When casting the main couple in a romantic comedy, the director has to consider how the two actors will be able to balance romance with comedy. It sounds much easier than it is because being funny on-camera is all about having the right lines, the right movements, and putting emphasis where it needs to go. All of these things can be taught and adjusted on-set. However, creating chemistry between two individuals and making the audience truly believe their romance is not something that can be quickly learned or, in many caes, even created.
Some actors come together and just have natural chemistry, where they nail the heartfelt looks, their body language is perfect, and the connection feels authentic. Audiences need to believe in the relationship between the two characters to buy into the film as a whole. We have weeded through hundreds of romantic comedies and found the films with the most (and best) chemistry.
Here are 10 rom-coms where the chemistry was off the charts.
10 Friends with Benefits (2011)
Friends With Benefits
- Release Date
- July 21, 2011
- Director
- Will Gluck
- Cast
- Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis, Patricia Clarkson, Jenna Elfman, Bryan Greenberg, Richard Jenkins
- Rating
- R
- Genres
- Comedy, Romance
Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake are perfect when paired as funny friends who hang out with one another, but when it comes time for them to seriously get into the romance of things, all we can say is "Wow!" Friends With Benefits is so natural and relatable because the two characters get steamy in the bedroom without having the pressure of a full relationship.
Kunis had just finished filming Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan when she was offered the part alongside Timberlake, so being able to be her quirky and sarcastic self was relatively easy. The chemistry between the two is immediate as they are both sarcastic and genuine, but the real romance picks up when their characters, Jamie and Dylan, spend the night together at Dylan's father's beach house. From then on, feelings along with the friendship were very transparent, and audiences felt for both sides. Stream on Netflix
9 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
10 Things I Hate About You
- Release Date
- March 31, 1999
- Director
- Gil Junger
- Cast
- Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, David Krumholtz
- Rating
- PG-13
- Genres
- Comedy, Drama, Romance
Between the number of love interests and very annoying love triangles taking place in 10 Things I Hate About You, the only real chemistry that sends audiences through the roof is that between Kat (Julia Stiles) and Patrick (Heath Ledger). Both are angsty teenagers who feel misunderstood, but deep down, they both just want to be loved for who they are.
Because Stiles, Ledger, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt were not yet known in Hollywood, they knew they had to give it their all on-set. Stiles nailed her longing look when staring at Ledger after her character threw up on the swings, and nothing says "I love you" like Ledger scampering across a football field and bleachers belting out "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" — a scene that earned him an MTV Movie Award nomination for Best Musical Performance. Stream on Disney+ and Prime Video
8 When Harry Met Sally (1989)
When Harry Met Sally
- Release Date
- January 12, 1989
- Director
- Rob Reiner
- Cast
- Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, Bruno Kirby, Steven Ford, Lisa Jane Persky
- Rating
- R
- Genres
- Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Romance
.jpeg?q=50&fit=crop&w=480&dpr=1.5)
Plenty of romantic comedies have played with the "just friends" trope, but as all fans of the genre know, that is never how it plays out on the screen by the time the credits are rolling, especially in When Harry Met Sally. In this movie, Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan star as the title characters, who originally agree that men and women cannot be just friends because sex always gets in the way of things. However, after many run-ins and hilarious yet honest conversations, the two realize and accept their attraction to one another.
Making the two characters on-again-off-again friends who catch up when they randomly meet over the years is brilliant because it sets a realistic stage for their chemistry. Both Crystal and Ryan won American Comedy Awards for the Funniest Actor and Actress in a Motion Picture, but many fans remember the sizzling chemistry between the two. Stream on Fubo
7 Pretty Woman (1990)
Pretty Woman
- Release Date
- March 23, 1990
- Director
- Garry Marshall
- Cast
- Richard Gere, Julia Roberts, Ralph Bellamy, Jason Alexander, Laura San Giacomo, alex hyde-white
- Rating
- R
- Genres
- Comedy, Romance
A smart and savvy sex worker paired with a wealthy businessman — who doesn't sense love in the air? Despite their almost 20-year age difference, an unknown (at the time) Julia Roberts and established actor Richard Gere certainly created chemistry on multiple levels in Pretty Woman.
From the playful laugh that erupted out of Roberts when her character is watching TV or gets the jewelry box snapped shut to the seductive scenes where the two get very intimate on-camera, there is something to be admired about the mixture of high class and innocent love in this movie. No one can (or should) argue that seeing the two characters in the tub together in a fun and flirty way is not one of the most romantic scenes in all of rom-com history. Stream on DIRECTV
6 13 Going on 30 (2004)
13 Going on 30
- Release Date
- April 13, 2004
- Director
- Gary Winick
- Cast
- Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Judy Greer, Andy Serkis, Kathy Baker, Phil Reeves
- Rating
- PG-13
- Genres
- Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
Second chances are a very big deal when they involve love, and for Jenna Rink (Jennifer Garner) in 13 Going on 30, she needs to take full advantage of the second chance she gets with her best friend, Matty (Mark Ruffalo). When Jenna is magically sped through time to her "30, flirty, and thriving" self, she realizes she and her childhood best friend, Matt, are no longer close. She then pushes to be friends again, but, as anyone can see, Matt goes back and forth about his former feelings for his childhood crush.
