the best ever

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***this monday, as a service from the kind gentleman of verysmartbrothas.com, the champ has decided to rank the three best romantic comedies of all-time the last 20 years. enjoy***

3. chasing amy

premise: a comic-book writer (ben affleck) befriends and falls in love with a fellow comic book writer (joey lauren adams)…who happens to be a lesbian. hilarity, pain, tremendous cussing, and unfortunate ho-yay behavior ensue.

reasons for making the cut:

—easily the best movie kevin smith ever made. this isn’t even remotely debatable

—contained quite possibly the funniest token black character ever on screen, in dwight ewell’s “hooper x”, a fellow comic book writer, who also happens to be extremely violent, extremely militant, and extremely gay. omar would have been proud

—introduced “finger-cuffs” to my general lexicon, a term i still use with glee at least thrice daily

—perfectly captures a typical male’s queasy uneasiness when forced to confront his woman’s, ummmm, “eclectic” sexual past, and how hard it is for us to let that go.

—would have rated higher on this list if not for the ending, which is so inconceivably and shockingly bad that i refuse to even talk about it

2. boomerang

for black people those willing to put saccharin garbage such as “the best man” and “brown sugar” ahead of “boomerang” when ranking romantic comedies, consider the following…

—talent-wise, when you consider eddie murphy, martin lawrence, david alan grier, and john witherspoon this movie contained four (five if you count grace jones’s vagina) comedic legends in their absolute prime, as well as a before her prime halle berry, a still barely unattractive tisha campbell (before she made the leap to “completely unattractive”), lela rochon’s feet, and a surprisingly milfy eartha kitt. wow.

—the infamous thanksgiving dinner, where witherspoon’s “mr. jackson” introduced the world to the concept of “coordination” as well as “pop that pu–y!!!“, is easily one of the five funniest movie scenes of all-time

—was the best of the numerous roles robin givens seemed to land where she played herself evil, conniving, manipulative bitches

1. high fidelity

maybe this movie gets top billing solely because it’s the movie that inspired me to start making lists for everything. maybe it’s number one because i see so much of myself in john cusack’s rob gordon, and it perfectly illustrates that late 20′s “i guess i should settle down with her cause i guess at this age it’s the right thing to do…i guess” angst…a phenomenon i’m currently experiencing i completely understand. maybe i just want to sleep with meet lisa bonet. who knows. i will say that, despite its basically all-white cast, it’s quite possibly the “blackest” relationship comedy ever made. think about it: a severely underemployed and apathetic guy, spending all of his free time with his equally underemployed and apathetic friends talking about music and reflecting on all of the women he’d been with in the past. this sentence describes me at least seven of my closest friends, and is why this movie is a required view for any guy between 21-35.

anyway though…you’ve read my list. even though my ranking is completely undebatable, i’m curious…how does it stack up with yours?

—the champ

103 thoughts on “the best ever”

  1. I’m always so-so with romantic comedies, most are just .. bad.

    I’ll have to check out High Fidelity. And I saw Chasing Amy once, but I fell asleep. So that one too.

    Boomerang’s a classic.

    The only romantic comedy I ever really liked enough to make it to my favorite movies of all times list is Annie Hall. That little socially inept Jewish man is hilarious.

    .. And I liked Brown Sugar, and The Best Man. ;|

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    • woody allen’s like butter pecan ice cream…not everyones favorite, but those that like him, LOVE him.

      *this analogy made much more sense in my head*

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  3. Hmmmm. I haven’t seen your number 1 or 3, but High Fidelity sounds interesting. I’m a Meg Ryan fan. “You’ve Got Mail”, “When Harry meet Sally” and my all time fav “French Kiss” with Kevin Kline. My heart sprouts wings and flies everytime I get to the I get to scene when Luke tells Kate that all he wants is her *sigh**looking longfullying towards the heavens*

    And what’s wrong with the Best Man? You cain’t beat a forehead kiss with a belt or a bat!

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    • i don’t know….i can’t consider a movie to be a romantic comedy when it doesn’t have any scenes that are actually funny. the best word I can think of to describe the best man is “safe”

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      • I’ll see your “safe” and raise you a “not typical black movie”

        Aside from the BET shout out and the big booty stripper scene, I feel like the plot could have worked if *looks at palm* people had played the characters.

        Maybe it wasn’t funny-like a roadrunner cartoon. But I liked it because it wasn’t the single mother mad at the world, men and red kool-aid, while prayin’ to God and eatin’ big momma’s fried chicken, sucking on a watermelon rind at the cookout, while fallin’ in love with the illiterate janitor with a heart of gold.

        Wait, did I just do the treatment for the T. Perry? Darnit!

