I love a good, happy chick flick! And my teen girls do too! Romantic comedies are our favorite. No tissues and tears for these girls. Teens have enough drama in their life already.
Have you ever had this happen? You sit down to watch a movie with your kids that you remember fondly. All the schedules lined up for a family movie night. You’ve agreed on the movie. You’ve got your popcorn. And then…
It’s just not as good as you remembered.
Or even worse.
Everyone has finally quit negotiating and pushing for the best seat and found a comfy spot on the couch. Or a beanbag on the floor. The lights are dim. Your kids’ trusting faces gaze at the glowing television screen.
And then….
You totally forgot there was THAT scene!
And, oh my, this is way sadder/more gruesome/scarier than you remembered.
(One of many I’m talking about – Indiana Jones. Oh. My. So much more violent than I remembered! Or the Karate Kid. Waayyy too much drug use. Show your kids the new Karate Kid, instead.)
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I love a good, happy chick flick! And my teen girls do too! Romantic comedies are our favorite. No tissues and tears for these girls. Teens have enough drama in their life already.
I started working on this list when my older daughter saw Leap Year and wanted more like it. You know what? Good romantic comedies are harder to find than you think! The height of their popularity – and good movies – seems to be 1990-2010. While I was in the middle of making all the links on this post, I listened to a podcast where a couple of bloggers were lamenting the lack of new romantic comedies.
One of the advantages to doing a lot of wrist physical therapy? I can pre-screen a LOT of movies.
This is a list is only movies from the 90’s to present that two generations love. This isn’t just good movies, but movies my daughters are happy to watch with me more than once.
So sadly, While You Were Sleeping didn’t make the list. (If it’s one of your favorite movies too, go ahead and give it a try. My daughter’s were willing to watch it once. And if your daughter loves it, let me know and I’ll come over and watch it with you.) You can find it down in the Also Ran’s that I couldn’t help but include at the end of the list.
For more movie ideas to watch with your daughter, check out movies to watch to improve your SAT score.
Best Rom Coms for Mothers & Daughters
Movies my daughter’s are glad to watch with me more than once. And sometimes over. And over. And over.
Sure, you can rent. But these are movies we’ve watched more than once. The girls love to have the DVDs and BluRays so they can easily choose a good movie to watch with their friends. With Christmas coming up, movies like these make great stocking stuffers!
These movies are all rated PG or PG-13, but sensitivities vary. Be sure to prescreen, or check out Common Sense Media age-rated reviews.
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Leap Year
This is my oldest daughter’s favorite Rom Com. The one that inspired me to go looking for more. Amy Adams is great in this movie. Warning! It may cause your daughter to wish for a trip to Ireland.
Watch Leap Year on-demand video on Amazon right now!
Hitch
This is my younger daughter’s favorite comedy. Will Smith might have the lead story line, but my favorite is Kevin James. The dancing? Too funny! And the awkwardness. Haven’t we all felt like this at some time in our dating lives?
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
Similar to Hitch, Kate Hudson plays another girl who’s had it with dating and guys. Good fun and great style. And diamonds!
Miss Congeniality
There isn’t a lot of romance in this, but it’s got Sandra Bullock. It was one of my girls’ favorites! Silly, without getting too ridiculous. And it’s all about things that are important other than appearance. Great messages for strong girls.
The Devil Wears Prada
The romance isn’t prominent in this movie, but this one is too good to skip. A glimpse at how the glamorous life can be less than glamorous. My girls grew up on Ella Enchanted and The Princess Diaries so they are big Anne Hathaway fans.
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Emma
A classic romance, and in our opinion, the best of the Jane Austen movies. This is a great way to introduce your girls to a classic author. And who knows, it just might increase their SAT scores too!
Austenland
This movie is a lot of fun! Watch it before or Emma. It can be a great introduction to Jane Austen, or a fun fantasy for an already avid fan. I think I remember this movie went straight to DVD, but I have no idea why.
Pride and Prejudice
Technically a tv mini-series. But we’ve watched almost all the Jane Austen movies and television series, and this is one of my girls’ favorites. Ahhh. Mr. Darcy.
Enchanted
Also great for tweens, this spoof on Disney Princesses makes me laugh and sing along. Whether you love a princess movie or hate them, I think you’ll find this funny. The clueless prince charming might be my favorite – I love the scene with the magic box (television.)
Mirror Mirror
This is another fairy tale variation, but this time we stay in the fairy tale world. A great retelling of Snow White, it also features Julia Roberts (who was in a lot of romantic comedies that didn’t make it on this list.)
Bride Wars
Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway. This is a great comedy about friendship, and romance.
13 Going on 30
It’s not all about success. Even better? She gets to fix things and all her wishes come true! Similar to Big, with Tom Hanks, it didn’t make us squirm, like Big did (We didn’t make it past the first few minutes of Big. One of those with scenes I didn’t remember.) Plus, my girls are Avengers fans so they loved a romantic comedy with Mark Ruffalo.
