It’s rom-com time, but there are just so many movies out there that you don’t know how to choose. It’s easy to fall back into watching your favorite again (and hey, nothing wrong with that). But here is a list, specially chosen, to help you pick your film tonight based off of your Myers-Briggs type.
The Myers-Briggs type (or 16 Types) personality test was created to help you figure out just what it is you value and how you show it, based on whether or not you’re more (I)ntroverted or (E)xtroverted; (S)ensing or i(N)tuitive; (T)hinking or (F)eeling; (J)udging or (P)erceiving.
If you haven’t discovered your Myers-Briggs type yet, here’s a great free resource to do so. Then come right back and find out what your rom-com should be!
Technically the only Christmas movie on the list, The Holiday is probably one of my favorite ensemble romantic comedies. When notable INTJ herself, Amanda (Cameron Diaz) who needs to control every aspect of her own life discovers her longtime boyfriend has been cheating on her, she decides to take a much-needed break, winding up on a house-swap site.
Iris (Kate Winslet), currently undergoing her own heartbreak, turns out to be the perfect match, and just as eager to leave her small town English countryside behind in exchange for the excitement of Amanda’s Hollywood home. Trading lives for two weeks ends up changing them both in ways neither of them could’ve expected, and shows INTJ’s just what can happen when you take a little risk sometimes.
Single working girl Lucy (Sandra Bullock) has developed a bit of a crush on Peter (Peter Gallagher) a regular she sees at her job as transit-worker in Chicago. She’s just working up the nerves to talk to him when the unthinkable happens: he gets mugged and abandoned in front of her. Lucy ends up taking Peter to the hospital, where he falls into a coma during recovery.
A misunderstanding leads the nurse to tell his frantic family that Lucy is his fiance and it’s not too long before she’s in too deep: the only problem is his brother, Jack (Bill Pullman) who suspects she’s more than she seems. Lonely INTP Lucy has to face the dilemma: what do you do when you’re offered everything you’ve ever wanted, but it’s all based on a lie?
Alex “Hitch” Hitchens (Will Smith) is a love expert, or so he thinks. His specialty? Helping guys “get” the girl, and he can do it in several easy steps. In the middle of the job of his life helping lawyer Albert (Kevin James) get the far-out-of-his-league celebrity Allegra Cole (Amber Voletta), trying to prove that with the right amount of help, any guy can seal the deal.
It’s not until he meets Sara (Eva Mendes) that he realizes just how difficult finding love can be. However, that’s only the start of his problems. Like a good ENTP, Hitch can’t help but play the Devil’s Advocate, even when that can potentially get him into trouble. When he starts getting approached by guys who think he’s a pickup artist, what can this “date doctor” do?
After the death of her father, Danielle’s new stepmother turns Danielle into a servant, wanting to keep up appearances of being a wealthy merchant family even as they rapidly run out of money or options. Disguising herself in her late mother’s clothes in order to help her household, Danielle runs into the prince. After that, she can’t stop running into him and has a hard time keeping both identities (servant and noblewoman) straight.
Both of them exhibit ENTJ-like qualities as natural-born leaders, this can lead to greatness and just excessive pigheadedness. With the incredibly talented Drew Berrymore as the Danielle and the charming prince played by Dougray Scott, not to mention (spoiler alert) mother-effing Leonardo Da Vinci (played by Patrick Godfry) as her fairy godfather, Ever After is one of the best (if not the best) fairytale adaptions out there.
A rom-com classic, When Harry Met Sally tackles the life-long question of whether or not men and women can just be friends. Meeting first at the end of college, Harry (played by Billy Crystal) tells Sally (Meg Ryan) that no, it’s impossible for the two sexes to be friends without any ulterior motives getting in the way, at least on one side.
As INFJs especially need friendship for love, this movie seems to cover both bases in a way that neither side would expect. Frustrated, they separate, until fate decides to bring them together again. This time, they really do become friends, and it’s not long until Harry has to eat his own words…at least until his own argument comes back to haunt him. Is it possible that they can both be right?
Penelope is a modern fairytale about a girl who is cursed until she finds someone to love her. Not taking itself too seriously, it brings with it the same charm and romance that classic fairytales bring. As an idealist, INFP, this combines some of your favorite things: a quirky interior landscape in which you can wear lots of fun quirky coats and scarves and a rakish James McAvoy (or maybe that’s just me).
There’s also the plot of finding yourself and learning to love your flaws (whatever they might be) which certainly screams “INFP” to me (Also Peter Dinklage is just…so funny. Do yourself a favor and see this).
Katherine Heigel is Jane: sister, personal assistant, and forever a bridesmaid. When her sister starts seeing her personal crush, it can be easy to get frustrated and think, “what a doormat!” But Jane isn’t a doormat, she’s compromising. As an ENFJ, you might find yourself compromising a lot for your friends and family, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have your own thoughts or feelings on the matter.
Watch what happens when you let those little annoying things stew until you can’t hold them in anymore. Oh, and never fear. There’s a handsome and somewhat jaded James Marsden for your troubles.