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        • thats exactly what I mean though. if you took the same movie and replaced it with white people, it would be entirely forgettable, along the lines of drek like “the wedding planner”. I think we (black people) have been praying at the alter of “lowered movie expectations” so long that decent and safe movies such as “the best man” get branded as instant classics.

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          • I see your point. I HATE THE BEST MAN! It was mediocre at best. And you are right, I would have hated it if was done by palm people. Just like I hated the “Wedding Planner” there was nothing funny about that movie, not even the clothes. A movie about the 80s where the clothes and the hair didn’t even make me want to laugh. A.Damn.Shame!

            Now I LMAO at “Weekend at Bernie’s” there was no romance, but that’s a great movie I just have to say, totally randomly and slightly off topic…

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            • My bizzle! I was talking about the Wedding Singer, not the Wedding Planner! You see one romantic comedy you’ve seen them all. I love J.Lo’s dress when she gets married at the courthouse!

              Okay. I’m going to pretend to do some work at my job now. I’m too dazed and confused to comment anymore.

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    • Amaretto, I just saw “You’ve Got Mail” and “When Harry meet Sally” for the umpteenth time last weekend. Both are great movies. Meg Ryan used to be in some great romantic comedies. I haven’t seen her in anything lately though.

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  4. Ya know, I’ve only seen Boomerang on this list. I’ve heard about the other two but for some reason, and despite my unhealthy fascination with romantic comedies and teen-high school-style movies (i own ‘sweet home alabama’ and ‘can’t hardly wait’ is one of my favorite movies like ever), i’m very picky when it comes to my romantic comedies.

    however, my favorite of all time is ‘love, actually’. i love that damn movie. like a lot. ‘boomerang’ is definitely up there on the list as well.

    i’d add ‘forrest gump’ except its not really romantic. basically i just wanted to share that i love forrest gump.

    hoo-rah.

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  5. I love all the films on your list.

    I am a ro-com fanatic, this is tough, to put in a top list, yikes.
    Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind – sci-fi AND romantic comedy, couldn’t go wrong.

    Must Love Dogs – cheesy premise, but I am just a huge Cusack enthusiast and him and Diane had cool chemistry. Their first date scene was good stuff and eerily familiar

    Love, Sex, and Eating the Bones.I heart Hill Harper to pieces. It was low budget and the cinematography kind of sucked but I love the actors in the film, and enjoyed the dialogue.

    Kissing Jessica Stein was a funny, cute, indie film.

    I was digging the Bridget Jones’ series, even though Renee’s face is kind of creepy to me.

    I think my #1 will have to be a tie between Say Anything and High Fidelity – see Cusack enthusiast!

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    • you know, I was thisclose to putting “50 first dates” on the list, but then I realized that the stiller/sandler flicks are more “comedies that happen to have a romantic theme”.

      to make the list, the movie has to have had some serious moments and somewhat adult content, as well as the funny.

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  7. Wow man….movies errrr…yeah, that’s where the differences come out in otherwise congruent people….so MY list consists of…

    1) Jerry Maguire (cuz it damn sho ain’t a sports movie)

    2) Fifty First Dates (yes I realize I just lost 40 man points….I will still drink you under the table and fondle your woman’s breasts!)

    3) Punch Drunk Love (yes two Adam Sandler movies)

    4) Annie Hall (because I’d never want to be in a club that would have me as a member)

    and the DEFINITIVE Romantic Comedy…the one I KEEP mentioning

    5) When Harry Met Sally…..

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  8. I agree with Boomerang, but I have to put Love Jones on my list. Even though I hate spoken word and Bill Bellamy, great flick. Larenz Tate was so fine in that movie, I was willing to date short men from 1997-1999, so long as they were Larenz Tate. Unforunately, I was 13-15 at the time, so it didn’t work out.

    I actually think Love And Basketball was a good movie as well. Good story, good character development. I think there is some film I liked better, but I am drawing a blank. Spanglish would be on my list if they didn’t fuck it to hell with the ending (the reconciliation with the crazy wife=boo). Kissing Jessica Stein was good too.

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    • see, i consider “love and basketball” and “love jones” more “drama” than “romantic comedy”. I cant think of a single funny moment in either of those flicks

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    • Sister Toldja, the only reason why I didn’t put love jones on my list is because I don’t really see it as a romantic comedy. I see it as a romantic movie period with drama. Love Jones is in my top 5 romantic movies of all time.

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  11. Top romantic comedies, huh?

    Does Closer count? ‘Cause I laughed my ass off at several scenes… My sense of humor is twisted like that though.