UPDATE 2019: My daughter recently picked this to watch at her 17th birthday party. Most of her friends hadn’t seen it – and they all loved it! So this is a great pick that is under the radar for most teen girls today. Don’t miss it!
Failure to Launch
A movie about parents trying to get their grown “boys” out of the house. Another one about a dating guru who fixes people’s romantic lives, if you loved Hitch, you’ll like this one.
The Best Chick Flick / RomCom “Also Rans”
While You Were Sleeping
Like I said, my girls thought While You Were Sleeping was just okay. I think they were disappointed with Who Sandra Bullock ended up with. But it’s still one of my all-time favorites with a good message about what true romance, not just a crush from afar, looks like.
Watch While You Were Sleeping On-Demand Video on Amazon right now!
Letters to Juliet
Letters to Juliet came so close to being a great movie. It just didn’t besides some awkwardly delivered lines, they just didn’t set up the beginning romance in the movie quite right for you to feel like it’s justified for it to fall apart. But lucky you, I came up with an alternate beginning that my daughters agree fixes the main problem.
Letters to Juliet starts with engaged couple Sophia and Victor who fly to Italy for a “pre-honeymoon” trip. Whatever that is. Sophia doesn’t wear a ring because they thinks it’s not necessary. How it should have started, was for Sophia and Victor to be engaged, but Victor thinks the ring isn’t necessary. Besides, they need to put the money into “his” restaurant. They haven’t quite set a date, but Sophia got all excited about a honeymoon to Italy and Victor told her to go ahead and book the trip. They’d get around to setting the wedding date later. Only they never did. The trip date is approaching and still no scheduled wedding bells! Sophia is upset, but Victor says that’s not reason to let it spoil their trip. Besides, it will be great research for the restaurant….
And you’re off to enjoy the movie! And there’s beautiful countryside to enjoy!
Watch Letters to Juliet on-demand on Amazon Video
Kate & Leopold
This reminds me a bit of Enchanted, but this fish-out-of-water story isn’t fairy tale, but time travel. If you can get past what Meg Ryan has done to her lips and hair in this movie, I think you’ll love it.
Two Weeks Notice
Two of my favorites in this one, Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock, but the story doesn’t quite come together. Still, worth a watch!
You’ve Got Mail
The best of the older romantic comedies, this will make you long for the corner book store. And the antiquated technology is charming and quite funnier to talk about with the younger generation. Plus the cinematography is really good!
Sleepless in Seattle
I remembered loving this so much. <Sigh> It hasn’t aged as well as You’ve Got Mail. And my daughter’s just didn’t find the romance believable.
Father of the Bride
I still love this, but my girls don’t find it as funny as I do. I guess my girls aren’t ready to laugh at wedding mishaps yet. And they want less goofiness in their romantic comedies.
Becoming Jane
This is really well done and can be a great introduction to Jane Austen. I’ve read a bit on the life of Jane Austen, and the story rings true. It’s just too sad for my girls they want a happy ending. Still, it can be a good introduction to Jane Austen.
Miss Potter
Once again, true life of the women writer’s long ago wasn’t a fairy tale. Even though they gave this movie a happier ending, the sadness in the middle didn’t overcome it.
The Lake House
This is not as funny, maybe it’s not even called a romantic comedy. Maybe it’s just a romance. There’s a happy ending, but like Made of Honor, below, I think the girl ends up with the wrong guy.
Notting Hill
The girls liked this one. But, be forewarned that there’s a roommate that is hilariously off-color that causes lots of embarrassment (both in and out of the movie.) Actually, when we watched it I was trying to find The Englishman who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain. I was looking for a movie with beautiful scenery like Leap Year (see above).
Life as We Know It
This was cute. But my daughter balled her eyes out when the two best friends died, leaving the orphan. She just couldn’t get past that.
The Bounty Hunter
This has some fun action scenes. But I think my daughter’s were put off by how much the romantic leads despised each other at the start of the movie.
Rumor has it…
The love story between Jennifer Aniston and Mark Ruffalo is totally cute, but the creepiness of her being attracted to and sleeping with Kevin Costner, who might be her dad, totally ruined it for us.
Made of Honor
As a mom, this just didn’t work for me. The girl ended up with the wrong guy. The Lake House was a better movie, even if this one was a lighter movie and more of a romantic comedy.
Three Men and Baby
I know the premise started out with irresponsible men who were old enough to know better, but after getting past that it just wasn’t as funny as I remembered. And the DVD quality was low. It’s just too old, and not yet a classic. (Maybe it won’t be.)
The top 3 romantic comedy movies
It just doesn’t seem right to leave on a low note. So, let’s end with clips of our three favorites instead! (I’m not sure why, but the clips look more dated than the movies do when you watch them. Don’t let that throw you off.) And don’t forget to check out post about movies to increase your SAT score, for more great movies to watch with your tween and teens!
My daughters’ favorite romantic comedies
Leap Year
Hitch
And my favorite romcom…
While You Were Sleeping
