Romantic comedy is among the most inspirational genres, and has been entertaining audiences for decades with stories that make even the most cynical person believe in love. Admittedly, they are quite predictable: in the vast majority of them, two characters, who seem to be meant for one another, fall in love, are forced to part ways for whatever reason, and end up getting back together again, achieving their happy ending. Even so, audiences still watch every new rom-com despite knowing its formula by heart, because what's most important about rom-coms is not how groundbreaking they are, but how they make us feel.
Over the years, there have been many films that turned into genre classics, such as 10 Things I Hate About You, Pretty Woman, and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, among many, many others. And while each hit is unique in its own way, they all share one trait that made audiences love them in the first place: their leads share an undeniable on-screen chemistry. This hugely important element that should be in each and every rom-com is not so easy to find or pull off, and so there have been some films released over time featuring incredibly beautiful leads with zero chemistry between them. Have a look at 15 of them below.
15 Ashton Kutcher and Lea Michele — New Year's Eve (2011)
2011 marked the premiere of Garry Marshall's New Year's Eve, a rom-com featuring some of the industry's most renowned stars. It follows different characters whose stories intertwine during New Year's Eve in New York, and despite poor critical reviews, it became a box-office hit. Among all the storylines this rom-com follows, the audience meets Randy and Elise, two neighbors who get trapped in an elevator hours before midnight (played by Asthon Kutcher and Lea Michele, respectively).
What Their Chemistry Lacked
It is clear from the start that the two are very different from each other, and although they initially despise one another, as the hours go by, they discover their true feelings. Still, the connection between the characters is not fully evident, and this is only worsened by the short amount of screen time they are given to fully develop their story. Rent on Apple TV
14 Reese Witherspoon and Tom Hardy — This Means War (2012)
This Means War was released in 2012, with McG serving as director and Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, and Tom Hardy leading the cast. This spy rom-com follows two friends and CIA agents (Pine and Hardy), whose bond goes sour upon discovering that they are dating the same woman (Witherspoon). Since neither is willing to step aside, the friends engage in a war, where anything goes, to win over their sweetheart.
What Their Chemistry Lacked
Witherspoon, Pine, and Hardy are three undeniably beautiful movie stars, and perhaps that's why the lack of chemistry in this rom-com was all the more disappointing. As much as the film tries to make one believe that the bonds between the male leads and Witherspoon's character are strong enough to start a war, the truth is that they were never there in the first place. In an interview with USA Today, Hardy stated that he felt miserable while shooting the film, which could have contributed greatly to the lack of chemistry between the stars. Rent on Apple TV
13 Constance Wu and Henry Golding — Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
Crazy Rich Asians premiered in 2018, adapting Kevin Kwan's best-selling novel to the silver screen. This film by Jon M. Chu, starring Constance Wu and Henry Golding, follows Rachel, a young woman who travels with her boyfriend to a wedding in Singapore, only to discover that he is part of an extremely wealthy family that is willing to do whatever it takes to push her away.
What Their Chemistry Lacked
Chu's film not only earned rave reviews, it also became one of the highest-grossing rom-coms of all time. Still, many people in the audience struggled to spot the chemistry between Golding and Wu, whose characters seemed to have less development than even some of the minor ones. The overall lack of spark may also have been due to Golding's nervousness over his first major film role, which sparked controversy from the start because many fans didn't consider him "Asian enough" for the part. Stream on Hulu
12 Chris O'Donnell and Renée Zellweger — The Bachelor (1999)
Chris O'Donnell and Renée Zellweger star in The Bachelor, a rom-com directed by Gary Sinyor that served as a remake of 1925's Seven Chances. In it, O'Donnell plays Jimmie, a young man who, having ruined his proposal to his girlfriend, discovers that he needs to wed in less than a day to inherit a huge family fortune. Frantic, he sets out to find a woman to marry, but this mission proves to be trickier than expected.
What Their Chemistry Lacked
For starters, The Bachelor's premise is very sketchy: even though Jimmie ends up learning an important moral lesson along the way, he spends most of the film searching for candidates just so he can collect his inheritance, not caring too much about his breakup with Anne or his feelings for her. His character comes across as too shallow, and Zellweger's Anne seems a bit forgettable in a story that isn't all that believable either. Rent on Apple TV
11 Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae — The Lovebirds (2020)
The Lovebirds is a film by Michael Showalter that hit Netflix in 2020. Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani star as Leilani and Jibran, a couple going through a rough patch who, after being wrongfully accused of a murder they only witnessed, sets out to solve the crime to set things right.
