Summary

There are various unlike variety of cinematic romance , butfriends - to - lover moviesremain popular for a reason . Some of the most democratic movie romances are those regard a friendship that develops into something more . The setup is simple-minded : lifelong honest friends one day realise they ’re in love with each other . Often one friend is in love from the start but it ’s unrequited , with the other coming to realize that the one they in truth loved was right in front of them . From rom - coms to superhero stories , these friend - to - fan movie strike a chord .

Friends - turned - lovers romances have always been deary for audiences who enjoy the heartwarming touch of ascertain a platonic relationship prepare into something more . honorable friends becoming lovers is one of theoldest love story movie tropesout there , and yet fans simply ca n’t get enough of it . In recent class , friends - to - lovers moving picture have become even more diverse , telling love stories centered on masses of color and even same - sex couples . Not all fictitious friends - move around - fan are equal though , and some stand up out more than others .

From Bridget Jones and Mark Darcy to Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton in Something ’s make ta Give , the 2000s were full of well - match romcom couples .

Split image of Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock on The Proposal poster and Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore on the 50 First Dates poster

20Single All The Way (2021)

Going Home For The Holidays Opens Up More More Than Presents

Cast

Single All The Waymade account as Netflix’sfirst - ever same - gender Christmas picture . The story begins when Peter ( Michael Urie ) discovers his boyfriend is hook up with justly before he ’s set to take him home for the holidays . Not want to show up alone , he convert his beneficial friend Nick ( Philemon Chambers ) to go with him . Their strictly platonic relationship is then more complicated as Nick starts remark how great Peter is when he ’s around his family .

The premise sound like the kind of story see in so many rom - coms and that is part of the charm . However , Single All The Waydistinguishes itself by arrange an LGBT couple to be at the center of a very distinctive romance story , making it experience unfermented and original . Peter and Nick have incredible chemical science together , so audience find themselves authentically root for them throughout ( and they payoff when they do come up eachother is all the more satisfying for it ) .

19Plus One (2019)

Two College Buddies Develop Feelings Wingmaning At Weddings

Plus Oneis an underrated independent romantic comedy that was a major achiever at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2019 starringThe Boys ' Jack Quaid andPen15 ’s Maya Erskine . It follow best friends from college Ben King ( Quaid ) and Alice Mori ( Erskine ) who decide to last a wild summertime marriage season together by being each other ’s positive - ones . Though they begin as each other ’s wingman , Alice set forth to realise her tactile sensation for Ben .

This is one of several great friend - to - lovers movies that also starts with the eventual couple trying to facilitate one - another find other people

Plus Oneis understandably made by people who make out rom - coms but want to avoid seeing the same clichés over and over . This results in one of the skilful take on the genre in recent years with the two lead-in advance it even further . This is one of several expectant friends - to - lover movies that also starts with the eventual couple seek to help one - another find other mass , proving that the twinkle of passion they find in the movie is entirely new .

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18Just Friends (2005)

An Awkward Teenager Grows Up To Become Ryan Reynolds

Just Friendshelps specify the significance of being " friend - zone . " Ryan Reynolds plays Chris Brander , an overweight in high spirits school student who is differentiate he ’s more booster material by his beautiful and democratic dear ally . 10 year later , a fit and attractive Chris return to his hometown for Christmas hop for another shot . Before Ryan Reynolds was Deadpool , he was frequently see in fixed storage - coms with this being perhaps his best .

ThoughJust Friendswas a critical flop when it was released , the moving-picture show has grown in popularity as arewatchable Christmas moving picture . It also sport a uproarious supporting carrying into action from Anna Faris that alone makes it worthwhile . What also helpsJust Friendsstand out is how it switch the traditional " ugly duckling " story trope . Instead of a woman produce into herself and suddenly becoming the object of anothers desire , it ’s an awkward teenaged boy .

17The Duff (2015)

From A Horrifice Highschool Nickname Romance Blooms

The Dufffollows Bianca ( Mae Whitman ) who learns she ’s tagged as " The Duff , " the Designated Ugly Fat Friend in their in high spirits school . She makes a deal with her former friend and star jock Wesley ( Robbie Amell ) to help shift her social position . Of naturally , what with this being a friends - to - buff movie , Wesley and Bianca soon develop true feeling for one another , and romance blooms .

WhileThe Duffadmittedly does n’t give the tiptop of some other mod high-pitched schoolhouse classics likeMean GirlsorSuperbad , it does valorously attempt to advertize back on the typical high school motion-picture show

WhileThe Duffadmittedly does n’t get through the pinnacle of some other modern high school classics likeMean GirlsorSuperbad , it does valiantly attempt to push back on the typical high school movies in the same means and end up feeling like something more honest than what is usually seen in the genre . WhatThe Duffalso has going for it is a genuine sense of justice and triumph , since Bianca ’s situation as " The Duff " sounds genuinely horrendous , so she more than deserves finding someone like Wesley .

How Rachel Zegler’s

16When We First Met (2018)

Time Travel Gives A Pining Friend A Second Shot

The 2018 rom - comWhen We First Metproves that booster - to - lovers movies do n’t always have to be grounded and straightforward , and that therom - com subgenre is more than flexile when it comes to work with grotesque element . The guy falling for the girl firstis a distinctive advance in these passion stories as see , butWhen We First Metputs a twisting on it .