Garner and Ruffalo know how to create chemistry through goofy and sweet encounters. From the playground scene where they are both rolling around in the sand to the couple being cuddled up on a couch outside their new home, fans' hearts burst with joy as the two finally got their happily ever after with one another. Stream on Netflix
5 Always Be My Maybe (2019)
It did not take much for Ali Wong and Randall Park to find their chemistry as friends, since they had been friends for more than 20 years before they decided to create the story that would eventually be called Always Be My Maybe. The two star in the film as a hustle-and-bustle businesswoman, who is always on the go, and a man stuck living in his hometown, who realizes he is afraid to move on since his mother's passing.
The friends-to-lovers trope is heavy in this film as Wong said she wanted to create a modern-day When Harry Met Sally... film (via New Yorker). The hilarity between the two feels natural, and given that the characters have always wanted the best for their friend, the chemistry comes across as sweet and authentic. Stream on Netflix
4 How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)
How to Lose A Guy In 10 Days
- Release Date
- February 7, 2003
- Director
- Donald Petrie
- Cast
- Kate Hudson, Matthew McConaughey, Kathryn Hahn, Annie Parisse, Adam Goldberg, Thomas Lennon
- Rating
- PG-13
- Genres
- Comedy, Romance
By just reading the title, one would expect that the characters, at least Kate Hudson's, would not be charming, since the premise is to lose a guy in 10 days. Granted, anyone that understands how rom-coms work knows that the title is deceiving, and the two will inevitably fall in love despite putting up an obnoxious front.
Matthew McConaughey has the southern charm in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and he knows how to play the romantic man going for what he wants. Hudson, on the other hand, has a smile that can light up a whole room and a laugh that is infectious. As the two play characters that have their own hidden agendas, audiences see natural and quirky interactions that create real chemistry between people. Stream on Paramount+
3 Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)
Crazy Stupid Love
- Release Date
- July 29, 2011
- Director
- Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
- Cast
- Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Analeigh Tipton, Jonah Bobo
- Rating
- PG-13
- Genres
- Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Romance
There are a lot of twists, turns, relationships, and hookups throughout Crazy, Stupid, Love, but the chemistry between Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone is off the charts. Gosling plays a womanizer named Jacob, who ends up falling for Stone's character, Hannah, who just so happens to be the daughter of the man (Steve Carell) he is helping become a womanizer.
What sets these two apart is how genuine their relationship feels with one another. They start off on a more comedic note as they spend their first night together talking, laughing, and being a bit awkward. Then, the romance comes when Jacob begins to fall in love with Hannah, as she is smart, beautiful, and worth the emotional time and effort. Hollywood seemed to like the pair as well because Stone and Gosling were thrown together as love interests in Gangster Squad and La La Land. Rent on YouTube
2 Fools Rush In (1997)
Matthew Perry is best-known for playing the funny guy, and Salma Hayek can really bring the seductive heat. When the two are paired in Fools Rush In as the standard businessman Alex and the free-spirit Isabel, viewers' hearts are racing while their bellies hurt from laughing so much.
The chemistry between Alex and Isabel is through the roof as they act first and think things through later. They allow passion to overcome them before settling down to talk things out — this results in pregnancy and then a marriage before even really getting to the dating stage. Between Perry's boyish smile and charm and Hayek's longing looks, there was no doubt these two shared a real bond on the set. Stream on DIRECTV
1 To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018)
To All The Boys Ive Loved Before
- Release Date
- August 16, 2018
- Director
- Susan Johnson
- Cast
- Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, Janel Parrish, Anna Cathcart, Andrew Bachelor, Oliver Mahoro Smith
- Genres
- Drama, Romance
Teen romantic comedy films can be tricky when compared to other rom-coms because the romance aspect has to be shifted. Rather than being sexy and seductive, the main characters' budding romance needs to be cute and adorable.
In To All The Boys I've Loved Before, Lara Jean (Lana Condor) begins a fake relationship with her former crush Peter (Noah Centineo) after she learns that all of her private love letters have been sent out to the boys she's loved. Peter wants to make his ex-girlfriend jealous, and Lara Jean want to avoid the other guys at all costs. However, the two develop feelings for one another, and the rest is history. Condor and Centineo capture the exact essence of what it is like to fall in love in high school, and their chemistry is off the charts as they get vulnerable and honest with one another. Stream on Netflix
Comments
Post a Comment