From Me Before You To Southside With You: These 2016 RomComs Changed The Way We Think About Love
We love these 2016 romcoms with fresh takes on love and relationships, and you will too!
It’s 2026, but we are still obsessed with these 2016 romcoms which show different perspectives on love. Despite seeming simple on paper, love is very complicated in contemporary times. On that note, check out these 5 romantic comedies that teach us about love a decade later. From La La Land’s reality check to the growing pains of The Edge of Seventeen, these films have got it all!
La La Land
A no-brainer addition to the list, only few do it like this 2016 romcom starring Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone. Mia and Sebastian wish to make it in the City of Dreams– Los Angeles, but they can’t make it in their relationship. Their love is everlasting, because they care about each other enough to let their dreams take precedence. A delightful watch for rom-com film fanatics, with impressive dance and delightful storytelling.
Today’s look: absolutely blue-tiful! 🦋💙 #LaLaLand pic.twitter.com/EYw8A8WhJb
— La La Land (@LaLaLand) July 8, 2020
Me Before You
In Me Before You, we noticed things about Will Traynor that we now expect from prospective love interests. Love isn’t made great by how long it lasts, rather by how deep it runs. Remembering the small details (the striped, bumblebee tights that Lou mentioned once) puts Will in a category of his own.
The Edge of Seventeen
Coming-of-age movies seldom offer as much insight as this 2016 romcom with Hailee Steinfield. Intrinsically linked with love, grief is a motivating factor for Nadine, who is barely coping with her father’s untimely demise. When her elder brother starts dating her best friend, all hell breaks loose. She learns to talk about her feelings over icing people out, and this film says that love between family and friends is just as important as romance. We like!
Maggie’s Plan
What would it be like to play matchmaker to two people who you know belong together? Maggie wants to have a child via sperm donation, but instead falls in love and marries John. Years later, Maggie discovers that she wants to move on and reunites John with his ex-wife, Georgette. Sometimes, love is knowing when to move on, and Maggie embodies this.
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Also Read: Jab We Met, I Hate Luv Storys And More Must-Watch Rom-Coms For Valentine’s Day
Southside With You
A date that’s not a date is the context of Southside, and it masterfully blends real-life characters with a fictitious retelling of their first date. It is the story of Barack and Michelle Obama’s first date, but it is telling that Michelle leads the narrative. With descriptions of period-appropriate (it is set it 1989) s*xism, the film paints a nuanced portrait of navigating adult relationships that last.
Ten years down the line, many things have changed but these 2016 romcoms have a lasting charm that reminds us that love will always find a way.
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First Published: January 19, 2026 5:13 PM
