5 Best Rom-Coms Of The 21st Century, Ranked

Who doesn't love a good romantic comedy? The formula is simple: a couple meet and fall in love, but then some sort of obstacle arises and keeps them apart until the story's final moments, which sees then reunite and probably share a big, romantic, swoon-worthy kiss. Because it's such a simple set-up at the end of the day, there's a ton of room to innovate in the rom-com space. Still, we've seen an unfortunate dearth of truly great studio rom-coms in recent years; the most notable entry in 2026, by way of example, is "One Night Only," a super high-concept rom-com where premarital sex is only legal one night a year. Gone, seemingly, are the days of charismatic and beautiful stars leading romantic comedies and making audiences believe in love.

That's why we're harkening back to the 2000s and 2010s, which is when pretty much all of the following romantic comedies were released — and which was, truly, a golden era for the genre. While 1980s and 1990s rom-coms like "When Harry Met Sally..." and "Pretty Woman" still occupy the top spots in the hall of fame, these five picks are the very best romantic comedies released in the 21st century ... and they're ranked from "pretty amazing" to "basically perfect." 

Richard Curtis might be responsible for one of the most problematic romantic comedies in recent memory (we're talking about "Love Actually," specifically), but inexplicably, he's also the writer, director, and visionary behind the absolutely stunning 2013 romantic comedy "About Time." Domhnall Gleeson leads the film as Tim Lake, who begins the movie attending a disastrous New Year's Eve party at his parents' house in Cornwall ... but when he wakes up on New Year's Day after totally striking out with multiple girls, his father James (a perfect Bill Nighy) clues him in on a secret. All the men in the Lake bloodline can time travel, but they can only use it for generally insignificant purposes; while they can't change major historical events, they can return to moments they've experienced in their own life, giving them nearly endless "do-overs" on any missteps.

After trying and failing to use his newfound ability to seduce his sister Katherine's, a.k.a. Kit Kat's (Lydia Wilson) friend Charlotte (Margot Robbie, early in her career), Tim meets an American girl in London named Mary (Rachel McAdams) and falls head-over-heels in love. Though Tim does undo some screw-ups with Mary during their courtship, he mostly uses his powers for good, and they get married ... and when they have children, Tim learns from James that you cannot, under any circumstances, return to a time before your child is born. Not only is "About Time" a beautiful love story between Tim and Mary, but it's also an emotionally resonant and incredibly profound story about families, and it's easily one of the best romantic comedies of the 21st century.

Most romantic comedies don't begin with a break-up, but that's one of the many special things about "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." In fact, it's perfect for people who hate rom-coms ... but if you're a lover at heart, you'll fall for this one too. Written by its star Jason Segel and directed by his frequent collaborator Nicholas Stoller, the 2008 movie "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" opens as composer and musician Peter Bretter (Segel) welcomes his procedural star girlfriend Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) home, only to get brutally dumped right after she walks into their apartment. (Just to really squeeze lemon juice into the papercut, he's completely nude.) In an attempt to get over her, Peter books a luxurious vacation to Hawaii but, in the process, chooses a resort that Sarah mentioned previously; unfortunately for him, Sarah and her new boyfriend, off-putting rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) are also guests at said resort, leaving Peter flustered and humiliated.

Thankfully, Peter meets concierge Rachel Jansen (a winning Mila Kunis), and the two hit it off pretty quickly. (A real highlight of the film is when they go to a local bar and Rachel demands that Peter play a song from his original "Dracula musical," which, thankfully, we do get to see play out at the end of the movie.) "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" is a great romantic comedy — it's funny, heartfelt, and Segel and Kunis have unbelievable chemistry — but it's also a phenomenal movie about surviving a breakup, landing on your feet, and starting over without ever looking back at something that might not have been working in the first place.

