Theromancegenre falls under a lot of scrutiny, but a lot can be forgiven in the story and tropes of a romantic comedy if the chemistry between the central couple is good. When it comes to these rom-coms, the lead actors are so lacking in this department that it can be difficult to watch their onscreen relationships develop. While few of these performers are bad actors or genuinely seem to hate each other, they simply aren’t believable as a couple, andthis throws off the entire dynamic of a film that relies on the success of its love story.
When compared to themovie couples with the best chemistry, it’s somewhat shocking these actors were cast opposite each other in the first place. The best rom-coms of all time achieved this distinction because the audience is desperate for the lead couple to admit their feelings and end up together. All of the story’s tension and stakes rely on this dynamic, and when it falls flat, it ruins the entire project. By the end of these movies, it doesn’t matter whether or not the relationships last because they never made sense to begin with.
10Jennifer Lopez & Owen Wilson - Marry Me (2022)
Directed by Kat Coiro
Marry Medoesn’t shy away from the fact thatJennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson are an unexpected combination.Their characters, Kat and Charlie, have about as much in common as the actors seem to, as Kat is an international pop star and Charlie is a regular dad. When the pair get married so Kat can save face after being betrayed by her former fiancé, the pair attempt to make things work and get to know each other. However, even their half-hearted attempts at friendship feel half-baked inMarry Me.
Putting together such incompatible performers demonstrates how much the modern rom-com is getting wrong about the genre.
Though arranged marriage and fake dating are two familiar rom-com tropes,Marry Mecast two actors with completely different comedic styles. While there’s clearly some respect and friendship there, Kat and Charlie are awkward with each other from the start, and it comes off as forced when they decide to be together. With practically nothing in common and plenty of uncomfortable silences,Marry Meputs any thoughts that they could work to bed. Putting together such incompatible performers demonstrates how much the modern rom-com is getting wrong about the genre.
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9Natalie Portman & Ashton Kutcher - No Strings Attached (2011)
Directed by Ivan Reitman
No Strings Attachedis far from the onlyfriends-to-lovers romance moviethat tackles the strange in-between phase of friends with benefits to full-on commitment. InNo Strings Attached, Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher play Emma and Adam, who admit their mutual attraction and attempt to have a relationship with no emotions involved. Of course, it doesn’t take long for this to fail spectacularly and for the pair to get fully entrenched in the others' lives. However,No Strings Attachedasks us to suspend our disbelief when it comes to the main relationship.
Portman and Kutcher are having some fun together, but they’re much more believable as friends than as a romantic couple. The way Portman interacts with Kutcher onscreen is closer to the way she might treat a brother rather than a love interest. It’s the supporting cast ofNo Strings Attachedthat makes the movie worth watching.Strong comedic performances from Kevin Kline, Greta Gerwig, and Mindy Kalinghelp distract from the fact that Emma and Adam should’ve stayed friends from the beginning.
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8Kristen Stewart & Mackenzie Davis - Happiest Season (2020)
Directed by Clea DuVall
Happiest Season, Clea DuVall’s LGBTQ+ holiday rom-com starring Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis, reminds us that there’s no timeline on coming out but that you’ve got to let your partner in. After Abby (Stewart) discovers that her longtime girlfriend Harper (Davis) isn’t out to her family, it puts a strain on the couple’s happiness and future, just as Abby decides she wants to propose. Though Harper is going through a lot,her treatment of Abby throughout the movie only compounds the lackluster chemistry between Davis and Stewart.
10 Holiday Rom Com Couples That Shouldn’t Have Ended Up Together
Holiday rom-coms often end with the central couple together at last, but when the pairing doesn’t work, the characters would’ve been better off alone.
It’s impossible to ignore that the real chemistry is between Stewart and Aubrey Plaza,who plays Riley, Harper’s ex. While Harper is off hurting Abby’s feelings for most of the movie, Abby and Riley connect, opening up to each other about their experiences coming out and their shared struggle to fight for Harper’s affections. It’s somewhat surprising that Abby finds it in her heart to forgive Harper after what she puts her through, but this might have been easier to understand with leads that had a more natural dynamic.
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7Lauren London & Jonah Hill - You People (2023)
Directed by Kenya Barris
Cultural differences between the families of a young couple are a common topic in rom-coms,and Kenya Barris’You Peopletakes an empathetic and satirical look at this. If the movie had featured a central couple who liked each other, it probably would be better remembered today. Jonah Hill and Lauren London play Ezra and Amira, a white Jewish man and a Black Muslim woman who fall in love but struggle to overcome the differences in their backgrounds and their parents' strict worldviews.
You Peopletackles these relevant issues by imbuing them with comedy and understanding, but the film fails to make us connect deeply with the romance between Ezra and Amira. It should be heartbreaking when they can’t make it work and see outside forces come between them, but it doesn’t sting that much because it’s not clear that they belong together.Both Hill and London shine when they’re apart, playing off Eddie Murphy, Julia Louis-Dreyfus,and the rest of the supporting cast.
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6Chris O’Donnell & Renée Zellweger - The Bachelor (1999)
Directed by Gary Sinyor
A few years beforeRenée Zellweger would cement herself as an iconic leading lady of the romantic comedy genre inBridget Jones’s Diary,she played opposite Chris O’Donnell inThe Bachelor. A very dated project, the 1999 film saw Zellweger and O’Donnell’s characters, Jimmie and Anne, break up in the wake of Jimmie’s failure to deliver a good proposal, leaving them both disappointed. However,The Bachelortakes this comedy of errors one step further and puts a ticking clock on Jimmie’s nuptials.
Though O’Donnell has more chemistry with Zellweger than he does with the other potential brides in the film, this isn’t saying much.
