10 Charming British Romances on Streaming

Richard Curtis has come to define British romantic comedy for the past two decades. And while Love Actually misses placement on this list because it’s become so tied to the Christmas-movie genre, and About Time misses because it’s much more effective when it’s about family than it is about the romantic storyline, Four Weddings remains the cream of the crop. This was the movie that launched Hugh Grant’s American career, and it even managed to snag a (well deserved) Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

[Where to stream Four Weddings and a Funeral]

Remember that thing when Gwyneth Paltrow first got famous where people thought she might be British because she played so many Brits so convincingly? Sliding Doors was the movie that touched that off. Honestly, Gwyneth could have gone on making Brit romances for the rest of her career, and everybody would have been very cool with it.

[Where to stream Sliding Doors]

Speaking of Gwyneth Paltrow, the scale on Shakespeare in Love sometimes feels too grand to qualify it for this humble genre of Brit romances, but beyond the costumes and Queen Elizabeth and iambic pentameter, there sits a very classic romantic comedy, with the kind of cast that any British romance of its era would die for (Dench! Firth! Staunton! Affleck? Fine, Affleck!).

[Where to stream Shakespeare in Love]

Another Richard Curtis script, this time graced by the biggest movie star in the world, Julia Roberts, playing the biggest movie star in the world. If Four Weddings introduced Hugh Grant to American audiences, Notting Hill was the film that let him come back from his prostitution scandal and put him back in the realm of our best rom-com actors.

[Where to stream Notting Hill]

Renee Zellweger nabbed her first Oscar nomination for her role as Bridget Jones, which made all the hemming and hawing about her casting (she’s so American! And skinny!) seem just a bit beside the point. And here’s Hugh Grant again, this time playing the cad opposite Colin Firth. He really does keep this mini-genre afloat for its first decade.

[Where to stream Bridget Jones’s Diary]

If you followed British tennis in the 1990s — particularly the close-but-not-close-enough exploits of Tim Henman — you probably have more of a pull to Wimbledon than the average Joe. For everyone else, though, there’s still Paul Bettany and Kirsten Dunst being cute as hell with each other. All that and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau too!

[Where to stream Wimbledon]

So, okay, only half of The Holiday is British; Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz swap homes for the holidays, and suddenly England and Southern California get all mixed up, as do their romances with Jack Black and Jude Law, respectively. The Holiday gets the dubious distinction of being Nancy Meyers’ least successful film, but in its modest way it is very charming and winning. More romantic comedies for Kate Winslet please.

[Where to stream The Holiday]

Starring James McAvoy, Rebecca Hall, and Dominic Cooper — all while they were on their way up — Starter for 10 is one of those movies that was so under the radar upon its release that it feels personally yours. It’s got charm for days AND its centered around collegiate quiz shows. Literally no base goes un-covered.

[Where to stream Starter for 10]

The ultra rare British rom-com where the three top stars are all American. Amy Adams plays an American, but Frances McDormand and Lee Pace are playing the Brits who surround her in this story that is as much about two women doing it for themselves as it is about Adams and Pace engaging in a very charming romance. It’s such a modest little movie, but it’s adorable.

[Where to stream Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day]

The final British romance of this list is notable for not actually being British. It’s set in Toronto, and all of the principals are played by American actors, but I am allowing the presence of Daniel Radcliffe to grandfather this movie into the Brit genre, because the movie itself is some classic charming British rom-com. Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan play friends who everybody knows should be together, but of course there are stupid obstacles. Super-duper bonus points go to Adam Driver and Mackenzie Davis whose secondary romance is just as winning as the main story, if not more.

[Where to stream What If]