Film

Splendor

A romantic comedy about a woman in LA juggling multiple lovers at once, trying to figure out what she actually wants. It's genuinely silly in places, occasionally smarter about desire and commitment than it has any right to be, and entirely unconcerned with moral judgment. For people who like their romance messy, their comedy warm, and their 90s indie sensibility intact.

TMDb rating3.1

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High Fidelity2000

Another romantic comedy that's actually interested in how people self-sabotage and what they want versus what they think they should want. Smart, funny, and the music is excellent.

But It's very male-gaze and very much a product of its time in ways that haven't entirely aged well.

High Fidelity poster

Breakfast at Tiffany's1961

A woman trying to navigate love and independence without apology, equally charming and self-destructive. Audrey Hepburn is magnetic, and the whole thing moves with genuine wit.

But It's much more delicate and romantic than Splendor—less funny, more yearning.

Breakfast at Tiffany's poster

Chasing Amy1997

Kevin Smith's surprisingly tender take on desire, jealousy, and the fantasy we project onto other people. Funny without being cruel, and genuinely messy about relationships.

But It's very talky and self-aware in a way that distracts some people. The dialogue can feel like performance.

Chasing Amy poster

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The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Two Much1995

Both are high-concept romantic comedies built on the fantasy that you don't have to choose—that wanting everything is fine. Both collapse that fantasy in almost the same way.

Antonio Banderas plays twins—one for the serious woman, one for the wild one—so he literally IS the threesome fantasy. It's absurd, it knows it's absurd, it's committed to the bit. Pure 90s romantic comedy id.

But The premise is so dumb that if you're not on board immediately, there's nothing to catch you. The logic falls apart completely.

Two Much poster
More like this (8)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind2004

A sci-fi romance that understands how we reconstruct and mythologize relationships. Beautiful, melancholy, and structured around how memory distorts desire.

But It's much more serious and existential. Splendor is fluffy by comparison—this will sit with you longer.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind poster

Forgetting Sarah Marshall2008

A romantic comedy that genuinely likes its characters and understands that wanting multiple things at once is human, not immoral. Funny and occasionally sweet without ever being sappy.

But It's broader comedy—more slapstick and less character-focused than Splendor.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall poster

(500) Days of Summer2009

A movie about falling in love with an idea of someone rather than the person themselves. Playful structure, good soundtrack, and genuinely interested in how we lie to ourselves.

But The narrator makes some judgments about the female lead that ring false now. It's less kind than it thinks it is.

(500) Days of Summer poster

Wimbledon2004

A light romantic comedy that understands you can care about multiple things—love, ambition, identity—without them canceling each other out. Actual charm and good chemistry.

But It's very mild. If you want something with more edge or cynicism, this will feel thin.

Wimbledon poster

The Philadelphia Story1940

A woman choosing between lovers while figuring out what she actually values. It's witty, beautifully constructed, and takes romantic ambivalence seriously without being bitter about it.

But It's deeply of its era and assumes things about women and marriage that feel strange now.

The Philadelphia Story poster

Sideways2004

Two men failing at relationships and life, trying to find meaning while drunk and self-sabotaging. Funny and sad in equal measure, with real affection for its characters.

But It's darker than Splendor, less romantic, and more interested in male disappointment than female desire.

Sideways poster

Chungking Express1994

Both understand that romance isn't about landing on the right person—it's about the restless wanting itself, the inability to settle, the way desire moves through you like a current.

Wong Kar-wai's film about two cops processing heartbreak, with a visual style that's intoxicating. It's about desire, longing, and the gaps between people. Romantic without being a romance.

But The plot barely exists. If you need narrative momentum or clear character arcs, you'll feel lost.

Chungking Express poster

Singin' in the Rain1952

Both are comedies that believe in the pleasure principle—that sometimes the point of the thing is just to feel good, not to be serious about it. Both are made with visible affection for their own silliness.

A musical about love that's genuinely funny, where the romance never overshadows the joy of the thing itself. Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor and the sheer craft of it all. Pure pleasure.

But It's old, it's sentimental, it's earnest in a way that feels completely foreign now. The female lead exists to be desired rather than to desire.

Singin' in the Rain poster

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