    Ones that need no explanation… Or I’m just too lazy to expound upon
    Coming to America
    Princess Bride
    Prelude to a Kiss
    Joe vs. the Volcano
    The Pick-Up Artist/Chances Are (I loved me some Robert Downey Jr. circa 1988)
    Sliding Doors
    Harold & Maude:
    Micki & Maude: Dudley Moore + Polygamy = Comedy
    Romancing the Stone
    Singles: John Salley makes a cameo appearance telling dude not to come.

    Movies I Love… (By no means is this list complete)

    Shallow Hal:
    1. Jack Black
    2. Get your banana hands off me!
    3. Contagious conjunctivitis

    America’s Sweethearts:
    1. John Cusack
    2. Hank Azaria
    3. Christopher Walken cameo
    4. Kiki-kins!

    Intolerable Cruelty:
    1. George Clooney can actually be funny
    2. Billy Bob Thorton – This is for you, darlin’. This here is for you. This here is for you, baby. Every last little speck of it. I love you. I mean, I love you like a son of a bitch! (Classic.)
    3. spe-cif-i-cated

    Co-Signage…

    Chasing Amy:
    1. I fell in love with Jason Lee as Bunky
    2. I realized BEn Affleck plays Ben Affleck and saved my self the horror of paying to see anything in which he has a starring role (Except Smokin’ Aces which had the added bonus of rewarding me for listening to his narrative with his untimely death early in the movie.)

    Boomerang:
    1. Gold star for Marcus
    2. Gay!? You are not gay. My brother is gay.
    3. Dude sniffing Strangé’s panties at the board meeting.
    4. That’s a nipple cause I’m drooling.

    Love Actually:
    1. People falling in love making softcore porn – that’s great
    2. The romantic airport chase by a 10(?) year old channeling Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate

    Hi-Fidelity:
    1. John Cusack
    2. John Cusack owns a record (actual vinyl albums) store
    3. John Cusack makes mixtapes for the ladies*

    *I think I need to go amend my list on the last post.

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  12. Thank you so much for acknowledging the genius that is “Chasing Amy”! I do have much love for “Clerks” but “Chasing Amy” nudges it out as Kevin Smith’s best. That may be one of the few times I am able to tolerate Ben Affleck. Silent Bob’s speech near the end of that movie was pitch perfect!

    I’m also agreeing with Wise Diva on “Eternal Sunshine”. It’s so bittersweet and just REAL…

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  13. Boomerrang was a great movie and one of my favorite Eddie Murphy films.

    Three of my favorite romantic comedies are A Thin Line Between Love & Hate with Martin Lawrence, Regina King, Lynn Whitfield and Bobby Brown. Why? When Lynn’s character flipped on Martin’s character, it was on. Della Reese played Martin’s mom in this film and she’s always funny.

    The Best Man had an all star AA cast. There were several great one liners. One scene that I absolutely loved was the last scene where Terrence Howard character and Shelby ended up in bed together. If you saw the movie, you know why it was hilarious.

    I have to conclude with Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married. That movie is by far to me his best movie to date. Tasha Smith just stole some of the scenes in this movie.

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    • Any movie with Bobby Brown is instantly a classic.

      However, I saw Why Did I Get Married, and I want the money back that my sister’s mother’s boyfriend paid for the bootleg, cause it was some BULL. Great premise, good cast, TERRIBLE screenwriting.

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      • Yeah, I agree. That movie was definitely better in theory than it was in practice. Further, it was definitely better at the theater with a gang of ninjas laughing like crazy than it was at my home where I kept waiting for it to be over.

        The moral? Any time Malik Yoba’s chapped lips come into play, don’t watch.

        Also, Malik and Janet’s scene in their kitchen was TERRIBLE. It’s like they managed to both overact AND underact at the exact same time. That’s like seeing Michael Jackson with a woman…it just doesn’t make any sense.

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        • BWAHAHAHA! That is the PERFECT description of what was going on! Janet is actually a decent actress, but she definitely needs good writers.

          The worst part for me, because TP has NO writing skills whatsoever, was when TP and Malik were discussing their careers: “Who would have thought that when we were in college, where we became friends, that you would be a doctor with a lawyer wife and I, a contractor, married to a college professor?” Like, in his mind, that was the ONLY way the audience would know what they did for a living and how they knew each other.

          Every time Jill Scott’s husband spoke to her, a piece of my soul died.

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  15. Serious question: When does a movie transcend from “Coming of Age” or “Romance with comedic elements” to “Romantic Comedy”. Because I feel like a lot of coming of age films are actually romantic comedies, and I think that would drastically change the list. How romantic must it be? How comedic?

