Top 10 Greatest Rom-Com Parodies

You can’t really have a list of Rom-com parodies without mentioning “Date Movie.” This isn’t just a parody film with romance and comedy, it is literally a parody of romantic comedies. The film took on some of the biggest rom-coms of the day, including “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” “Hitch,” and “Bridget Jones’ Diary” as well as classics like “When Harry Met Sally.” Film critics were not impressed, giving it a 7% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. However, general audiences got the joke and rode the film to an almost $85 million box office gross - very nice for a film with just a $20 million budget.

Chris Evans and Anthony Mackie starred in two films released in the United States in May of 2015. “Avengers: Age of Ultron” which basically the whole world saw, and “Playing It Cool” which pretty much no one did. The latter film finds Evans playing a screenwriter who wants to write action movies. He is told by his agent, Mackie, to write a rom-com first. Evans is a guy who doesn’t believe in love. But guess what… he meets a girl that changes all that. The guy writing a rom-com actually lives a rom-com in the process.

Sometimes a movie parody is subtle about the subject and films it’s tackling. And sometimes it isn’t. As is the case with “Fifty Shades of Black.” This film hits you, like a paddle to the backside, with a title that doesn’t leave any doubt as to what they’re going after. The “Fifty Shades of Grey” books were an international mega-hit, and the first film grossed over $500 million worldwide. While the Marlon Wayans fetish-themed romantic comedy parody only grossed $22 million, it still whipped up a decent profit given that it only cost $5 million to make.

Chris Evans fans will be happy to find him making another appearance on our list. This time we are taking you all the way back to 2001 and Evans’ movie debut. Evans plays the male lead in the film which is a mega-parody movie. As the title might suggest, “Not Another Teen movie” pokes fun at a whole host of typical teen comedies from the previous decades, dating back to the 1980s. From “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” to “She’s All That,” and many more. The film itself is 20 years old now, so references that were contemporary then might not be as recognizable to current audiences. But, it could be a fun game to see how many you can pick up on.

Romance is in the air in this exaggerated comedy film. We follow a couple of unwitting civilians as they find themselves at the center of a classic spy movie adventure. The film sees the best friends, played by Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon, pursued by assassins when an ex-boyfriend turns out to be a CIA agent. Although the critics were lukewarm on the film, giving it a 49% on Rotten Tomatoes, audiences enjoyed it. So much so that the film won the People’s Choice Award for Favorite Comedy Movie. And Kunis was nominated for Favorite Comedic Movie Actress.

Yeah Baby! It’s time to talk about “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.” This shagadelic comedy has romance in the middle of it and hysterical James Bond parodies all around. As well as some ill-tempered, mutated sea bass. The “Powers” spoof was so influential that Bond actor Daniel Craig has said that the films are the reason later Bond movies were so serious in tone. They couldn’t do some of the lighter gags of previous Bond films, because Mike Myers had done such a good job satirizing them. And he did it all for A very reasonable price. Actually the film cost $16.5 Million but it made over $67 million and spawned two very successful sequels.

“George of the Jungle” is a 1997 comedy, based on the 1967 “George of the Jungle” animated TV show, which is itself a take off on “Tarzan.” Both characters are raised by animals in the jungle, but they end up a little different. While Tarzan is a straight-edged hero very adept at swinging from vines, George has never managed to completely master that skill. As far as the romance goes, we all know Tarzan’s love interest is Jane Porter, his one true love. In “George of the Jungle” that honor goes to Ursula Stanhope.

A woman who hates romantic comedies wakes up one day trapped in a romantic comedy world and surrounded by all of the classic, obvious tropes she finds ridiculous. Instead of parodying specific films, “Isn’t It Romantic” is a romantic comedy that takes on the entire romcom genre. The film is one of the best reviewed on this list, receiving a 70% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Sure, romantic comedies are full of cliches. But that’s partly what we love about them. And romcom aficionados will certainly appreciate how this film honors those cliches while satarizing them at the same time.

When Joel and Molly (played to ridiculous perfection by Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler) are asked about how they met, they say it was like some kind of corny, romantic comedy. What follows is an over-the-top romcom satire that comedically throws many of the genre's classic tropes in the audience's face. There’s a general rule in writing that it’s better to “show” then “tell.” Let the audience experience something rather than use cheap exposition. Well, in “They Came Together” they enjoy breaking that rule and using that “exposition” to comedic effect. The film doesn’t just wink at the audience, it literally looks right at us.

Who better to parody classic Disney fairytales than Disney themselves? “Enchanted” is a loving send up of, and tribute to the films we all grew up watching. The movie begins as a classic animated Disney tale in the kingdom of Andalasia with a princess, a prince and, of course, an evil sorceress. But when the sorceress pushes the princess into a well, she’s transported to modern day, non-animated, New York City. There are even musical numbers, animal helpers and a McDreamy. This is one of the first films Patrick Dempsey did after “Grey’s Anatomy” rejuvenated his career. Both audiences and critics were enchanted by the film. It received a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and earned over $340 million around the world.