What Their Chemistry Lacked
The film delivers a hilarious story that entertains the audience from start to finish, featuring two actors who are both charming and amusing. The main problem with this Netflix romantic comedy is that it is way too funny and not romantic enough, and the leads come across as best friends rather than lovers. Stream on Netflix
10 Molly Ringwald and Andrew McCarthy — Pretty In Pink (1986)
In the cult classic by Howard Deutch, Pretty in Pink, Molly Ringwald plays Andie, a young working-class girl, who strikes up an affair with Blane (Andrew McCarthy), one of the most popular and wealthy boys in school, but the fact that they come from different social backgrounds makes matters really complicated.
What Their Chemistry Lacked
Pretty in Pink is a teen classic that made Ringwald even more famous back in the 1980s. But while it is a really entertaining rom-com, the chemistry between the leads is not quite evident throughout the film. This may have to do with the tension between Ringwald and McCarthy during production, as it was reported that they didn't get along well due to personal differences. Stream on Paramount+
9 Jennifer Lopez and Ralph Fiennes — Maid In Manhattan (2002)
Maid in Manhattan is a 2002 film, directed by Wayne Wang and starring Jennifer Lopez and Ralph Fiennes. This rom-com became a hit despite its mixed reviews, and follows a single mother working as a maid at a high-profile hotel, who falls in love with a politician who mistakes her to be a guest of the place.
What Their Chemistry Lacked
Like many other rom-coms, Maid in Manhattan has such a predictable script that it is easy to anticipate the outcome after only watching the first few minutes. Still, the film's biggest problem (and what probably contributed to its poor reviews) is the lack of chemistry between Lopez and Fiennes. In an interview for Details many years later, the actor blamed himself for the absence of sparks in the production, claiming that he was out of his element and that Lopez was "terribly good in it" anyway (via Hollywood). Rent on AppleTV
8 Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore — Music And Lyrics (2007)
2007 marked the premiere of Music and Lyrics, a film by Marc Lawrence starring Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. In it, he plays Alex, a former pop idol who gets a shot at rekindling his career by writing a song for a current pop star. Since songwriting doesn't come as naturally to him as it has in the past, he enlists the help of the young woman who waters his plants, who appears to be more talented than he is, unaware that this collaboration would spark a relationship like no other.
What Their Chemistry Lacked
By the time Music and Lyrics premiered, Barrymore and Grant were already two renowned stars of the industry, each with several rom-coms under their belts. Still, the romantic sparks between them simply didn't fly, and their on-screen relationship came across as rather basic and unconvincing. Years later, Grant revealed (per Independent) that, at the time, he had a really bad attitude that caused Hollywood to give up on him, which may explain the glaring lack of chemistry in this rom-com. Rent on Apple TV
7 Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel — (500) Days Of Summer (2009)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel star in (500) Days Of Summer, a film by Marc Webb that hit the silver screen in 2009. This rom-com explores the memories of hopeless romantic Tom, regarding his flawed romance with a young girl named Summer, as he tries to understand where things took a turn for the worse.
What Their Chemistry Lacked
(500) Days of Summer is a rather unique rom-com, because unlike most, its leads don't end up together. Their story is quite closer to real-life love, with characters displaying their not-so-perfect sides. Even though this production became a huge hit, it's safe to say that Tom and Summer's relationship doesn't seem particularly sizzling, and this could stem from both actors being close friends long before they landed their roles in the film. Stream on Max
6 Nina Dobrev and Jimmy O. Yang — Love Hard (2021)
Love Hard
- Release Date
- November 5, 2021
- Director
- Hernán Jiménez
- Cast
- Nina Dobrev , Jimmy O. Yang , Darren Barnet , James Saito , Rebecca Staab
Love Hard is a Christmas rom-com by Hernan Jimenez, starring Nina Dobrev and Jimmy O. Yang. This Netflix original film, released in 2021, follows Natalie, an LA columnist with very bad luck in love who, having hit it off with a beautiful guy on a dating app, travels to his hometown only to discover she's been catfished.
