The Joy Luck Club (1993)
Rating: 88

Ok you probably won't get through this without at least a yawn. But you'll enjoy it if you keep an open mind. The Joy Luck Club is an exceedingly well made film about feminine sensibility and solidarity. Sounds boring? Yeah well, she'll eat it up, and with good cause.

The mother/daughter relationship stands at the forefront, and is explored with great insight and honesty. The rich texture of these relationships is crafted with sublime care, rippling with moments of anger, pain, beauty and joy- so much so that even one who is neither a mother nor a daughter should be able to appreciate the experience.

When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Rating: 84

The king of romantic comedies. It's funny, smart, doesn't take itself too seriously, and stars Meg Ryan. The famous fake orgasm scene is still one of the funniest moments in the history of cinema. Billy Crystal makes a surprisingly solid leading man, lending much needed wit and levity to a film that might otherwise be bogged down with sentimentality.

The film may play a little old, also Crystal's fault. But it's just about the best romantic comedy you'll ever see. So pick it up when in need of a high quality date film.

Swing Time (1936)
Rating: 83

Astaire and Rogers will simply never be topped by another screen couple. As with all their films, Swing Time deals heavily in classy charm and spectacular dance numbers. In fact the quality of the dance numbers is what sets Swing Time apart from their nine other films.

It never gets too deep, or emotionally taxing, and it's over before you know it. Nobody denies that Astaire and Rogers offered little besides pretty fluff, laced with a good dose of elegance and charisma. But they were the best, and still are.

Pretty Woman (1990)
Rating: 82

Cinderella is a hooker. How romantic! But in all seriousness, Pretty Woman does capture that slippery quality quite well. Julia Roberts' hooker is for all intents and purposes a modern day Cinderella, among other things, pygmalion etc. The film works as a fairytale, and really what else could it be?

Richard Gere is still a weak point, coming off as more than a little stiff. Which often works for his billionaire character. The two have chemistry, the interaction of sheltered rich boy and world weary prostitute makes for many memorable moments.

Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
Rating: 80

Four Weddings is witty, pleasantly paced, sometimes charming, and unabashedly British. Really the only problem with the film is that Hugh Grant's ceaseless hemming and hawing tends to irritate most male viewers. But cut him some slack, as the hemming and hawing works for his character- a commitment phobic bachelor who finds his match in an equally slippery Andie McDowell.

The sometimes droll, sometimes bawdy humor is good for many a laugh. And the film does have one of the better happy endings in romantic comedy.

Sleepless in Seattle(1993)
Rating: 76

The two main characters don't even meet until the end of the film! Which works, as the film is less about the intricacies of romance than the misery of loneliness. A thirty something widowed father and a single thirty something woman across the country are brought together by his young son. It's an interesting setup.

Sleepless in Seattle is a remarkably effective romantic comedy, perhaps precisely because it avoids the complexities of an actual relationship, preferring to get romantic mileage out of the prospect of a relationship. Tom Hanks is as always, perfect in the role of all American, overbearingly nice, funny, all around good guy. Not much needs to be said of Meg Ryan, who pretty much embodies the romantic comedy.

Jerry Maguire(1996)
Rating: 76

Jerry Maguire is sappy, overtly preachy, philosophically naive trash indeed. But it's entertaining trash executed with a flawless comfort. Tom Cruise is an affable and capable leading man. Renée Zellweger is sufficiently doe eyed and lovestruck to appeal as the object of Cruise's affections. The world of sports agents and professional football is rendered with enough jazz and intelligence to keep the guys entertained.

The script is bursting with facetious yet memorable dialogue. "You had me at hello," and "You complete me." So corny and yet so good. We are talking about date flicks after all. The kid is cute. Zellweger is a woman's woman- intelligent, independent, yet somehow still feminine enough to be swept off her feet. Cruise is Cruise, and still has the most bankable smile in Hollywood. As a date flick, this one can't miss, except that everyone under thirty has already seen it.

While You Were Sleeping (1995)
Rating: 66

Replete with cheeky charm, and the perfect actress for the role, While You Were Sleeping delivers light romance and a few chuckles. The most glaring flaw is Bill Pullman's egregious lack of charisma. He's a little old to play Sandra Bullock's love interest, and doesn't have what it takes to pull off the age difference. A guy like Harrison Ford could pull it off. Bill Pullman? No.

The film is hard to categorize. It's not heavy romance, in fact the characters have hardly any chemistry going for them. It's not uproariously funny, though it does deliver some laughs. But it does its job as a flippant, charming, modern fairytale.

My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)
Rating: 64

Julia Roberts is good as a neurotic and pretty much destructive woman attempting to sabatoge her best friend's wedding because surprise- she's just decided she wants him to herself. Dermot Mulrony as the best friend comes off as stiff, and Rupert Everett as the gay friend steals the show. All in all, a good date film. Be warned, people break out into song, and it feels a little awkward.

Another warning, the film contains subtle but present sexist undertones. It pretty much asserts that women who "give up" their lives (education, work) follow the proper and good path, whereas women who don't, and insist on keeping their career and independence- are portrayed as selfish. If your girlfriend is the type that looks for this sort of thing, maybe you would be better off skipping this one. Otherwise it's doubtful anyone will notice the subtext.

The Wedding Singer (1998)
Rating: 62

Could it be? An Adam Sandler film that appeals to both sexes? Actually Sandler's brand of comedy cuts generational cleavages more than anything else. The 80's motif provides great fodder for culture specific in jokes. The music is spectacular, or at least nostalgic. The romance is syrupy sweet and surprisingly honest.

And of course, you'll probably find yourself laughing hard.