Our Favorite Holiday Rom-Coms
Colin Firth in a Rudolph sweater. Meg Ryan hauling a tree across Manhattan. Cameron Diaz in a tiny bathtub. These are a few of our favorite things!
It’s nearly Christmas. There’s an abundance of streaming guides, holiday films, Christmas TV shows, the whole caboosh; however, we’re here to give a definitive ranking of the famed holiday rom-com canon. You’ve probably heard of or watched most of these movies — we’re simply here to reaffirm that they’re great, why they’re great, and why you should rewatch them. Or watch them for the very first time!
This issue is near and dear to our hearts. The fruition of “The Only Girls Who Fall At Your Feet” — this tweet, actually — came from the idea to review every single Hallmark/Lifetime romance film. (See: this inspirational Letterboxd list, “Christmas movie posters with white heterosexual couples wearing red and green.”) Why not watch rom-coms, especially all the silly Christmas ones, and analyze them in a longer format than just: “That was cute!” We have Christmas rom-coms and the release of The Kissing Booth 2 to thank.
And no, this year wasn’t the year either of us watched every — or any — films on that lengthy Letterboxd list. But we’re writing our 2021 resolutions. Hallmark, we’re coming for you. For now, here are our actually great and charmingly terrific favorite holiday rom-coms.
10. Happiest Season (2020)
Fletcher: We already wrote about Aubrey Plaza (thank us later), so with this blurb, I’ll only focus on the lead story… which is already harder than I thought it would be. Happiest Season takes a two well-ridden narratives — coming out and the chaotic family Christmas — and spins them into a fresh tale of acceptance. Mary Holland is the GOAT and deserves to snag a rom-com of her own.
9. While You Were Sleeping (1995)
Fletcher: Watched this and literally shouted aloud — “Oh my god, she’s going to fall in love with his brother!” I hope this doesn’t spoil anything for those who haven’t watched, because it’s really not hard to predict, not sure why it was a huge epiphany for me. But it was, and that’s beautiful. This movie reads like some Gossip Girl subplot with one of Nate’s love interests: a woman pretending to be a man’s fiancée, when in reality, she’s just obsessed with him? Okay, Ivy Dickens. But this is so cute! Long live Sandra Bullock, the undiscussed heart of rom-coms.
8. The Santa Clause (1994)/The Santa Clause 2 (2002)
Annabelle: Okay, fine, the first Santa Clause movie is not a rom-com. The second one, however, absolutely is, and is a renowned holiday classic at that! I watched this movie every year growing up because I was obsessed with seeing Tim Allen age like 40 years in the span of one. Also, the second movie includes the omnipresent Juliet from LOST, the best TV show ever, so obviously, that’s a win from me.
7. It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)
Annabelle: Of course, of course, we had to mention this holiday classic. Perhaps the best holiday film of all time. If you haven’t seen this/didn’t watch this growing up I am not entirely sure if I trust you. It’s the most wholesome film with the most wholesome message: maybe the true meaning of life is the friends we made along the way! Also, I would do literally anything to live out my fantasy of buying a run-down old house with my beloved that we turn into a home. Then I could die happy.
6. Phantom Thread (2017)
Fletcher: A different type of entry on our list, I’ll give you that, but no less rom-com than the rest, I’d argue. Perhaps a different newsletter can touch on my feelings about Phantom Thread as a rom-com. But yes, just like The Holiday or even Bridget Jones’s Diary, Phantom Thread employs wit, charm, and the many ups and downs of relationships. I envision that if I were quarantined, in a relationship, and eating my silly little toast every morning, the crisp crunching and fall of crumbs would get irritating as well. Don’t tell me that isn’t romantic!
5. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
Annabelle: There are few things I dream about more than Tom Hanks’ character’s house boat in this film. It’s absolutely perfect, in every sense of the word. Yes, I have a list of homes/apartments/abodes from movies that are my dream living situation! This is at the top. I also live for when kids get involved in people’s romantic lives. The scene in the airport when Jonah is talking about how Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are soulmates? And that he knows this because he’s younger and pure and more in touch with cosmic forces? I think about that once a week.
4. The Holiday (2006)
Annabelle: If you had cable growing up, my question is this: why was The Holiday on every year? I swear, every Christmas, my family would sit down and watch The Holiday not as a tradition, but more so just out of pure necessity. Casting Jack Black in a rom-com was a truly insane choice. And to have him talk about Ennio Morricone casually, too. Sure, I guess! What a film.
Fletcher: Full confession — I had never seen this movie before this week, thanks go out to Rachel Handler and Jackie Mitchell, but not Hallie Meyers-Shyer. You’re either a Kate or a Cameron. Do you crave breezy, oceanside luxuries with celeb sightings and Hollywood history? Or do you yearn to introduce your heels to snow, lunge for a quilt, and cram into a cozy bath in the English countryside? TBH, this sounds weird, but I’m totally the latter. Don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it.
3. Elf (2003)
Annabelle: This movie is an absolute classic, and probably the only rom-com that was consistently shown in at least one of my classes at our Holiday Pizza Party in middle school. It’s okay, I know you still get the urge to say “Bye buddy, hope you find your dad!” whenever you see a narwhal. We all do. But the romance between Will Ferrell and a blonde Zooey Deschanel is truly unparalleled. I sing Baby It’s Cold Outside in the shower every year.
Fletcher: Nothing’s sweeter than Buddy the Elf. His perfect charm was a brilliant match to Jovie’s (a severe departure from Zooey Deschanel’s usual trope) cynicism. I love every bit of Elf, but the romance storyline won me over. The best cup of coffee in the world? Revolving doors? And then at the ice skating rink, “You missed.” At the heart of Elf are two love stories: one between Buddy and Jovie, and one between Buddy and NYC. All three coincide for ultimate joy.
2. When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Annabelle: OK, I’m sure you’re all like, we’ve heard it before, Annabelle! You love When Harry Met Sally... ! Did we also include this in our fall rom-coms list? Maybe. But the big finale and the most important scene in all of rom-com history happens on, coincidentally, the best holiday of the entire year, New Year’s Eve. So, it qualifies! I could write an entire paper on how impactful the final scene of this movie is, and why it deserves all the recognition because we don’t get enough New Year’s movies, dammit! Actually, maybe I will. More on this to come.
1. Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)
Fletcher: I like to pretend that I partake in the Bridget Jones lifestyle. Like some folks choose to follow beauty bloggers, influencers, or January Jones (perhaps related), I craft my routines around Bridget. Inner monologue. Weird emails. Vodka and Chaka Khan. Lofty New Year’s resolutions. Since age 15-ish, I’ve been using Briget Jones’s Diary to propel me through the holidays. And it negates one silly hypothesis: yes, nice guys do kiss like that. At heart, Sharon Maguire’s seminal rom-com Bridget Jones’s Diary doesn’t just exist in the holiday rom-com canon, but holistically, in the realm of winter rom-coms. Just as When Harry Met Sally dominates Q4, Bridget Jones reigns the most important rom-com of every snowy month — though the snow has become irrelevant by the late weeks of February, Bridget’s chase through a blizzard has not.