Romance comes with its up and downs. But, when you have to jump a whole year ahead every few minutes, staying in love is incredibly hard, but rather funny to watch. Here are 7 rom-com movies like Long Story Short that explore the time travel theme. You will also love these suggestions for movies like Map of Tiny Perfect Things. There, you will find 7 movies that show how romance plays out in a repeating time loop.
6 Time Travel Rom-Com Movies like Long Story Short
1 About Time (2013)
IMDB 7.8 | 316K Ratings
Stars: Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy
Tim (Domhnall Gleeson), a 21 year old, discovers he can travel back in time. What does he do with his new found talent? He decides to get a girlfriend, finally! That’s where the movie’s title comes from. But, even with something as powerful as time travel on his side, finding love isn’t easy. His love interest is Mary (Rachel McAdams), a beautiful woman with self esteem issues. From retrying the first meeting to the proposal to even taking Mary to the hospital to deliver her baby on time, Tim bungles his way through time travel and repeated attempts at almost everything.
A very similar movie to Long Story Short. It has both nice laughs and its downs as well, for life doesn’t come without those!
2 Midnight in Paris (2011)
IMDB 7.7 | 397K Ratings
Stars: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, Kurt Fuller, Marion Cotillard
Director: Woody Allen
Gil (Owen Wilson) and Inez (Rachel McAdams) are in love and in Paris. Gil is smitten by the city but Inez isn’t. He finds it difficult to socialize with Inez’s family and friends and instead prefers to stroll through the city of love, after midnight. On these strolls is when the movie’s time travel kicks in, for he runs into Parisian stars of the 1920’s, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and more.
The love for the city pulls him further and further away from Inez. Will the city completely win over his love at the expense of Inez? You have to watch the movie to find out. Woody Allen’s direction makes this a dreamy movie to watch. The movie took home an Oscar for Best Writing, by none other than Woody Allen himself. The entire cast delivers a stunning performance. The comedy is classy. The city serves as a beautiful backdrop. Not much more you can ask from a rom-com, even if the romance is with the city’s past allure!
3 Click (2006)
IMDB 6.4 | 312K Ratings
Stars: Adam Sandler, Kate Beckinsale, Christopher Walken, David Hasselhoff, Henry Winkler and more
Click is a bit of a slapstick comedy. That’s no surprise considering Adam Sandler is in the lead. But, the movie will be enjoyable if you liked the time travel element added into a marriage. Here, Michael (Adam Sandler) gets his hands on a universal remote that can make him time travel. He can fast forward through fights with his wife Donna (Kate Beckinsale) and rewind back to fond memories of his marriage. But, when the remote begins to overrule his choices, things get a bit funny, and unmanageable. A slapstick that manages to deliver a message about love and family. A few scenes will have you in splits.
4 Definitely, Maybe (2008)
IMDB 2008 | 158K Ratings
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Rachel Weisz, Abigail Breslin
Ok, we lied a little with this movie suggestion. It doesn’t have any time travel in it. But, Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) has to recount his love life to his 11 year old daughter. He is in the middle of a divorce and his daughter wants to know absolutely everything about how their parents met, fell in and out of love.
As Will recounts his romantic life, he begins to understand that love isn’t simple at all. Could there be a happy ending where instead of a divorce, the two parents reunite. The star of the movie is definitely Maya Hayes (Abigail Breslin). Innocent and curious, she tries to decipher Will’s sensitive narration of how his love life panned out to his young daughter. Who among the characters Will dated is her mother? Besides the movie’s romantic tales, the relationship between father and daughter is heartwarming to watch as well.
5 The Vow (2012)
IMDB 6.8 | 187K Ratings
Stars : Rachel McAdams, Channing Tatum, Sam Neill
Ok, the third movie with Rachel McAdams in it. But, this movie is here for good reason. Like how Teddy was clueless with how time travel disrupted his life in Long Story Short, Leo (Channing Tatum) is helpless because his wife Paige (Rachel McAdams) doesn’t remember him anymore. A car accident has erased him from her memory.
But, undeterred by the cruel hand dealt to him, Leo tries to win her heart back, all over again. It isn’t easy though. The circumstances aren’t the same but can a couple really be made for each other? A sweet drama romance with a little bit of comedy sprinkled in here and there. Not exactly a funny movie. But, definitely one we think you will appreciate if you liked Long Story Short.
6 When We First Met (2018)
IMDB 6.4 | 44K Ratings
Stars: Adam Devine, Alexandra Daddario, Shelley Hennig
If you are looking for a Netflix movie like Long Story Short, this teen comedy is definitely worth a watch. On Halloween night, Noah (Adam Devine) meets who he thinks is the girl of his dreams in Avery (Alexandra Daddario). But, his dreams are quickly cut short when she puts him deep in the friendzone. Noah rues his missed opportunity for three long years. But then, a time machine allows him to travel back to that same Halloween three years ago, again and again. Can he get out of the friendzone to finally win Avery’s heart?
A sweet TV movie that is quite similar to Long Story Short in how the protagonist is trying to win back a love.