13 Best Romantic Comedies Of The 21st Century

In many ways this was the film that made the biggest imprint on the genre, and subsequently made audiences demand more from their Rom Com's. Gone was the unrelatable lingerie model prototype, replaced by Renee Zellweger's everyday woman. While Zellweger added significant weight for the role of the Londonite, it was her relaxed and dorky demeanour that really embedded her inside the character, and gave us our most likeable female lead in Rom-Com history.

The trope of the ugly girl who doesn't realise how attractive they are falls to the male character here, with Colin Firth wearing the ugliest sweater ever seen in helping to bring the loveable dork Mark Darcy to life. Firth utilises all the charm that normally makes his characters desirable and turns this into a character weakness, a snotty nosed man who Ms Jones might find too posh to fall in love with.

Hugh Grant ditches the charming persona and instead plays the ultimate Mr Wrong with his portrayal of Daniel Cleaver, his philandering ways keeping his relationship with Bridget at bay, his charisma dragging her back in. The fight sequence between Mr Darcy and Daniel is an absolute hoot, taking the old adage of fighting for your girl to new absurd levels.

But the star of the show here is Zellweger, who feels like that brash but likeable lady you meet down the pub on occasions. The narration works superbly and her ability to give off a 'don't give a crap' persona makes the film a delight.