It’s no secret that romantic comedies being produced by the film industry have gotten predictable. They are all centered around a woman in search of a man she can settle down with or in some cases are centered around an independent woman who is swept off her feet by a man. It works out the way the audience wants to and the lives the characters lead are seemingly picture-perfect. Finding movies from this genre that avoid the clichés and transcend the lazy storyline of a man completing a woman’s life can be difficult to find. The biggest feat of all is finding one that’s actually funny. Here is a compilation, in no particular order, of “chick flicks” that leave behind this stereotype.

1. How to Be Single

The name says it all. This movie starts out like so many before with a young girl entering the real world for the first time and New York City as the backdrop, but it comes to a surprising conclusion that self-worth does not come solely from romantic endeavors. It’s lack of a cheesy ending in which the main characters confess their love for each other, replaced by friendship rekindled, is a refreshing change.

2. Bachelorette

Rather than celebrate the engagement of their best friend, these women make little efforts to hide their disapproval and jealousy, already making the premise far more interesting than other wedding-themed romantic comedies. The characters’ lives are a mess, and rather than have all their problems solved in 90 minutes, it ends with them still facing the crappy lives they lead, which is simultaneously depressing and refreshing.

3. Hello, My Name Is Doris

The entire premise, in which a woman old enough to be her coworker’s grandmother falls in love with that coworker, is already breaking the tradition of casting two genetically gifted twenty-somethings and chronicling their love story. It has its moments where it’s downright depressing and others in which it’s uncomfortably inappropriate. All this makes the movie seem even more realistic and almost completely removes it from the category of romantic comedy.

4. The Kids Are All Right

The dynamic between the women involved in a lesbian relationship and the man whose sperm they used for artificial insemination is a strange one, especially when he becomes involved with Juls, one of the women. This complicated web they weave is uncharacteristic of the usual easy-to-follow plot line of a rom-com. The uncomfortable confrontations and realistic way they portray relationships is far more interesting than watching a couple live happily ever after.

5. Knocked Up

This is the quintessential example of the rom-com done right. For once, the plot revolves around an honest scenario rather than idealized version of the cards life will deal you. Katherine Heigl deals with the social stigma of getting pregnant from a man she is not even in a relationship, while he (Seth Rogen) faces the anxiety of fatherhood. It actually causes some genuine laughter and avoids the ‘perfect’ ending.

Make sure to check out these movies over break if you haven't already.