The romantic comedy is a diverse genre that revolves around the countless ways people fall in love. It's easy to dismiss these gooey flicks as superfluous slop, but doing so would be a serious misstep; rom-coms have a little something for everyone. At their best, these feel-good movies let us step out of reality for 90–120 minutes and sink into the anxiety, bliss, chaos, despair, and euphoria that come with experiencing one of life's greatest gifts.
Whether you’re looking for a knee-slapper (Bridesmaids) or a breezy film with a comfortingly predictable ending (Stuck in Love), you’ll find it on our list of the best rom-coms on Peaco*ck right now.
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Bridesmaids (2011)
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Among its many credentials, Bridesmaids is also the only Oscar-nominated movie that features a woman experiencing extreme diarrhea in the middle of a crowded street. Co-written by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo (earning a Best Original Screenplay nod) and starring an impressive ensemble cast, Bridesmaids was the breakout rom-com of 2011. Whip-smart, heartfelt, and deliciously raunchy, the film follows Annie (Wiig) as she helps plan her best friend Lillian’s (Maya Rudolph) bridal activities.
From dress shopping to bachelorette parties to bridal showers gone terribly wrong, Annie struggles to deal with her bestie’s big life changes while also competing for attention against Lillian’s new friend, Helen (Rose Byrne). Relatable to anyone who has ever attended a wedding (or experienced hellacious food poisoning), consider streaming Bridesmaids. —Ilana Gordon
Where to watch Bridesmaids: Peaco*ck
EW grade: A (read the review)
Director: Paul Feig
Cast: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, Melissa McCarthy, Chris O'Dowd
Related content: Kristen Wiig took the Bridesmaids cast to a strip club and Rebel Wilson got a tank top to prove it
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Class Rank (2017)
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Overachiever Veronica Krauss (Olivia Holt) spends her senior year buried in textbooks and always goes the extra mile. So, you can imagine her shock when she discovers she's No. 2 in her class. Hellbent on dismantling the school's class ranking system, Veronica recruits wise-beyond-his-years 16-year-old Bernard Flannigan (Skyler Gisondo) to run for the board of education.
During their off-the-walls campaign — promising everything from cigarette vending machines to condom baskets — the unlikely team learns a thing or two about romance. A sweet, Rushmore-meets-Election coming-of-age tale, Class Rank is a hidden gem that dazzles with its Wes Anderson-style visuals and zany performances by its two leads. —James Mercadante
Where to watch Class Rank: Peaco*ck
Director: Eric Stoltz
Cast: Skyler Gisondo, Olivia Holt, Kristin Chenoweth, Bruce Dern, Kathleen Chalfant, Nick Krause, Peter Maloney
Related content: The 50 best teen movies of all time
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The Giant Mechanical Man (2012)
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Sometimes, the most fulfilling rom-coms aren't the sweeping stories, but the ones grounded in the ordinary. After losing her corporate job, thirtysomething Janice (Jenna Fischer) moves in with her overproud sister, Jill (Malin Åkerman), who insists she date pompous author Doug (Topher Grace). But at her new job at the zoo, Janice finds an unexpected connection with Tim (Chris Messina), a fellow employee who moonlights as a silver-painted street performer.
Debuting at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival, The Giant Mechanical Man is a wonderfully charming romance that captures the modern-day malaise of living authentically while meeting societal expectations. Yet, to those who may see themselves in its two protagonists, it also offers an ounce of hope that they're not alone. —J.M.
Where to watch The Giant Mechanical Man: Peaco*ck
Director: Lee Kirk
Cast: Jenna Fischer, Chris Messina, Malin Åkerman, Topher Grace
Related content: The Office: Jenna Fischer in The Giant Mechanical Man trailer
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If You Were the Last (2023)
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This Peaco*ck Original takes the forced proximity trope to new heights… literally. Zoë Chao and Anthony Mackie star as two astronauts stranded on a malfunctioning ship, drifting through space with no chance of rescue. Despite being married to others back on Earth, they can't help but wonder if their one-in-a-million situation qualifies as a hall pass.
Leaning into its far-fetched premise, If You Were the Last is a self-aware rom-com that embraces its science-fair-project aesthetics and delightfully artificial space backdrops. However, what grounds the film is the palpable chemistry between Chao and Mackie, who bring a delightful rhythm to their character's humdrum routines. —J.M.
Where to watch If You Were the Last: Peaco*ck
Director: Kristian Mercado
Cast: Anthony Mackie, Zoë Chao, Natalie Morales, Geoff Stults, Missi Pyle
Related content: The best sci-fi movies of all time
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Lisa Frankenstein (2024)
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Some teenage girls swoon over high school jocks, others dream of boy band singers, but for the misunderstood Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton), her heart beats for a centuries-old Victorian corpse. When a lightning bolt zaps her dead crush back to life as a voiceless, Frankenstein’s monster-like creature (Cole Sprouse), Lisa reintroduces him how to be a human, how to fall in love… and how to bury a body.
Written by Jennifer's Body scribe Diablo Cody, Lisa Frankenstein offers an eccentric interpretation of Mary Shelley's classic that's equal parts macabre, fairy-tale, and lighthearted. With its nostalgic '80s setting, visionary script, and Newton's tour de force performance, this Tim Burton-esque rom-com lays the groundwork for a future cult classic. —J.M.
