphrey Bogart, 1954

Audrey Hepburn’s class, refinement, and low key attitude allowed her to create sympathetic, understandable characters, and, while most of her fans gravitate toward Holly Golightly, I have always preferred another of her films: Sabrina. “Sabrina” is the tale of a lowly chauffer’s daughter who falls in infatuate love with the young playboy son of a millionaire, and then realizes that while he may not be what she thought, his older brother might be. While this doesn’t sound like a very unique plotline, it was fairly original at the time, and the all-star cast executes it perfectly. It’s a fun, sweet, beautiful piece that set the pace for romantic comedies of today, while showcasing the excellent performances of a great cast.

) Splash

Starring: Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah, Eugene Levy, John Candy

I am a sucker for a mermaid movie. An absolute sucker. I remember seeing this film for the first time as a child, visiting a family friend in their home. The movie was on TV and the family just let it play during the visit. I got so wrapped up in the story of the mermaid, Madison, and her human love, played by the wonderful Tom Hanks, that when that awful scientist turned her back into a mermaid and started doing scientific tests on her, I cried right there in the living room. And I loved the ending, with Tom Hanks swimming away with her, because that’s how I always thought “The Little Mermaid” should have ended. Why would Ariel want to leave the sea? It’s so much more exciting and colorful down there. Splash remainds one of my favorite movies, and, for the record, I still cry when they take her away. J

7) Knocked Up

Starring: Seth Rogan, Katherine Heigl, Leslie Mann

I love some Seth Rogan. Something about his chubby, cuddly, stoner-ness really appeals to me, because no matter how idiotic he is, he always has a great heart and honest intentions to back it up. Also, I love how the movies he does are raunchy, edgy, and sometimes downright filthy, but are laced with such sweetness that all is forgiven. “Knocked Up” is a new brand of romantic comedy that tries to disregard all the corny, syrupy notions of the past in favor of a more hard, realistic look at love, but still end on a happy note. Knocked Up isn’t perfect, but it’s about as close as you can get. Any movie that uses the phrase, “Well fine! I’ll pay for vagina reconstructive surgery” is good with me.

6) Runaway Bride

Starring: Richard Gere, Julia Roberts

Julia Roberts is the reigning queen of romantic comedies, and with that title, she can afford to be picky. I remember “Runaway Bride” being a runaway success, if you can forgive the pun, and and everyone fell under the spell of her big hair, big teeth, big laugh, and larger than life personality. In this film, she plays a bride who doesn’t have any idea who she is, and therefore chickens out at every alter she’s been down, and there have been a few. Richard Gere plays the journalist who is on her tail for her story, and of course, the plot is pretty predictable. We all know how it’s going to end within the first few minutes, but the movie is so fun and engaging and has such sweet (but not sappy) moments that we’re willing to forgive its flaws.

5) Pretty Woman

Starring: Julia Roberts, Richard Gere

Another Julia/Richard combo movie, only this time Julia plays a prostitute Cinderella, with Richard as her billionaire Prince Charming. Yeah, it sounds corny, and it is. But it also manages to be positively enchanting. Julia is so good at being empathetic and she and Richard have developed a very tangible chemistry onscreen. The inner feminist in me hates this movie, and knows that prostitutes don’t marry billionaires and most of them don’t live happily ever after like Julia’s character, Vivienne. I know that most prostitutes die before the age of 30 and are beaten daily by pimps. They live on the street or in ramshackle apartments and most are addicted to drugs. This movie is almost like Disney’s take on the life of a prostitute, but I can’t bring myself to hate it. It’s a delightful film in it’s blatant ability to ignore reality, and I just can’t help myself. J

4) My Best Friend’s Wedding

Starring: Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulrooney, Cameron Diaz

Last Julia Roberts movie, I promise. J This is my favorite of her films, because it defies the rom-com formula. The ending isn’t happy. Julia’s character, Julianne, does all kinds of mean, underhanded things to try and catch the man she loves, but she’s SO mean and underhanded that we end up not liking her. Because of this, she does herself in, and the man she loves, Mulrooney, ends up with Diaz, the woman he really loves. As additional perk, this movie has one of my favorite movie scenes in it: the great climax scene with Diaz gives Julia what for in the bathroom at the ballpark. It’s such a well-executed scene that stays true to character, and yet shows off the raw face of a woman scorned. “I love this man, and I will not lose him to some TWO-FACED, BIG HAIRED FOOD CRITIC!” Classic. J

