It’s tough to do a good hybrid genre movie, as it requires both parts of whatever’s being combined to be somewhat equal in quantity and quality.

If you’re making an action comedy, the thrills have to be genuinely thrilling and the laughs have to be genuinely funny. Plus, you have to find funny leads who’re believable doing action stuff and who’re able/willing to goof on themselves. It’s a particularly difficult mixture of elements to manage, which is why I could only name 20 that are worthy of being on my favourites list. … Well, okay, 21, as I couldn’t help but include Gymkata, an unintentionally (I assume) hilarious gymnastics/karate/action movie mash-up.

Romantic comedies, on the other hand, are a lot easier to get right, simply because romance and comedy are two sides of the same coin (at least, they should be). All of the rom-coms on my list give me big and small laughs, and, equally importantly (with one notable exception*), sincerely tug at my heart strings and make me root for the main couple to get together.

* The notable exception being They Came Together, which is a parody of/homage to rom-com cinema.

favourite action comedies

21. Gymkata (Robert Clouse, 1985)

20. Tropic Thunder (Ben Stiller, 2006)

19. The Last Action Hero (John McTiernan, 1993)

18. The Nice Guys (Shane Black, 2016)

17. The Suicide Squad (James Gunn, 2021)

16. Kung Fu Hustle (Stephen Chow, 2005)

15. Three Kings (David O. Russell, 1999)

14. Galaxy Quest (Dean Parisot, 1999)

13. Mystery Men (Kinka Usher, 1999)

12. Spy (Paul Feig, 2015)

11. Beverly Hills Cop (Martin Brest, 1984)

10. Men in Black (Barry Sonnenfeld, 1997)

9. Used Cars (Robert Zemeckis, 1980)

8. The Rundown (Peter Berg, 2003)

7. Romancing the Stone (Robert Zemeckis, 1984)

6. Riders of Justice (Anders Thomas Jensen, 2020)

5. Grosse Pointe Blank (George Armitage, 1997)

4. Midnight Run (Martin Brest, 1988)

3. Knight and Day (James Mangold, 2010)

2. Back to the Future (Robert Zemeckis, 1985)

1. Big Trouble in Little China (John Carpenter, 1986)

favourite romantic comedies

25. They Came Together (David Wain, 2014)

24. The Wedding Singer (Frank Coraci, 1998)

23. Splash (Ron Howard, 1984)

22. Strictly Ballroom (Baz Luhrmann, 1992)

21. Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis, 1993)

20. Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977)

19. The Big Sick (Michael Showalter, 2017)

18. Defending Your Life (Albert Brooks, 1991)

17. Palm Springs (Max Barbakow, 2020)

16. Trainwreck (Judd Apatow, 2015)

15. The Princess Bride (Rob Reiner, 1987)

14. Working Girl (Mike Nichols, 1988)

13. Amélie (Jean-Pierre Juenet, 2001)

12. Roxanne (Fred Schepisi, 1987)

11. Forces of Nature (Bronwen Hughes, 1999)

10. Nick and Nora’s infinite Playlist (Peter Sollett, 2008)

9. Frankie and Johnny (Garry Marshall, 1991)

8. When Harry Met Sally (Rob Reiner, 1989)

7. Long Shot (Jonathan Levine, 2019)

6. Tootsie (Sydney Pollack, 1982)

5. Joe Versus the Volcano (John Patrick Shanley, 1990)

4. Notting Hill (Roger Michell, 1999)

3. Moonstruck (Norman Jewison, 1987)

2. L.A. Story (Mick Jackson, 1991)

1. Jerry Maguire (Cameron Crowe, 1996)