Every month, Netflix adds to its already jam-packed library of streamable titles, especially where romantic comedies are concerned — this year alone has seen the premieres of “The Life List,” “La Dolce Villa” and the upcoming “My Oxford Year”.
But that constant influx of inventory means that you might have missed some of the most romantic and comedic flicks on the streaming platform, such as these three modern-day charmers, full of swoon-worthy moments, silly antics and sweet connections.
From Indian singletons in New Jersey to a Korean cinephile in the Bay Area, these rom-coms show that the search for love and understanding is a universal one. Here’s why you should add these warm and funny movies to your next Netflix watch list.
‘Shortcomings’
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Directed by Randall Park (“Always Be My Maybe”) and written by Adrian Tomine — based upon the latter’s comic of the same name — “Shortcomings” centers on Ben Tagawa (Justin H. Min), an aspiring filmmaker slash movie-theater manager who lives in Berkeley, California, with his girlfriend Miko (Ally Maki).
However, when Miko moves to New York City for an internship, Ben sets off on a string of failed relationships and grapples with his own shortcomings as he searches for interpersonal connection with his “womanizing lesbian” BFF Alice (Sherry Cola) by his side.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 85% of critics’ reviews are positive, with the site’s consensus reading: “Randall Park’s directorial debut has humor and heart, giving star Justin H. Min a swoonworthy starring vehicle with few ‘Shortcomings.'” For The LAist, Claudia Puig calls the movie “an engaging and likable romantic comedy that doesn’t follow the formula of a romantic comedy — which is a good thing.”
Watch “Shortcomings” on Netflix now
‘Someone Great’
![Someone Great | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/BBd9gcrj2Wk/maxresdefault.jpg)
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“Jane the Virgin” star Gina Rodriguez plays Jenny Young in “Someone Great,” a twentysomething aspiring music journalist on the brink of some big life changes.
For one, she’s landed her dream job at Rolling Stone magazine, which will see the New Yorker moving cross-country to San Francisco; on the other hand, her boyfriend of nine years (Lakeith Stanfield) decides to call it quits rather than attempt long distance.
To nurse her broken heart, Jenny gathers up her two best friends, Erin (DeWanda Wise) and Blair (Brittany Snow), for one outrageous last adventure in New York City.
Though critics have pointed out the film’s lack of originality where it comes to other genre titles, “Someone Great” makes up for that “in relatability and charm, thanks in large part to the undeniable chemistry between its talented leads,” reads the critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes, where the romantic comedy has an 84% approval rating.
Watch “Someone Great” on Netflix now
“Wedding Season”
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The overbearing parent is a common trope of the rom-com genre, and in “Wedding Season,” two pairs of traditional Indian parents pressure their singleton spawns to find spouses.
So Asha (Pallavi Sharda) — an economist who has recently broken off her engagement and is too bogged down with work to date earnestly — decides to team up with local bachelor Ravi (Suraj Sharma) and pretend to date in order to survive a summer of weddings and keep their families from hassling them to find partners.
However, their plan goes awry when Asha and Ravi find themselves falling for each other IRL. And that sweet if expected segue into real-deal romance is much-welcome, argues Owen Gleiberman for Variety, writing: “If the comedy here is mostly routine, the romance is another thing. It really does work, because the actors don’t just phone in the love story — they dance with it, commit to it, and own it.”
Watch “Wedding Season” on Netflix now
