Cheesy rom-coms are a guilty pleasurea lot of us can’t shake, and that’s perfectly fine. Movies are available to viewers of all tastes, ages, and backgrounds and appeal to each group on a certain level; they don’t always have to be overly meaningful or full of symbolism and messages. Sometimes, all we need isa predictable plot, great chemistry between the leads, and a story of how love prevailsover everything.
Luckily, there are plenty ofromantic comediesthat are cheesy enough to make us feel all things,from saying “that’s unrealistic” to shedding a tear or two and saying “that’s beautiful.“It’s a thin line between the two, but the cheesy rom-coms we absolutely adore don’t care; they’re here to make us feel happy and believe in love again.
10’Save the Last Dance' (2001)
Directed by Thomas Carter
Save the Last Danceisn’t totally cheesy, since the movie is kind of a teen drama/rom-com that features interracial love, so it’s innovative in that sense for the 2000s, but it’s still full of stereotypes that really serve no one. The dance routine that gets Sara (Julia Stiles) into Julliard takes the cheese award since ittries to be a mix of urban hip-hop dancing and classical ballet, but it just looks like random movements she thought up at the moment. Sorry to the choreographer!
Save the Last Danceis about Sara, who loses her mother the same day she fails an audition for Julliard. She gives up ballet andmoves to the South Side of Chicago to live with her estranged father, a jazz musician, and enrolls in a high school with mostly Black students. Sara meets Chenille (Kerry Washington) and her brother Derek (Sean Patrick Thomas) there and she and Derek gradually fall in love. The love story is quite romantic, and we love to see great chemistry between charming leads. The entire thing has a lot left to be desired, but it’s an enjoyable cheesy rom-com with a twist on the classic trope.
Save the Last Dance
9’While You Were Sleeping' (1995)
Directed by Jon Turteltaub
One of the cheesiest rom-coms of the 1990s is definitelyWhile You Were Sleeping, mainly because of its wild premise. Still, love is everywhere, and people have met in various strange ways, even ifthe woman you love is the fiancée of your brother, who is in a coma and whom he doesn’t even know.While You Were Sleepingwas widely well-accepted, earningSandra Bullocka Golden Globe nomination. EvenRoger Ebertsaid that, halfway through, he was “beginning to care about the film, even though it was clearly hammered together out of completely predictable elements.”
While You Were Sleepingfollows ticket clerk Lucy (Bullock), who sees a commuter, Peter (Peter Gallagher), every day on his way to work and develops a crush on him. When Peter gets mugged and thrown on the tracks one day, Lucy saves his life; she gets him to the hospital and then Peter’s family come to visit, starting to believe Lucy is Peter’s fiancée. While pretending to be one, she and Peter’s brother, Jack (Bill Pullman),fall in love. Bullock and Pullman are probablythe only actors that could pull off this level of surreal cheesiness. Still, the movie is gentle, warm, and sweet, andwe’re totally charmed by the end.
While You Were Sleeping
8’My Best Friend’s Wedding' (1997)
Directed by P. J. Hogan
My Best Friend’s Weddingmay be the only rom-com here with a bittersweet ending, but it still holds the adjective of being cheesy in a lot of its parts; the singalong scene to “I Say a Little Prayer” is one, but it’s led byRupert Everett,who is charming and charismaticenough to pull it off. The movie relies on the main character, Jules (Julia Roberts),being messy and a saboteur, butit offers her a chance at redemption when she needs it most; luckily, she takes it. We still love to enjoy the movie, since Jules is often relatable, even at her worst.
My Best Friend’s Weddingfollows NYC-based food critic Jules Potter (Roberts), who gets a call from her longtime friend Michael (Dermot Mulroney), telling her he’s marrying a younger woman and inviting her to the wedding.Jules realizes she’s jealous and, thus, in love with Michaeland decides to sabotage the wedding. Her attempts often go wrong or become cringeworthy, especially when she drags in her gay best friend, George (Everett), into it. Despite it all,My Best Friend’s Weddingis a cheesy drama we love to watch and rewatch.
