New York City is one of the top tourist destinations to visit in one's lifetime. It's full of glamour, skyscrapers and busy people. There's just something magnetic about the concrete city that attracts people from all over. It also happens to be the perfect location for many rom-com films.
Taking a romantic stroll through Central Park or a carriage ride during winter sounds like a perfect date. You would recall the iconic scenes of the Natural History Museum in the romantic comedy, The Nanny Diaries. The possibilities in New York are endless and if you're looking for a film list set in the city for your night in, here's a start (ranked according to their IMDb rating).
Maid In Manhattan (5.2)
Despite its low rating, Maid In Manhattan is one of Jennifer Lopez's top films that gets you every time. The romantic comedy-drama film stars Jennifer Lopez as Maria Ventura and Ralph Fiennes as Christopher Marshall. It's a true Manhattan love story.
Maria works as a maid at Beresford Hotel in Manhattan and is a single mom taking care of her son, Ty (Tyler Posey). One day while getting caught wearing a guest's expensive clothes, she meets Christopher "Chris" Marshall. Chris is a high-profile senatorial candidate who becomes enthralled by Maria and her son. He believes she is from an upper-class living, completely unaware of her real life.
13 Going On 30 (6.1)
Any teenage girl growing up in the 2000s would have been obsessed with the rom-com film 13 Going on 30. Starring Jennifer Garner as Jenna Rink, it's a magical twist on growing up and finding love. Jenna Rink, in 1987, makes a wish on her birthday to be, "30 flirty and thriving." She wakes up the next morning in a grown-up body in an apartment in Manhattan and as a co-editor for a fashion magazine.
While she is enjoying the perks of being thirty, she realizes she wasn't ready to become an adult so fast. She tracks down her old best friend, Matt (Mark Ruffalo) and comes to the realization that everything she needed was there all along.
Two Weeks Notice (6.1)
Besides Miss Congeniality, Sandra Bullock had some rom-com films already under her belt. The film Two Weeks Notice takes place in Manhattan and Coney Island. Lucy Kelson (Bullock) is a pro-bono liberal lawyer who meets George Wade (Hugh Grant) while trying to save the Conney Island community center. George is an arrogant billionaire and real estate developer who has no regard for historical property.
He coerces Lucy to work for him as his Chief Counselor if he leaves the community center alone. Years pass and Lucy decides its time to move on. George doesn't make it easy for her and comes to realize he can't let her go.
The Rebound (6.3)
Finding out your husband has been unfaithful can be life-altering. When Sandy (Catherine Zeta-Jones) finds out about her husband's infidelity, she makes the rash decision of moving to New York City with her two children. She meets the barista of the coffee shop she lives above. Aram Finklestein (Justin Bartha) doesn't know what he wants out of life.
He meets Sandy at a self-defense class. Aram becomes the family's nanny and develops a close bond with Sandy's children. Sandy and Aram eventually date, but they question if their fifteen year age difference will hinder their relationship.
How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days (6.4)
Along with 13 Going on 30, the rom-com film How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days was also one of the most popular films in the 2,000s. The film is quirky, funny, romantic and set in New York City. Andie Anderson (Kate Hudson) is the resident "How to" girl at the women's magazine Composure. Benjamin "Ben" Berry (Matthew McConaughey) is the top advertising executive at a sports company.
One night, Ben's knowledge of romance is questioned when he tries to land a diamond campaign. Meanwhile, Andie has a new story about using common mistakes women make that drive men away. To prove himself, Ben takes the challenge of making a woman fall in love with him, while Andie needs to drive a man away in ten days. Both set their eyes on each other, unaware of each other's real intentions.
Set It Up (6.5)
Netflix has a number of romantic comedies to get invested in and in 2018 they released the original film, Set it Up. Two overworked assistants set up their bosses to start dating in order for them to get some free time. Harper Moore (Zoey Deutch) is 25-years-old and assistant to Kristen Stevens (Lucy Liu). Harper then meets Charlie Young (Glen Powell), assistant to the high-strung Rick Ortis (Taye Diggs).
They concoct a plan to set up their bosses using planned situations. Their plan works but then hits rock bottom when they break up. Along the way of forcing their bosses to find love, Harper and Charlie fall victim to the same fate.
Hitch (6.6)
Will Smith is the handsome and sweet lead role in the film Hitch. Set in New York City, Alex "Hitch" Hitchens (Smith) is a private consultant to the general public, but his real occupation is as the "date doctor." After suffering heartbreak in college, he vowed to help men gain the confidence to get the girl of their dreams.
He meets Sara Melas (Eva Mendes), a gossip columnist, who is also trailing his new client Alex Brennaman (Kevin James) and his crush Allegra Cole (Amber Valletta). Sara and Hitch hit it off and everything seems perfect. Sara is unaware of Hitch's real job until her best friend is used by a man who claims got help from the "date doctor."
Sleepless In Seattle (6.8)
The film Sleepless in Seattle is a rom-com staple. Tom Hanks steals everyone's hearts as Sam Baldwin, a Chicago architect who becomes a widow. A year and a half after his wife's passing, Sam's son convinces his father to tell his story on a radio show. Annie Reed (Meg Ryan), a Baltimore reporter, hears his story and writes him a letter to meet her at the Empire State Building on Valentine's Day, despite being engaged.
She is unaware that her friends mailed the letter. When she visits Seattle, she meets Sam and his son, unaware of who each other are. They are mesmerized by one another. She returns to New York and comes to a life-changing realization and waits to see if Sam shows up at the Empire State Buiding as planned.
Serendipity (6.9)
In Serendipity, Jonathan Trager (John Cusack) and Sara Thomas (Kate Beckinsale) meet, as if by fate, one Christmas season in New York City. Despite both being in relationships, they share a dessert at a restaurant called Serendipity 3. Sara believes this is fate. She finds an alternate way to give each other their phone numbers after her phone is swept away by the wind. She writes her number of a $5 bill and his in a book that will be sold.
She explains to Jonathan that if by fate they find each other's information then they can contact each other. Back to their original lives, both get engaged to marry. They start to get cold feet and then happen to find the $5 bill and the sold book from that beautiful night.
Moonstruck (7.1)
What could be better than a rom-com starring Cher and Nicolas Cage? The 1987 film, Moonstruck tells the story of a widowed 37-year-old Italian-American woman named Loretta Castorini (Cher). Loretta becomes engaged to her boyfriend, Johnny Cammareri (Danny Aiello). While she likes Johnny, she does not love him.
Johnny insists on inviting his estranged brother Ronny (Cage) to the wedding. While Johnny is in Italy caring for his ill mother, Loretta meets Ronny and they have a night of passion. She becomes ridden with guilt, but can't suppress her true feelings and neither can Ronny.