The Bachelorforces Jimmie to find a bride or lose his inheritance, and luckily, both he and Anne decide they do love each other after all. However, from Anne’s perspective, there’s no reason to forgive Jimmie, even for millions of dollars. Though O’Donnell has more chemistry with Zellweger than he does with the other potential brides in the film, this isn’t saying much. The slapstick silent film from 1925,Seven Chances, that the movie is based on, has far more heart and a lot more chemistry between leads and does all this without any dialogue.
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5Matthew McConaughey & Sarah Jessica Parker - Failure To Launch (2006)
Directed by Tom Dey
Out ofall of Matthew McConaughey’s romantic comedies,Failure to Launchranks low on the list.McConaughey first rose to prominence through his early rom-coms,andFailure to Launchwas something of a step back for him, and he began to explore other genres. Sarah Jessica Parker plays Paula, a young woman hired to get Tripp (McConaughey) to move out of his parents' house. Parker is also a veteran of the romance sphere, as her TV show,Sex and the City, saw her dating all kinds of men.
Despite the apparent romantic experience of the two leads, McConaughey and Parker can’t find their footing as a couple throughoutFailure to Launch. The movie comments on the inherent incompatibility of its lead characters, but simply being aware of this isn’t enough. Tripp and Paula have to overcome a lot to admit their feelings and commit to a relationship. Unfortunately,there isn’t enough inherent attraction or affection for us to believe they would want to test the watersafter so much betrayal.
Failure to Launch (2006)
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4Ashton Kutcher & Reese Witherspoon - Your Place Or Mine (2023)
Directed by Aline Brosh McKenna
Two beloved rom-com actors should equal success inYour Place or Mine,the recent Netflix romance movie starring Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth, asYour Place or Minekeeps the central couple separated for almost the entire runtime. It’s possible that this was on purpose since Debbie (Witherspoon) and Peter (Kutcher) somehow have less chemistry face-to-face than through the phone. Even though we’re told that Debbie and Peter used to date, the people they are in the present aren’t compatible.
Though poorly received for many reasons, the missing chemistry between Witherspoon and Kutcher played a major role in the failure ofYour Place or Mine.
Though poorly received for many reasons, the missing chemistry between Witherspoon and Kutcher played a major role in the failure ofYour Place or Mine. Both of these actors have a lot of experience in romance movies and are known for their comedic chops, but their performances give the impression they’re in different movies. It’s always refreshing to watch a rom-com that doesn’t center on a young, impulsive couple in their early 20s, butYour Place or Mineonly compounds its chemistry problem by making Debbie and Peter act like children.
Your Place or Mine (2023)
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3Emma Roberts & Hayden Christensen - Little Italy (2018)
Directed by Donald Petrie
Emma Roberts and Hayden Christensen already had an uphill battle inLittle Italy, asthis modern twist on aRomeo and Julietnarrative doesn’t have many fresh ideas.InLittle Italy, Nikki (Roberts) and Leo (Christensen) are the children of rival pizza shops who come back together in adulthood after years apart. It’s a sweet idea, but the awkwardness between Roberts and Christensen isn’t delightfully lovable or quickly dissolves into mutual attraction. Instead, the actors are hesitant and uncertain with each other throughout the story.
Neither Roberts nor Christensen are bad actors or incapable of developing an onscreen romance,as they’ve had sparks in front of the camera many times before. However, there’s something missing from their dynamic inLittle Italy, as they never seem fully invested in their relationship. Even when the stakes are at their highest, and it’s possible that the war between their families will come between them forever, Nikki and Leo don’t appear particularly bothered by this.
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2Ryan Reynolds & Amy Smart - Just Friends (2005)
Directed by Roger Kumble
Though there are many reasons the dated rom-comJust Friendshasn’t aged well by today’s standards, it’s impossible to ignore that Ryan Reynolds and Amy Smart, Chris and Jamie, don’t have the romantic dynamic to anchor the movie.Reynolds and Anna Faris, who plays Chris' would-be romantic interest, have a strong comedic chemistry,giving the film some interest. However, when it comes to Chris and Jamie, there’s so much animosity written into the story that it’s hard to believe there’s a foundation of true friendship at the core of their dynamic.
8 Rom-Com Couples That Most Likely Broke Up Eventually
Not every relationship stands the test of time, not even one cooked up in the plot of a rom-com, and some seem destined to break up from the start.
Chris and Jamie aren’t an easy couple to root for from the beginning,as Chris is downright mean to her throughout most of the narrative. It’s somewhat surprising, as both Reynolds and Smart are capable of having tension-packed onscreen romantic relationships, but there’s something off about the way they interact. It’s clear that the pair aren’t having fun with each other the way Chris and Jamie should be, adding to the already lackluster story ofJust Friends.
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1Claire Danes & Dermot Mulroney - The Family Stone (2005)
Directed by Thomas Bezucha
ThoughThe Family Stoneis one of themost underrated Christmas romance movies, the central couple the audience is supposed to be rooting for doesn’t make a lot of sense. While it’s clear from the start that Dermot Mulroney’s Everett isn’t meant to be with Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker), he’s hardly more compatible with her sister Julie, played by Claire Danes. As soon as Julie appears,The Family Stonecharacterizes her relationship with Evertt as love at first sight,but they don’t have much in common.
By the end of thisromancemovie, you might be convinced that no one inThe Family Stonedeserves their happily ever after based on the way they treat each other. However, there’s no basis for the love story that unfolds between Everett and Julie, as Mulroney and Danes have few scenes together to begin with. If their onscreen dynamic was magnetic, it might be easier to accept their love, but as it stands, they don’t work.
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