Romantic comedies for people who hate romantic comedies

02/12/09 - Some people just hate romantic comedies.For the most part, they are overly sappy, predictable and feature unrealistic portrayals of both men and women.

With Valentine's Day coming, now is a good time to look at some of the best romantic comedies ... for people who really hate romantic comedies.

These movies avoid most of the clichés and overly sweet tone of the typical rom-com, but would still be appropriate viewing with your valentine on Feb. 14.

The top of my list would be most of Kevin Smith's movies, particularly "Chasing Amy." While "Chasing Amy" retains the vulgar dialogue from all Smith movies, it has a bit more heart than his other films. Ben Affleck is the leading man, and this is one of his earlier roles. You know, before being universally despised for "Gigli" and "Pearl Harbor."

Some of Smith's other movies like "Clerks 2," "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" and "Mallrats" have the same sweet romance story with the salty dialogue. "Mallrats" in particular plays out like a demented John Hughes movie. Picture "Pretty In Pink" with a copious amount of swearing.

Staying on the demented John Hughes theme, the 1985 comedy "Better Off Dead" fits that description to the letter. "Better off Dead" stars John Cusack as a teen whose girlfriend just broke up with him and proceeded to date most of the high school. He becomes suicidal and many of the best gags in the film come from his failed suicide attempts.

The movie is a little dark, but absurd moments like Cusack's Asian drag racing, Howard Cossell-sounding neighbors and his neighborhood's psychotic paperboy provide plenty of laughs.

The romance comes from Cusack's attempts to win back his girlfriend and his budding relationship with a cute French foreign exchange student.

My next choice sticks a little closer to the traditional romantic comedy, but the first "Bridget Jones' Diary" is actually surprisingly funny and not an overly sappy film. Renée Zellweger is relentlessly charming as the awkward and bumbling romantic, Bridgett Jones.

"Wedding Crashers" is a movie with a surprising amount of romance for what at first glance seems to be a very testosterone-fueled comedy. However, after the first 15 minutes or so, the movie hits its stride when Owen Wilson attempts to win Rachel McAdams' heart and Vince Vaughn eventually falling for Isla Fisher.

The funny moments are fairly well known, like the "rules of wedding crashing," but I particularly enjoy the awful things Vaughn goes through. Something about a big lug like Vaughn being knocked out in a game a football and being called a pansy for it will always be amusing.

The last film I want to mention is "Stranger than Fiction." It stars Will Ferrell and Maggie Gyllenhaal, and it is one of the few times Ferrell is not playing an overgrown child. He takes on the role of an awkward, obsessive-compulsive accountant.

He also hears a voice narrating his life, which happens to say he will die in a few days. Before his supposed death date, he meets a quirky baker played by Gyllenhaal and begins to fall in love despite the fact she despises him for auditing her business.

There is a really strong plot here, with Ferrell struggling to find a way to change the books and his life ending, while trying to liven up his bland life.

The best romantic comedies for people who hate romantic comedies combine sweetness with a bit of raunchy humor. The sweetness adds some depth to the jokes and the raunchiness helps take the films out of the dreaded genre of "chick flick."

Some other good choices that fit this mold are "Knocked Up," "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall.