5. Man Up (2015), directed by Ben Palmer
Starring Lake Bell and Simon Pegg, “Man Up” is an English romantic comedy that deals with the frustrations of dating in adulthood. Approaching blind dates in a very fun way, this is definitely among the most interesting rom-coms made in the United Kingdom in the 2010s.
Nancy (Bell) is a woman in her 30s who is completely tired of the setups provided by her friends, and travels to London to celebrate another 10 years of her parents’ marriage. When she arrives in the city, she is mistaken for a 24-year-old woman who set up a blind date with Jack (Pegg) and decides to go along with it. By pretending to be Jack’s date, everything starts to get more complicated than it already was.
Approaching themes like youth, love, and the joys and pains of being ourselves, “Man Up” is a very funny romantic comedy greatly written by Tess Morris and with amusing performances by Bell and Pegg that make it a must-see film for fans of the rom-com genre.
4. Paris-Manhattan (2012), directed by Sophie Lellouche
This French romantic comedy, written and directed by Sophie Lellouche with a bit of inspiration taken from the works of director Woody Allen (that also appears on the film), is one of the most beautiful and funny of the genre made in France in this decade.
In this film, Alice (Alice Taglioni) is a pharmacist living in Paris who is a big Woody Allen fan, who one night at a club meets Pierre (Louis-Do de Lencquesaing) and becomes attracted by him. But when he meets her sister Hélène, they fall in love with each other and end up getting married. A few years later, while Alice is working at her family’s pharmacy, she meets Victor (Patrick Bruel), an alarm technician who she is not interested in at first, but when he provides her a meeting with Woody Allen while he is in Paris, the director gives her some advice.
This upbeat comedy with traces of the works from Allen all over it has great dialogue written by Lellouche and two great relatable protagonists that make the film even more enjoyable.
From the first scene to the meeting with Woody Allen, this film is a joyful journey through these characters’ lives, making it another great romantic comedy from France released in this decade.
3. Human Capital (2013), directed by Paolo Virzì
This Italian dramatic film that has great traces of comedy and romance all over it approaches themes like money and power while approaching the personalities of many characters very different from each other that are brought together by an accident.
Following a real estate agent, Dino Ossola (Fabrizio Bentivoglio), who wants greater things from his life and whose daughter dates the troubled son of a wealthy businessman (Guglielmo Pinelli), these two families get closer when Ossola decides to make an investment in a pursuit of a better life. But when an accident happens before Christmas Eve, where a cyclist is hit off the road, thing might get very complicated for both families.
Focusing more on the drama and comedy during the majority of its running time, “Human Capital” gets more romantic toward its end when unexpected ties begin to be formed, and therefore, it can be considered a romantic comedy (or a dramatic-romantic comedy, if you prefer).
With great dialogues and characters, this movie based on Stephen Amidon’s novel is definitely among the best Italian films from 2013, and should without a doubt be watched by any film fan.
2. Romantics Anonymous (2010), directed by Jean-Pierre Améris
This beautiful romantic comedy written by Philippe Blasband and Jean-Pierre Améris is surely among the greatest of the genre made in France in this century. Starring Isabelle Carré and Benoît Poelvoorde as two highly emotional adults who develop a relationship while trying to overcome their timidity, “Romantics Anonymous” is a mandatory film for fans of rom-coms.
When Angélique (Carré) is hired to work at a small chocolate factory ran by Jean-René (Poelvoorde), she is soon invited by her boss to go out on a dinner date, but their excessive shyness always seems to get in the way. Will they be able to figure things out?
With great performances by Carré and Poelvoorde, strong dialogue, and many funny moments that make the audience cheer for this couple to work things out, it is not an exaggeration to say that “Romantics Anonymous” is one of the sweetest romantic films made in this decade.
1. Monsieur & Madame Adelman (2017), directed by Nicolas Bedos
Written and starred by Doria Tillier and Nicolas Bedos, “Monsieur & Madame Adelman” is a hilarious comedy about love, art, myths and about growing old together as a couple.
When acclaimed writer Victor Adelman (Bedos) dies, his wife Sarah (Tillier) meets up with a journalist and starts to recap their story together. What happens next is that her husband’s story is not exactly as it was told in the books…
Mixing drama and comedy perfectly, this film succeeds in developing its characters and by not being afraid to deconstruct the myth of a great artist that was many times a complete fool. Line after line, as Sarah moves forward while telling their story, we witness many plot twists where their love and lives are deconstructed right in front of us.
With great performances by Nicolas Bedos and Doria Tillier and amazing dialogue, it is not too soon to recognize that, although there are a few more years to complete this decade, “Monsieur & Madame Adelman” will probably not easily lose the title of best romantic comedy of the 2010s. It is simply amazing.
Author bio: Vítor Guima is a filmmaker, writer and musician from São Paulo, Brazil. Every day he watches a movie, reads a few pages from a book, listens to an album and freaks out with the feeling of not having enough time to see everything. You can follow him on Instagram on @ovitorguima.