Where to watch Lisa Frankenstein: Peaco*ck
Director: Zelda Williams
Cast: Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, Liza Soberano, Henry Eikenberry, Joe Chrest, Carla Gugino
Related content: Cole Sprouse is a ‘handsome corpse’ in first look at Zelda Williams' Lisa Frankenstein
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Meet the Patels (2014)
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Fresh out of a two-year relationship with his white girlfriend, thirtysomething Ravi Patel finds himself under immense pressure from his first-generation immigrant parents to settle down. Agreeing to go on a trip with them to India, Ravi reluctantly meets a multitude of matrimonial candidates through traditional Indian matchmaking processes, despite still grieving his breakup.
Winning the Audience Choice Award at the 2014 L.A. Film Festival, Meet the Patels is a refreshingly hilarious, real-life rom-com documentary about discovering what you truly want in life, and tackles specific Indian American struggles such as cultural identity and intergenerational expectations in marriage. —J.M.
Where to watch Meet the Patels: Peaco*ck
Directors: Geeta V. Patel, Ravi V. Patel
Cast: Ravi V. Patel, Geeta V. Patel, Champa V. Patel, Vasant K. Patel, Audrey Wauchope, Chandar Abboy, Chirag Patel, Renita Abboy, Rali Amin, Sunkrish Bala
Related content: The 20 best movies on Peaco*ck
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Sliding Doors (1998)
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If The Butterfly Effect was a romantic comedy, it would look something like Sliding Doors. Gwyneth Paltrow stars as Helen, a London publicist whose life after being fired unfolds in parallel storylines: One details what happens after she catches a train home, the other tells the story of what happens after she misses it. As Helen’s two paths deviate and coincide throughout the film, her love life and career trajectory form separate arcs, an effective narrative illustration of how the small moments in our lives can have the biggest impacts on our futures.
Alternately funny, tragic, and ultimately very, very British, EW’s critic writes, “writer-director Peter Howitt demonstrates a lovely feel for the dreamy poetry of what-ifs — a deeply satisfying formula for romances and melodramas, from It’s a Wonderful Life to Brief Encounter.” —I.G.
Where to watch Sliding Doors: Peaco*ck
EW grade: N/A (read the review)
Directors: Peter Howitt
Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, John Hannah, John Lynch, Jeanne Tripplehorn
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Stuck in Love (2013)
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Novelist Bill Borgens (Greg Kinnear) hasn't penned a word since his wife, Erica (Jennifer Connelly), left him three years ago. As he indulges in the unhealthy habit of spying on his ex, his children Samantha (Lily Collins) and Rusty (Nat Wolff) write their own love stories.
Though not exactly cinematic brilliance, Stuck in Love is a solid enough romantic comedy that ends more or less exactly how you expect it to. Sure, the film wades into soap opera-esque territory more than once — especially with the predictably sappy ending— but the at-times unusual and always heartfelt family dynamic between Bill, Erica, Samantha, and Rusty still rings true. —Stephanie Kaloi
Where to watch Stuck in Love: Peaco*ck
Director: Josh Boone
Cast: Jennifer Connelly, Greg Kinnear, Lily Collins, Nat Wolff, Logan Lerman, Kristen Bell
Related content: Logan Lerman gave weed to Nat Wolff and Liana Liberato on Stuck in Love set: 'I'm proud of it'
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They Came Together (2014)
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Amy Poehler and Paul Rudd star in this luminously silly parody of generic rom-coms from Wet American Hot Summer director David Wain. Though a broader target than the summer camp comedies of his Wet Hot franchise, They Came Together hits an uncommon number of bull's eyes with its succession of Airplane-style gags. It limps to its conclusion, but that may be interpreted as a meta wink. After all, how many romance flicks peter out by the 75-minute mark? —Declan Gallagher
Where to watch They Came Together: Peaco*ck
EW grade: B (read the review)
Director: David Waine
Cast: Amy Poehler, Paul Rudd, Michael Shannon, Jason Mantzoukas, Christopher Meloni
Related content: Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler give rom-coms an Airplane! twist: Sundance
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Wet Hot American Summer (2001)
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It's summer 1981, and Camp Firewood is about to close up for the season. With hormones raging and hearts — and crotches — throbbing, the camp counselors scramble to settle scores before the final night's talent show. Parodying popular sex comedies like Meatballs (1979) and Private School (1983), Wet American Hot Summer is what EW's critic called the "most gleeful and ingenious pop satire since The Brady Bunch Movie." Though it was released to almost no fanfare, the film has since amassed a cult following, wooing viewers with its goofy, nonsense humor spiced up by its cracking ensemble. —J.M.
Where to watch Wet Hot American Summer: Peaco*ck
EW grade: N/A (read the review)
Director: David Wain
Cast: Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Molly Shannon, Paul Rudd, Christopher Meloni, Michael Showalter, Marguerite Moreau, Ken Marino, Michael Ian Black, Zak Orth, Amy Poehler, Bradley Cooper, Elizabeth Banks
Related content: See Amy Poehler and Adam Scott reunite in Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later