3) Juno

Starring: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman

I count this movie as a romantic for two reasons: it’s very sweet. And very funny. This movie made me laugh out loud more than any movie in my life. Even in the theater I saw it in, the audience stood up and clapped at the end of the film. Ellen Page’s Juno is one of the coolest, most well-developed characters in cinema history. She’s snarky, edgy, witty, and yet extraordinarly naïve, and we love her for those reasons. Michael Cera, as her unwitting baby daddy Bleeker, does what he does best: awkward, nerdy, and sweet. Once again, this is a film that sort of diverts from the traditional formula, and has one of the best scripts to ever hit a rom-com. Juno also possesses a small wisdom about the ways and details of love. In the words of Juno’s dad, “I think the best thing to do is find someone who loves you, for exactly what you are. The right person will always think the sun shines out your ass.” J

2) The Family Stone

Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Dermot Mulrooney, Rachel McAdams, Owen Wilson, Craig T. Nelson, Diane Keaton, Claire Danes

This is a movie that is about the love of family, the love that binds us on holidays, and the love that we accept. Sarah Jessica Parker plays an uptight New York businesswoman who goes home to meet her fiance’s low-key bohemian family. I love each and every one of these couples; This movie is so easy to fall in love with, and represents love in many forms: the love of two men, the love of a couple who have been married for many years, the love between people who feel that they need each other, the love that finds us when we least expect it, the love between parents and children, the love between siblings. And all this happens in the most romantic, joyous time of the year: Christmas. I truly adore this film.

1)1) Never Been Kissed

Starring: Drew Barrymore, David Arquette

Here it is, my number 1 favorite romantic comedy. I love the plotline, as little sense as it makes, and I love delightfully clueless performance by Drew Barrymore. This movie touches me in so many ways (maybe it’s because of my own unfortunate appearance in high school), even though it reinforces lame high school stereotypes. Drew is just so easy to like, and the love story manages to be sweet without being sappy. I love her foray into high school life and the awfully embarrassing things that happen there, with the climax at one of the most awesome high school proms ever. J Mindless fun, but fun indeed, with real heart, real fun, and a really good lead performance. J

20 GREATEST DISNEY CHARACTERS

20) Jim Hawkins

Voice: Joseph Gordon-Levitt

You probably wrote me off already. Jim Hawkins? Treasure Planet? Who even saw this movie? I did. I was one of the 8 or so people who actually saw (and liked) this film. And I really like the character of Jim. I found this film to be kind of a landmark in a lot of ways. This is the first Disney character who can be described as “angsty,” and from what I can remember, he’s also the only Disney male who is suffering from teenage issues. His dad left (also a Disney first), he has rejection issues, and he’s got a rat tail. That’s pretty impressive. I love his sheer vulnerability; he seems like the type of guy I would totally have a crush on; vulnerable, sexy, angsty, but good to his core.

19) Peter Pan

Voice: Bobby Driscoll

I’ve figured out that I can’t sit through the Peter Pan movie (I get bored about the time the Indians kidnap the Lost Boys), but the more I learn about Peter Pan himself, the more I like about him. If you read the book, he’s not the teenaged prankster he is in the Disney film. He’s a little boy who hides away in a lonely paradise because he’s so terrified of death, because anyone who grows up has to die someday. In the Disney film, he’s more of a punk teenager whose good heart is buried by under a thick layer of bad attitude, but I give Peter Pan props for his potential and intention.

18) Ursula

Voice: Pat Carroll

I LOVE Ursula, the maniacal, deep-voiced sea-witch from The Little Mermaid. In fact, I would dare say that the Disney villain makes the movie, rather than the hero/ine. (Prime example: Sleeping Beauty.) Ursula really was a big deal in making the Little Mermaid the smash hit that it was. For one thing, she has the absolute greatest Disney villain song ever (“Poor Unfortunate Soul,”) she has an incredible design, and, while her motivation seems a little weak at times, she’s such a strong character and has such an incredible climax that it more than makes up for her few weaknesses. Poor unfortunate souls indeed.

