Club Benefits
When it comes to movie genres, you don't get much cozier than a rom-com: Low-angst, heartwarming watches with equal parts swoon-worthy romance and silly hijinks, they're the kind of feel-good flicks that can instantly add warmth and light even during the darkest, coldest months of the year.
One of biggest best streaming services around, Netflix is packed with romantic comedies that you'll fall in love with, whether you're looking for a charming queer rom-com about finding yourself, a high-school comedy about two fake-dating teens, or an adorable Glen Powell favorite that hinted at the charismatic superstardom to come.
'To All the Boys I've Loved Before'
The first of Netflix's clever and comforting films adapting Jenny Ha's romance novels, "To All the Boys I've Loved Before" centers on Lara Jean Covey (Lana Condor), a shy teenager who writes five letters — ones she never planned to send but get accidentally mailed out by her precocious younger sister (Anna Cathcart) — to boys that she has had crushes on.
To throw off one of said crushes, Lara Jean enters a fake-dating agreement with hunky classmate Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo), who consents because he wants to make his own ex-girlfriend Gen jealous. Soon, though, those performative feelings turn palpably real.
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'Alex Strangelove'
![Alex Strangelove | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/V-1KhZiQs3U/maxresdefault.jpg)
Things are going pretty well for high school senior Alex Truelove (Daniel Doheny) and his burgeoning romance with his longtime friend Claire (Madeline Weinstein) — that is, until he meets Elliott (Antonio Marziale), a confident and openly gay teenager who isn't shy about his instant crush on Alex. The fellas' continued interactions lead Alex to begin questioning his sexuality.
As endearing as it is amusing, "Alex Strangelove offers a refreshingly insightful – and fittingly adult – take on teen sexuality enlivened by smart humor and a fearlessly progressive approach," praises critics over on Rotten Tomatoes, where the rom-com has a solid 84% approval rating.
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'Set It Up'
![Set It Up | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/X-eRc9PF3TU/maxresdefault.jpg)
Before he was charming audiences in big blockbusters like "Top Gun: Maverick" and "Twisters," Glen Powell was making hearts go pitter-patter in the fetching rom-com "Set It Up."
Powell plays Charlie Young, personal assistant to high-strung venture capitalist Rick Otis (Taye Diggs), who teams up with fellow lowly assistant Harper Moore (Zoey Deutch) — who works for the high-powered sports editor Kirsten Stevens (Lucy Liu) — to set up their two demanding bosses and make them fall in love so they get off their backs.
Powell and Deutch's considerable chemistry and comedic banter is a highlight of the zippy 2018 romantic comedy, which "follows the long-established outlines of the rom-com template — and in the process, proves there's still substantial pleasure to be wrought from familiar formulas," per Rotten Tomatoes.
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'Always Be My Maybe'
A good way to ensure your rom-com is heavy on the comedy side of things is by casting famously funny folks like Amy Wong and Randall Park as your romantic leads.
The two comic stars play childhood friends and next-door neighbors Sasha Tran and Marcus Kim who have not been in touch since a brief teenage fling ended badly. Fifteen years later, they reunite in their native San Francisco as adults and find that romantic chemistry still intact, though their respective worlds and differing lifestyles challenge that connection.
Come for the funny charms and stay for that incredible Keanu Reeves cameo!
Watch on Netflix now
'The Incredible Jessica James'
![The Incredible Jessica James | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/zEkYAzSpHnA/maxresdefault.jpg)
Jessica James (played by "Shrinking" star Jessica Williams) is a fiercely independent but struggling playwright living in New York and going through a recent split from her boyfriend Damon (Lakeith Stanfield). In the wake of that bad breakup, Jessica goes on a blind date and makes an unlikely connection with a divorced app designer (Chris O'Dowd), himself equally flawed and reeling from his own heartbreak.
Written and directed by James C. Strouse ("People Places Things," "New York, I Love You"), this intelligent indie rom-com is both lighthearted and meaningful, powered with a captivating lead performance by Williams.
Watch on Netflix now
More from Tom's Guide
- Netflix just got a charming romantic comedy that’s already crashed the top 10 — and it’s the perfect watch ahead of Valentine’s Day
- I stumbled upon a forgotten Jennifer Aniston rom-com and it’s a must-stream
- Netflix's new rom-com movie is a sun-soaked escape from the winter blues — but there’s a problem
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