10 Great Cheesy Romance Movies

Your mileage for Adam Sandler may vary, but even the most hardened skeptics of the actor can be won over by this 80s nostalgic overload. Sandler, complete with mullet, plays a nice guy wedding singer who is humiliated when his own bride leaves him at the altar. 

He finds some peace with Julia, a new waitress who works at the same reception hall he sings at, but his burgeoning feelings for her are complicated by her own fiance, a distant businessman who keeps delaying setting a date for their big day. If you like shoulder pads and big hair and Billy Idol, this is the unabashedly cheesy rom-com for you.

Based on the 1950 film of the same name, 1991's Father of the Bride ups the antics and allows the comedy genius of both Steve Martin and Martin Short to run wild. Martin plays George Banks, the owner of a successful athletic shoe company who is wholly unprepared for the news that his daughter Annie, fresh out of college, is engaged to be married. 

George instantly dislikes her husband-to-be, and soon finds himself smothered by extravagant wedding plans that include disobedient swans, an exorbitantly priced menu, and parking havoc, as well as a wildly camp wedding planner named Franck.

Admit it: you know the words to all the songs already. Few musicals have found themselves embedded into the public consciousness quite like Grease. After decades of sing-along screenings and nostalgia parties, it’s lost none of its kitschy charm. 

Sure, none of the teens look a day under 25 and it’s not exactly the most progressive romantic story, but everything is so frenetically over-the-top and almost parodic of ‘50s teen culture that you forgive its errors. Try not to be charmed by ‘Summer Nights’ or ‘You’re the One That I Want.’ 

Jennifer Garner has never been better than she was in the ever-delightful rom-com 13 Going on 30. After her 13th birthday party goes horribly wrong, nerdy Jenna Rink wishes to be grown-up, and the next morning, she finds herself as a 30-year-old with the ultimate life and job as an editor of her favorite fashion magazine. 

But all is not as it seems. It turns out that the newly adult Jenna is cold, rude, and calculating, which doesn't please the teen Jenna, plus she and her best friend apparently fell out, and she's eager to fix the problem. Equal parts silly and emotional, 13 Going on 30 is Big for girls who love sparkly hair and dancing to the '80s classics.

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Katherine Heigl gets a lot of flack, but she’s immensely appealing in her rom-com peak, 27 Dresses. Jane has a closet full of weird, wonderful, and tacky dresses, having earned a reputation among her friends as the perennial bridesmaid. 

But she dreams of her own big day, hopefully with the boss she's secretly loved for years. Sadly, her sister gets there first, and soon Jane finds herself planning the wedding while dealing with a reporter who wants to write a piece on the woman who's always the bridesmaid but never the bride.

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It’s physically impossible to be unhappy while singing along to Abba. Just ask the cast of Mamma Mia, the big-screen adaptation of one of the 21st century’s most successful stage musicals. The farcical plot involves a Greek island wedding with the engaged Sophie eager to have her father walk her down the aisle on the big day. 

The only problem? She doesn’t know who he is, and her mother’s diaries reveal that there are three possible candidates. What’s a girl to do but invite them all and see how it goes? And then, of course, add a few pop bangers from one of Sweden’s finest exports. Mamma Mia is a movie of such infectious joy that it’s already become a bachelorette party favorite. The sequel is somehow just as fantastic and has Cher in it!

In 1996, academic Frances Mayes detailed her and her husband's experience in renovating an abandoned Tuscan villa and finding a new home in the idyllic surroundings of the Italian countryside. It was a story practically crafted by the gods for cheesy romantic goodness, which indeed happened with the 2003 film adaptation of the same name. 

In this version, Frances is a divorcee whose renovation project happens after a vacation to Tuscany. If you want pure scenery porn, picturesque escapism, and a sprinkling of spicy, this is the film for you. It’s pure wish fulfillment fantasy and we don’t blame anyone who’s hungry for it. 

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The horrors of a gay conversion camp aren't exactly the ideal setting for a cheerful rom-com, but director Jamie Babbit pulled it off with 1999's But I'm a Cheerleader. The movie mercilessly rips into the shoddy cruelties of so-called ex gay therapy through the eyes of teen cheerleader Megan, played by Natasha Lyonne. She doesn't eat meat and likes Melissa Etheridge, as well as looking at her fellow cheerleaders, so her parents send her to be "cured" of her homosexuality in a camp run by RuPaul wherein the rigid gender binary is reinforced. 

Ironically, it's going to gay therapy camp that encourages Megan to come out and meet the love of her life. Imagine a lighter take on John Waters with a pastel color palate and a giant "screw you" to the homophobic masses, and you have one of the most underrated rom-coms of the '90s.

Netflix has made a real name for itself in recent years with its plethora of rom-coms, but for our money, this is one of their best. Harper and Charlie are harried assistants to taskmaster bosses who never seem pleased with their work. 

After meeting when their bosses both demand dinner, they come up with a plan: they initiate a meet-cute with their bosses and hope that a romance will allow them to chill out a little bit and leave their beleaguered employees some room to breathe. It seems to work for a while, but then the complications become too much, and soon, Harper and Charlie must confront their own feelings for one another.

Few people make deliciously satisfying rom-coms quite like Nancy Meyers. The Holiday is but one example of her magic. English journalist Iris needs a break after discovering her douchey ex is engaged to someone else. On the other side of the ocean, movie trailer producer Amanda finds her boyfriend cheating on her. They meet online and agree to a house swap for the festive holidays. 

In a cozy English cottage, Amanda finds a connection with Iris's roguish brother, while in Los Angeles, Iris meets a legendary screenwriter and shares movie talk with a music composer who makes her laugh more than anyone else. As with all Meyers films, The Holiday is pure production design porn combined with wit, low-stakes drama, and some fairy-tale charm.

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