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Romantic comedies might have that “guilty pleasure” rep, but at the end of the day, they’re another form of self-care. Most of them bring that too-good-to-be-true Hollywood glow while also sneaking in simple yet effective lessons about love, timing, and sometimes, knowing when the hell to run in the other direction. While the genre has evolved a lot over the years, Peacock has gathered some of the silliest, most charming titles in one place.
If you need a nostalgic pick-me-up, Clueless still has gas left in the tank after 30 years. Want something more current? Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy explores dating in the Tinder age. And if you’re in a slump, Lisa Frankenstein is ready to revive you. Whatever your heart desires, you’ll find it on EW’s list of the best rom-coms on Peacock.
27 Dresses (2008)
Everett Collection
Jane Nichols (Katherine Heigl) has always been the bridesmaid, never the bride. But Jane reaches a turning point when her self-absorbed sister (Malin Åkerman) gets engaged to the man she secretly loves and asks her to plan the wedding. A forgotten day planner left in a cab ends up in the hands of a dreamy-eyed reporter (James Marsden), who sees there’s more to Jane than tulle and bouquet tosses.
Marsden as the swoony male rom-com lead may be reason enough to watch, but for anyone still on the fence, 27 Dresses delivers the cheesy, formulaic juice to satisfy your need for that inevitable happily-ever-after. —James Mercadante
Where to watch 27 Dresses: Peacock
EW grade: (Read the review)
Director: Anne Fletcher
Cast: Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Malin Åkerman, Ed Burns
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (2025)
Jay Maidment/Universal Pictures
Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) is back, but her life looks much different. Now a single mom and widow, the film begins four years after Bridget’s husband, Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), is killed during a humanitarian mission. Bridget’s grief is still fresh, but she decides to dive into the modern dating pool and sign up for Tinder.
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is the fourth installment in the franchise, and Bridget’s new journey includes connections with 29-year-old park ranger Roxster (Leo Woodall) and her son’s science teacher, Mr. Wallaker (Chiwetel Ejiofor). The film has plenty of Easter eggs for fans of the original Bridget Jones’s Diary, and is a tribute to learning to thrive on the other side of sudden loss. —Ilana Gordon
Where to watch Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy: Peacock
Director: Michael Morris
Cast: Renée Zellweger, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Leo Woodall, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant
Bros (2022)
Courtesy of TIFF
Bros bombed at the box office, and while critics and pundits will argue the reason, it’s clear the blame doesn’t fall on the quality of the film. A romantic comedy led by Billy Eichner — the first out gay man to co-write and star in his own major studio film — Bros follows the proudly single Bobby Lieber (Eichner) as he accidentally falls for the masc-presenting Aaron (Luke Macfarlane).
A Judd Apatow production, Bros has the requisite one-liners, witty banter, and celebrity cameos necessary to boost the comedic sections of the movie. But it’s the romantic portions that truly distinguish the film. As EW’s critic notes, “Bros wears its queerness proudly, without stooping to cater overmuch to whatever elusive demographics might qualify it as a ‘crossover’ success.” —I.G.
EW grade: B+ (read the review)
Director: Nicholas Stoller
Cast: Billy Eichner, Luke Macfarlane, Guy Branum
Clueless (1995)
Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
It’s been three decades since Hollywood introduced the world to classic Valley girl Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone), who has a heart as oversized as her Beverly Hills mansion. She’s always matchmaking and makeover-ing everyone around her, but when it comes to her own love life, she’s turning down every dead-end road. Turns out, her Baldwin has been in the passenger seat all along.
Based on Jane Austen‘s Emma, Amy Heckerling’s seminal film is the kind of rom-com you finish and immediately want to restart. With its quotable dialogue, Mona May’s iconic costuming, and a soundtrack that could not be more era-perfect, Clueless still feels as fizzy and warm as it did 30 years ago. —J.M.
Where to watch Clueless: Peacock
EW grade: (Read the review)
Director: Amy Heckerling
Cast: Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash, Paul Rudd, Brittany Murphy, Donald Faison
Emma. (2020)
Focus Features
While Clueless (1995) might forever reign as the best of Jane Austen‘s Emma adaptations, Autumn de Wilde‘s 2020 reimagining is a worthy contender that musters the novelist’s immortal spirit. Anya Taylor-Joy steps into the shoes of its eponymous lead, a wealthy Regency-era woman whose matchmaking antics eclipse her own romantic prospects.
Bathed in a sumptuous pastel mise en scène — which earned Oscar nominations for Best Costume Design and Best Makeup and Hairstyling — and featuring standout performances from Taylor-Joy and Mia Goth, Emma. seamlessly demonstrates how to modernize a period piece without sacrificing its inherent charm. —J.M.
EW grade: B+ (read the review)
Director: Autumn de Wilde
Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Johnny Flynn, Josh O’Connor, Callum Turner, Mia Goth
If You Were the Last (2023)
Peacock/Everett
This Peacock Original takes the forced proximity trope to new heights… literally. Zoë Chao and Anthony Mackie star as two astronauts stranded on a malfunctioning ship, drifting through space with no chance of rescue. Despite being married to others back on Earth, they can’t help but wonder if their one-in-a-million situation qualifies as a hall pass.
