Glen Powell and Richard Linklater’s movie Hit Man manages to achieve the very impressive feat of combining several different genres into a concise and smooth blend.
The film, which premiered on Netflix on June 7 after a limited theatrical run, is best described as a romantic action comedy, providing a perfectly entertaining and easily digestible coat to a more ambitious core that’s primarily concerned with the human psyche. It never jeopardizes insightfulness for the sake of mindless fun, yet the same can be said for the reverse too.
Every film on this list accomplishes this same rare combo to some degree, albeit each prioritizing one side of the action rom-com trifecta.
Baby Driver (2017)
If you manage to look past the weirdness surrounding Ansel Elgort and Kevin Spacey you’ll probably find that Baby Driver is one of the coolest films of the last decade. Baby (Elgort) is a getaway driver for a crime ring who suffers from tinnitus and listens to music to drown out the constant ringing in his ears. When he falls in love with Debora (Lily James), romance and a life of crime begin pulling him in opposite directions.
Written and directed by Edgar Wright, it features an insanely good soundtrack, pulsating action, natural chemistry and banter between the chore cast, and a pretty swoon-worthy love story between Baby and Debora.
The Lovebirds (2020)
While The Lovebirds wasn’t exactly embraced by critics, almost everyone could agree that the sheer star power of Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani was enough to provide a good hour and a half of pure entertainment. Directed by Michael Showalter, who was recently behind the buzzy Prime Video rom-com The Idea of You, this film follows an on-the-rocks who are forced into going on the run together after they accidentally contribute to a murder.
The Rae/Nanjiani pairing is a surefire guarantee of laughs and an all-around great time, and even if the script isn’t exactly as tight as it could have been, The Lovebirds will still provide that unique combination of light-hearted crime romance.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)
Let’s throw it back with a classic. Glen Powell and Adria Arjona might be sizzling hot in Hit Man but even they can’t reach the legendary chemistry of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in the 2005 version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. A chemistry so fierce, in fact, it even famously ruined Pitt’s relationship with Jennifer Anniston, who makes an appearance later on in this list.
We imagine this would count more as a rewatch for you since probably everyone has seen this film, but in case you haven’t, this is your sign to finally fix that. In Mr and Mrs. Smith, Pitt and Jolie play husband and wife, both spies, and both unaware of that fact, until a mission puts them on each other’s target. It’s a sexy, high-tension, divinely entertaining romance, that was surprisingly topped by the 2024 Prime Video remake starring Donald Glover and Maya Eskrine that you should also watch.
Long Shot (2019)
I would like to personally thank Dan Sterling for writing Long Shot, Seth Rogen for liking and taking it to Charlize Theron, and Charlize Theron for saying “yes.” It’s not every day you get two of the most underrated acting talents of their generation in a rom-com — as a matter of fact, it’s become depressingly uncommon in the last decade.
In Long Shot, Theron plays Charlotte, the Secretary of State, campaigning for President, and Rogen plays Fred, an unemployed disillusioned journalist. When the two meet, Charlotte recognizes Fred as the kid she used to babysit and decides to hire him to be his speech writer. The task demands getting to know each other and, of course, eventually leads to a blossoming romance, that is constantly threatened by the high-risk life of a Presidential candidate.
Murder Mystery (2019)
This list has given you Rae and Nanjiani, Pitt and Jolie, Rogen and Theron, and it’s going to finish up high with an Anniston/Sandler suggestion. The pair has been carrying American comedies on their backs since the 20th Century and 2019’s Murder Mystery proves they still got it.
The film revolves around married couple Audrey and Nick, played by Anniston and Sandler, who have lost the spark over the years. When they decide to finally take the European trip Nick had promised Audrey 15 years ago, they end up involved in a murder investigation, and chaos ensues. It’s not revolutionary cinema by any means, but it definitely delivers all the “rom,” “com,” and “pow” you will ever need.