Some of my favorite movies are romantic comedies.

It’s hard for me not to cringe when I admit to that. Rom-coms get a bad rap sometimes, because they’re often full of ridiculous stereotyped characters and outlandish plots. In a recent New Yorker article, Mindy Kaling compared romantic comedies to sci-fi flicks -- both bear little to no resemblance to real life. She’s right. The odds of an alien invasion and the odds you will meet Mr. Right while walking through Paris, tripping down a flight of stairs or pretending to be married are about the same.

But even though the plot lines are unrealistic and the characters’ actions implausible, there are a few movies I still love.

-- While You Were Sleeping: Sandra Bullock develops a romantic obsession with a man she watches every day on the subway. When he has an accident and falls into a coma, she lies her way into his hospital room and into his family’s good opinion by telling everyone she’s his fiancee. Then, she falls in love with his brother. This fiancee lie would never work in real life. But because Sandra Bullock’s character is an adorable schlep who is prone to wearing ugly sweaters and tripping over her own feet, the family welcome her with open arms.

-- You’ve Got Mail: Maybe it’s the dial-up Internet, AOL email addresses or Harry Nilsson songs on the movie’s soundtrack, but this tale of two bookstore owners who become anonymous email pen pals feels adorably retro. If prompted, I could probably quote lines from the conversations Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan have about Pride and Prejudice, bouquets of newly-sharpened pencils and seeing butterflies on the subway. But the emails I receive on a daily basis aren’t nearly eloquent as some of the emails in You’ve Got Mail. In fact, I don’t even think anyone writes long emails anymore (except the angry, crazy ranting kind).

-- The Princess Diaries: A shy, klutzy, frizzy-haired teen finds out she’s heir to the throne of a made-up foreign country. She gets a makeover and all her problems are solved. If a haircut and a new dress could turn me into a more charismatic and charming person with no problems, I would get a makeover once a week.

-- Amelie: Amelie does weird things like persuading her father to travel by stealing his garden gnome and having a stewardess friend take pictures of it posing with landmarks from all over the world. She also sends the guy she likes riddles to her identity instead of approaching him in person. In real life, Amelie’s behavior would be labeled manipulative and passive-aggressive. But in a modern French fairy-tale, it’s charming.

While I’d like to see more serious and realistic dramatic roles for women in movies, I think it’s okay to love the comedic and romantic tales too -- as long as you realize they’re just stories.

--Contact Sara Pauff at 706-320-4469 or spauff@ledger-enquirer.com. For more commentary, read her 20-something blog at www.ledger-enquirer.com/sara.