New York can be one of the most romantic cities in the world. Sure, it's not Rome or Paris, but as U.S. cities go, it's easy to see why so many people find the ultimate in romance in some of the best rom-coms ever made. Whether it's Harry and Sally, Nick and Nora, or any of the other dozens of movie couples who have found love in The Big Apple, we love to watch them fall for each other.
When Harry Met Sally...
When Harry Met Sally... is a stone-cold classic and probably the first movie everyone thought of when they read the title of this story. Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) take a long to get there, but ultimately find love in the big city, all while New York plays a major role in the background, especially that legendary scene at Katz's Deli.
Friends With Benefits
One of the more modern takes on the rom-com in New York is Friends With Benefits with Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake. Like a lot of New Yorkers, they start off just as friends starting successful careers in the Big Apple. That leads to the "benefits" part, until, finally, they commit to each other after a huge public display of affection at Grand Central Station.
Annie Hall
You can't have a list like this and leave a Woody Allen classic off like Annie Hall. One of the definitive rom-coms of the '70s and one of the greatest "New York movies" ever made. Woody Allen's reputation isn't what it was, and for good reason, but you can still admire this wonderful work of art.
Splash
The Ron Howard-directed Splash seems to be the forgotten NYC rom-com. Tom Hanks, in one of his earliest roles as a romantic lead, teams up with Daryl Hannah for a literally fish-out-of-love story in this classic tale of boy meets mermaid. She even names herself Madison after the name of the avenue in Manhattan.
Hitch
Of all the movies on this list, Hitch, in a weird way, may be the most accurate example of dating in a city like New York. It's mostly a muddled mess where no one really catches all the "signs" and everyone kind of walks through a lot of missed chances. Of course, it ends like any great rom-com with all the right people in love with each other.
Coming To America
For whatever reason, Coming To America isn't always thought of as a rom-com, but obviously it is. When a future king goes to look for his queen of course he goes to...Queens. It's rare that any New York movie, especially a rom-com takes place outside of Manhattan, so that makes Coming To America all the more refreshing.
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Maid In Manhattan
Ah, the class divisions in New York. They can be stark, and they can be broken in movies, just as in real life. Such is the case of the Jennifer Lopez classic Maid In Manhattan. Lopez plays a maid who is too smart for her station and Ralph Fiennes plays an upper-crust politician that find unlikely love with each other.
How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days
An advertising exec played by Matthew McConaughey and a fashion magazine writer played by Kate Hudson have competing motivations to fall in love and out of love quickly for career advancement. Yep, that sounds like New York! Career over love! After spending time together all over the city, however, love wins, of course. There's even a moment in the movie where they watch another NYC rom-com classic, Sleepless In Seattle.
Sleepless In Seattle
It may say "Seattle" in the name, but come on, Sleepless In Seattle is really about falling in love in New York. They even recreate the scene in An Affair To Remember when they agree to meet atop the Empire State Building! It's one of the two classic Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan rom-coms set in New York and has to be on this list, despite its name.
13 Going On 30
The best trick that 13 Going On 30 pulls is never being creepy, despite the fact that a 13-year-old is in a 30-year-old's body, kind of like Big (which does get a little creepy). Jennifer Garner plays the older Jenna, and while the romance is kept to a minimum as she is living her older life (which was really more like a dream?), the true rom part of this com comes at the end when she and Matty (Mark Ruffalo's character) finally fall in love as kids again.
You've Got Mail
It doesn't get more classic than You've Got Mail. Not only are the leads Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, a classic pairing, but the story of two enemies who find love is as old as time itself. The fact that Tom Hanks' character wants to put Meg Ryan's store out of business is the icing on the New York cake.
Moonstruck
Moonstruck just oozes New York City from Brooklyn to the Upper West Side. It's working class New Yorkers making a mess of love at every turn and it's as realistic as it is funny. In the end, of course, it all works out, but boy does it take a lot to get there.
Breakfast At Tiffany's
Is there a more iconic rom-com than Breakfast at Tiffany's or a more iconic character than Audrey Hepburn's Holly Golightly? Sure, there are some problematic parts in the movie, like Mickey Rooney's offensive character, but the movie is still one of the most romantic of all time, and deserves to be on any list like this.
Confessions Of A Shopaholic
If you watch enough rom-coms set in New York, you learn that a lot of characters are writers or otherwise employed by magazines. It seems most of the world thinks that's one of the only jobs in the Big Apple and such is the case with Confessions Of A Shopaholic. In it, a writer and an editor find unlikely love after getting off on the wrong foot, though that doesn't deter either from going after what they want.
Nick And Nora's Infinite Playlist
If you lived in New York in the '00s and you loved music, undoubtedly you occasionally found yourself at the legendary Lower East Side venue Arlene's Grocery. That's where Nick (Michael Cera) and Norah (Cat Dennings) meet in Nick And Nora's Infinite Playlist and it pretty much makes it the most "New York" rom-com of the era.
Set It Up
The set for Set It Up is pretty "New York-y" as two overworked assistants conspire to set their bosses up and relieve some pressure on their jobs. While it works at first, so their free time is taken up keeping their bosses together. Of course, in all that time, the two assistants, played by Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell, also fall in love. Classic.