My Best Friend’s Wedding
When her longtime friend Michael announces his engagement, food critic Julianne realizes she is in love with him. Determined to win him back, she schemes to sabotage his wedding to his sweet fiancée, Kimmy, but her plans lead to unexpected complications and a journey of self-discovery.
7’Sweet Home Alabama' (2002)
Directed by Andy Tennant
The classicHallmarktrope of a big city girl moving back to her rural hometown also knocked on the door of Hollywood producers in 2002, who decided to makeSweet Home AlabamawithReese Witherspoonas the lead. The movie tugs at the heartstrings,giving the lead a redemption arc of rediscovering her rootsand going back to the simpler way of living. Witherspoon is joined byPatrick Dempseyas her big-town beau andJosh Lucasas her hometown true love.
Sweet Home Alabamafollows Alabama-born Melanie (Witherspoon), who has moved to NYC to become a big-time fashion designer. She’s engaged to the Mayor’s son, Andrew (Dempsey), but since she’s been married to her old flame from Alabama, Jake (Lucas), and never got divorced,she has to go back home and ask him to sign divorce papers. Chaos ensues, and Southern clichés are aplenty, butSweet Home Alabama’s cheesy premise is super fun to watch. After all, moving froma big city to a small townseems really appealing, if movies like this one are to be believed.
Sweet Home Alabama
6’Made of Honor' (2008)
Directed by Paul Weiland
Speaking of Patrick Dempsey, he starred in a movie that upped the cheese byquite a lot.Made of Honoris essentially a gender-swappedMy Best Friend’s Weddingbutset in Scotland, complete with castles, bagpipes, and mid-wedding confessions. Best friends to lovers is a slightly underexplored rom-com trope, probably because it’s not as exciting as enemies-to-lovers or unusual encounters, andMade of Honormakes its protagonists great friends that everyone sees are perfect for each other except for them.
Made of Honorfollows Tom (Dempsey), who accidentally meets Hannah (Michelle Monaghan) on campus one night; they remain friends for a decade after. Hannah gets engaged to a Scottish Duke, Colin (Kevin McKidd), and asks Tom tobe her maid of honor. He agrees, butrealizing he loves her, he attempts to sabotage the weddingand her subsequent move to Scotland. We know what’s coming while watching, and it gets very cheesy very quickly, butMade of Honoris actually kind of nice; if you ignore its15% Rotten Tomatoes score, you’ll have a good time.
Made of Honor
5'27 Dresses' (2008)
Directed by Anne Fletcher
Being a bridesmaid at 27 weddings sounds quite traumatic, to be honest. Imagine knowing 27 women, let alone as many who get married during your lifetimeandwant you to be their bridesmaid.27 Dressesis a mega-level cheese-fest, featuringa montage of the bridesmaids' dresses that are (borderline) fashion crimes; however, so much is beautiful about thisenemies-to-lovers moviethat’s also about a woman discovering that she is enough, that everyone’s life has an individual pace, and that she’s worthy of the perfect man.
27 Dressesfollows Jane (Katherine Heigl), a woman who’s been a bridesmaid at 27 weddings; while attending two at the same time, she meets the cynical Kevin (James Marsden). The two share a cab that evening, and their lives become inevitably entangled. This movie, too, has an iconic, sexy, karaoke scene,giving Heigl her laurels as a rom-com lead. Theworld forgot about Heigl a bit, but she was her best in27 Dresses, the movie that shows its lead she’s meant to live her life and enjoy it for whatever it is.
27 Dresses
4’The Wedding Planner' (2001)
Directed by Adam Shankman
BothJennifer LopezandMatthew McConaugheyhavestarred in some extra-cheesy rom-coms, but the one they were in together kind of takes the cake.The Wedding Planneris acauldron of misunderstandings, settling for less, dancing in the rain, and almost kissingfor the entire duration. The back and forth between their characters, Mary and Steve, is often annoying, but it’s the chemistry and the interest in what will finally happen that drive us to watch the movie until its very end.
The Wedding Planneris about Mary Fiore (Lopez), whoplans weddings but is herself unlucky in love. When she experiences a brush with death one day, she’s saved by a handsome gentleman she learns is called Eddie (McConaughey).The two spend an evening together and almost kiss; soon after, Mary meets the bride and groom of her newest wedding, realizing Eddie is the groom. The two shouldn’t end up together, but through a series of some pretty incredible and cringeworthy events, they do. This is hardly a spoiler; it’s obvious from the beginning.The Wedding Planneris a typical early 2000s rom-com, which also makes it kind of good.