Leaning into its far-fetched premise, If You Were the Last is a self-aware rom-com that embraces its science-fair-project aesthetics and delightfully artificial space backdrops. However, what grounds the film is the palpable chemistry between Chao and Mackie, who bring a delightful rhythm to their characters’ humdrum routines. —J.M.
Where to watch If You Were the Last: Peacock
Director: Kristian Mercado
Cast: Anthony Mackie, Zoë Chao, Natalie Morales, Geoff Stults, Missi Pyle
Lisa Frankenstein (2024)
Michele K. Short/Focus Features
Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton) isn’t daydreaming about the high school quarterback or boy band heartthrobs; her heart beats for a centuries-old Victorian corpse. When a lightning bolt zaps her dead crush back to life as a voiceless, Frankenstein’s monster-like creature (Cole Sprouse), Lisa reintroduces him how to be a human, how to fall in love… and how to bury a body.
From the mind of Jennifer’s Body writer Diablo Cody, Lisa Frankenstein is an eccentric interpretation of Mary Shelley’s 1818 classic that plays like the strangest fever-dream rom-com. With its nostalgic ’80s setting and Newton’s tour de force performance, this Tim Burton-esque romp lays the groundwork for a future cult classic. —J.M.
Where to watch Lisa Frankenstein: Peacock
Director: Zelda Williams
Cast: Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, Liza Soberano, Joe Chrest, Carla Gugino
Reality of Love (2004)
Prime
At the height of the Bachelor boom, ABC decided to milk its then-newest phenomenon with a made-for-TV movie that fictionalizes the behind-the-scenes drama. Ryan Banks (Jason Priestley) is a movie star on the cusp of irrelevance, and his best friend/agent, Todd (Bradley Cooper), hatches a “genius” plan to stage a Bachelor-knockoff dating show to fix his image. While 15 women vie for the actor’s heart, one contestant ends up getting Cyrano’d — and falls for the man pulling the strings: Todd.
One of those so-bad-it’s-so-good gems, Reality of Love is a cheesy yet irresistible rom-com full of family-friendly sweetness and early-Y2K nostalgia. Plus, it gives you pre-fame Cooper in one of his earliest rom-com lead parts. —J.M.
Where to watch Reality of Love: Peacock
Director: Sheldon Larry
Cast: Jason Priestley, Bradley Cooper, Emma Caulfield, Mark L. Walberg
Sliding Doors (1998)
Miramax/Everett
If The Butterfly Effect was a romantic comedy, it would look something like Sliding Doors. Gwyneth Paltrow stars as Helen, a London publicist whose life after being fired unfolds in parallel storylines: One details what happens after she catches a train home, the other tells the story of what happens after she misses it. As Helen’s two paths deviate and coincide throughout the film, her love life and career trajectory form separate arcs.
Alternately funny, tragic, and ultimately very, very British, EW’s critic writes, “writer-director Peter Howitt demonstrates a lovely feel for the dreamy poetry of what-ifs — a deeply satisfying formula for romances and melodramas, from It’s a Wonderful Life to Brief Encounter.” —I.G.
Where to watch Sliding Doors: Peacock
EW grade: (Read the review)
Directors: Peter Howitt
Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, John Hannah, John Lynch, Jeanne Tripplehorn
Stuck in Love (2013)
Jim Bridges/Millennium Entertainment/Everett
Novelist Bill Borgens (Greg Kinnear) hasn’t penned a word since his wife, Erica (Jennifer Connelly), left him three years ago. As he indulges in the unhealthy habit of spying on his ex, his children, Samantha (Lily Collins) and Rusty (Nat Wolff), write their own love stories.
Though not exactly cinematic brilliance, Stuck in Love is a solid enough romantic comedy that ends more or less exactly how you expect it to. Sure, the film wades into soap opera-esque territory more than once — especially with the predictably sappy ending — but the at-times unusual and always heartfelt family dynamic between Bill, Erica, Samantha, and Rusty still rings true. —Stephanie Kaloi
Where to watch Stuck in Love: Peacock
Director: Josh Boone
Cast: Jennifer Connelly, Greg Kinnear, Lily Collins, Nat Wolff, Logan Lerman
Ticket to Paradise (2022)
Vince Valitutti/Universal Studios
More than two decades after they first costarred in Ocean’s Eleven (2001), real-life pals Julia Roberts and George Clooney brought their well-oiled repertoire to Ticket to Paradise — a glossy rom-com where they play bickering exes forced back into each other’s proximity at their daughter’s (Kaitlyn Dever) surprise Bali wedding.
You can pretty much guess the entire plot from the trailer alone (not a complaint!), and that’s kind of the point: The film knows exactly what it is. What really sells it, though, is the combined appeal of the two leads, which EW’s critic says “should have its own collective noun: a pizzazz of mass appeal, a glamour of enchantment.” And the Bali of it all gives rom-com fans the perfect escapist fix. —J.M.
Where to watch Ticket to Paradise: Peacock
Director: Ol Parker
EW grade: (Read the review)
Cast: Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Kaitlyn Dever, Maxime Bouttier
