Set in the LGBTQ+ destination of Fire Island, Booster plays Noah, a proudly single nurse whose outlook on dating is rocked by the film’s Mr. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is the narrative basis for this queer romantic comedy, written by and starring Joel Kim Booster.

By Jeong Park /Searchlight Pictures /Courtesy Everett Collection. The takeaway, perhaps, is that “romantic comedy” is an elastic designation, one that lies at least partly in the eye of the beholder-appropriate enough for a genre all about falling in love.įIRE ISLAND, from left: Tomas Matos, Joel Kim Booster, Conrad Ricamora, Matt Rogers, Margaret Cho, Torian Miller, 2022. Which got us thinking: what are the best romantic comedies of all time, the films that most perfectly exemplify this beloved but under-appreciated genre? Vanity Fair’s Hollywood team decided to find out by making individual top 10 lists, then crunching the numbers and consulting unimpeachable rom-com standards (extra points for a running-through-the-airport or musical serenade scene) for the 42 rom-coms that ultimately made the list.

Meanwhile, real-life couple Alison Brie and Dave Franco team up for Somebody I Used to Know, a 2023 refresh on the mayhem of 1997’s My Best Friend’s Wedding. Genre stalwart Aline Brosch McKenna ( Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, 27 Dresses) makes her directorial debut with Netflix’s Your Place or Mine starring Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher. This Valentine’s Day offers two heart-on-their-sleeves rom-coms. That’s been clear for years now, since Netflix hit pay dirt by releasing scores of rom-coms, Crazy Rich Asians made bank at the box office, and Licorice Pizza became a critical darling. Yes, rom-coms have faltered in popularity since their 1990s heyday-but even as time passes, audiences are hungry as ever for banter, meet-cutes, and happy endings. As this list of the best romantic comedies ever proves, the death of the genre has been greatly-and downright shamefully-exaggerated.

Courting Ruth by Emma Miller