The “Golden Era” of rom-coms according to Business Insider was from the early 1990s to the end of the 2010s. Rom-Coms were still being made and produced after the 2010s, but weren’t as prevalent as they had been prior as Superhero movies(Marvel and DC) took over the spotlight. However, Rom-Coms made years ago are still watched by many.
Some of the most iconic rom-coms of the “Golden Era” include:
The Notebook- The Notebook is a rom-com that is based off of Nicolas Sparks book The Notebook. The movie stars Ryan Gosling as Noah Calhoun, Rachel McAdams as Allie Hamilton, James Garner as old Noah Calhoun and Gena Rowlands as old Allie Hamilton. The movie is a man reading a story to a woman at a nursing home about a couple Noah and Allie who met one summer and fell in love. The story being read takes place during the 1940s and captures young summer love and how two came together, only to be separated and one day find each other again. The Notebook brought in 118.2 to the box office. It has become a cult classic since its release in 2004.
When Harry Met Sally- When Harry Met Sally stars Meg Ryan as Sally Albright and Billy Crystal as Harry Burns. It takes place in the 1990s when the two main characters, Sally and Harry, hate each other instantly and constantly bicker when they first meet, but meet again 10 years later, becoming friends. During their new found friendship they catch feelings for each other. This movie brought in 92.8 million dollars at the box office when it was released in 1989.
10 Things I Hate About You- The 10 Things I Hate About You stars the late Heath Ledger as Patrick Verona, Julia Stiles as Kat Stratford, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Cameron James, and Larisa Oleynik as Bianca Stratford. Kat is Bianca’s older sister in a high school setting. Cameron is a new student at the school where Kat, Bianca and Cameron attend high school. Cameron falls for Bianca almost instantly, but Bianca can’t date unless Kat does. However, Bianca wants to date a senior, so she tricks Cameron into finding Kat a date so she can date the senior boy. Cameron picks the bad boy of the school- Patrick as Kat’s date. Patrick agrees to the plan, but things go awry. This movie brought in 60.4 million dollars at the box office when it came out in 1999.
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days- How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days stars Kate Hudson as Andie Anderson and Matthew McConaughey as Ben Berry. Andie is an advice columnist and after her friend suffers from another break up after a short amount of time, Andie takes on the challenge of writing a column on how to lose a guy in 10 days after her friend. Ben is an advertising executive that takes on a bet to make a woman fall in love with him in 10 days. When they choose each other as their targets, falling in love and falling apart- it becomes chaos. Hudson and McConaughey captivate their audience with their chemistry. The movie brought in 177.5 million to the box office when it came out in 2004.
The Proposal- The Proposal stars Sandra Bullock as Margaret Tate and Ryan Gosling as Andrew Paxton. Margaret is a Canadian book editor whose visa renewal application is denied and Andrew is her assistant. Margaret asks Andrew to be her fiance so she can stay in America. The one problem is that Andrew hates Margaret due to her harshness in the past, but he goes along with it in hope of Margaret making him an editor at the book company they work for. It’s a hectic story of falling in love. The movie brought in 317.4 million dollars to the box office when it came out in 2009.
