4. Knocked Up
For me, Knocked Up is the film that started the current trend of masculinised romantic films. Judd Apatow was the leading light of this particular genre for several years, making bittersweet and intelligent ensemble films. This one has Seth Rogen (before his comedy-slacker shtick became wearing) as stoned slacker Ben, with Katherine Heigl as career-driven Alison. After an alcohol-fuelled one-night stand, the two find themselves thrown back together by an unexpected pregnancy, an interesting twist that allows for all sorts of thematic exploration - of responsibility, adulthood, family life, and the effects of growing a ridiculous beard. Knocked Up shows the central relationship from both angles, something not true of most ManComic films, and something that works to Apatow's credit as it makes for a more rounded story based on the opposition between Ben and Alison - they say conflict is character, after all. On top of this, and resembling an Americanised version of Richard Curtis's style, the supporting characters are key to the whole thing working, with Rogen's perpetually stoned friends leading the comic charge and Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann's own relationship providing an interesting counterpoint to the central romance. With Apatow at his peak, fusing serious subject matter with wit and often crude humour to create an affecting, mixed up romance, this is a great example of the modern trend for a more rounded and gender-neutral romance.