A Dozen Best Romantic Comedies with Wit, Charm, Intellect

The best romantic comedies are rare and wonderful to watch. They make us laugh on several levels. They entertain our minds while tickling our funny bones. Moreover, each romantic comedy listed blow offers something unique beyond being witty. Find out if you've seen all the movies on this list. Maybe you know of a romantic comedy that is witty, charming and sophisticated which should be on the list but isn't. If so, describe it in the comments. The best romantic comedies are hard to find. So let's share our favorite ones with each other.

#12. Charade

The Hitchcock romantic comedy that Hitchcock never made, Charade, staring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant is a romantic thriller filled with wit repartees, a riveting plot, and murder to bot. Discovering her dead husband was far from the man she knew (or didn't), Audrey Hepburn becomes entangled with a group of villains, the most charming and chameleon-like of the group (or is he?) being Carry Grant. A Shift-shaper if ever there was one, Grant remains a mystery to the end. Enjoy a wonderful romantic comedy mystery, a fast paced tale (for an old film), and the witty dialogue of two people thrown into each other's path by greed, malice and murder. For its murder mystery side, Charade comes in at number 12 in the best romantic comedies list.

#11. Uncorked

A bizarre tale if ever there was one-until the plot unravels like a neatly stacked house of cards. Enjoy a witty yet strangely confusing tale of a young man seeking to find himself, and a young woman seeking to lose him. One of the least known romantic comedies, Uncorked is truly charming, witty and endearing. Seeking to show us the true meaning of life and its purpose, this romantic comedy goes well beyond falling in love, though of course there is plenty of that as well. And yet, love is linked inseparably to life's meaning. For we fall in love with that which encapsulates our values. Starring Minnie Driver and Rufus Sewell, Uncorked is a unique film that never earned the recognition it deserves. For its broad look at the meaning life, Uncorked comes in at number 11 in the best romantic comedies list.

#10. Notting Hill

Notting Hill is a charming romantic comedy that tells the tale of fame meets luck luster. A famous actress, played by a famous actress (which certainly makes it seem all the more real) falls in love with the least likely of suitors, a man who never watches modern films and spends his days in an obscure yet delightful bookstore on the famous Notting Hill Road in London. Amid the cultural diversity attributed to this street, simplicity meets glamour and love ensues. Filled with the charm and wit typical of Richard Curtis' films, this romantic comedy proves that genuine love finds harmony even between apparent opposites. Starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant, Notting Hill is a British Comedy with an American Actress-a bridge between two worlds. For its fairytale like setting of princess meets cobbler, Notting Hill comes in at number 10 in the best romantic comedies list.

#9. Pretty Woman

Reviving the age all tale of impossible love, Pretty Woman pairs a hooker with a rich business tycoon, only to draw parallels between their worlds. Amid the pomposity of wealth, watch Cinderella find her glass slippers and turn into the most beautiful girl in the room. And as with all fairytales, there's a dragon to slay, though the dragon of modern days is a shark of a lawyer. There are also proposals to be made, though some are as futile as the wrong answer to a riddle outside the palace gate. Starring Richard Gere and the young Julia Roberts, this romantic comedy weaves a magical illusion that all people at their core can be good. For its fairytale magic Pretty Woman comes in at number 9 in the best romantic comedies list.

#8. When Harry Met Sally

A witty look at love from both sexes, this romantic comedy is as fresh and charming today as it was in the 1980's. Filled with witty male observations and innocent female fantasies, the story unleashes each representative of the sex at its most judgmental to meet the other in the battlefield of friendship, only to discover that those very things we profess to find so irritating we can't help falling in love with. Starring Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal, this romantic comedy amuses by showing us love as it is, in all its wonderful shapes and colors. For looking at men and women with wit and humor, When Harry Met Sally comes in at number 8 on the best romantic comedies list.

