America's 100 Greatest Movies
100 YEARS...100 MOVIES


AFI's 10 Top 10 Film Genres

Part 8 - Romantic Comedy



Romantic Comedies:
See Filmsite's extensive section on Romantic Comedies


AFI described romantic comedies as "a genre in which the development of a romance leads to comic situations. Romantic comedy spares no one in chronicling the horror and humiliation, the hope and despair, the agony and ecstasy of Cupid's arrow. Wrapped in fantasy and charm, laced with funny little truths about the human condition, romantic comedies remind us that we're all susceptible to that crazy thing called love."

(Winners marked with this icon and ranking number)

  1. ADAM'S RIB, MGM, 1949 (# 7)
  2. THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT, Columbia, 1995
  3. ANNIE HALL, United Artists, 1977 (# 2)
  4. THE APARTMENT, United Artists, 1960
  5. AS GOOD AS IT GETS, TriStar, 1997
  6. THE AWFUL TRUTH, Columbia, 1937
  7. BALL OF FIRE, RKO, 1941
  8. BAREFOOT IN THE PARK, Paramount, 1967
  9. BORN YESTERDAY, Columbia, 1950
  10. BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY, Universal/Miramax, 2001
  11. BRINGING UP BABY, RKO, 1938
  12. BULL DURHAM, Orion, 1988
  13. CITY LIGHTS, United Artists, 1931 (# 1)
  14. CLUELESS, Paramount, 1995
  15. DESIGN FOR LIVING, Paramount, 1933
  16. THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN, Universal, 2005
  17. THE GOODBYE GIRL, Warner Bros., 1977
  18. HAROLD AND MAUDE, Paramount, 1971 (# 9)
  19. HIS GIRL FRIDAY, Columbia, 1940
  20. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT, Columbia, 1934 (# 3)
  21. JERRY MAGUIRE, TriStar, 1996
  22. THE LADY EVE, Paramount, 1941
  23. MOONSTRUCK, MGM, 1987 (# 8)
  24. MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING, TriStar, 1997
  25. MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING, IFC, 2002
  26. MY MAN GODFREY, Universal, 1936
  27. NINOTCHKA, MGM, 1939
  28. NOTHING SACRED, United Artists, 1937
  29. THE PALM BEACH STORY, Paramount, 1942
  30. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY, MGM, 1940 (# 5)
  31. PILLOW TALK, Universal, 1959
  32. PRETTY WOMAN, Touchstone, 1990
  33. ROMAN HOLIDAY, Paramount, 1953 (# 4)
  34. ROXANNE, Columbia, 1987
  35. SABRINA, Paramount, 1954
  36. SAY ANYTHING…, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1989
  37. SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, Miramax, 1998
  38. THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER, MGM, 1940
  39. SIXTEEN CANDLES, Universal, 1984
  40. SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE, TriStar, 1993 (# 10)
  41. SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE, Columbia, 2003
  42. SPLASH, Touchstone, 1984
  43. 10, Warner Bros., 1979
  44. THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1998
  45. TROUBLE IN PARADISE, Paramount, 1932
  46. THE WEDDING SINGER, New Line, 1998
  47. WHAT'S UP, DOC?, Warner Bros., 1972
  48. WHEN HARRY MET SALLY…, Columbia, 1989 (# 6)
  49. WOMAN OF THE YEAR, MGM, 1942
  50. WORKING GIRL, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1988

Nominees: Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn were featured together three times. Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn were featured together twice.

Winners:

  1. City Lights (1931)
  2. Annie Hall (1977)
  3. It Happened One Night (1934)
  4. Roman Holiday (1953)
  5. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
  6. When Harry Met Sally … (1989)
  7. Adam's Rib (1949)
  8. Moonstruck (1987)
  9. Harold and Maude (1971)
  10. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

Comments: Why were His Girl Friday (1940), The Apartment (1960), The Lady Eve (1941) and Some Like It Hot (1959) not in the top 10? High Fidelity (2000) should have been one of the 50 nominees, replacing Sleepless in Seattle (1993). The Shop Around the Corner (1940) and The Awful Truth (1937) are 'classic' romantic comedies deserving of higher placement.


AFI's 10 Top 10 Film Genres
Introduction | Part 1 - Animated | Part 2 - Fantasy | Part 3 - Gangster | Part 4 - Science Fiction | Part 5 - Western
Part 6 - Sports | Part 7 - Mystery | Part 8 - Romantic Comedy | Part 9 - Courtroom Drama | Part 10 - Epic



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