For about as long as the medium of film has existed, there have been great romantic comedies. And as the world of cinema has grown and aged over the years, the genre has only become more popular, diverse, and hilarious. In recent years, we have seen an influx of romantic comedies with Asian-American lead characters that have only made the concept more enjoyable and relatable, with titles like Shortcomings, Crazy Rich Asians, Always Be My Maybe, and other films that explore Asian-American experience.
Below is a list of 11 of the most charming and hilarious romantic comedies with Asian-American leads, how to watch them on various streaming services, and other ways you can give them a watch on your next date night or mid-week laugh and cry fest on your couch.
Shortcomings (2023)
The Director: Randall Park
The Cast: Justin H. Min, Sherry Cola, Ally Maki
Based On: Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine
What It’s About: The life of a cinephile movie theater manager is thrown into disarray after his girlfriend accepts an internship across the country, forcing him to reevaluate his romantic life and path forward.
What To Expect: Much like the beloved Adrian Tomine graphic novel on which it is based, Shortcomings has the perfect balance of comedy and drama, especially when it comes to Ben Tagawa’s (Justin H. Min) journey of self-discovery.
Always Be My Maybe (2019)
The Director: Nahnatchka Khan
The Cast: Ali Wong, Randall Park, Daniel Dae Kim
What It’s About: Years after an awkward sexual experience brought an abrupt end to their long-time friendship, a celebrity chef and a struggling musician attempt to repair their once-tight bond.
What To Expect: What really makes Always Be My Maybe such a gem (besides the amazing Keanu Reeves cameo) is the way in which Wong and Park really play into the awkwardness of their characters’ situation and how they attempt to get back what they lost all those years ago.
Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
The Director: Jon M. Chu
The Cast: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh
Based On: Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
What It’s About: An NYU economics professor has no idea what she’s’s getting herself into when she agrees to attend a wedding with her wealthy boyfriend in Singapore.
What To Expect: Crazy Rich Asians is an over-the-top, sensational, and larger-than-life romantic comedy with more than a few outstanding and iconic characters in its cast list. Pull back the designer clothes, million-dollar weddings, and bachelor parties on cargo ships, though, and you have a story about a young woman who won’t let anyone, not even her boyfriend’s domineering mother, tell her how she can live her life, even if it means giving up a chance at love.
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018)
The Director: Susan Johnson
The Cast: Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, Janel Parrish
Based On: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
What It’s About: A shy high school student writes a series of letters to the five boys she’s had a crush on throughout her life before locking them away in her closet. But when her younger sister finds the letters and sends them out to their recipients, this teenager’s life is thrown for a loop and is never the same.
What To Expect: The way in which the movie and lead actor Lana Condor captures the awkwardness of teenage love and angst is brilliant and makes the romantic comedy one worth revisiting time and time again.
The Big Sick (2017)
The Director: Michael Showalter
The Cast: Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter
What It’s About: Shortly after being dumped by his girlfriend, a man receives word that she has been placed in a medically-induced coma so doctors can figure out a course of action for a life-threatening virus.
What To Expect: The Big Sick, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, is loosely based on the experiences Kumail Nanjiani had when his wife and screenwriting partner, Emily V. Gordon, was placed in a coma years earlier. In its two-hour runtime, the movie tackles differing cultures, love, loss, and so much more without making the audience feel lost or overwhelmed.
Set It Up (2018)
The Director: Claire Scanion
The Cast: Zoey Deutch, Glen Powell, Lucy Liu
What It’s About: Two overworked and unappreciated assistants come up with a plan to make their respective work lives a little easier: they pair up their bosses with one another in hopes they’ll hit it off and become happier people who are easier to work for.
What To Expect: Although much of the movie is focused on the budding relationship shared by Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell’s characters, the targets of their master plan to have a better work-life balance take things up a notch. Lucy Liu and Taye Diggs are both exceptional in their portrayals of career-driven people who are in need of a good time.
Plus One (2019)
The Director: Jeff Chan, Andrew Rhymer
The Cast: Maya Erskine, Jack Quaid, Ed Begley Jr.
What It’s About: Best friends serve as each other’s guests at a variety of weddings over the course of a summer. As the wedding season goes on, however, their situation becomes a little more complicated than anyone could have guessed.
What To Expect: Plus One just works, plain and simple, and a lot of that has to do with the way in which the two leads play off one another. No matter if they’re acting like friends, lovers, or find themselves somewhere in between, they come off as real, genuine, and likable people.
Saving Face (2004)
The Director: Alice Wu
The Cast: Michelle Krusiec, Joan Chen, Lynn Chen
What It’s About: A successful surgeon who has yet to come to terms with her sexuality strikes up a relationship with a woman from her past, which brings many complications to her already hectic life.
What To Expect: Alice Wu’s influential 2004 romantic comedy, Saving Face, has since become one of the most influential movies of the past two decades, with actors like Awkwafina telling Rotten Tomatoes it is one of her favorite films. The premise, characters, and heart of its story make it a movie to check out.
Love Hard (2021)
The Director: Hernán Jiménez
The Cast: Nina Dobrev, Jimmy O. Yang, Darren Barnet
What It’s About: A hopeless romantic thinks she has finally met the man of her dreams on a dating app. But when she flies across the country to surprise her new catch over the Christmas holiday, the hopeless romantic realizes she has been duped by a catfish.
What To Expect: Love Hard has a lot going for it. There’s the obvious catfish angle that pretty much sold the movie, the chemistry shared by leads Dobrev and Yang, and a surprisingly heartfelt story about unconventional love.
The Half Of It (2020)
The Director: Alice Wu
The Cast: Leah Lewis, Daniel Diemer, Alexxis Lemire
Based On: Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostard
What It’s About: When an introverted Chinese-American high school student is hired by a popular classmate to write a love letter to his crush Aster Flores, little does she know that she’s also about to go on a journey of self-discovery that could potentially change everything about her life.
What To Expect: The Half of It tackles a number of topics like sexuality, finding one’s place in the world, and being a support system for a grieving parent. With far more depth than the average romantic comedy and becoming one of several great LGBTQ rom-coms, the movie sets out to accomplish more and say something about the world.
The Lovebirds (2020)
The Director: Michael Showalter
The Cast: Issa Rae, Kumail Nanjiani, Paul Sparks
What It’s About: On the way to a dinner party one night, a couple’s car is commandeered by a mysterious man who uses it to run over and kill a cyclist before fleeing, leaving the on-the-rocks couple as the prime suspects in a crime they didn’t commit.
What To Expect: With elements of romance, murder, and thriller films, The Lovebirds pieces together a hilarious and heartfelt story of an on-the-rocks couple trying to make sense of their relationship and a wild night they’ll never forget.
Each of these romantic comedies with Asian-American lead characters is hilarious in its own way, whether it be subtle and nuanced or explicitly in your face.
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