For what felt like the longest hiatus of good quality romcoms, 2024 brought many welcome surprises for hopeless romantics. The audience is finally getting to bask in sincere storylines that leave lasting impressions on their minds and a warm feeling in their hearts. In an era where Artificial Intelligence slowly creeps into every aspect of mundane life, romantic movies are that sprinkle of humane realness that one needs to feel alive from time to time. Too much time has passed since people wept for days after watching A Walk to Remember or waited with bated breath to see if Edward (Richard Gere) from Pretty Woman would run after Vivian (Julia Roberts) to give her a fairytale ending.
Although the best rom-coms of all time are far from realistic, there’s something special about creating a romantic narrative that conjures sincere emotions from viewers. While movies like The Kissing Booth and After were Gen-Z-coded interpretations of modern-day romance, they lack the punch and prowess to sell the storyline without seeming hollow. Rom-coms have been dying as a genre since the beginning of 2018, with an odd one hitting the spot momentarily but hardly leaving any rewatch value. But fret not! Because rom-coms are making a solid comeback in 2024. With some impactful releases that kicked off the year, there is still much to look forward to in the months to come. Let’s dive into a quick refresher!
The First Half of 2024 Served Up Bangers Like ‘The Idea of You’ and ‘Turtles All The Way Down’
Although released in 2023, Anyone But You deserves special mention for setting off the fireworks for the rom-com brigade of 2024. The rom-com starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell was released in December 2023 but was a sleeper hit that blew up in the beginning of 2024. Although the movie bursts at the seams with cliché romantic tropes and too-good-to-be-true characters, that’s the surefire recipe for making a quality cheesy movie. The Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine movie The Idea of You came shortly after. This book-to-movie adaptation blew our minds with its adorable storytelling, catchy music, and intense professions of love.
Another book adapted into a movie was John Green’s Turtles All The Way Down, starring Isabela Merced and Felix Mallard. This romcom was unique in its own way and even banked on emphasizing the importance of friendship, similar to that in Wild Child and The Duff. The film was an endearing showcase of a flawless storyline, an imperfect female lead, and the most adorable display of love languages. As a character, Davis Pickett (Mallard) is worthy of all the praise for being the greenest flag out there!
‘It Ends With Us’ Has Been Garnering All the Hype
The highly anticipated romance drama starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni has been the talk of the town for months now! The movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s popular novel It Ends With Us has had fans in a chokehold and just as the film was finally hit theatres on August 9, 2024, it became the talk of the town. The fact that Baldoni also serves as the movie’s director almost cements that the screenplay and storyline will most definitely tap into all our deepest emotions. The Jane The Virgin heartthrob has previously wowed fans with his directorial debut Five Feet Apart, which had viewers crying incessantly during the climax.
The trailer for It Ends With Us has garnered over a million views, with Taylor Swift’s “My Tears Ricochet” serving as the icing on the cake to step on the excitement accelerator. Even though fans of the book aren’t the happiest about the characters being made older and the outfits worn by Lively’s character, Daisy Bloom, they seem like insignificant aspects that would hardly interrupt the rich directorial prowess and acting talents. The film has collectively raked in $242 million at the worldwide box office so far.
Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh’s ‘We Live in Time’ Looks Infinitely Promising
In this The Fault in Our Stars meets Marriage Story rom-com, Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh serve on-screen chemistry at its finest. We Live in Time is an upcoming romantic movie set to release in the US on October 11, 2024. The trailer for the sincere and moving love story of Tobias and Almut has already left viewers with a lasting impression. The trailer alone captures the essence of what lies ahead as it conjures powerful emotions and endless tears. What’s instantly refreshing is the emphasis on love, family, and connection rather than the story being sexually charged with some intruguing characters. A realness emanates from the film’s promos and glimpses from the trailer that stir up anticipation to dive into this rom-com.
‘A Family Affair’ and ‘Mother of The Bride’ Are the Rare Black Sheep in the Genre
Of course, there are a few rom-coms that unfortunately missed the mark. The highly anticipated movie starring Joey King, Nicole Kidman, and Zac Efron, A Family Affair, was a great example of how a talented cast does not guarantee a film’s success. The movie lacked depth, and the storytelling was mediocre at best, with Kidman and Efron’s characters failing to capture genuine emotions or empathy from viewers. To make matters worse, King’s Zara was an entitled single child who desperately needed to gain some perspective.
Speaking of single children, Emma (Miranda Cosgrove) from Mother of The Bride was another character who proved insufferable. Although this Netflix romance had pulled out the big guns by roping in thespians like Brooke Shields and Chad Michael Murray, the movie lacked soul. A majority of the plot felt forced, with most characters flailing about without making much impact. For a film named Mother of The Bride, even the chemistry between the mother and daughter felt wildly distant and unnatural.
But despite an odd hiccup here and there, 2024 has proved to be quite a promising year for rom-com enthusiasts. This comes at a great time when lover girls and chivalrous men slowly reach extinction to remind viewers that love can be a beautiful emotion that deserves all the pomp and pageantry! Don’t forget to check out top 7 heart-warming rom-coms of all time!
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