    Reply ↓

    • you know, for me, true ro-co’s need each of the following…

      …a real comedic element. doesn’t necessarily have to be light-hearted though

      …serious drama and tension

      …a somewhat romantic theme

      if all else fails, just ask yourself “does it star jon cusack?”. if so, than it probably qualifies

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  16. I’ll add my list to the fray:

    1.)Spanglish- Adam Sandler was GREAT in this movie. Loved the maid too.
    2.)Imagine you and Me- when the sister falls in love with her brothers finace. really good movie
    3.)Boomerang- Eddie at his best. Oh my god, John Witherspoon killed me!
    4.) Chasing Amy- for all the reasons mentioned above
    5.) Wedding Singer- sorry guys, that movie was hilarious even if the costuming was bad. And it definately had it’s romantic scenes.
    6.) Jerry Maguire- the scene where Regina King tells Cuba’s character why he is a great black man, we have NEVER seen anything that romantic and true to heart from two black folks on screen. Way better lines in that scene than “you complete me”

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  17. Er.. I havent seen any of these.

    Wait.

    *squints*

    I THINK I saw High Fidelity. Or maybe I read it. Nicholas Sparks?

    Whatever. Go away. I just came by to say Happy Monday.

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  18. The real question is when are we going to list the top 5 blow em ups of all time

    Early Favorites:
    Diehard
    Terminator 2
    Bad Boys (I and II)
    Independence Day
    Pretty much anything involving Jason Statham

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  19. What was the name of that one movie John Cusack did where he was holding the radio up outside the girl’s window?

    Why did I get married was an eye opener, yes. But one of the greatest Romantic Comedies of all time? HELL NO. Carrie would make that list way before any TP movie would.

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  20. Hmmm…my top 3 are:

    1) Hav Plenty

    2) Wicker Park

    3 Wristcutters: A Love Story

    and a bonus

    4) Eat Drink Man Woman

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  21. Okay, I’m mad how I always get to the site late and there’s a bunch of comments–I don’t get my email notifications until late.

    Oh, I’m also mad at that Robin Givens comment=)

    Anyway, Here’s my list in no particular order (Wise Diva and I have some in common):

    1. Boomerang
    2. Love Jones (yes, I said it =)
    3. Love and Basketball
    4. Kissing Jessica Stein
    5. Love Sex, and Eating the Bones
    6. How I Spent My Summer Vacation (cinematography isn’t the best, but it’s funny, and Ronreaco Lee is fine–actually, Champ, I think you should check this one out, I think you’d like it…I think)
    7. Love Actually
    8. The Best Man
    9. Like Water for Chocolate (it’s pretty dramatic, but has funny elements, too).
    10. Would Dumb and Dumber count? That has a romantic subplot.

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    • “Would Dumb and Dumber count? That has a romantic subplot.”

      no, cause if that was the case, “the 40 year old virgin” would have been number one on my list

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  22. best romantic comedy?

    shark versus eagle;its awkward, brilliant, and just awesome.

    there’s something about mary

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  23. My favorite Romantic Comedies are…drumroll please

    My Best Friend’s Wedding (the story of my life)

    Boomerang

    16 Candles

    Shakespeare in Love (dont really consider is comendy but pure romance and ocassionally I laugh at myself for crying every time.)

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  24. I can’t believe I forgot “Secretary” with James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhall (sp?).

    A movie about S&M, romantic? I say “YES”…

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  27. ok i know im late n all…but my 3 are..*not in any particular order*

    1. Sixteen Candles…im a girl..n showin my age..but so what, i loved that movie.!
    2. Reality Bites… nuf said!
    3. Love Jones…the one that started all that neo-soul, open mic poetry, young black people in love shii* lol

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  30. Dude. Boomerang is that deal!

    (And I hate to ruin this comment with hot saccharin garbage, but, I gotta say, Brown Sugar and Love & Basketball… kinda my joints too. I wouldn’t dare put them ahead of Boomerang, though.)

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  32. Boomerang was a good one… damn I missed the 80-90′s Eddie Murphy… he’s just straight whack now…

    anywho you forgot to mention Love JOnes… you know I was going to say it

    Honorable mentions

    The Wood
    Brown Sugar
    The Best Man
    Love and basketball
    Their eyes were watching God

    and I’m out!

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  35. OK, that’s it, now you’ve absolutely gained a new fan because those are my EXACT top three romantic movies!

    Chasing Amy was hysterical, especially when Jason Lee walks in on the post-coital activities and drops his drink- FUN-NY!!

    Boomerang- who DIDN’T like that movie? It was funny and well acted and frankly, everything Eddie did after this was crap.

    High Fidelity… I AM the NUMBER ONE John Cusack fan and this is my favorite of his films so far!!

    so yeah, love the list and the site. YOU ROCK :)

    Reply ↓

  36. ok, now i am an instant fan of your blog, outside of my group of friends, i was unaware that any other black people knew/appreciated kevin smith and specifically chasing amy!!!!!!

    Reply ↓

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