17) Cruella deVille

Voice: Betty Lou Gerson

Another one of my absolute favorite villains, Cruella deVille is fabulous, completely insane, and hellbent one committing one of the most horrible crimes ever: puppy-cide. How evil do you have to be to kill puppies? PETA would be all over this woman with red paint, and let’s hope she wasn’t driving at the time. I love her attitude more than anything; she’s so outrageously flamboyant that you can’t help wondering where she got this sense of self entitlement. I wish Disney had elaborated a little more on her back story, but such is life.

Hopper

Voice: Kevin Spacey

I know, I know, three villains in a row, but villains are consistently the best characters in the movie. Hopper is another character in a mostly forgettable (if enjoyable) movie, A Bug’s Life, that didn’t quite make it to “classic” standards. Just like most great villains, his main strength is in the force of Kevin Spacey’s performance; he’s coldhearted, ruthless, and very intelligent. It’s like he majored in psychology in college, and knows exactly how to keep the “lower beings” down, but also what could happen should they choose to revolt. Kevin Spacey’s Hopper is like the leader of a gang of 50’s bikers, but instead of terrorizing a high school, Hopper terrorizes a whole legion of creatures he’s secretly afraid of.

Prince Edward

Voice/Actor: James Marsden

“I don’t know what melodramatic means, but you’ll be removed from the throne. I’ll see to it!” So says Prince Edward, a better Disney prince than most of the Disney princes in history. Do you remember all those princes in the early Disney movies (Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, even Prince Eric?) No one knows their names, and if they do, they basically have the personalities of Calvin Klein underwear models. They just exist to give the heroine something to pine over and work toward. Prince Edward, played with gleeful narcissism by James Marsden, expresses the personality that most of these princes probably have, and he manages to be loveable, funny, and eternally our Prince Charming.

) Mulan
Voice: Ming Na

While not exactly one of my favorite Disney heroines, Mulan was one of the first successful kick-ass heroines of Disney history. Disney first tried the concept with the creation of a dull, pointless movie called Pocahontas, but Mulan was considered a very successful heroine. Also, Mulan is not the first princess to struggle with an identity crisis, but her problems seem more pressing than, say, Ariel’s. Mulan is well-intentioned, if clumsy, and free-spirited, a quality her restrictive Chinese society doesn’t value highly. When she finally accepts that she’ll never be what she is told she is supposed to be, Mulan refuses to lie back and waste away: she decides to kick some ass instead, and ultimately finds who she is, as well as acceptance from her family. That’s my idea of a happy ending.

) Basil of Baker Street

Voice: Barrie Ingham

Once again, a great movie that everyone seems to have forgotten about, “The Great Mouse Detective” is one of the Disney movies from the 80s that doesn’t suck. I have always like the savvy, Sherlock-esque manner and brisk demeanor of Basil. He kind of reminds me of Willy Wonka; you never know if he’s serious or kidding, completely mad or totally in control. He also has irrepressible arrogance that comes to people who know everything, which makes him a rather playful protagonist, and when he finally expresses weakness, it makes you wonder if he really had that confidance all along.

) Hades

Voice: James Woods

Hercules is highly underrated, in my opinion, and I blame it’s artsy design for it’s untimely disappearance. People sort of wrote it off as cartoony, with good reason, unlike great animated films, like “The Lion King.” Hades is a fantastic villain; he’s a slick salesman, a hothead, and, oh yeah… he’s the God Of Death. How cool is that? His design is fantastic (the fire for hair was sheer genius) and James Woods’ smooth, fast-talking car salesman technique was perfect for establishing a funny, but also very dark, Disney villain.

) Captain Amelia

Voie: Emma Thompson

Once again, that awful movie no one saw. Captain Amelia is a feline femme-fatal that has the absolute best lines in Disney history. It’s like James Lipton wrote her dialogue. Take this gem for example: “Doctor. To muse and blabber about a treasure map in front of this particular crew, demonstrates a level of ineptitude that borders on the imbecilic! And I mean that in a very caring way.” Pure poetry. Her design is very sleek and catlike, and I love that someone in Disney thought up the idea of a female captain of a pirate ship. Take that, Barbossa.

