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20 Great Rom-Com Sidekicks, Ranked

Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures

Should you find yourself the protagonist in a romantic comedy, taking that scary journey toward true love, full of meet-cutes, kisses in the rain, and run-ins with Hugh Grant, you should try your best to not travel alone. The road full of heartbreaks and soul mates is daunting. Along the way you may find yourself in need of comedic relief or a well-timed “get a grip” speech or, you know, just someone to go over some exposition with you. In other words, you need your rom-com sidekick. This can be a best friend, work colleague, roommate, family member, or just anyone who generally tells you to get your life together. Someone who, hopefully, would like to assist you on your path to the true meaning of life, which is, of course, making out in New York City — er, true love.

Although the rom-com sidekick is a tried-and-true staple of the genre, not all sidekicks are created equal. Sometimes, a protagonist (and audience) will find themselves saddled with a sidekick who is almost nonexistent, or extremely unhelpful in the romance department, or worse still — a real bore. The best sidekicks are entertaining or endearing enough that the audience doesn’t mind (or even looks forward to) pausing on the main love story to spend time with them. Because there are so many varying examples of rom-com sidekicks, Vulture has taken on the arduous task of finding 20 of the greatest friends, colleagues, roommates, and family members and figuring out who is the best of the best.

Many criteria went into this list: How helpful is the sidekick on the protagonist’s journey toward true love? If she or he is not actively pushing the protag in the right direction, is the sidekick at least a supportive, loving friend? How well-developed is this character? Does he or she merely act as a plot device or does this character have a life outside the main one? And finally, is the sidekick memorable and/or funny? Let’s see how some of the best second fiddles stack up against each other.

20. Andrews (Walter Connolly), It Happened One Night
Consider Andrews an early iteration of the rom-com sidekick we know today. In Frank Capra’s classic about Ellie (Claudette Colbert), a stubborn socialite on the run from her father, and surly reporter Peter (Clark Gable), who fall for each other while on the road, Andrews is Ellie’s father — but he acts very much like the best friend. Okay, so no best friend would hold their other best friend captive on a boat because he disagreed with her choice of husband (no father should do that either, FYI), but Andrews’s intentions are honorable: He thinks the man she eloped with, Westley, is a fake and a bore and she can do better. She should find someone she loves. Doesn’t that feel like a sidekick “get your life together” type of speech?

Eventually, Andrews discovers that Ellie and Peter are actually in love with each other, but Ellie thinks Peter used her for reward money, and even though she admittedly doesn’t like Westley, will marry him to save face. Well, that doesn’t work for Andrews. In a very sidekick move, while they’re literally walking down the aisle, he tells Ellie that she’s a sucker if she goes through with this and he has a getaway car waiting should she change her mind (spoiler: she does).

19. Becca (Meredith Hagner), Set It Up
Becca is a newbie to the rom-com sidekick squad. As heroine Harper’s (Zoey Deutch) best friend and roommate, Becca checks off all the basics of a solid sidekick: She clearly has a life outside of Harper, what with her fiancé who makes lame (hilarious) dad jokes; she’s very supportive of both Harper’s career aspirations (she gives her friend a rousing “just write, you dummy” speech) and her love life; she’s funny enough that we don’t mind taking a break from the main story to hear her engagement party speech; and most important, she’s the one who realizes Harper and Charlie (Glen Powell) are falling for each other and lets them go on their late-night pizza adventure rather than telling them there’s already pizza available to them. Basically, we have Becca to thank for Glen Powell saying, “I want to fuck that pizza.” We can never repay her for that precious gift.

18. Semmi (Arsenio Hall), Coming to America
Semmi wins absolutely no points for being helpful or supportive of Akeem (Eddie Murphy), as the prince of Zamunda eschews the traditional betrothal in hopes of finding a woman he truly loves in Queens, New York. Although he never leaves his prince’s side, Semmi is never onboard with this plan, complains about manual labor from start to finish, and really, only causes problems. It’s Semmi who gets so fed up with living that peasant lifestyle that he upgrades the apartment without Akeem’s permission — I mean, an indoor hot tub is always a good choice, but that’s not the point. It’s Semmi who inadvertently gives away their location to the king (James Earl Jones), thus blowing up Akeem’s spot just as he’s winning over Lisa (Shari Headley). Even after seeing how heartbroken Akeem is once Lisa rejects him, his only input is that at least they “learned how to make French fries.” Still, Coming to America would not work nearly as well without Semmi acting as the foil to Akeem’s never-ending optimism and unbridled enthusiasm for this adventure. Akeem would easily go off the rails in America without Semmi questioning his choices. He complains, but he’s never a drag. He’s a memorable character, but he is the worst wingman.

17. Casey (Judy Greer), 27 Dresses
What Casey lacks in any type of backstory whatsoever — her character is “sarcastic and proudly slutty” and nothing else — she makes up for in ability to tell perpetual bridesmaid Jane (Katherine Heigl) exactly what she needs to hear. Sometimes it’s heartfelt: When Jane unleashes the ugly truth about her sister (Malin Akerman) in front of her sister’s fiancé (Ed Burns), who also happens to be Jane’s boss and secret object of her affection, at their engagement party, it’s Casey who tells her she’s maybe taken things a bit too far. Sure, it makes for an entertaining engagement party, but maybe Jane should cool it on the revealing slide shows. And sometimes what Casey has to say to Jane is very to the point — like when she slaps her friend across the face after she catches her pining away for a man who really only sees her as the woman who picks up his dry cleaning. She doesn’t say it, but in that moment we all know Casey’s thinking, “When you can choose between this snoozefest and James Marsden, you always go with Marsden.” She may not have any semblance of a life outside of Jane and walks-of-shame, but the girl knows not to sleep on James Marsden.

