You’ve Got

Fresh From An Era Of Teen-angst Dramedies, The ’90s Were A Rom-com Fan’s Dream.

Romantics will never forget the scene that introduced the world to the uber rich, strikingly handsome Edward Lewis (played by Richard Gere), when he impatiently borrows his accountant’s Lotus Esprit and rips it around town only to get lost deep into Hollywood. When

Edward observes a group of prostitutes who could possibly offer him directions, he pulls the Lotus Esprit over and rolls down his window, asking the quirkiest of the bunch: “What’s your name?”

“What do you want it to be?” responds Vivian Ward (a thenunknown Julia Roberts). That instantaneous, delicious magic between the two made Pretty Woman one of the most iconic rom-coms of the decade, and set in motion a steady parade of movies that would melt our hearts and leave us wanting more.

The ’80s indulged our unresolved high school vulnerabilities via quirky teens figuring out their lot and their love lives in a single swoop. By the time the ’90s rolled around, though, onscreen love and laughter was doled out mostly by grownups who seemed a bit more like us, working everyday jobs and screwing up, then resurrecting, their romances in ways that were still more Hollywood magic than our own weary reconciliations. In short: the beating heart of a romcom’s magic.

In the process, breakout stars who are now A-listers and power pairings emerged: Julia Roberts and Richard Gere (who bookended the decade with rom-com smashes), Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, Cameron Diaz, Sandra Bullock, Hugh Grant, Renée Zellweger. And the list goes on.

The decade launched with the first of the Roberts-gere pairings, in a film that has become the stuff of rom-com legend. Making the most of Roberts’ stellar comic chops and leggy, coltish beauty paired with

Gere’s uppercrust looks and polished savoir-faire, Garry Marshall’s Pretty Woman told the tale of Vivian Ward, a hooker with a heart of gold and gobs of street smarts, and repressed businessman Edward Lewis, who sees a diamond in the rough in his paid companion.

There may never be a better final line, rom-com or otherwise, than Roberts’ empowered spin of her character’s fairy tale ending, when she responds to Gere’s question, “So what happens after he climbs up and rescues her?” with “She rescues him right back!” The film earned the fledgling star a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination, cementing her status as a sought-after actor.

Seven years later, Roberts scored another Golden Globe nomination for My Best Friend’s Wedding, playing lovelorn food critic Jules, whose semiserious plan to wed her ex-turned-bestie Michael (Dermot Mulroney) if neither found love by their 28th year is thwarted by wealthy, winsome Kimmy (a charming Cameron Diaz, ditching her trademark ditz to great effect). As a young woman working through a simultaneous broken heart and bruised ego on the way to emotional maturity, Roberts reinforced her blossoming A-list cred.