Love. Whether it’s fated or forbidden, passionate or unrequited, it’s rarely smooth sailing. Enter the Rom-Com, a genre that has captured our hearts for over a century, never failing to make us laugh at our shared failures and triumphs in love, whatever your age or relationship status. If you’re looking for the kind of escapism only a quality Rom-Com can provide, there’s something for everyone in this collection of love stories for the ages.
Ali’s Wedding
A few innocent lies get out of hand in home-grown romantic comedy Ali’s Wedding. Ali (played by writer Osamah Sami) has musical talent and charm to boot, but despite his best intentions, he somehow manages to make questionable life choices in his attempts to do his family proud. His first mistake? Lying about getting into medical school. His second mistake? Failing to anticipate that the announcement of his academic success would make him prime marriage material in the congregation of Madhi (Don Hany), his Muslim cleric father.
With an arranged marriage now on the horizon, and a web of lies spinning out of control, Ali is faced with the prospect that he might never be with Dianne (Helena Sawires), the daughter of the local chippy and the girl he truly loves. It’s the star-crossed lovers tale you know and love set in a tight-knit Muslim community in Coburg.
Ali’s Wedding is streaming now at SBS On Demand.
Lola Versus
In 2012 rom-com Lola Versus, acclaimed American director Greta Gerwig (Barbie, Ladybird) appears in front of the camera as soon-to-be bride Lola, who is set to marry her long-term boyfriend Luke (Joel Kinnaman). Their presumed happy ending proves to be just the beginning of the story, however, when everything comes crashing down and Lola finds herself dumped only three weeks before she was due to say “I do”. Now facing the prospect of being freshly single and on the verge of her thirtieth birthday, Lola leans on her nearest and dearest as she navigates rebound flings, an existential crisis, and life in the perfect rom-com backdrop that is New York City.
Lola Versus is streaming now at SBS On Demand.
Wife and Husband
A romantic comedy with a sprinkling of science fiction isn’t a blend you’d necessarily expect, but Italian language film Wife and Husband somehow manages to make it work. Neurosurgeon Andrea (Pierfrancesco Favino) and TV presenter Sofia (Kasia Smutniak) have been married for ten years and they are at breaking point. With divorce the logical next step, a scientific experiment switches everything up for this couple…literally. In a Freaky Friday style body swap, the pair find themselves in each other’s bodies and are forced to take the notion of seeing things from one another’s point of view to a whole new level. Will it bring them closer together? Or confirm that they are better off apart?
Wife and Husband is streaming now at SBS On Demand.
Side Seeing The Movie
As the daughter of a Vietnamese billionaire, it could be said that May (Ngoc Lan Vy) has it all. Sometimes though, having it all is overrated, and May is desperate to get away from her controlling parents and make some of her own dreams come true, starting with travelling to Thailand for her 18th birthday to try and meet her movie idol, Mr Park (Puttichai Kasetsin). With a housekeeper and four bodyguards sent to keep an eye on her while she is away, meeting Mr Park won’t be easy, but with the help of a motorcyclist named Boy (Vachiravit Paisarnkulwong), May looks set to evade the limitations of her heiress life and meet her celebrity crush.
As May and Boy spend more time together, and their friendship shows signs of becoming something more, May begins to wonder if her feelings for Mr. Park are real, or if there is someone else she would rather spend her special day with.
Side Seeing The Movie is streaming now at SBS On Demand.
Gloria Bell
Director Sebastián Lelio’s scene-for-scene English language remake of his Chilean-Spanish film Gloria is a rom-com with a healthy dose of real life. Recently divorced Gloria (Julianne Moore) spends her nights on the dance floors of Los Angeles, a brief reprieve from the mundanity of her 9-5 and a defiant rejection of the assumed loneliness that comes with being single and middle-aged. As far as divorce goes, Gloria is doing better than alright; she is still on speaking terms with her ex Dustin (Brad Garrett), her adult children Peter (Michael Cera) and Anne (Caren Pistorious) are very much in her life, and she spends plenty of time with her elderly mother (Holland Taylor). An unexpected new relationship with the charming Arnold (John Turturro) opens Gloria’s eyes, however, and new love is shown to hold unique challenges when you can’t leave your old life behind.
Gloria Bell is streaming now at SBS On Demand.
The Cover
Love can make us see things differently, giving us the confidence to make our aspirations a reality, and Spanish language offering The Cover is a celebration of its unique power. Dani (Àlex Monner) is a talented musician, but fear of failure sees him working as a waiter in the popular tourist destination of Benidorm and wishing for something more. That something more comes in the shape of Adele impersonator Sandra (Marina Salas) who shows him the world of performance and pushes Dani to believe in himself. If you like your rom-coms with a musical flavour, there are plenty of well-known tunes dotted through the story that amp up the feel good factor of this heartwarming film.
The Cover is streaming now at SBS On Demand.
Tuesday Club
Love is full of surprises, both wonderful and not so wonderful, and Swedish language film Tuesday Club proves that it’s never too late to start again. Karin (Marie Richardson) is about to celebrate her 40th wedding anniversary when an unexpected discovery rocks her relationship to its core. A reconnection with former classmate Monika (Carina M. Johansson) is just the antidote Karin needed; Monika is spontaneous, upbeat, and wastes no time signing Karin and her best friend Pia (Sussie Ericsson) up for a cooking class at a local restaurant. What starts as a foray into the world of fine food with celebrity chef Henrik (Peter Stormare) quickly becomes a delicious romantic comedy that proves love, whatever your age, can be oh so sweet.
Tuesday Club is streaming now at SBS On Demand.