The 15 best romantic comedy movies on Netflix (February 2026)

Alex Strangelove (2018)

A coming-of-age rom-com that sees a popular teen wrestle with his sexuality may sound like a familiar narrative, but Alex Strangelove adds its own spin. Alex Truelove (Daniel Doheny) lives in an especially progressive and supportive environment for a high school tale, nearly void of the common prejudices against queerness. Still, Alex doesn’t know what — or who — he wants, and he has to learn about himself before he can know for sure.

EW’s critic praises the film’s underlying theme beneath its (occasionally cringey) twists and turns, writing, „It’s hard to fault the bigger message here: that we all deserve the right to be true to who we are, even if it takes a few hard turns — and some collateral emotional damage — to get there.“ —Angela Andaloro

Where to watch Alex Strangelove: Netflix

EW grade: B

Director: Craig Johnson

Cast: Daniel Doheny, Antonio Marziale, Madeline Weinstein, Joanna Adler, William Ragsdale

Always Be My Maybe (2019)

Who says you can’t go home again? Ali Wong shines in this romantic comedy about childhood best friends who cross paths as adults after an awkward teenage romance ended badly. Fast forward 16 years, and life has taken celebrity chef Sasha Tran (Wong) and unsuccessful musician Marcus Kim (Randall Park) to some very different places. Much has changed, but their chemistry sure hasn’t as the two come face-to-face with their many differences on the road to reconciliation. Throw in a disastrous double date featuring Keanu Reeves playing, well, Keanu Reeves, and you’ve got yourself a chaotic love triangle unlike any you’ve seen before. —A.A.

Where to watch Always Be My Maybe: Netflix

EW grade: B

Director: Nahnatchka Khan

Cast: Ali Wong, Randall Park, James Saito, Daniel Dae Kim, Keanu Reeves

As Good as It Gets (1997)

This delightfully spiky rom-com from the great James L. Brooks (Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News) centers on flawed people who come together nonetheless. Jack Nicholson plays Melvin, a cynical novelist who strikes up a connection with a local waitress, Carol (Helen Hunt), with whom he embarks on an unlikely romance. As with many comedies of the ’90s, not every element has aged well, but there’s an old-fashioned charm to Brooks’ writing and directing that sneaks up on you. —Kevin Jacobsen

Where to watch As Good As It Gets: Netflix through Feb. 28

Director: James L. Brooks

Cast: Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear

Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)

Long before Dan Fogelman was tugging on our heartstrings with This Is Us, he gave us a taste of what he could do with Crazy, Stupid, Love. Ryan Gosling stars as Jacob, a super-smooth playboy who passes his vast dating knowledge onto the newly single Cal (Steve Carell), whom he meets at a bar. Cal is wounded from his separation from his wife, Emily (Julianne Moore), following her affair with her co-worker (Kevin Bacon). But, just as Cal gets the hang of the single life, Jacob suddenly finds himself falling for a woman named Hannah (Emma Stone) who’s not so easily impressed.

The ensemble cast’s star power and captivating chemistry make for some fascinating, interconnected stories that highlight the ups and downs of love. —A.A.

Where to watch Crazy, Stupid, Love: Netflix

Directors: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa

Cast: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei

Friends With Benefits (2011)

With a similar plot to No Strings Attached — and coming out the same year — Friends With Benefits tells the story of friends who decide to add sex into the equation (though Benefits received notably better notices than Strings). The rom-com stars Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis as a pair of hot singles who become close friends and enjoy some of the titular benefits, only to find themselves developing feelings for each other. Naturally, both parties deny such feelings out loud, but it’s impossible to deny the chemistry between them.

EW’s critic calls Friends With Benefits „an outrageously synthetic confection that pleases and entertains in its very froth.“ —K.J.

