We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. Romantic comedies made in the new millennium just hit different. They typically star a line-up of hardworking, cosmopolitan women See: Andie Anderson in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days , or Sara Melas in Hitch , and a charming love interest who inevitably wrecks the dating expectations of generations to come I'm looking at you, Mark Ruffalo in 13 Going on Overall, the decade between and spawned some of the most romantic movies that Hollywood has ever seen, and helped to cement the movie star status of some of our favorite leading ladies, including Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Lopez, and Kate Hudson.
There is arguably no better example of a perfectly executed rom-com than How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. The flick gives viewers everything they could ask for from the genre: infectious chemistry between the two main leads in this case, Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey , a miscommunication trope that sends our leading lady and her love interest spiraling out of control, and a cosmopolitan wardrobe that will forever live on in the Hall of Best-Dressed Movie Characters need I mention Hudson's yellow slipdress?
At the women's general interest magazine she works at, Andie Anderson pitches a how-to guide on losing a man, intending to exhibit all the different ways women drive prospective husbands away by virtue of being too clingy or too available way too soon. Her victim of choice is Benjamin Barry, a marketing exec who bets on making a woman fall in love with him within the span of 10 days in order to secure a lucrative jewelry account. Chaos ensues! Plenty of rom-coms made in the aughties took inspiration from literary classics, and She's the Man is no exception.
Based off of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night , the movie follows Viola Amanda Bynes , a soccer player who decides to impersonate her brother at his new boarding school in order to prove that girls can be just as athletic as guys. But, things get complicated when she meets her extremely attractive roommate and soccer teammate, Duke Channing Tatum. Bynes has some of her best comedic moments in this movie, delivering a quippy and physical performance that manages to make you both laugh out loud and root for Viola's happily ever after.
All Jenna Rink Jennifer Garner wants is to skip her awkward teenage years and dive straight into the exciting and sexy world that seemingly subsumes people in their 30s. When her wish ends up magically coming trueβwith Jenna waking up in the body of her year-old selfβshe soon realizes that reality is a lot more complicated than what a magazine spread might promise. But, as Hitch helps their relationship progress, he meets a woman who makes him reevaluate everything he thinks knows about love and women.
