Netflix's new no.1 movie battered on Rotten Tomatoes – what to stream instead

You work hard all week, and weekends are precious. After doing all the chores you've been putting off, you just want to sit down and watch something that you know you're going to enjoy. Netflix's number one movie is usually a pretty good bet, but don't be fooled, the most popular movie right now probably isn't worth your time. 

Irish Wish is a Lindsay Lohan romcom that was released for St Patrick's Day and while I love a good romantic comedy, this isn't one of those. The film has a meagre 36% on Rotten Tomatoes and the audience score isn't much better. 

Of course, Netflix is one of the best streaming services out there, so it has a massive library of great movies you should watch instead. Here are 3 romcoms on Netflix that are actually worth your time. 

1. Crazy, Stupid, Love

A Shakespearean farce of a romcom, Crazy, Stupid, Love more than lives up to its name. Starring pretty much the entirety of Hollywood (Ryan Gosling, Steve Carrell, Emma Stone, Julianne Moore) this is a brilliant mess of intertwining love stories.

When Cal (Carrell) and his wife (Moore) separate, he realises that when it comes to the dating game, he's something of a relic. Luckily he's got Ryan Gosling in his corner as a sympathetic wingman. 

What follows is a beautiful mess of mistakes and misunderstandings that weaves together to produce a surprisingly coherent (and very funny) movie. It's very sweet, but in the right way.  

2. Punch Drunk Love 

A unique romcom from director Paul Thomas Anderson. This film stars an unusually restrained Adam Sandler as the lone brother of seven sisters, he's calm and collected 90% of the time but also has a deep supressed rage. 

Constantly choosing work (and frozen pudding) over romance, he calls an adult line one night, just for company, and then finally relents and accepts his sister's attempts to set him up on a date (Emily Watson).

I won't say much more to avoid spoilers. PTA keeps things very low-key throughout and opts for some cute directorial twists reminiscent of the golden age of Hollywood romance.  

3. Groundhog Day

Everyone loves this Bill Murray classic. Grumpy weatherman Phil wakes up and realises he's doomed to repeat the same day over and over again (complete with the same Sonny & Cher song). 

Spending an age in the loop he starts to learn the day off by heart, he's seen and done everything to try and escape - except giving love a chance. Can he face his feelings for his co-worker Andi Macdowell? This is honestly one of the best romcoms ever made and I can watch it over and over again without getting bored. The best time travel movie since Back to the Future.