These Are Mindy Kaling’s Favorite Rom-Coms

3 minute read

Mindy Kaling has shared a list of her favorite romantic comedies, and while some are fairly standard (Bridget Jones’s Diary, You’ve Got Mail) others are a bit more unexpected (A League of Their Own, Strictly Ballroom).

Kaling shared her choices on The List, noting that the idea came from her pal/ex/co-author B.J. Novak, and pointing out that it was “An Annie Hall-less list, for originality reasons.” Here are her nine favorites:

  • Bridget Jones’s Diary

    “A movie as good as the book, and in some ways even better because Hugh Grant and Colin Firth were better than the Daniel Cleaver and Mark Darcy of your mind.”

  • You’ve Got Mail

    “This is not a guilty pleasure! As Quentin Tarantino said, there are no guilty pleasures, only pleasures. F.O.X.”

  • The American President

    “Michael J. Fox and Anna Deavere Smith chatting at craft services! Aaron Sorkin at video village in a baseball cap! Annette Bening in black leggings! Picturing the on-set dynamic of this movie is almost as fun as actually seeing it!”

  • The Princess Bride

    “Page for page the best written romantic comedy script, in my opinion.”

  • The Apartment

    “Classic. Structurally perfecto. Amazing callbacks. Shirley MacLaine’s glorious pixie bob. Jack Lemmon straining spaghetti in a tennis racket!”

  • A League Of Their Own

    “The only bad part was that Tom and Geena didn’t hook up. What are you gonna do.”

  • The Holiday

    “Glorious chemistry between Kate Winslet and Jack Black. I love a story built around temporary subletting.”

  • Strictly Ballroom

    “Real weird and so good. Gets you primed for Silver Linings Playbook.”

  • Silver Linings Playbook

    “I don’t care if you have a real bad mental illness, Bradley Cooper, I’ll dance with you. Beautifully written.”

  • Bridget Jones’s Diary

    “A movie as good as the book, and in some ways even better because Hugh Grant and Colin Firth were better than the Daniel Cleaver and Mark Darcy of your mind.”

    You’ve Got Mail

    “This is not a guilty pleasure! As Quentin Tarantino said, there are no guilty pleasures, only pleasures. F.O.X.”

    The American President

    “Michael J. Fox and Anna Deavere Smith chatting at craft services! Aaron Sorkin at video village in a baseball cap! Annette Bening in black leggings! Picturing the on-set dynamic of this movie is almost as fun as actually seeing it!”

    The Princess Bride

    “Page for page the best written romantic comedy script, in my opinion.”

    The Apartment

    “Classic. Structurally perfecto. Amazing callbacks. Shirley MacLaine’s glorious pixie bob. Jack Lemmon straining spaghetti in a tennis racket!”

    A League Of Their Own

    “The only bad part was that Tom and Geena didn’t hook up. What are you gonna do.”

    The Holiday

    “Glorious chemistry between Kate Winslet and Jack Black. I love a story built around temporary subletting.”

    Strictly Ballroom

    “Real weird and so good. Gets you primed for Silver Linings Playbook.”

    Silver Linings Playbook

    “I don’t care if you have a real bad mental illness, Bradley Cooper, I’ll dance with you. Beautifully written.”

    Why only nine picks instead of 10? Maybe she’s leaving room for Bridget Jones’s Baby.

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