Where to watch Friends With Benefits: Netflix

Director: Will Gluck

Cast: Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis, Patricia Clarkson, Jenna Elfman, Woody Harrelson

The Half of It (2020)

In a modern retelling of the classic French play Cyrano de Bergerac, Ellie (Leah Lewis) starts ghostwriting love letters for a jock, Paul (Daniel Diemer), in exchange for some much-needed cash. But as she continues to correspond with Paul’s dream girl, Aster (Alexxis Lemire), Ellie finds they have a lot in common and wonders if she’s actually her better half. Though the romantic tension between Aster and Ellie pushes the film forward, the true heart of this story is the blossoming friendship between Ellie and Paul. He may not be able to write to save his life, but Paul speaks up where it counts, causing an intimate and (somewhat) overlapping love triangle between teens who are just trying to learn what life is all about. —A.A.

Where to watch The Half of It: Netflix

EW grade: B

Director: Alice Wu

Cast: Leah Lewis, Daniel Diemer, Alexxis Lemire, Enrique Murciano, Wolfgang Novogratz

Hit Man (2024)

Talk about an unconventional meet-cute. Glen Powell co-wrote and stars in this darkly comedic romantic thriller as Gary Johnson, a mild-mannered college professor who also works with the police posing as a hitman to bust murder-for-hire clients. He proves adept at his undercover job, but, after a woman named Madison (Adria Arjona) hires Gary to kill her husband, he soon finds himself developing feelings, which complicates matters. Powell delivers his best performance to date as the chameleonic faux-assassin, and his chemistry with Arjona is off-the-charts charming. —K.J.

Where to watch Hit Man: Netflix

Director: Richard Linklater

Cast: Glen Powell, Adria Arjona, Austin Amelio, Retta

The Incredible Jessica James (2017)

Jessica Williams is a relatable force to be reckoned with in her debut lead role. As the uber-confident Jessica James, she’s trying to find out what’s next in both her work life and her love life, with New York City as the backdrop. However, a blind date throws a wrench in all her plans as she finds herself unexpectedly falling for Boone (Chris O’Dowd), though she’s still not quite over her ex, Damon (LaKeith Stanfield).

EW’s critic celebrates the rom-com for its not-so-delicate balance, writing, „Even when the film falls into indie clichés, Williams keeps things moving with her cleverness and charisma, whether she’s chastising man-spreaders on the subway or introducing an as-yet-unborn baby to the fight to dismantle the patriarchy.“ —A.A.

Where to watch The Incredible Jessica James: Netflix

EW grade: B+

Director: James C. Strouse

Cast: Jessica Williams, Chris O’Dowd, Noël Wells, LaKeith Stanfield, Megan Ketch

The Lovebirds (2020)

The relationship between Leilani (Issa Rae) and Jibran (Kumail Nanjiani) is on its last legs and fading fast when the struggling couple is invited to a dinner party. On their way there, a chance encounter with a criminal changes the course of their night — and their separation. If they want to make it out alive and clear their names, the two will have to work together, but not without throwing a few passive-aggressive jabs at each other in the process.

The Lovebirds gives viewers a different kind of second-chance romance. It’s light on the romance and heavy on the antics, making it an honest portrayal of all that can make or break a relationship — romantic or not. —A.A.

Where to watch The Lovebirds: Netflix

EW grade: B

Director: Michael Showalter

Cast: Kumail Nanjiani, Issa Rae, Paul Sparks, Anna Camp, Kyle Bornheimer

People We Meet on Vacation (2026)

Emily Henry’s romance novels have taken the book world by storm since 2020, so it was only inevitable that Hollywood would come calling to adapt her work. People We Meet on Vacation, based on Henry’s 2021 novel, is the first of them — and a strong first, at that. The film follows Poppy (Emily Bader), an extroverted adventurer, and Alex (Tom Blyth), an introverted homebody, whose friendship slowly blossoms into something more over a series of summer vacations. Essentially a millennial spin on the classic rom-com When Harry Met Sally (1989), People We Meet on Vacation charms through Bader and Blyth’s easy chemistry and its loving embrace of the genre’s tried-and-true tropes. —K.J.

Where to watch People We Meet on Vacation: Netflix

Director: Brett Haley

Cast: Emily Bader, Tom Blyth

Set It Up (2018)

Overworked assistants Charlie (Glen Powell) and Harper (Zoey Deutch) have a corporate meet-cute in their shared office building when they bond over their demanding, miserable bosses: venture capitalist Rick Otis (Taye Diggs) and sports media maven Kirsten Stevens (Lucy Liu). Desperate to make their jobs (and lives) easier, Charlie and Harper hatch a plan to merge their superiors into a happy power couple. But playing matchmaker might be way above their pay grade.