) Carl Fredrickson

Voice: Ed Asner

I’ll be honest: I was underwhelmed with Up when I saw it the first time. And even the second time, it was just pretty good, which earned me a lot of flak from my film buddies. But whatever my thoughts on the movie as a whole, I LOVED the character of Carl Fredrickson. He’s the first Disney hero who was over 30, and he was so well developed. His relationship with his dearly departed wife, Ellie, is one of the greatest love stories in Disney history, and his need to keep her close by literally dragging her house over his shoulder is simply touching. This old dog learned lots of new tricks, and made an “ok” movie so much better for it.

9) The entire cast of Toy Story

Voices: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenburger, Annie Potts, Joan Cusack, Kelsey Grammer

I was originally going to add Buzz to this coutdown, but I realized that this movie worked as a complete whole. Most ensemble movies rarely work as an ensemble, but this loveable group of toys was so perfectly cast that I couldn’t pick just one character. Although I will say that Buzz is my favorite. J

) Wall*E

Wall*E is the perfect example of how well developed characters can literally keep a story from going under. Our hero only says a few words, and doesn’t say any at all for the first half of the movie, but we know him so well by the end that it doesn’t matter. Our curious, romantic little hunk of metal’s devotion to his ipod-esque lady love is touching and funny, and made one of the best Disney movies of 2008.

) Dory
Voice: Ellen Degeneres

Ellen Degeres’ “speaking whale” moment, she says, was a compelte surprise. She said in an interview that the script literally said, “speaks whale,” and she had no idea how to do it. But she pulled it off, and Dory, the forgetful, optimistic, ever-cheerful blue tang succeeded in creating one of the most memorable moments in movie history. This character is so likeable on so many levels, and Finding Nemo was a completely different experience with her in it. Dory is one of the most hilarious animated characters ever to walk… or, rather, swim…across our screens.

) Frollo

Voice: Tony Jay

Frollo, the self-righteous, hypocritical, lust-filled judge from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, is a terrifying villain purely because he sincerely believes he is doing the right thing. He is very human in his prejudices and very cold in his execution. Tony Jay’s rich, elegant voice along with spectacular animation create one of the most chilling villains in Disney history.

) Jack Sparrow

Actor: Johnny Depp

I really don’t have to say much about this one, do I ?

) Meg

Voice: Susan Egan

Once again, I blame the quirky design (and her creepy eyebrows) for Meg’s lack of staying power. She was the first Disney heroine with some sort of bite to her, and she carried her own backstory instead of just being eye candy for Herc to drool over. I loved that she worked for Hades; that idea made her seem more like a girl in trouble rather than a damsel in distress. (Trust me, there’s a difference).

) Cheshire Cat

Voice: Sterling Holloway

This crazy, clever, creepy cat has given more than one person the willies to more than one viewer, but like everything else in Wonderland, he seems to possess an imminent wisdom, even if he doesn’t know it. He’s full of one liners and small wisdoms, saying things like, “Can you stand on your head?” while literally standing on his head. And of course, everyone’s favorite: slowly disappearing, leaving everything but his creepy, toothy grin behind.

) Belle

Voice: Page O’Hara

Belle might be the perfect Disney heroine, and she’s definitely the best princess. Belle is understanding, smart, subtly witty, and refuses to be just a pretty face, but she isn’t so far on the other end of the spectrum (like Meg, for example) that she is hard to love. Belle sacrifices her life for her family (unlike other certain Disney heroines, who sacrifice their families for some boy) and doesn’t give into the pretty boy of the town purely because every other girl in town does. She found love in the worst of circumstances, and what girl doesn’t dream of that?

) Mickey Mouse

Voiced by: Originally, Walt Disney

Mickey doesn’t really mean much to you unless you work in Disney World, but after working there you realize exactly how important Mickey is. Walt said this of Mickey, his finest creation: “I only hope that we don’t lose sight of one thing; that it was all started by a mouse.”