Romantic comedies, both in movies and on TV, are a popular genre among the audience. Considering the number of stories belonging to this genre, most of them follow the same, well-established formula. A boy meets a girl, they fall in love, and something goes wrong, yet they overcome the obstacles, get back together, and presumably live happily ever after.
The good news is that there are some romantic comedies that deconstruct the genre for people who have gotten tired of the traditional formula or are just looking for more diversity. These movies walk their own path, and as such, it's more difficult to guess what will happen next, or at the very least, they're not afraid to point out things that don't always make sense in romantic comedies.
5 Annie Hall (1977)
Universally seen as one of Woody Allen's best movies, the Oscar-winning Annie Hall is different from most romantic comedies. And not only because it's inspired by real events, Allen's relationship with Diane Keaton who plays his onscreen girlfriend as well. The movie changes the established rule that the protagonists have to stay together. Even though Keaton's Annie and Allen's Alvy care about each other, their relationship is gradually falling apart.
Not in an overly dramatic way either. The story of Annie Hall looks like something that could happen, once again pointing out the fact that it has a basis in reality, which is more than can be said about most romantic comedies. The characters draw the viewers in with their clever banter, and the movie also helped establish Diane Keaton as a fashion icon.
4 500 Days Of Summer (2009)
When somebody mentions an unusual romantic comedy, a lot of people recall the 2009 movie. What makes it different from usual romantic comedies is that it isn't told in chronological order. Instead, the main hero Tom recalls his relationship with Summer. As the title itself suggests, their romance has an expiration date, no matter how hard Tom would like to change it.
500 Days of Summer is refreshingly different since it shows relationships sometimes end, and when they do, it's not the end of the world. Some viewers pointed out that Tom is a terrible person who doesn't learn from his mistakes, and that Summer, played by Zooey Deschanel, is much more sympathetic. Whatever the case, the actors manage to sell the characters so that the audience becomes invested in their relationships and lives.
3 Vicious
Most romantic comedies focus on the main couple getting together and finding their way to each other. It's much less common to show the everyday life of a couple that's been together for a long time, the reality of living with the same person for decades. British shows often offer unusual spins on well-known topics, and VIcious is no exception to this rule. As one of the best 2010s British comedy shows, Vicious focuses on a couple Freddie a Stuart who has been together for 50 years.
Despite the many quips and arguments between them, it's obvious they care about each other. There aren't that many romantic comedies focused on older couples, so Vicious not only partially bridges the gap but also deconstructs the notion that all heroes of romantic comedies have to be young and sweet to their partner all the time.
2 Isn't It Romantic (2019)
Rebel Wilson is no stranger to the comedy genre. Her 2019 movie Isn't It Romantic is one of the movies that do the best job of deconstructing the romantic comedy genre. Wilson's heroine Natalie is an architect living in New York who doesn't have much luck with love and doesn't really believe in it. When she hits her head during a robbery gone wrong and wakes up in a romantic comedy afterward, Natalie has a hard time dealing with the unusual situation.
Since Natalie knows she's now trapped in a romantic comedy after her accident, it allows her to point out all the cliches and unrealistic situations that are so often seen in the genre (for example, how romantic comedy doctors are usually much more attractive than real-life ones). The movie knows what it's talking about, and it's fun to think about how many typical romantic comedy plot points it calls out are present in other, more traditional movies of this genre.
1 The Duchess
Canceled after just one season, the Netflix comedy series shows that love isn't always the most important thing in the world. Even though the main heroine Katherine has a boyfriend in the series, she's even more focused on raising her daughter, and she spends a lot of time planning to become a mother again. Set in London, the show feels like a window into the life of one extraordinary woman whose actions defy the model so often seen in romantic comedies - where having kids has to follow only after building a relationship with someone else.
The Duchess offers an alternative to the recipe, and it's pleasantly cynical at times. Katherine can be hard to love, but it's intriguing to see what blunder or misstep she does next. With only six episodes, it's easy to stream the show fast and keep thinking afterward about the story as well as the characters' behavior.