Five Pre-2000s Rom-Coms to Watch This Valentine’s Day

In 2023, Anyone But You raked in an impressive $220 million worldwide on a budget of only $25 million, which many interpreted as a sign of a potential romantic comedy revival in the modern film industry. However, some critics argued that the film ultimately failed to include one of the most crucial aspects of romantic comedies: on-screen chemistry. I’d place myself alongside those critics. The film casts Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney — two extremely conventionally attractive actors — in the roles of everyday singles, which hinders the film’s ability to allow audiences to connect completely with the characters and story. Additionally, the plot relies heavily on many absurd comedic situations and romantic tropes, rather than moments that highlight a true bond between the two characters.

GUEST ROOM | Rape Culture, the Romance Genre and Me Before You

My sister tells me I’ve turned into a book snob. She claims that my reading list is largely propelled by a hunger for cultural capital, that I don’t enjoy the things I read, that I’m checking off the novels of someone else’s book list: some antiquated, white professor’s book list. And to an extent, she’s right. As an English major, I have not only become trained in applying psychoanalytical and queer theories to the ample texts we chow down in a semester, but I’ve become adept at prioritizing certain genres of texts over others, according to their so-called intellectual merits. The classics: Good.