This smart adaptation of Helen Fielding’s 1996 novel is a romantic comedy in search of contentment rather than Prince Charming, which gives it a sense of realism that both aches and inspires. As the title heroine – a single British woman whose life is a cycle of highs and lows, most of which have to

The Awful Truth pits two anti-romantics against each other: Lucy and Jerry Warriner (Irene Dunne and Cary Grant), a husband and wife in the midst of a divorce. While each tries to find new love, the other discreetly stands in the way. The catch, of course, is that Lucy and Jerry always seem to be

Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy play opposing lawyers who are in love, and while their pairing emits the sort of electricity casting directors dream of, they’re generating sparks in a strident story. Not content to let its battle-of-the-sexes theme bubble beneath the surface, Adam’s Rib hammers at it relentlessly, from its title to its strained

Nobody walks in Down With Love. They bop. An homage to the sex comedies of Rock Hudson and Doris Day, this is a frothy retro exercise that transports you back to 1962. Renee Zellweger plays the author of a book championing women in the workplace; Ewan McGregor is the magazine writer out to prove she

Today’s movie stars – especially those who are prone to appearing in the tabloids for their movie-star antics – often have to work against their off-screen image in their films. In Just My Luck, Lindsay Lohan plays a ridiculously fortunate New York City publicist who always has things go her way, and the movie never

How does Frances (Diane Lane), the divorced heroine of Under the Tuscan Sun, get her groove back? By buying an Italian villa on a whim and renovating it all on her own. Based on the novel by Frances Mayes, the movie is as soft and reassuring as a romantic comedy gets yet it has plenty

A grimy, funny and realistic look at romance – specifically the failed relationships of a record store owner played by John Cusack. The settings in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood are dead-on, as is the messy, complicated depiction of love. In other words, you might not come out of this with your heart fluttering, but you’ll

This Diane Lane vehicle, in which she plays a divorced woman whose nosy family pushes her into the world of online dating, offers enough doses of real life to elevate it above your average romantic-comedy fantasy. With strong support from John Cusack, Dermot Mulroney and Elizabeth Perkins, this is a pleasant enough romantic-comedy bubble, able