Noah Ashby ( Adam DeVine ) regret never being able-bodied to solicit his admirer , Avery ( Alexandra Daddario ) at the Halloween party they met at in 2014 , only to be enrapture back in prison term for his 2d slam . Time change of location , time loop , and every other storytelling catch have been used in rom - coms , butWhen We First Metreally makes the most of the premise . After bear fun with the time travel scene , it delivers a fitting message that some things are think to pass off as they did .

15Yesterday (2019)

Being The Only Person To Remember The Beatles Helps A Man Woo His Friend

When We First Metisn’t the only friends - to - lovers moving-picture show to integrate elements of the wild and fantastic in its patch , as Danny Boyle ’s 2018 movieYesterdayhas a truly challenging premise circumvent its love affair . Yesterdaystarts with the idea of Jack Malik ( Himesh Patel ) waking up after an fortuity to find he ’s the only one who remembersthe vocal of The Beatles .

A unique way of telling the story of someone who accomplishes everything they ever want only to realize what they need was something they already had .

A once struggle songwriter , Jack apply the songs to become a sensation , but his celebrity obtain in the means of his relationship with his sound Quaker Ellie ( Lily James ) who is still waiting for him to see her as something more . The movie has a superb premise and , in some ways , the love story actually set about in the way of that much more interesting tale . However , it is a unique way of life of recite the narration of someone who carry out everything they ever wanted only to realize what they needed was something they already had .

Chris and Jamie eating pizza, Monica and Quincey cuddling

14One Day (2011)

A Dramatic Rollercoaster Of A Romance

One Dayis a quixotic dramatic play that ’s based on a novel of the same name . To describe this friends - to - lover movie as dramatic is an understatement , and it takes audiences on a rollercoaster of emotion that centers around two main character who match on July 15th . After a steamy night together , they decide to just be acquaintance . Every year they meet on the same day and gradually take out nigher to each other .

While most other moving picture of the protagonist - to - lovers fixed storage - com subgenre have offer up light-hearted laughs , One Dayis a more heartbreaking love affair as the couple pile with various struggles throughout the years as their love spring up stronger . This is also a motion-picture show whose quality is buoyed by the strength of its stamp , with the likes of Anne Hathaway , Jim Sturgess , Rafe Spall , and Jodie Whittaker all giving terrific performance throughout .

13Always Be My Maybe (2019)

One Of The Most Hilarious Friends-To-Lovers Rom-Coms Going

Randall Park and Ali Wong star in and wroteAlways Be My Maybe , playing Marcus and Sasha , two childhood dependable friends who drifted apart after an awkward nighttime following the death of Marcus ’s mother . When Sasha come back to San Francisco a decade afterward , she reconnects with Marcus . While the epicKeanu Reeves cameo inAlways Be My Maybewas a big rationality the movie rises above other Netflix offering , it is hardly the only ground to watch .

Randall Park and Ali Wong have unbelievable chemistry together , and they also co - wrote the script alongside Michael Golamco .

The two leads bring so much to the film , deal the ineptitude of their relationship but making them a dyad worth root for . Randall Park and Ali Wong have incredible chemistry together , and they also co - write the script alongside Michael Golamco . What makes this a peculiarly good friends - to - lover picture is that both Marcus and Sasha are in relationships when their feeling begin to develop , add several excess obstacles for their romance to master ( one of which is the aforesaid Keanu Reeves ) .

Headshot Of Michael Urie

12Zack And Miri Make A Porno (2008)

Creating Adult Entertainment Leads To A Wholesome(ish) Romance

Directed by Kevin Smith and starring Seth Rogen , Elizabeth Banks , Jason Memes , and Craig Robinson ( among others),Zack and Miri Make a Pornois undeniably a ally - to - lovers fixed storage - comthat lean more into the com than the read-only storage . Zack and Miri Make a Pornofalls under the category of best friends fall in sexual love , but in a dingy sex funniness motion-picture show .

The 2008 follow the titulary roommates struggling to make ends meet . They make up one’s mind to round up a radical of their misfit friends and some local talents to make a porno parody of Star Wars only for it to spark something between them . author - director Kevin Smithfinds a nice mixture of core and consummate - out humour including one especially graphic prank . Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks also both deliver incredible public presentation as Zack and Miri , with their grounded characters being incredibly credible .

11Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World (2012)

The Apocalypse Helps A Last Minute Romance Blossom

rule a path to tell a friends - turned - lovers story that is also about the end of the world is an interesting direction to take , and it results in a surprising clowning - drama withSeeking a Friend for the ending of the World . When an incoming asteroid marks the remnant of the macrocosm , a depressed human being ( Steve Carell ) sets out to find his gamey school crush , join by his lonely neighbor ( Keira Knightley ) .

This is also one with a somewhat bittersweet ending , but that does n’t make it any less of an entertaining ride .

The route trip brings the pair , sharing a meaningful time with their remaining days that they before long come to realize means much more than their initial goals for the apocalypse . The intermixture of humour with the chaos of high society crock up and the play of reflecting on lifemakes for one of the sweetest movies about the Revelation of Saint John the Divine . Of of course , what with the world ending , this is also one with a jolly bittersweet close , but that does n’t make it any less of an entertaining ride .

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revelatory setting and comedies surprisingly go well together . Here are some of the honest end of the world clowning concord to Rotten Tomatoes .

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