The romantic comedy, or rom-com, has become a staple genre in which Hollywood can perpetuate upon couples, yearning for a breezy date. But, there is an inherent problem with the modern day romantic comedy. From the start, the film is not the question of whether or not the two gorgeous looking stars will get together, but how they will get together. The formula inevitably brings forth the structure of the two stars either meeting in a cute way or in a precarious situation. Then the relationship goes through its ups and downs as the leading lady will probably fall down in a hilarious, slapsticky way, while the guy probably takes off his shirt. Then again, this was exactly the structure that some of the best romantic comedies of all time, from The Apartment to Bringing Up Baby, have followed. The question then becomes, why modern day rom-coms feel so contrived nowadays. It could simply be because the screenwriters of those movies try to appeal to the common denominator. These films, like fairy tales, are an escape from everyday life in which it is easy to meet the perfect man or woman at the top of the Empire State Building. The modern day romantic comedy seemed to have started in the 1980s in which American cinema began moving towards fantasy and away from the gritty realism of the 1970s. This was the time in which the tropes of romantic comedies began taking shape especially with targeting demographics. Now every Valentines Day, you can expect that staple of actors that populate these types of films which follow the structure and perpetuate an ideal that is not true and unsatisfying. Thus the movies on the list all came out after the 1980s. But, the movies on this list succeed in not following the structure, asking whether or not those characters would get together rather than when they would get together. Except for one of them, the comedy or gags does not come from a slapstick fall but from the charm of the people who populate the film and actually mirror real life relationships, or at least I find common ground in my life. It is also worth noting that a lot of these films are also very melancholic in the way it tells its stories and I think that is only natural in a film that wants to accurately portray a relationship. So without further ado, here are the top ten romantic comedies that arent completely insulting to its audience.