AFI’s 10 TOP 10 — CHALLENGE RANK: ROMANTIC COMEDIES

Hello and welcome to “AFI’s 10 Top 10 — Challenge Rank,” this is an article series where we put to test the American Film Institute’s various list rankings through a critical and audience consensual assessment scale. We will be breaking down “AFI’s 10 Top 10” lists, right here. The “AFI’s 10 Top 10” originally broke down by genre what are the 10 best films in that specified genre. We covered Courtroom Drama in the first article and for this second article in the series, we are going to tackle “AFI’s 10 Top 10: Romantic Comedies” category. Here’s the list of films and how they ranked from “AFI’s 10 Top 10: Romantic Comedies”:

1.) “City Lights”

2.) “Annie Hall”

3.) “It Happened One Night”

4.) “Roman Holiday”

5.) “The Philadelphia Story”

6.) “When Harry Met Sally”

7.) “Adam’s Rib”

8.) “Moonstruck”

9.) “Harold and Maude”

10.) “Sleepless in Seattle”

If you want to see the actual AFI page of the Top 10? The link is below: http://www.afi.com/10top10/category.aspx?cat=2

Now, this is how AFI ranked the best films of the romantic comedy genre. But do critics and audiences agree with AFI’s consensus? Well, through a rather collective algorithm from various critical and audience aggregators, I came to forming an overall consensual ranking of the collective films from “AFI’s 10 Top 10: Romantic Comedies”. I was a bit surprised how things turned out here among the consensual rankings compared to AFI’s rankings but here’s how it laid out:

Consensual Placement: 10th

SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE (1993)

AFI’S RANKING: #10

LOGLINE: A recently widowed man’s son calls a radio talk-show in an attempt to find his father a partner.

DIRECTED BY: Nora Ephron

STARS: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Ross Malinger and Rita Wilson

CONSENSUS RESPONSE: “Sleepless in Seattle” stayed put at #10 among the consensual critics and audiences assessment matching AFI’s placement of the film on their list.

Consensual Placement: 9th

MOONSTRUCK (1987)

AFI’S RANKING: #8

LOGLINE: A bookkeeper from Brooklyn, New York, finds herself in a difficult situation when she falls for the brother of the man she has agreed to marry.

DIRECTED BY: Norman Jewison

STARS: Cher, Nicolas Cage, Olympia Dukakis and Vincent Gardenia

CONSENSUS RESPONSE: “Moonstruck” dipped 1 spot from #8 to #9 among the consensual critics and audiences assessment over AFI’s placement of the film on their list.

Consensual Placement: 8th

WHEN HARRY MET SALLY… (1989)

AFI’S RANKING: #6

LOGLINE: Harry and Sally have known each other for years, and are very good friends, but they fear sex would ruin the friendship.

DIRECTED BY: Rob Reiner

STARS: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher and Bruno Kirby

CONSENSUS RESPONSE: “When Harry Met Sally…” declined 2 spots from #6 to #8 among the consensual critics and audiences assessment over AFI’s placement of the film on their list.

Consensual Placement: 7th

HAROLD AND MAUDE (1971)

AFI’S RANKING: #9

LOGLINE: Young, rich, and obsessed with death, Harold finds himself changed forever when he meets lively septuagenarian Maude at a funeral.

DIRECTED BY: Hal Ashby

STARS: Ruth Gordon, Bud Cort, Vivian Pickles and Cyril Cusack

CONSENSUS RESPONSE: “Harold and Maude” climbed 2 spots from #9 to #7 among the consensual critics and audiences assessment over AFI’s placement of the film on their list.

Consensual Placement: 6th

ADAM’S RIB (1949)

AFI’S RANKING: #7

LOGLINE: Domestic and professional tensions mount when a husband and wife work as opposing lawyers in a case involving a woman who shot her husband.

DIRECTED BY: George Cukor

STARS: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Judy Holliday and Tom Ewell

CONSENSUS RESPONSE: “Adam’s Rib” went up 1 spot from #7 to #6 among the consensual critics and audiences assessment over AFI’s placement of the film on their list.

Consensual Placement: 5th

ROMAN HOLIDAY (1953)

AFI’S RANKING: #4

LOGLINE: A bored and sheltered princess escapes her guardians and falls in love with an American newsman in Rome.

DIRECTED BY: William Wyler

STARS: Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, Eddie Albert and Tullio Carminati

CONSENSUS RESPONSE: “Roman Holiday” descended 1 spot from #4 to #5 among the consensual critics and audiences assessment over AFI’s placement of the film on their list.

Consensual Placement: 4th

ANNIE HALL (1977)

AFI’S RANKING: #2

LOGLINE: Neurotic New York comedian Alvy Singer falls in love with the ditzy Annie Hall.

DIRECTED BY: Woody Allen

STARS: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts and Carol Kane

CONSENSUS RESPONSE: “Annie Hall” dropped 2 spots from #2 to #4 among the consensual critics and audiences assessment over AFI’s placement of the film on their list.

Consensual Placement: 3rd

THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940)

AFI’S RANKING: #5

LOGLINE: When a rich woman’s ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself.

DIRECTED BY: George Cukor

STARS: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, James Stewart and Ruth Hussey

CONSENSUS RESPONSE: “The Philadelphia Story” ascended 2 spots from #5 to #3 among the consensual critics and audiences assessment over AFI’s placement of the film on their list.

Consensual Placement: 2nd

IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)

AFI’S RANKING: #3

LOGLINE: A spoiled heiress running away from her family is helped by a man who is actually a reporter in need of a story.

DIRECTED BY: Frank Capra

STARS: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly and Roscoe Karns

CONSENSUS RESPONSE: “It Happened One Night” rose 1 spot going #3 to #2 among the consensual critics and audiences assessment over AFI’s placement of the film on their list.

Consensual Placement: 1st

CITY LIGHTS (1931)

AFI’S RANKING: #1

LOGLINE: With the aid of a wealthy erratic tippler, a dewy-eyed tramp who has fallen in love with a sightless flower girl accumulates money to be able to help her medically.

DIRECTED BY: Charles Chaplin

STARS: Charles Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee and Harry Myers

CONSENSUS RESPONSE: “City Lights” stayed put at #1 among the consensual critics and audiences assessment matching AFI’s placement of the film on their list.

In concluding, you can see the critical consensual assessment with critics and audiences ranked a bit differently overall than AFI’s ranking list but not entirely as #1 and #10 titles stayed in their respective spots as their AFI’s ranks. So, how would you personally rank these top-tier romantic comedy films?

Article Note: All loglines are sourced from IMDb.com.

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