#7. Sabrina

Though both the modern and the black and white romantic comedy versions are witty and sophisticated, the modern has the appeal of a more dramatic, believable tale. Weaving too themes common to romantic comedies, Sabrina presents the girl next door, all grown up now, and very much in love. But as grown up eyes learn to see with the mind instead of the heart, so Sabrina discovers that the man she worshiped as a child is a simple playboy. While the man she feared is the man she is destined to love. Starring Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond and Greg Kinnear, Sabrina is a romantic comedy about growing up. For its maturing look at love, Sabrina comes in at number 7 in the best romantic comedies list.

#6. Four Weddings and a Funeral

The romantic comedy that introduced Hugh Grant to American audiences, Four Weddings and a Funeral is a witty look at love and marriage. Not by chance is marriage coupled with a funeral in the title, for this imposing, heavy-handed sealing of vows under a religious roof can at times frighten the most stalwart of souls. And yet fear of marriage (or commitment) cannot stop the heart from falling in love. For its witty look at marriage and its relationship to love, Four Weddings and a Funeral comes in at number 6 in the best romantic comedies list.

#5. Sliding Doors

A romantic comedy that looks at chance and weaves it into a love story. Two tales unravel in the flick of time, as a young woman gets on a train, but misses it also. Each of these women then lives a tale of heartbreak, then of love, until the stories converge by the power of movie magic. For lovers of British humor, Monty Python, and witty, charming storytelling, this romantic comedy plays tricks on the imagination, daring us to accept our own forks in the road and change our life for the better. Starring the elegant Gwyneth Paltrow, John Hannah, John Lynch, Sliding Doors comes in at number 5 on the best romantic comedies list for its imaginative storytelling that looks at "the road not taken".

#4. French Kiss

Amusing and witty, French Kiss truly proves that opposites attract. Shy, conventional and certain of her life's plan from marriage to grave, a young woman is driven to plunge into the great blue yonder. And there awaits her prince charming, a smelly, scruffy, rude French man. With charming performances from Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline, French Kiss takes us from Paris, to the stunning Provencal countryside and the French Riviera, offering us a brilliantly structured storyline that uses the scenery to peer into the minds and hearts of its characters. For its beautifully crafted story, French Kiss comes in at number 4 on the best romantic comedies list.

#3. Love Actually

Utilizing the idea of vignettes to ideal perfection, this romantic comedy follows the love story of many inter-woven characters, all against the witty backdrop of English humor at its best, and Christmas cheer as the holiday draws near. Coming from one of the greatest romantic comedy script writers, Richard Curtis, Love Actually is his best film. Sad and funny at once, realistic yet romantic, this romantic comedy explores love at any age, for any gender, with the realization that love, which lies at the heart of any culture, is the joy and meaning of life's happiest moments. In answer to the tragedy of 9/11, the author proves with comedic elegant that love, actually (and not hate), is all around. For its all encompassing, brilliant look at love, Love Actually comes in at number 3 on the best romantic comedies list.

#2. Much Ado About Nothing

Shakespeare's romantic comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, is brought to life in full color, vivacity and wit by the masterful Kenneth Branagh. Staring Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh, this romantic comedy pits two of the wittiest characters of fiction in a battle of verbal stings. Delightfully funny, this romantic comedy takes a sudden unexpected turn when friends connive to bring the two rivals into the bond of love. All this, and a superb tragedy woven into the fabric of the story, leading to high drama so exquisite, Much Ado About Nothing will leave your riveted to your seat. For its atmosphere of sunny freedom, the wit and sophisticated humor of Shakespeare's poetry, and the remarkable way in which old English has been made to feel modern and alive, the romantic comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, comes in at number 2 in the list of best romantic comedies.

#1. An Ideal Husband

In a class all its own, an Ideal Husband, is a suburb romantic comedy based on a play by Oscar Wilde. Everything about this film is perfect, from the cotumess to the music, the setting to the plot. Wit, sophisticated dialogue, sharp repartees and a look at honor and ideals all weave in a tapestry of seamless storytelling. And with the change of the original play's ending, this romantic comedy rivals any thriller with its twists and turns, mistaken identities and secrets. Starring Rupert Evert, Cate Blanchett, Minnie Driver and Jeremy Northam, an Ideal Husband comes in at number 1 in the best romantic comedies list for being exceptional on so many levels.