11 of the Most Unconventional and Innovative Romantic Comedies
“They Came Together” (out this Friday in select theaters), starring Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler, is a parody of the romantic comedy genre. Rudd stars as Joel, a corporate businessman whose company is threatening to close the small store run by Poehler’s Molly (remind you of the premise of a certain rom-com by the name of “You’ve Got Mail?). The film mocks and twists conventional romantic comedies, turning the tired tropes of films like “Sleepless in Seattle” on its head. But while the mockery of the overused rom-com themes are appreciated, “They Came Together” is not the first of its kind. Check out our list of romantic comedies that have an unconventional or innovative twist. Then let us know what your favorites are in the comments.
READ MORE: David Wain’s ‘They Came Together,’ With Amy Poehler and Paul Rudd, Is a Hilarious Knock On Romantic Comedies
“(500) Days of Summer” Dir. Marc Webb (2009)
The most interesting aspect of Marc Webb’s 2009 romantic comedy—and what makes it unconventional— is that (spoiler alert!) the lead couple doesn’t end up together in the end. Summer (Zooey Deschanel) and Tom’s (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) relationship is presented non-linearly, with jumps back and forth in time. As viewers, we really like Summer and Tom together, and want them to end up happy in the end. But what the story tries to convey, however, is that while one person in a duo may be convinced they have met “the one,” that may not be the case for the other. Don’t worry, things turn out all right in the end, just not in the way that you’d expect. (Casey Cipriani)
“Amélie” Dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet (2001)
“Annie Hall” Dir Woody Allen (1977)
Leave it to Woody Allen to write one of the few true comedies to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. How’d he do it? Well, for one, he didn’t try. Allen’s distaste for awards in general is well known, and no one would have called “Annie Hall” Oscar bait had the term been prevalent back in the day. Nevertheless, Allen’s nostalgic reminiscing about his childhood and his most significant relationship won because it struck voters as it struck the rest of the world: unconventionally charming. It’s not your typical love story because it plays with structure and expectations to reach its own unique conclusion. Alvy’s life changed because of Annie, and “Annie Hall” was his ode to that portion of his life. No one told Allen it had to end at a chapel. (Ben Travers)
“Frances Ha” Dir. Noah Baumbach (2012)
“Kissing Jessica Stein” Dir. Charles Herman-Wurmfeld (2001)
Before Jennifer Westfeldt directed her first feature “Friends With Kids,” she co-penned this winning and insightful romantic comedy about a unlucky in love copy editor, Jessica (Westfeldt), who tries her hand at being bisexual after coming across a personal ad in the newspaper posted by a woman seeking a meaningful relationship (co-writer Heather Juergensen). To Jessica’s surprise, she takes to the ad’s author, Helen, a gallery owner who has her own share of hardships with the opposite sex. Things get messy (as they always do in rom-coms) when one of the pair wrestles with whether she’s in it for the long haul, but the way Westleft and Juergensen deal with the denouement is anything from typical. (Nigel M. Smith)
“Harold and Maude” Dir. Hal Ashby (1971)
If you only watched the first ten minutes of Hal Ashby’s 1971 comedy, you’d think it was a movie obsessed by death, with no business being on a list of romantic comedies. But the film, starring Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon as the ultimate May-December romance, evolves from its grim yet hilarious beginning into one of the sweeter movies ever made about life, and how its pleasures must be absorbed. And that includes love — even an unconventional love like the one Harold and Maude share. (Liz Shannon Miller)
“Lars and the Real Girl” Dir. Craig Gillespie (2007)
Lars (Ryan Gosling) is awkward, closed-off and finds it difficult to socialize with others. One day he informs his family that he’s met a lovely girl on the internet, but when he introduces them to a life-sized doll that he’s ordered from an adult website, they’re pretty sure something is amiss. Is Lars messing with them? Or doe she actually believe this girl is real? Though Lars is romantically attached to “Bianca,” the real romance grows over the course of the film in an unexpected way. (Casey Cipriani)
“Newlyweeds” Dir. Shaka King (2013)
This romantic comedy, as you might imagine, doesn’t play to straight storytelling. It’s more of a collection of vignettes loosely rolled together, poignantly painting the stagnated lives of two arguably ordinary stoners, Lyle (Amari Cheatom) and Nina (Trae Garris), and their touching marriage, oft challenged by their common habit. The storytelling is whimsical and wonderful, but always honest and true. King does not simply look at marijuana and its effect in some juvenile closed-off manner, but with real understanding and care, via Blaxploitation dreams, lost couches and morphing monstrous motions. It’s a smooth trip. (Oliver McMahon)
“Punch-Drunk Love” Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson (2002)
An unconventional love story if there ever was one, Paul Thomas Anderon’s swooning and wonderfully bizarre love story “Punch Drunk Love” centers on Barry, a tormented and troubled novelty supplier (a revelatory Adam Sandler) who finds a kindred spirit in the soft-spoken and doe-eyed Lena (Emily Watson), a co-worker of one of his heinous sisters. They meet after Lena asks Barry to look after her damaged car, then go out on a dinner date where Barry smashes up the bathroom in a blind fit of rage. Rather than recoil in terror, Lena gently observes “your hand is bleeding” and goes on as if nothing bad happened. In Lena, Barry finds a woman who can calm his volatile ways and in Barry, Lena finds a man willing to give himself over to her, mind, body and soul. (Nigel M. Smith)
“Silver Linings Playbook” Dir. David O. Russell (2012)
“Some Like it Hot” Dir. Billy Wilder (1959)
So “Some Like it Hot” may suffer from a few out-of-date sexist and ethnic tropes, but the hilarious story of two musicians (Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon) who cross-dress as women to join a traveling band in order to escape the mob, has plenty of unconventionally romantic bits. Naturally both of the men fall for ukelele player Sugar (Marilyn Monroe) and while she can only end up with one of them in the end, how they get there (and who ends up with someone else) is anything but conventional. (Casey Cipriani)
