Romantic Comedies

Isn't it about time we had another sweet time-travel romance? The trailer for UK comedy About Time has debuted, and it looks pretty darn cute. The movie stars Domhnall Gleeson (aka Bill Weasley of the Harry Potter series) as Tim, a man who discovers time traveling is in his genes. He goes back and finds love with none other than The Time Traveler's Wife herself, Rachel McAdams.

I love Bill Nighy as Tim's wise father, and Gleeson has an adorable innocence to him, but I am starting to get a little weary of seeing McAdams doing her romantic lead schtick. I will say the accompanying track, "Little Talks" by Of Monsters and Men, is a nice touch. The movie opens in limited release on Nov. 1 and wide release on Nov. 8. Check out the trailer after the jump.

Ever since Love Actually captured hearts and audiences with its huge cast and sweet intersecting story lines, there's been an overflow of ensemble comedies, and fatigue has officially set in. There are usually too many characters and subplots, and while What to Expect When You're Expecting does have a star-studded cast and a lot going on, it's funnier and more engrossing than most of the movies in the genre.

The characters are all dealing with some aspect of parenthood: there's Cameron Diaz as Jules, a trainer on a Biggest Loser-like show who gets pregnant by her dancing partner (Matthew Morrison) from a Dancing With the Stars-like show. There's Holly and Alex (Jennifer Lopez and Rodrigo Santoro), a couple who resorts to adoption, while Rosie and Marco (Anna Kendrick and Chace Crawford) have a fling that leads to her pregnancy. Elizabeth Banks plays Wendy, a woman who's grateful to finally be expecting but is disappointed when she feels more gross than glowy, and in contrast, her younger mother-in-law (Brooklyn Decker) is having the most effortless pregnancy in history. Sure, it's way too perfect that everyone conceives their children around the same time, but the movie is filled with enough humor and warmth to compensate. To find out what else I thought about What to Expect When You're Expecting, just keep reading.

I was looking forward to The Five-Year Engagement like a dear friend's wedding, but as promising as the movie is, it's not as funny or romantic as I was hoping. Jason Segel and Emily Blunt play Tom and Violet, a happy couple who gets engaged, but over the course of planning their wedding, they get sidetracked, and end up putting off the big day. As their wedding plans fall apart, so does their relationship. This is where The Five-Year Engagement differs most notably from other romantic comedies; instead of seeing a romance develop, we're watching one decline — and it's as depressing to watch as it sounds.

It's a shame that we don't get to see the prologue of Tom and Violet's relationship, because Segel and Blunt have fantastic chemistry, and they have each have such solid comedic timing. It's well suited for the humor of the script, which was penned by Segel and director Nicholas Stoller. The duo also wrote Forgetting Sarah Marshall and The Muppets, two of my favorite comedies from the last few years, so my expectations were fairly high. Unfortunately, The Five-Year Engagement doesn't live up to those movies. The film's biggest laughs happen in the beginning of the movie, when the roadblocks to their wedding are far lighter than what the couple faces down the road. It's on that road that The Five-Year Engagement loses me — and its laughs. To find out what else I thought, just keep reading.

Get ready to swoon! In the trailer for indie romantic comedy Ruby Sparks, Paul Dano plays Calvin, a struggling novelist who creates a character — a female muse named Ruby Sparks — to help him finish his book. Imagine his surprise when he finds Ruby (Zoe Kazan) in his apartment one day as his living, breathing dream girl. She's in love with him, and Calvin has to figure out what's going on: is she really real, is he crazy, and either way, if he can write whatever he wants and have Ruby do it, what should he write next?

Kazan also wrote the screenplay, and the directors are the same ones from Little Miss Sunshine. That's enough to get me to see it, but the fact that Dano and Kazan are a real-life couple also makes me excited (as does adorable supporting cast member Chris Messina). The whimsical movie opens on July 25, but you can watch the trailer after the jump.

You don't always fall for the leading man of a romantic comedy, so This Means War provides a doubly pleasant surprise, because you fall for two. Tom Hardy and Chris Pine play Tuck and FDR, best friends who work together as covert agents in the CIA. When they coincidentally start dating the same girl, Lauren (Reese Witherspoon), they agree to have a fair fight for her affections. But as their feelings intensify, their gentlemanly intentions fall away and they both employ their spy resources for sabotage. It's a silly premise, but the combination of the two very charming love interests and a funny script make it a light, entertaining escape.

This Means War isn't all man candy; Witherspoon is at her most adorable as an everygirl who has just enough glamour and sophistication to be the heartbreaker in the middle of two extremely eligible guys. The casting of the three leads gets this movie off on the right foot, and they each bring a surprising amount of comedy to the film. To see why else I enjoyed This Means War, just keep reading.