The premise of "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" is, honestly, just insane enough to work ... and it's one of the best 2000s-era rom-coms simply because it manages to sell its bonkers conceit so beautifully. Written by Kristen Buckley, Brian Regan, and Burr Steers and directed by Donald Petrie, "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" immediately introduces the audience to its very different protagonists. Andie Anderson (Kate Hudson), a relationship columnist at the fictional women's magazine Composure, yearns to write hard-hitting political journalism ... and when she notices that her best friend Michelle (an impeccable Kathryn Hahn) keeps driving men away with her bad relationship habits, Andie makes  a deal with her boss Lana (Bebe Neuwirth). If Andie can drive a man away in just 10 days, she can take on a riskier assignment. Across Manhattan, advertising executive Benjamin Barry (Matthew McConaughey) is given the opposite task: get a woman to fall in love with him in 10 days, and he'll book a massive diamond campaign with DeLauer (a pretty obvious play on the De Beers diamond corporation).

Watching Andie push Ben away and Ben try to further entrance Andie is incredibly funny, and Hudson and McConaughey are both doing an absolutely phenomenal job in this movie; every time Andie ups the ante and gets crazier, Ben tries to hang onto her even harder, culminating in one of the most unprofessional work situations you've ever seen on-screen when they attend a gala in the presence of all of their co-workers. "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" is funny, irreverent, and sexy — what more could you want?

Originally conceived as a one-woman show by Nia Vardalos that just so happened to catch the attention of Hollywood star Rita Wilson, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" is one of the most profitable movies ever made according to CNBC — based on the fact that it only cost about $5 million to make and earned over $368 million at the box office. A semi-autobiographical story by Vardalos — who also stars in the film as Toula — "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" centers around Fotoula "Toula" Portokalos, the daughter of a massive Greek family who lives with her parents Costas, or Gus (Michael Constantine) and Maria (Lainie Kazan) and works at their Chicago restaurant. Feeling trapped by her life and knowing that her parents will insist she marries a Greek man, Toula gives herself a makeover and takes a computer course at a local college to help improve her life ... and she also finds herself attracted to a local guy named Ian Miller (John Corbett), a patron at her family's restaurant Dancing Zorba's.

You can guess what happens next, or you've seen the movie. Toula and Ian fall in love and have to convince the massive, judgmental Portokalos family to welcome Ian into the fold; eventually, they do, although they massively freak out his own parents in the process. Filled with incredibly specific and hilarious details (like Gus' insistence that Windex is a miracle cure, or Andrea Martin's Aunt Voula describing her "bibopsy," or "biopsy," in vivid detail at a family gathering), "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" is one of the most beloved romantic comedies in history and certainly belongs on a list of the best 21st century rom-coms. (It also has two sequels, but the original still reigns supreme.)

There's no better 21st century romantic comedy than "Bridget Jones's Diary." Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Helen Fielding and adapted by director Sharon Maguire (as well as Fielding herself, who penned the screenplay with Fielding, Richard Curtis, and Andrew Davis), "Bridget Jones" centers on, well, Bridget Jones, an average but hilarious and relatable British woman living in London played by Renée Zellweger. (Zellweger's British accent, for the record, is impeccable.) When we first see Bridget, she's heading to her mother Pamela's (Gemma Jones) annual "Turkey Curry Buffet" on New Year's Day outside of the city and meets Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), a recent divorcée who isn't interested in Bridget at all (despite her mother's best efforts). Upon her return to London, Bridget resolves to lose weight, drink less, quit smoking, and stop pursuing terrible men ... but the presence of her boss Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant), a truly terrible man, makes that somewhat difficult.

As Bridget enjoys a sexy but doomed romance with Daniel and keeps crossing paths, somewhat unwillingly, with Mark, we follow her every thought and move; narration doesn't always work seamlessly, but in this instance, it's invaluable to sneak into Bridget's mind and hear exactly what she's thinking. "Bridget Jones's Diary" is hysterical, irreverent, and incredibly sharp, and there's no question that it should top a list of 21st century rom-coms. There are, as of this writing, three "Bridget Jones" sequels: 2004's "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason," 2016's "Bridget Jones's Baby," and 2025's "Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy." The original, though, remains an impeccable classic.