Here are three of the best romantic comedy screenplays of all time.
When Harry Met Sally is a classic for a reason. The screenplay is pure perfection. Written by Nora Ephron, When Harry Met Sally is ranked 15 on Writers Guild of America West’s 101 Funniest Screenplays.
There are many reasons why When Harry Met Sally works so well. For starters, the casting was just perfect. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan were made to play Harry and Sally. (Fun fact: Tom Hanks
But the real power is the movie’s screenplay. As Nicholas Barber at BCC writes, “But the film’s true innovation is the way its director, Rob Reiner, and screenwriter, Nora Ephron, strip away the characters’ biographical details, just as they clear away all the obstacles on their path to happiness. Everything is removed from the film except Harry and Sally’s attitudes towards love, sex, friendship and each other. The result is a romantic comedy distilled to its essence: it has romance and it has comedy, and it has nothing else.”
The simple formula worked like a charm. The screenplay is proof that, at times, keeping things simple are ultimately what make the most profound, lasting impact.
Emily V. Gordon and her husband comedian Kumail Nanjiani wrote the screenplay for The Big Sick. Co-produced by Judd Apatow, the screenplay is loosely based on Gordan and Nanjiani’s real life love story.
While some of the events in the film were not true to real-life events, the screenplay is excellent. In fact, it was even nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
Something’s Gotta Give starring Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson is a rom com about a soon-to-be senior citizen Harry (Nicholson), a swinger who notoriously dates younger women, falling in love with accomplished Erica (Keaton), a woman closer in age.
Written, produced, and directed by the amazing Nancy Meyers, Something’s Gotta Give is loved for the fact that its leading actors are much older than the age of those typically cast for romantic movies, defying ageism that is rampant in Hollywood.
While some may argue that the plot of Something’s Gotta Give is extremely predictable, those who do enjoy it would say that the film has fantastic dialogue and structure thanks to the movie’s clever screenplay.
