Staying Fit
(Left to right) Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Sam Heughan star in "Love Again."
Liam Daniel/Sony Pictures Entertainment
Never doubt the almighty rom-com! Despite the box-office domination of superhero franchises, love (onscreen) never dies, and recent charmers with A-listers like Reese Witherspoon, 47, and Jennifer Lopez, 53, are proof. This spring, a whole new crop of romantic comedies is popping up on screens big and little. Here are eight new fizzy bits of film fun, most of which you can watch at home on streaming services.
A Tourist’s Guide to Love
The premise: Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year’s Eve and even Hanukkah have all formed the backdrop of successful rom-coms, so why not the Vietnamese Lunar New Year celebration, Tet? In this cross-cultural comedy, an American travel executive named Amanda (Rachael Leigh Cook) heads to Vietnam after an unforeseen breakup, and she quickly falls for her expat tour guide Sinh (Scott Ly). Screenwriter Eirene Donohue wanted to write a story about Vietnam that focuses on joy rather than war or its traumatic aftermath — the lens through which we often focus on the country in pop culture — and to that end, you can expect a colorful romp filled with lion dances, floating lanterns, scenic vistas and hold-on-tight motorbike rides.
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Check it out if you liked: Crazy Rich Asians, Falling Inn Love, How Stella Got Her Groove Back
Watch it: A Tourist’s Guide to Love on Netflix
Somebody I Used to Know
The premise: Directed by Dave Franco and written by him and his wife, Alison Brie, the film stars Brie as Ally, the showrunner of a just-canceled reality TV show who decides to take a break from Hollywood and visit her mother in her picturesque mountain hometown of Leavenworth, Washington. Once there, she reconnects with her ex-boyfriend Sam (Jay Ellis, Top Gun: Maverick), only to find out he’s already engaged to another woman, Cassidy (Kiersey Clemons). Though Cassidy is initially skeptical of Ally, things get complicated when the two women start to hit it off. Like many great rom-coms before it, the film boasts a stacked supporting cast, including Haley Joel Osment, Amy Sedaris (62) and Julie Hagerty (67) as Ally’s mom.
Check it out if you liked: My Best Friend’s Wedding, Happiest Season
Watch it: Somebody I Used to Know on Prime Video
Don’t miss this: Julia Roberts’ Best Rom-Com Roles, Ranked!
Rye Lane
The premise: What Notting Hill did for North London, Rye Lane could do for the South London neighborhoods of Peckham and Brixton, where this exuberant romance is set. When it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, it was met with near-universal acclaim, despite its simple premise: Two strangers (played by Industry’s David Jonsson and theater actress Vivian Oparah) meet by chance at an art exhibition about mouths and then spend the day wandering around London getting to know one another, as they grab lunch at a burrito shop, sing karaoke and take a moped ride together. Wait until you see who takes their order at the Brixton Market food stall Love Guac’tually. (Spoiler: It’s Colin Firth, 62.)
Check it out if you liked: Before Sunrise, Southside With You, Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist
Watch it: Rye Lane on Hulu
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