Big
Okay, so first, we just have to get this out of the way: yes, there is a level of weirdness to Big. Josh (Tom Hanks) is really 12-years-old and Susan (Elizabeth Perkins) is... much older and it's not just that. That said, it's still an amazing and funny rom-com and its most iconic scene takes place at FAO Schwarz which was, at the time, one of the most famous stores in New York City
Enchanted
It only takes a little while to see how the fairy tale world and New York City differ in Enchanted. The city can be a harsh place, but at its heart, it's just as...enchanting... as anything in a fairy tale, as this movie eventually proves.
Serendipity
Serendipity is all about fate and missed connections. John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale star in his underrated and often frustrating rom-com that is as much about New York and all the amazing locations in it as it is about falling love in those locations.
27 Dresses
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride is the theme of 27 Dresses and while New York doesn't play as central a role as many of the other movies on this list, the movie is set there and frankly, it seems like the only city in the world where someone would have been a bridesmaid 27 times, including twice in one night like Katherine Heigl's character.
The Proposal
Okay, so The Proposal is pushing the limit a little here. It starts in NYC and it ends in NYC, but in between most of the action takes about as far away from New York, but spiritually and geographically as possible. Ryan Reynolds' character, who is forced into a relationship with Sandra Bullock's so she can remain in the country as an immigrant, takes her home to Sitka, Alaska. On the other hand, it does seem like New York would be the one place such a ridiculous situation could even come to life.
Bride Wars
When best friend turn into bitter rivals over their respective wedding dates, at the heart of the disagree surrounds both brides dream venue, the Plaza Hotel in New York City. It's the most "New York" New York wedding venue that exists.
Made of Honor
Tom (Patrick Dempsey) and Hannah (Michelle Monaghan) are best friends in New York City, despite Tom's womanizing. When Hannah leaves for a long trip and comes home with a fiance, Tom realizes he loves her. It takes the rest of the movie and quite a few disasters later for the love connection to happen.
Definitely, Maybe
For a Canadian guy, Ryan Reynolds is great at playing the lead in New York rom-coms. Definitely, Maybe fits that bill, and like sooo many other NYC romantic comedies, his character plays an ad exec. Maybe that is the way to identify what makes a rom-com a New York rom-com.
Kate And Leopold
Kate And Leopold takes place in New York over two centuries, so not only do viewers get modern New York, but they have the pleasure of 19th-century, bustling New York. The town so nice they named it twice gets two eras to show off.
Two Weeks Notice
Coney Island is an iconic neighborhood (and beach) in New York and it's at the center of the meeting of Lucy (Sandra Bullock) and George (Hugh Grant) in Two Weeks Notice. Though it follows a pretty formulaic rom-com path, it's still a funny and cute movie that certainly deserves a spot on this list, it's a rom-com that's better than you remember.
It Could Happen To You
1994's It Could Happen To You is one of the most "New York" movies that we've ever seen. Not only does Nicholas Cage play a New York City police officer, but the movie ends with a balloon ride over Central Park. Plus some of the most iconic spots in New York play their own role, like the Plaza Hotel and Yankee Stadium.
No Reservations
The mid-2000s were the beginning of the "chefs as rockstars" era of pop culture. It was also when dictatorial chefs ruling the kitchen with an iron fist also became popular in the culture. No Reservations has both in abundance and it's all set in the West Village.
Just My Luck
Another New York rom-com, another ad exec. Well, PR in this case, but who wants to split hairs? This time, it's Lindsay Lohan playing the employee of a PR firm. She's a woman with the best luck until she encounters Jake, who has nothing but bad luck, at a party and they kiss. Suddenly, their fortunes have switched. Hilarity ensues and every evens out with a chance encounter at Grand Central Station.
Picture Perfect
Jennifer Aniston first became famous with a role on TV that famously was set in New York, and she's also filmed a rom-com or two in the city, like Picture Perfect, alongside Jay Mohr in one of her earlier comedies, in 1997. You're never going to guess, but she's a struggle ad executive in New York City, and... do we really need to say anymore?
How To Be Single
How to Be Single is full of love triangles and dubious relationships, which is actually pretty spot-on for dating in New York in your twenties. Dakota Johnson plays Alice, who can't seem to find love and rejects what is right in front of her sometimes. So, again, very New York.
Something Borrowed
New York City plays less of a central role in Something Borrowed than other movies on this list. Still, it's Kate Hudson, in New York, so, how can you leave it off a list of New York rom-coms?
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Hugh Scott
Syndication Editor
Hugh Scott is the Syndication Editor for CinemaBlend. Before CinemaBlend, he was the managing editor for Suggest.com and Gossipcop.com, covering celebrity news and debunking false gossip. He has been in the publishing industry for almost two decades, covering pop culture – movies and TV shows, especially – with a keen interest and love for Gen X culture, the older influences on it, and what it has since inspired.He graduated from Boston University with a degree in Political Science but cured himself of the desire to be a politician almost immediately after graduation.
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