Top 10 Hardest Rom-Com Monologues to Perform
#10: “The Rest of Your Life” “When Harry Met Sally...” (1989)
Top 10 Hardest Movie Monologues to Perform
After we’ve spent the entire film wondering “Will they or won’t they” about the titular best friends, Harry finally makes a decision. On New Year's Eve, he tracks down Sally at a party and says those three special words. At first she doesn’t believe him, which forces Harry to go into a lengthy speech listing off all the things he loves about her. What makes this monologue challenging is that it completely relies on Billy Crystal convincing his scene partner, Meg Ryan, that he is in fact in love with her. Luckily, he pulls it off and the characters ring in the new year together.
#9: “Waiting for Rain” “A Cinderella Story” (2004)
In this modern-day adaptation of the classic fairy tale, Hilary Duff assumes the role of the mistreated and overworked Cinderella figure, Sam. After being hurt by her love interest, a football player named Austin, she confronts him in the locker room right before a big game. From the second she storms in, everything is laid out on the line. Duff’s directness and focus convey character growth and gets the audience to empathize with her pain. It’s one of the highlights of the movie and leaves us with this iconic closing remark.
#8: “Done Being in Love with You” “The Holiday” (2006)
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From the get-go, viewers know that Iris’s ex-boyfriend Jasper is bad news. So, when he flies from England to California to visit her, we know his romantic gesture is ill-fated. After revealing that he’s still engaged to another woman, Iris grows a backbone and puts him in his place. With her listing off all the ways Jasper has mistreated her, the scene provides an emotional charge thanks to the indomitable performance from Kate Winslet. The monologue written by rom-com queen Nancy Meyers is the perfect Christmas gift for us and for anyone who’s ever felt powerless to stand up for themselves.
#7: “Funeral Blues” “Four Weddings and a Funeral” (1994)
About two-thirds of the way through, “Four Weddings and a Funeral” throws the audience a curveball when it kills off one of its supporting characters, Gareth. During the funeral, his partner Matthew, played by John Hannah, delivers a heartbreaking eulogy. Hannah’s performance is captivating as viewers hang onto every word and beat. He perfectly encapsulates the sorrow of loss and grief, using both his own words and those of poet W. H. Auden’s with the piece “Funeral Blues.” There are many moments in this ‘90s rom-com that have us reaching for the tissues, but this one tugs at our heartstrings the most.
#6: “There’s a History Here” “The Story of Us” (1999)
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In this late ‘90s flick, husband and wife, Ben and Katie, are close to ending their longtime marriage after attempting to salvage their damaged relationship. At the end of the film, Katie, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, throws out a lifeline by delivering this heartfelt monologue. In a last-ditch effort to make things work, she sobs her way through revealing what their “history” together means to her. The writing requires Pfeiffer to really go for it and prove to Ben, played by Bruce Willis, that their marriage is worth saving. In the end, the two come together and it’s all because of her gutting delivery.
#5: “You Complete Me” “Jerry Maguire” (1996)
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Serving up one of the most iconic movie quotes of all time, this monologue from “Jerry Maguire” is one of the best scenes in the sports-themed flick. After the two separate, Jerry returns to make amends with his wife, Dorothy. Surrounded by Dorothy’s disapproving friends and her sister, he proceeds with caution. It’s a quiet and very still performance by Tom Cruise that is heavy with feeling, but light on the dramatics. The stakes are higher than ever for the sports agent, but his last sentence saves the day and their marriage.
#4: “A Friend Loves a Friend” “Love, Rosie” (2014)
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Wedding toasts are no easy feat. They can be awkward, cringey and revealing, which is exactly what happens to Rosie Dunne. She starts off giving a well-received speech, but soon goes off script, as she incidentally confesses her feelings for her best friend and the groom, Alex. The room goes quiet and the guests try to decipher whether or not she’s speaking about him as a friend or something more. Thanks to a little thing called nuance, Lily Collins keeps everything from unraveling. It's a hard balance to strike, but she executes it perfectly.
#3: “Beaten at Your Own Game” “Down with Love” (2003)
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A nostalgic tribute to the Swinging Sixties, this groovy flick follows author Barbara Novak, who makes a startling revelation that throws everyone for a loop. When writer and Casanova Catcher Block falls for her after pretending to be someone else, Barbara similarly reveals that she’s not actually Barbara. In fact, she’s Catcher's former secretary Nancy Brown, who was in love with him during her tenure; she’s put on the whole act in order to give the ladies man a taste of his own medicine. The confession is over three minutes long with the camera staying on Renée Zellweger’s face the entire time. It’s an impressive shot and even more impressive performance by Zellweger as she commands us to absorb her every word.
#2: “10 Things I Hate About You” “10 Things I Hate About You” (1999)
In one of the most iconic scenes from any teen rom-com, protagonist Kat Stratford gives a teary-eyed performance that could make even the most stoic of moviegoers crack. Her world falls apart after finding out that her love interest, Patrick, was paid to date her. Heartbroken and angered by the cruel setup, she reads an original poem inspired by Shakespeare’s Sonnet 141 aloud in class. At first Kat seems to be venting. However, during her presentation, she confesses that despite everything, she still does love Patrick. Julia Stiles absolutely crushes this moment by letting her defenses down, and capturing the emotional weight of being a teen in love.
#1: “Old Helen Is Gone” “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” (2005)
On the outside, some marriages look perfect. But behind closed doors, it’s a whole other story. “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” tackles this fact through the journey of Helen Simmons-McCarter, a housewife who is verbally and emotionally mistreated by her husband. Even after initiating divorce proceedings and surviving a shooting, Charles continues to mistreat Helen, who is at the end of her rope. She rightfully lashes out at him, ripping into all the pain he caused and revealing that his mistress has taken everything from him. Kimberly Elise’s performance here is worthy of applause as she holds nothing back and gives Helen all the agency she deserves.
