Romance can be hard enough to navigate in the best of circumstances, but things get even trickier when the love interest is out of their element, too. Fortunately, the most frustrating situations can make some of the sweetest love stories. To that end, here are some of our favourite rom-coms featuring fish-out-of-water protagonists.
Definitely, Maybe
Gabe
Definitely, Maybe is about Will Hayes, a soon to be divorced New Yorker working in advertising, whose daughter, Maya, asks him to recount the story of how he met his wife. But there’s a twist, for the majority of the film the identity of his wife remains unknown, possibly being one of three women: Emily, Summer, or April. And this story that Will tells has him, fresh out from the University of Wisconsin, living in New York and navigating his relationships with these women. Obviously, all that the story ultimately leads up to is “you and my mom… getting a divorce”, to quote Maya. But the film doesn’t end as unfortunately as this, instead having Will find new romance with (spoiler alert) April. And April is fantastic. She’s always ready to prove Will wrong and she does it with style; slamming Will’s cigarettes down on the convenience store counter when he derides her preference for a more expensive brand. Will is great as well. Ryan Reynolds (who plays Will) makes snark endearing (“copy girl, what I think you’re actually paying for is the… pretty pastel colour[ed cigarette box]”). Reynolds can also access a real sincerity when he needs to, such as when he’s practicing his proposal to Emily. And in addition to having some really compelling and well-acted characters, the film is extraordinarily pretty. For example, to resolve their dispute about cigarettes, April and Will have a smoking contest in the rain. And the way that Will and April are shot in this scene (surrounded by intense reds as well as cool bluish greys, various umbrellas all bobbing around as they pass by) makes you wish you were there too. The movie has also got some great song picks (who doesn’t love “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots”). All these things make the film charming enough to be well worth your time even if the film isn’t ground-breaking, which is why I recommend giving it a shot. Ryan Reynolds is Will; Isla Fisher is April; Elizabeth Banks is Emily; Rachel Weisz is Summer; Abigail Breslin is Maya. Directed by Adam Brooks.
Crazy Rich Asians
Oishe
When Rachel Chu accompanies her longtime boyfriend, Nick, to his best friend’s wedding in Singapore, she gets the shock of her life— Nick’s family is filthy rich, and Nick himself is one of Singapore’s most coveted bachelors. Rachel must deal with a whirlwind of stressors that come with dating such a man— socialites vying for Nick’s hand, a wild world of decadence and wealth she could only ever imagine, and the cutthroat environment of gossip and social status. Worst of all, she must face Nick’s hardcore mother, who disapproves of her as a future daughter-in-law.
Crazy Rich Asians does the “fish out of water” trope perfectly. Rachel is kind, well-meaning, and has sincere love for Nick, but finds herself in a world where none of that matters, and the only language spoken is that of money. As a result, she is constantly judged and struggles to fit in. While the gossip is bad enough, Nick’s mother, Eleanor, makes the task even harder on her, as she finds Rachel to be the antithesis of the image their family cultivates. However, this is a projection of her own insecurities— Eleanor herself was not initially accepted into the family, and is still mistreated by her mother-in-law. In this way, both Rachel and Eleanor embody the “fish out of water” trope over separate generations. But whereas Eleanor tried to earn her place in the family solely through the true love she shared with her husband, Rachel rejects the family in favour of saving Nick from losing either her or her family. Rachel overcomes the difficulties of this life by using what is innate to her— her kindness and good heart, and it is this that eventually wins Eleanor over.
Not only is Crazy Rich Asians a great rom-com in and of itself, but it was a huge cultural phenomenon at the time of its release. A rom-com starring an all-Asian cast was revolutionary to viewers and finally gave Asian audiences a story in a beloved genre that they could see themselves in. Constance Wu and Henry Golding are so rootable as Rachel and Nick, but for me personally, Michelle Yeoh (who was recently nominated for an Oscar!) stole the show as Eleanor. All in All, Crazy Rich Asians will be loved for years to come.
Charade
Demetra
Craving a rom-com disguised as a Hichcock-style thriller? You're in luck — Charade follows the misfortunes of a naive, dramatically bankrupted and widowed Regina Lampert. Regina's husband owed three scary ol' killers a lot of money and now they're convinced that she's got the dough. Cary Grant plays the love interest who keeps stepping in to save her (and help her find the money), but his name keeps changing. With so much at stake, it's hard to tell if he's interested in her or just the money. Still, Regina has nowhere else to turn — she's very much out of her element and needs any help she can get.
I realize that this doesn't sound like much of a rom-com, but Charade is full of so much quick-witted romance that it fits into the genre surprisingly well. Plus, there's a ridiculously adorable shower banter scene. Seriously, give it a quick watch. Two minutes and 43 seconds of the type of adoring, playful back-and-forth that you only find in heartwarming relationships. So much for Psycho's claim to having the most memorable '60s shower scene... Sorry Hitchcock.
The only drawback to Charade's rom-com sensibility is the high stakes make it hard to know if you can ever really trust the romance. Maybe Grant's character is playing the long con. Maybe love doesn't exist after all. It's a frustrating situation (and I don't want to spoil the ending too heavily), but rest assured that despite some turbulence along the way, a happy ending is in the cards for everyone who's innocent.