I’ll be honest with you: I’ve never met a romantic comedy I didn’t like. It’s the quintessential feel-good genre, powered by memorable meet-cutes, swoon-worthy montages, great soundtracks and, usually, a sweet “happily ever after” ending.
And while there are undoubtedly rom-coms that we rewatch over and over again — your Julia Roberts classics, your Reese Witherspoon favorites and what have you — we always love the unexpected joy of coming across a great romantic comedy that we haven’t seen before on one of the best streaming services.
Thankfully, Prime Video is packed with those hidden-gem charmers, and we found a trio of underrated titles that you should add to your next watch list. From a 2013 musical romance starring Mark Ruffalo and Keira Knightley to a delightfully modern tale of young trans love, here are three heartfelt and hilarious rom-coms on Prime Video you probably haven’t seen yet but should.
‘Begin Again’
There’s a very good movies-about-music pedigree behind this heartwarming 2013 musical dramedy: It comes courtesy of John Carney, the writer-director of the Oscar-winning “Once” and the Golden Globe-nominated “Sing Street.”
In it, disgraced record exec Dan Mulligan (Mark Ruffalo) forms a bond with young singer-songwriter Gretta James (Keira Knightley) over their shared love of music and their lingering broken hearts. (Gretta was cheated on by her rock-star boyfriend, played by Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine; while Dan is estranged from his wife, Catherine Keener’s Miriam.)
“Thanks to charming work from its well-matched leads, ‘Begin Again’ is difficult to resist,” reads the critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes, where the film holds a positive 83% approval rating based on 170 reviews.
Watch “Begin Again” on Prime Video now
‘Anything’s Possible’
At the center of this 2022 coming-of-age love story — which was helmed by theater icon Billy Porter in his directorial debut and written by Ximena García Lecuona — is Kelsa (Eva Reign), a confident transgender girl navigating her final year of high school. Things get even more eventful for the student when she develops a budding romance with her classmate Khal (Abubakr Ali) after bonding in art class. Despite their sweet connection, their relationship becomes complicated by the social hardships of trans life.
Boosted by the tender chemistry between its leads, “Anything’s Possible” charmed critics — on Rotten Tomatoes, where the rom-com has a solid 86% approval rating, the site’s critical consensus praises: “Confidently helmed by debuting director Billy Porter, ‘Anything’s Possible’ is a smart, warm-hearted teen rom-com with a powerfully inclusive spin.”
Watch “Anything’s Possible” on Prime Video now
‘Sliding Doors’
From “Emma” to “Shakespeare in Love,” Gwyneth Paltrow knows her way around a romantic comedy, and that’s certainly the case with “Sliding Doors.” The 1998 Peter Howitt-directed flick sees the Oscar winner portray a young London woman named Helen Quilley, whose romantic life could be drastically changed depending on whether or not she catches a specific train.
Viewers get to see both of those potential storylines play out, with Helen remaining with her current, albeit cheating, boyfriend Gerry (John Lynch) in one timeline and encountering an intriguing new love interest, James Hammerton (John Hannah), in another. While some critics didn’t love the “gimmicky feel of the split narratives,” they did commend “the winning performances by the cast,” per Rotten Tomatoes.
Watch “Sliding Doors” on Prime Video now
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