The Wedding Planner
3’Pretty Woman' (1990)
Directed by Garry Marshall
OK,Pretty Womanis an institution, but, let’s face it – it’s cheesy. The “hooker with a heart of gold” archetype, over-the-top glam, an epic shopping haul montage, and a white knight limo rescue?Pretty Womanis cheesy royalty, and confidently so. The Julia Roberts andRichard Gerecult classic was directed byGarry Marshall, and it remains one of the most popular movies at the US box office in the romantic comedy category.
Pretty Womanfollows Edward Lewis (Gere), a businessman who accidentally ends up in Hollywood Boulevard’s Red-Light District. There, he meets Vivian (Roberts), and the two spend the night together. After that,Edward asks Vivian to spend the rest of the week with him.As their love develops, they encourage each other to be the best versions of themselves; in many ways, it’sa story ofconfidence and finding the right directionin life, and the love story is just a bonus. Regardless of how lightly many of the world’s problems are depicted,Pretty Womanis still a rom-com people adore.
Pretty Woman
Directed by Gary Marshall, Pretty Woman stars Julia Roberts and Richard Gere as Vivian Ward and Edward Lewis. Lewis is a wealthy New York businessman who hires Hollywood sex worker Ward to accompany him during his stay in Los Angeles. Initially wary of each other, the couple’s relationship grows steadily deeper over Lewis' stay, causing Ward to begin to rethink her career path.
2’A Cinderella Story' (2004)
Directed by Mark Rosman
A Cinderella Storyis an adaptationof a classic fairy tale, but, of course, modernized and made to feel new (though not too original). It’s set in the year it was made, 2004, and it’s as 2000s as it can be: flip phones, Internet pen pals, low-rise jeans, skinny, beautiful people, school dance reveals,underdog girls, andpopular jocks falling for themwithout even realizing it. The 2000s were quite problematic with depictions of romance, beauty, and getting the point across that it’s what’s inside that matters;A Cinderella Storyis just one of those movies, but it’s a great guilty pleasure we can’t get enough of.
A Cinderella Story, as the fairy tale, follows a young girl, Sam (Hilary Duff), whose father remarries an evil woman, Fiona (Jennifer Coolidge), who moves into their home with her two daughters. After Sam’s father also dies,Fiona gets all of his wealth, leaving Sam to fend for herself most of the time. Sam has a pen pal online, Nomad, who she bonds with; Nomad turns out to be Austin (Chad Michael Murray), the high school quarterback.A Cinderella Storywas received poorly by critics, but it was a defining pop culture moment, giving Duff and Murray massive career boosts. It’s also just very cute.
A Cinderella Story
A Cinderella Story follows Samantha Montgomery, a teenager enduring mistreatment from her stepmother, as she finds solace in an anonymous online relationship. Anticipating a meeting with her mysterious internet admirer at a school dance, Samantha navigates the challenges of her everyday reality while hoping for a transformative encounter.
1'13 Going on 30' (2004)
Directed by Gary Winick
13 Going on 30isthe perfect time-jump movie; whimsical, sincere, and very joyous in its nature, it’s one of the greatest cheesy movies we love to love. It gave usMark Ruffaloas a rom-com love interest, showing his whimsical, funny side.13 Going on 30also has an empowering message and isn’t only about finding the right man; it’s also about self-actualization and believing in oneself. Though absurd at times,13 Going on 30is the movie we’re totally ready to believe at every moment.
13 Going on 30is about 13-year-old Jenna (Jennifer Garner), who, on the day of her 13th birthday, wishes to be 30. Overnight,her wish comes true, and she becomes the adult version of herself. However, Jenna isn’t as cheerful, honest, or thriving as she imagined and wishes to go back to her old self. Jennifer Garner thrills in this sweet rom-com, embracing the mind of a13-year-old in an adult’s bodyperfectly; though the movie is cheesy and often predictable, it’s a greatly rewatchable movie with a cult following.
