First, of course, is the question of what constitutes a romantic comedy. For instance 200 Cigarettes is too much of an ensemble piece, and more comedy than romance. Emma is a Jane Austen movie first, and a romantic comedy second. (Clueless is on the fence. Let's just say I love, love, love Clueless and take that as read.) But I'm A Cheerleader has hot, hot, hot Clea Duvall, but it's a satire, not really a romantic comedy. Etc. etc. So I narrowed the list down quite a bit using those types of criteria.

Turns out there are only three and a half movies on my shelf that I consider to be "perfect," or at least I couldn't think of anything that was bad about them. They are Before Sunrise (and Before Sunset, which is the "and a half" part), Sliding Doors, and The Wedding Singer. Those are my three all-time favorite romantic comedies.

The Wedding Singer does, I will admit, have a cheesy and implausible climax. Yet I don't care: Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler are perfect together, and have great chemistry. If it wasn't for the terribly sad implications of 50 First Dates and the whole walrus vomit thing, I'd put it right up there on the list because I love those two together. As random as that pairing seems.

Sliding Doors and Before Sunrise are both very smart, well-written, well-acted films with great chemistry between the leads. Plus, I owe my fake British accent entirely to Gwyneth Paltrow. Plus, I admire the fact that the friends in that movie sit around quoting Monty Python lines. And Before Sunrise is sweet, subtle, beautiful, and romantic. Couldn't recommend it more highly.

Four Weddings and a Funeral is one of my favorite movies of all time, but I can't list it as my favorite romantic comedy for one reason: Andie MacDowell. The actor and the character she plays are both insufferable. "Is it raining? I hadn't noticed." Bah. Gah. Feh. Hate. And I adore that movie. Anyone but Andie MacDowell might have sold that character to me. She, however, most certainly did not.

Then there's the other movie by that guy, Notting Hill. I liked Notting Hill, but it's not nearly as good as Four Weddings, although it follows the same formula. The tertiary characters are not quite as charming in their quirkyness, and it always seemed to me that the editing wasn't quite tight enough. The pace of individual scenes seems to drag, and therefore it's not quite as funny as it could be.

Oh, and also from that same guy: Love Actually. I like that movie quite a lot; a lot of my favorite actors are in it and give great performances; but there is that IRRITATING "go to America to pick up hot chicks" plotline that drags on and on, the movie in general is too long, and Kiera Knightly does that irritating smiling thing. One good edit, though and this movie would be one of my favorites.

Speaking of irritating: Ione Skye annoys me in Say Anything. Drew Barrymore does a really terrible British accent in Ever After and I can't get fully past it. (Although if I'm including fairy tales, I'll add The Princess Bride to my list of favorites.) Renee Zellweger is annoying in Bridget Jones's Diary.

My Best Friend's Wedding has a good story, but there is no way in hell that Dermot Mulroney is worth everything those two women go through for him. He is bland and lacks a personality. I see nothing appealing about him and right there, there goes the premise.

Keeping the Faith I re-watched last night. I love it, and there is a ton of sizzle between the two main characters and a great slow burn of sexual tension. The script and story are both great. But Edward Norton should stick to acting, because the direction is terrible. Terrible. It sinks the entire movie. Weird slow-mo stuff, voiceovers that don't quite work, not knowing when or what to cut. Poor Ed Norton. No wonder he hasn't directed anything since then. (Has he?)

The Wedding Planner is another one I love, except the tertiary characters are so god-awful irritating. Mostly her father and her "fiance" drive me crazy. But I love the way the plot unfolds, and Bridgette Sampras and Kathy Najimy both do great work. And speaking of Jennifer Lopez, I do own Maid in Manhattan. Which is a terrible movie with, again, irritating tertiary characters. (In this case it's the sassy maid that drives me mad.) But it has Amy Sedaris, and Ralph Fiennes is hot. People hated his performance in this movie. I was not one of those people.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding. More wedding movies. I really like that movie, although I know I shouldn't, because it's sort of bad--most of the jokes are stretched too thin (Windex) or taken too far, (the WASPy parents) and John Corbett's character has no personality. But what can I say? I love it anyway.

Of the classics, I do love When Harry Met Sally. Actually that one is pretty perfect, now that I think about it. Pretty Woman has sexless Richard Gere and the whole hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold thing, but Laura San Giacomo almost steals the whole movie. "Don't take less than a hundred. Call me when you're through."

Also on my list is Crossroads. I guess that's more of a buddy movie than a romantic comedy. But if you're talking about so-bad-it's-good, that's the movie on the top of my list.

There are other movies that I don't own. Some I remember as being good (Two Weeks Notice, Joe Versus the Volcano, The Truth About Cats and Dogs) and others I remember as being bad (How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days, You've Got Mail, that Ben Affleck/Sandra Bullock thing.)

In looking at this list, I have to say that basically I like anything that has Jennifer Lopez or Drew Barrymore or "Wedding" in the title of it. Or Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, or British accents in general. I don't like movies with diarrhea in the trailer (Along Came Polly) or Kate Hudson (Alex & Emma) although generally I enjoy her, so what gives?

So, what do you think? Did I leave out any of your favorites?