14 Rom-Coms That Are Surprisingly Realistic About Love

Rom-coms can be super depressing if you’re watching the wrong one. Luckily, there are a bunch of really cool, realistic romantic comedies out there that won’t only make you laugh but will also probably remind you of your own love life.

  1. Obvious Child What’s more relatable than Jenny Slate and an unplanned pregnancy? In this movie, Jenny’s character has a fling with a stranger, ends up pregnant and is left with some very crucial decisions to make. A very realistic situation that could happen to anyone and does on a daily basis. This is kind of the best.
  2. The Pretty One Our favorite indie rom-com star Zoe Kazan plays twins in this quirky switch-up film. After the more attractive twin dies in a car crash, the shy, awkward one takes her place —as well as her love interest played by Jake Johnson. I mean, yes, this probably would never happen in real life, but Zoe plays off this highly unlikely situation in a very believable, down-to-earth kinda way.
  3. The Big Sick Kumail Nanjiani’s flick (which he co-wrote with his wife) is the true story of how the two met and really is one of the sweetest, most relatable rom-coms out there. In the end, they don’t end up together… but instead of the guy changing his mind and running after the woman, it’s the other way around.
  4. What If Another Zoe Kazan masterpiece. What If is all about the friend zone and is at times painfully realistic. It kinda makes you cringe knowing that you’ve definitely put someone in that situation before. Either that or you’ve been in it yourself and will be reliving those awkward memories.
  5. When Harry Met Sally What’s a rom-com list without the classic, undeniable When Harry Met Sally? If you haven’t seen this movie, I don’t think we can be friends. It’s just perfect—and pretty realistic considering how LONG it took for these people to actually fall in love… because we all know love at first sight doesn’t really exist.
  6. Frances Ha Kind of a comedy, kind of a drama, Frances Ha is the ultimate rom-com heroine. She WANTS a relationship more than ever but is blind to the one guy who actually likes her. The scene at the end where she finds out he had feelings for her will no doubt make you reflect on all the times that’s happened to you.
  7. 500 Days of Summer Ah yes, the rom-com of our generation. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a love-hungry greeting card writer who falls in love with his co-worker, Zooey Deschanel. The thing is, they DON’T end up together in the end and both end up just accepting that sometimes people are meant to be in your life for just a season.
  8. Juno Leave it to Michael Cera to portray the more vulnerable, shy side of men just perfectly. Juno is actually the one who leads Cera’s character around and quote-unquote “courts” him, if you could call stuffing someone’s mailbox with a thousand boxes of orange tic tac courting.
  9. Friends With Benefits This movie has never been more relevant. Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake play friends who are tired of getting hurt in love and embark on an FWB adventure with no strings attached. Obviously, things get complicated because that’s the way most FWB relationships end up in real life.
  10. Silver Linings Playbook Bradley Cooper, who’s just coming out of a mental institution, be-friends Jennifer Lawrence, the cute, kinda neurotic neighbor next-door. They’re both in a bad place in their lives and the courting process is messy as hell, but they pull it together in the end. It’s not a very romantic rom-com, but it’s definitely real.
  11. Forgetting Sarah Marshall Jason Segel plays a frumpy, sad musician who just got dumped by his famous girlfriend. He still loves her though and is so obsessed that he follows her to a resort in Hawaii where he has to deal with her new douchey boyfriend played by Russell Brand. This movie is very realistic about how long it actually takes to get over someone and the lengths people will go to for one more chance.
  12. Bridget Jones’ Diary Bridget has no one but two guys chasing her and the way she juggles this is hilarious and highly relatable. She’s not cool about it—she’s stressed as all hell like any girl should be.
  13. She’s Out Of My League This movie actually acknowledges that average men should not be ending up with hot, gorgeous women, even though Hollywood likes to make this seem totally normal. Jay Baruchel plays a dull, average guy who attracts interest from a woman who’s completely—you guessed it—out of his league. It’s refreshing to see a guy actually acknowledge that it isn’t normal for something like this to happen.
  14. He’s Just Not That Into You This movie shows the more desperate side of women. All those times we’ve freaked out about whether or not a guy likes us is encapsulated into this one movie. It’s not just guys who get all awkward about dating, it’s girls too!
Jennifer is a playwright, dancer, and theatre nerd living in the big city of Toronto, Canada. She studied Creative Writing at Concordia University and works as a lifestyle writer who focuses on Health, B2B, Tech, Psychology, Science, Food Trends and Millennial Life. She's also a coreographer, playwright, and lyricist, with choreography credits for McMaster University’s “Spring Awakening,” “Roxanne” for the Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival, and “The Beaver Den” for The LOT, among others.

You can see more of her work on her Contently page and follow her on Instagram @jenniferenchin.
close-link
close-link
close-link
close-link