It’s that time of year when leaves fall off their trees, fog covers the turf, and Starbucks releases their pumpkin-spice-themed menu. All signs say it’s time to curl up on the couch and binge watch fall rom-coms while sipping apple cider till your teeth rot. To ensure none of the best fall romcoms are neglected this time of year, I have curated a list of the top eight you must watch this time of year.
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY (1989): First to make our list is When Harry Met Sally. This fall classic stars Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan as they drive from Chicago to New York. Their relationship grows and changes as they debate whether or not women and men can be platonic friends. They part on bad terms before reuniting, only to grow apart again, leaving both to wonder if their feelings of romance are one-sided.
THE PROPOSAL (2009): This witty, 2000s, New York romantic comedy highlights an unconventional workplace romance. The Proposal follows the high-powered executive book editor, Margret Tate (Sandra Bullock) who faces deportation to Canada. To save her career she forces her assistant Andrew Paxton (Ryan Renalds) to pretend to be her fiance.
THE HALF OF IT (2020): A coming-of-age rom-com mash up tells the story of Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis), a friendless, lonely, straight A student who reluctantly agrees to help a dorky illiterate football player (Daniel Diemer) write love letters to his crush. Ellie soon begins to battle with the fact that she may have feelings for the same girl.
THE VOW (2012): Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams take on the roles of Paige and Leo Collins, happy newlyweds taking every day one step at a time – until Paige suffers from a horrible car accident causing her to lose all her memories of Leo. She retreats back to her life before, full of country clubs and high society, nothing like her life with her husband.
NOTTING HILL (1999): A classic British rom-com starring Hugh Grant as a grumpy bookstore owner and Julia Roberts as a famous Hollywood star. After a chance encounter, the two realize their lives are more entwined than they thought.
MY OXFORD YEAR (2025): Sofia Carson plays a focused American woman who strictly planned her life down to every minute. After arriving in England for her year abroad at Oxford, she is rudely splashed by a car driving through a puddle next to her. She later learns the driver is her clever poetry teacher played by Corey Mylchreest, who throws her life off course.
BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S (1995): A struggling writer and a high society socialite move into the same apartment building. Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) survives by socializing with wealthy older men who give her money and gifts, and she dreams of marrying a millionaire. Paul Varjak (George Peppard) grows quickly attached to Holly and tries to help her with her anxiety. But nothing is quite as it seems when Holly’s past starts to catch up with her.
ME BEFORE YOU (2016): Based on a novel by Jojo Moyes. Eccentric, dorky, small-town, Lou Clark (Emilia Clarke) takes on a job as a caregiver for the rich and cynical Will Traynor who had been paralyzed from a motorcycle accident.
A RAINY DAY IN NEW YORK (2019): A Rainy Day in New York starring Timothée Chalamet, Elle Fanning, Selena Gomez follows the couple Gatsby and Ashleigh as they take a weekend trip to New York City. Ashleigh gets a career opportunity of a lifetime while Gatsby reconnects with old friends. But one weekend can change everything.
Article by Ozy Zinke-Hashemeyer