Film

The Opposite Sex and How to Live with Them

A 1992 romantic comedy about two strangers who collide in a Boston bar and discover they might be each other's opposite-sex answer to everything. It's breezy, earnest, and built on the premise that attraction thrives on friction. For people who still believe in meet-cutes and witty banter as foreplay.

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like cheerfully scrappy romantic comedies where the leads bicker their way toward each other and the jokes land on awkward, human moments rather than on gags.

Skip it if you want a polished, glossy romance; this 1992 comedy is rough around the edges, and its humour leans on broad, sometimes dated, mishaps and a lot of talking.

What it asks of you: Under ninety minutes, it moves at a brisk, chatty clip and asks you to enjoy its light, unhurried banter without much emotional weight or surprise.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

When Harry Met Sally...1989

The template for smart romantic comedies: two people debate whether men and women can be friends while gradually realizing they're perfect for each other. Sharp dialogue, genuine chemistry, and a ending that earns its emotional payoff.

But If you've seen it recently, it's been dissected to death. Feels a bit safer on rewatches, less dangerous than it did in 1989.

When Harry Met Sally... poster

Splash1984

Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah as two people from impossibly different worlds trying to make it work. Funny, romantic, visually generous, and it doesn't apologize for the fantasy at its heart.

But The broad comedy sits uneasily next to the genuine sentiment. Tonal whiplash between Hanks' pratfalls and the movie's earnest belief in true love.

Splash poster

Coming to America1988

A prince pretends to be a commoner to find love; chaos and delight ensue. Eddie Murphy at peak charisma, Arsenio Hall stealing every scene, and a movie that knows exactly how to be funny without winking.

But The gender politics haven't aged perfectly, and some of the comedy relies on ideas about class and status that feel dated now.

Coming to America poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Opposite Sex and How to Live with Them

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Paper Moon1973

Both films center on two people who bring out a better version of each other through conflict and conversation. The con game here is the emotional equivalent of the smart banter in a rom-com: two people testing each other's wits and discovering connection through wordplay.

Ryan and Tatum O'Neal con their way through Depression-era America, and the film is a masterclass in banter, con artistry, and the flirtation between two people who understand each other perfectly. Warm, funny, and wickedly smart.

But It's a period piece shot in black and white; no one mistakes it for a mainstream 90s rom-com. The charm is subtle rather than obvious.

Paper Moon poster
More like this (8)

Roxanne1987

Steve Martin's loose adaptation of Cyrano with heart. A small-town romantic comedy that trusts its audience to laugh at the wordplay and believe in the sentiment simultaneously.

But The pacing can drag; it's more interested in conversation than plot momentum. Some of the humor lands softly rather than with a bang.

Roxanne poster

Overboard1987

Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn as two people on opposite sides of the class divide, forced together by circumstance and amnesia. Genuinely charming, wickedly funny, and the chemistry is undeniable.

But The premise hinges on deception that modern audiences might find harder to forgive. Some of the class-war comedy feels thin.

Overboard poster

Mannequin1987

Andrew McCarthy falls for a department-store mannequin who comes to life. Wildly imaginative, funny in unexpected ways, and it commits fully to its absurd central conceit.

But The fantasy elements might strain belief. The fashion-world satire hasn't aged as well as the movie hopes it has.

Mannequin poster

Blind Date1987

Bruce Willis and Kim Basinger on one catastrophic double date. The premise is simple, the execution is frantic, and there's a real sweetness underneath the chaos.

But It's trying very hard to be funny and sometimes that effort shows. The humor is broad enough that it can feel exhausting.

Blind Date poster

Crazy/Beautiful2001

Jay Hernandez and Kirsten Dunst as two teenagers from different sides of the tracks who fall hard for each other. Sincere, unironic, and genuinely moving about how love can make you want to be better.

But It leans into melodrama. Some viewers will find it manipulative rather than touching; others just too earnest for comfort.

Crazy/Beautiful poster

Sweet Home Alabama2002

A woman returns to her small hometown and falls back in love with the person she left behind. Reese Witherspoon at her most charming, and it understands why sometimes home is where your heart actually lives.

But It's pure comfort-food rom-com. If you want anything challenging or surprising, you're in the wrong movie.

Sweet Home Alabama poster

Withnail & I1987

Like your film, it's built entirely on the dynamic between two people who shouldn't work but do. The romantic comedy here is inverted—instead of opposites attracting, it's two failures sustaining each other through sheer force of personality and mutual tolerance.

Two failed actors stumble through a disastrous holiday in 1960s England. It's not a romantic comedy—it's a two-hander about chemistry, mutual incomprehension, and why some people are bound together despite everything.

But It's bleak, drunk, and deeply British. The humor is dark and the ending is slightly depressing. If you're looking for a happy ending, this isn't it.

Withnail & I poster

While You Were Sleeping1995

Both films believe that two people with nothing in common can build something real through proximity and genuine care. They're both optimistic about love's capacity to rewrite our expectations—not through magic, but through paying attention to someone completely different.

Sandra Bullock as a transit worker who falls for a man in a coma, then his family, then—when he wakes up—has to navigate a complicated emotional truth. It's tender, funny, and interested in how love can grow in unexpected directions.

But The setup is genuinely weird. Some viewers will check out at the premise; others will find the emotional resolution too convenient.

While You Were Sleeping poster

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