What Their Chemistry Lacked
Here, the leads got off on the wrong foot, with the male lead claiming to be someone else for the sole purpose of impressing Natalie. Meanwhile, she pretends to be someone she is not in order to impress another man. While the two eventually discover their feelings for one another, their connection seems too forced and inorganic, not to mention that the path that brought them together is full of lies. Rent on Apple TV
5 Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher — No Strings Attached (2011)
Ivan Reitman helms No Strings Attached, a 2011 rom-com with mixed reviews that still became a box-office hit. In it, Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher are Emma and Adam, two lifelong friends who, after having sex, arrange to have a physical relationship with no feelings involved, something they won't be able to maintain for too long.
What Their Chemistry Lacked
Although the rom-com wants us to believe that Portman and Kutcher's characters develop feelings over time, the truth is that their sparks never really show, and Emma and Adam appear to be nothing but friends — even at the end. Their lack of chemistry may have to do with certain tensions reported during the project over the huge salary gap between the leads, with Portman being severly underpaid, getting about a third of what Kutcher earned for his role. Stream on Paramount+
4 Emma Roberts and Hayden Christensen — Little Italy (2018)
2018 marked the premiere of Little Italy, a film by Donald Petrie that was terribly panned by critics following its release. Emma Roberts and Hayden Christensen lead the cast as Nikki and Leo, two young people from Toronto's Little Italy neighborhood, who embark on a romance. But there's a problem: their parents own rival pizzerias, and the two families have been feuding for decades.
What Their Chemistry Lacked
Little Italy was panned for its predictable script and for stereotyping cultures and sexual orientations, becoming one of the worst films of its release year. But besides the poor script, another thing that probably contributed to the lack of chemistry between the leads was the tension between them, since, according to media reports of the time, Christensen allegedly cheated on his girlfriend with Roberts during filming. Rent on Apple TV
3 Lindsay Lohan and Chord Overstreet — Falling for Christmas (2022)
Falling for Christmas was one of the most eagerly awaited films of 2022, precisely because it marked Lindsay Lohan's return to movies after a long time. In this Christmas rom-com, which kicked off Janeen Damian's career as director, the actress plays Sierra, a wealthy hotel heiress who, following a skiing accident, loses her memory and is left in the care of a lodge owner (played by Chord Overstreet) and his daughter, both of whom will be crucial in her healing journey.
What Their Chemistry Lacked
Regardless of Falling for Christmas' reviews, everyone was happy to see Lohan well and spearheading a new project. Yet, there's no denying that the lack of chemistry between her and Overstreet is glaring, and the romantic connection between their characters is practically non-existent. Most likely, the jitters of returning to lead roles in film got the best of both of them. Stream on Netflix
2 Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson — Marry Me (2022)
Marry Me
Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson star in this new rom-com about a superstar singer deciding to marry a stranger in the crowd of one of her performances.
- Release Date
- February 11, 2022
Kat Valdez is a music superstar about to marry her fiancé before a packed audience at a televised ceremony. But after discovering right then and there that the man cheated on her, she makes the most impulsive decision of her life: marrying a complete stranger in the audience, not imagining how much this would change both of their lives. That's the plot of Marry Me, the 2022 film directed by Kat Coiro that features Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson in starring roles.
What Their Chemistry Lacked
Both Lopez and Wilson are actors with plenty of experience in the genre — they're queen and king of rom-coms, really — so everyone expected charming performances from both of them. Reality, however, was far from that: the chemistry between the two was simply non-existent, their scenes seemed forced, and the whole "opposites attract" premise was taken so far to the extreme that Wilson's character became utterly forgettable. Stream on Starz
1 Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher — Your Place or Mine (2023)
Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher star in Your Place or Mine, the 2023 film that marked Aline Brosh McKenna's directorial debut. In it, they star as Debbie and Peter, two lifelong friends with totally opposite lives who swap houses for a week, something that is about to shake up the way they feel about each other.
What Their Chemistry Lacked
The lack of chemistry between Witherspoon and Kutcher in this rom-com is so glaring that it was, in fact, the one thing the film was most criticized for. They are both veterans of the genre and the industry in general, yet they don't seem to connect beyond a friendship. Their lack of connection is further evidenced by the absence of face-to-face interactions between them, and the palpable chemistry Witherspoon's character has with Jesse Williams' Theo. Stream on Netflix
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