A romantic comedy in the same vein as The Devil Wears Prada (2006), Set It Up is a satisfying take on the feel-good genre, complete with meditations on work lives, love lives, and everything in between. EW’s critic hails the film as the „gold standard for the frothy summer rom-com.“ —A.A.

Where to watch Set It Up: Netflix

EW grade: B

Director: Claire Scanlon

Cast: Zoey Deutch, Glen Powell, Taye Diggs, Lucy Liu

She’s Gotta Have It (1986)

Spike Lee exploded onto the scene with his 1986 directorial debut. Made for only $175,000, She’s Gotta Have It tells the story of Nola (Tracy Camilla Johns), a graphic artist in Brooklyn who juggles relationships with three men. The situation becomes complicated after the men meet and figure out what’s happening. Meanwhile, Nola comes to realize the value of her freedom as a sexually liberated person.

Lauded for its depiction of a confident Black woman at a time when Hollywood rarely centered such characters, She’s Gotta Have It proved to be predictive of the kinds of groundbreaking stories Lee would tell in the decades to come. The Oscar-winning filmmaker also adapted the film into a Netflix series in 2017. —K.J.

Where to watch She’s Gotta Have It: Netflix

Director: Spike Lee

Cast: Tracy Camilla Johns, Tommy Redmond Hicks, John Canada Terrell, Spike Lee, Raye Dowell

Someone Great (2019)

This charming directorial debut by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson proves that break-up movies can make for great rom-coms. Jenny (Gina Rodriguez) lands her dream job at Rolling Stone, but it costs her her longtime boyfriend (LaKeith Stanfield). Desperate for a last hurrah in New York City before her big move, the new bachelorette rallies friends Blair (Brittany Snow) and Erin (DeWanda Wise) to help send her off, though it proves to be anything but a clean break.

The misadventures of their big night out inspire each woman to reflect on whether they’ve been choosing their relationships over themselves. The result is an empowering, modern spin on what’s expected from the genre, placing sisterhood and self-love at the center stage. —A.A.

Where to watch Someone Great: Netflix

EW grade: B+

Director: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson

Cast: Gina Rodriguez, Brittany Snow, DeWanda Wise, LaKeith Stanfield, Peter Vack

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018)

One of the better teen rom-coms for the modern age, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before follows Lara Jean Covey (Lana Condor), a high schooler who secretly pens love letters to crushes but never sends them. Her younger sister finds them stashed away and decides to mail them herself, leading to a fair share of awkward situations. To prevent her current crush from initiating yet another cringey confrontation, she impulsively kisses one of her former crushes (Noah Centineo), which proves to be the catalyst for an ever-evolving relationship. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before was very well-received, with EW’s critic calling it „breezy and charming.“ —K.J.

Where to watch To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before: Netflix

EW grade: B

Director: Susan Johnson

Cast: Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, Janel Parrish, Anna Cathcart, John Corbett

You’ve Got Mail (1998)

The quintessential rom-com of the „dot-com“ era, You’ve Got Mail transports the charms of the 1940 classic The Shop Around the Corner to pre-Y2K Manhattan. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, previously seen together in Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) and Sleepless in Seattle (1993), star as Joe and Kathleen, respectively, AOL chat buddies who have never met in real life — until they unknowingly become enemies when Joe’s major-chain bookstore eats away at Kathleen’s independent bookstore’s business. Plenty of duplicity and misunderstandings follow, with Hanks and Ryan proving why their repeated pairing in the ’90s was so enjoyable.

While not quite reaching the swoony heights of its ’40s inspiration, EW’s critic calls You’ve Got Mail a „perfectly enjoyable star vehicle that does exactly what it sets out to do.“ —K.J.

Where to watch You’ve Got Mail: Netflix

EW grade: B

Director: Nora Ephron

Cast: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Parker Posey, Jean Stapleton, Dave Chappelle