One of the best recent romantic comedies, period, Crazy Rich Asians is a crazy amount of fun, and unlike most romantic comedies, it focuses on the part after falling in love. The intimacy and union between a couple who are already head over heels for one another. ENFP’s are very good at this part of love, where, like Nick and Rachel, they have to lean back on why they fell in love in the first place as trials and challenges are thrown their way.
Getting more than they bargained for as they attend Nick’s friends’ wedding back in Singapore, Crazy Rich Asians is filled with family, friends, fun and…flirtationship (I needed another f). What else could you want?
ISTJ’s are traditionally traditional beings, and there’s not really a rom-com out there that’s more focused on the importance of family tradition than My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Toula is the obedient, self-sacrificing daughter of a loud and proud Greek family, but it’s not until an embarrassing encounter with a cute guy that she realizes just how miserable she really is.
Learning to find something she loves and to love herself is what really opens her up for love, and in her worrying over choosing family over her new love, the definitively Not Greek Ian, she might be able to find the right sort of compromise.
Ah, The Princess Bride. A cult classic that might be outdone only by its book (if you want more Fezzik/Inigo content, that’s where I’d go, anyway). ISFJ’s have a tendency to underplay their successes until backed into a corner (“I am not left-handed”), and The Princess Bride, for many, an obvious choice, could also get overlooked in much the same way.
The love story between Princess Buttercup and Wesley is dramatic and hilarious and terribly romantic. If you haven’t seen it yet, do yourself a favor and go see it now.
Not going to lie, I first saw this movie when I was thirteen, and I didn’t “get” it. As I got older, I’ve really grown to appreciate this film that shows us just what we can lose in our rush to grow up. Like Jenna (Jennifer Garner) ESTJ’s can find themselves at a stage in life where they don’t feel satisfied (and want to skip ahead to the better parts).
13 Going On 30 can show you the importance of allowing yourself to enjoy each phase of life, and knowing exactly who and what you should prioritize (and if that person turns out to be a hot Mark Ruffalo, then all the better).
Already a modern high school classic, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is possibly as popular as you are, ESFJ… or maybe as popular as Peter Kavinsky (Noah Cerentino), one of Lara Jean’s love interests (okay, the main one) in the film. Lara Jean Covey (Lana Condor) has never had a boyfriend before, but that hasn’t stopped her from writing letters to all of her crushes….letters that she keeps hidden and private, at least until her little sister does some snooping and mails them out.
But this is only the beginning. Nothing like a little teen drama for your Friday night, better get out the popcorn.
Talk about a seriously underrated Lindsay Lohan (and Chris Pine) movie. Chances are, plenty of ESFP’s can feel a little like Ashley, just a little on top of the world. Charming, and funny everything goes her way until she happens to meet Jake, the world’s unluckiest guy.
With a dash of magical realism here and there, Just My Luck shows ESFP’s what life can be like when things go topsy turvy. No matter what side of the coin you land on, having someone who cares about you can really make you feel like the luckiest person in the world.
Another Cinderella story, (No, not that one, this one!) A Cinderella Story was a staple for many of us who grew up idolizing Lizzie McGuire and wanting to wear converse to our proms. Sam (Hilary Duff) lost her father in an earthquake and now has to help with the family diner (causing the school bullies to call her “diner girl” instead of Cinderella) to help pay for her place within her stepfamily.
Like Sam, ISTP’s are inventive and creative as hell, even under stressful situations. Also like Sam, you deserve a cute pen pal you can rendezvous with at the school dance too, don’t you think?
Another excellent ensemble cast movie, Crazy, Stupid Love might be the first rom-com on the list that is mostly from the guy’s perspectives, focusing on the soon-to-be-divorced Cal (Steve Carell) and the womanizing Jacob (Ryan Gosling). While Jacob takes Cal on as a personal project, they both end up helping each other in ways neither of them could have expected, as Cal begins to open himself up to the rest of the world and its pleasures, Jacob begins to fall in love with a girl he met at a bar (and didn’t even sleep with the first night, gasp).
Many ISFPs may relate with the living-for-today, a devil-may-care cool attitude that Jacob seems to present, but will find themselves, at heart, more of a Cal than they thought.
Another great new Netflix rom-com is Always Be My Maybe, a story that centers on Sasha Tran (Ali Wong) and Marcus Kim (Randall Park) gives us the kids-to-adults love story we’ve been looking for…though not without a whole lot of bumps along the way. Sasha exhibits a lot of the signs of an ESTP-confident, loud, and not afraid to get what she wants.
After hooking up in college, the two lose touch over an argument until they reunite years later, under less than ideal circumstances. Sasha is still very much on the go, but there’s something holding Marcus back. Always Be My Maybe asks us the question: what does it mean to actually learn to compromise?
A modern twist on Pride and Prejudice, Bridget Jones’s Diary is a rom-com classic. With Briget (played by Renee Zellweger) caught between her sexy and very-into-her boss (Hugh Grant) and unable to shake the awkward, stiff presence of an old family friend (Colin Firth), Bridget gets herself in a little bit over her head. With a wicked sense of humor for you, ESFP’s out there, Bridget Jones’s Diary will have you laughing and groaning along with her the whole way. Sidenote: Probably not a movie you want to watch with your family..it was a little raunchy for my parents, at least.
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