When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible

Today, Summer and I were bemoaning the fate of the romantic comedy; we also noticed how sex has gone the way of the dinosaur in such movies. Nowadays, it seems like we're lucky if we get a kiss at the end. (Sure, there's no end to random sex in action movies, but a good romantic shag just seems awfully hard to come by currently. Cinematically, I mean.) I had to admit I was looking forward to Just Like Heaven, but only because Mark Ruffalo is the thinking woman's mega-hottie. (He's also probably the non-thinking woman's mega-hottie, but I suspect she doesn't read my site much.) But, I worry that the presence of Reese Witherspoon, much like Andie MacDowell and Ione Skye before her, will ruin the potential of the flick.

In fact, the quality of romantic comedy as a genre has gone down dramatically, if you ask me. I mean, if you count When Harry Met Sally as the all-time winner (and we do), then which of today's movies even come close to that standard? The Prince and Me? Hitch? I don't think so, people. A good romantic comedy requires both romance (which includes some understanding of why in the hell these two people would ever get together) and comedy (which requires that I laugh). Summer and I tried to compile a list of the top 10 romantic comedies of the last 10 years (1995-2005), and it was hard going, people.

1. While You Were Sleeping. Sandra Bullock took over for Meg Ryan for awhile there, y'know?
2. Bridget Jones's Diary. Almost any retelling of P&P is a good thing. Plus, Colin Firth.
3. Love Actually. Plus, Hugh Grant. (Do ensemble romantic comedies count? I say yes.)
4. The Tao of Steve. I have to get my indie cred in somehow. Plus, unbelievably fucking funny movie.
5. High Fidelity. John Cusack is the master of tortured love. Plus, my god, he's a tall drink of water.
6. French Kiss. Meg Ryan was still Meg Ryan in 1995.
7. Jerry Maguire. Before it was ruined by a bunch of idiots saying, "You complete me," this was actually a funny movie about love and shit.
8. 13 Going on 30. Heavy on the cute, but whoa! Did I mention Mark Ruffalo?
9. The Truth About Cats & Dogs. See aforementioned part about the need for an actual love story. Whatever happened to Ben Chaplin?
10. You've Got Mail. Meg Ryan is the new Meg Ryan.

(For the purpose of this list, I eliminated teen romantic comedies as a subgenre that was too confusing, though Clueless and 10 Things I Hate About You are tops. I also had to go with my gut on some movies. For instance, was Garden State a romantic comedy? Kind of, but ultimately, I felt no.)