16. Jude, Shazzer, and Tom (Shirley Henderson, Sally Phillips, and James Callis), Bridget Jones’s Diary
This trio is almost always seen together — Bridget calls them her “urban family,” so they make the list as a unit. Jude, Shazzer, and Tom are all given just enough personality for the actors to run with — heartbroken exec, journalist who likes to say “fuck,” and ’80s one-hit wonder — and to make them feel distinct as they flutter in and out of Bridget’s life, assisting her in her journey of self-improvement, which includes true love and cutting back on a smoking habit. They’re not integral to the plot at all, but they score high marks for loving our girl Bridge just as she is, blue soup and all, and for being a hoot. They’re an excellent support system: They give Bridget advice on how to handle Daniel (Hugh Grant), are appropriately mystified when Bridget tells them Mark (Colin Firth) says he likes her just as she is (Shazzer’s reaction wins: “Well, fuck me”), and are the perfect spectators for the Cleaver-Darcy battle for Bridget, the greatest street fight ever set to “It’s Raining Men.” They may not push the plot forward or point Bridget in the direction of true love, but man, are they a great time.

15. Daniel (Liam Neeson), Love Actually
Yes, stepdads can be sidekicks, too! Case in point: Liam Neeson’s widower Daniel in Love Actually is the driving force behind his stepson, Sam (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), chasing the love of his little life through an airport on Christmas Eve to tell her how he feels. That’s right people, Liam Neeson was getting shit done before Taken. But in this case, his specific set of skills includes making people weep by saying “my darling girl” in a eulogy, taking children’s feelings seriously, understanding the power of Kate and Leo, suffering through drum practice for the sake of love, acknowledging that there is a time and place for airport security, and giving the best dad hugs ever captured on film. If only he could’ve spent some time with Sarah (Laura Linney) — that lady could’ve used some Neeson Wingman Magic.

14. Cheryl (Wendy Raquel Robinson), Something New
Kenya (Sanaa Lathan) actually gets a Greek chorus of friends who help her as she struggles with falling for her white landscaper Brian (Simon Baker), but it’s Cheryl who stands out as the most supportive sidekick (Taraji P. Henson as Nedra is also fun, with the few bits she has). It’s a tight-knit group, and all of her girls want to see Kenya “let go, let flow” in her love life (Kenya has a list of requirements for her ideal husband, as all uptight, successful heroines in rom-coms tend to), but it’s Cheryl who really takes notice of the new Kenya. As signaled by the amount of color replacing all the beige in her life, she can see Kenya’s having fun with Brian. It’s a miracle. So when Kenya goes to Cheryl, a mess over dumping the guy who fits her requirements because she feels something real with the landscaper, Cheryl is the most dutiful sidekick: She tells her that Kenya did the brave thing. All that matters is how Brian makes her feel. Sometimes good sidekicks smack some sense into their best friends, sometimes they’re just there to let them know they’re doing just fine.

13. Kevin Jackson (Dave Chappelle), You’ve Got Mail
Take it from a person who very recently watched You’ve Got Mail every day for almost two weeks just to make sure she could still feel feelings: Kevin, Joe Fox’s (Tom Hanks) even-keeled assistant, wholeheartedly deserves a spot here. Admittedly, if we’re talking well-developed characters, Kevin is low on the list. He’s only around so that Tom Hanks has someone to talk to. But still, I like to imagine that after a long day of managing Joe’s fluctuating emotions and yelling about piazzas on treadmills, Kevin goes home, pours two fingers of whiskey and says to himself, “I am not getting paid enough for this shit.” Kevin deserves the best. He deserves the best because he is the perfect grounded antidote to Joe Fox, especially in his most manic moments. Take, for instance the big crux of the movie, when Joe goes to finally meet the woman he’s fallen madly in love with over email, only to discover she’s Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan), his book-store rival and all around pain in his ass. It’s Kevin who spots Kathleen first, and as his boss frets about what his soul mate might look like, there is such a deft balance between delicately revealing Kathleen’s identity while also taking glee in the entire situation. Kevin plays it cool — he only slow walks on the treadmill — but you know deep down, he is very into these rom-com shenanigans.

12. Zoe (Frances McDormand), Something’s Gotta Give
A tricky entry on this list because McDormand’s matter-of-fact Women’s Studies professor and sister to our heroine Erica Barry (Diane Keaton) is not in this movie nearly as much as she ought to be, but still, she steals the scene any time she pops up. There’s also an argument to be made for Erica’s daughter Marin (Amanda Peet) serving as Something’s Gotta Give’s sidekick, since she is the one who pushes Erica toward playboy Harry (Jack Nicholson), but she’s much less entertaining and still has a lot to learn from her mother. Since the greatest travesty of this movie is that Erica doesn’t end up with dreamy doctor Julian (Keanu Reeves), and Zoe is squarely #TeamDoc, she is easily the better half of Erica’s support team. She wins lots of points for pointing out the injustice of her gorgeous, accomplished sister being relegated to spinsterhood, while a 60-plus bachelor like Harry is celebrated. She earns double marks for allowing us mere mortals to watch her dance to “Let’s Get It On.” But what really makes her an admirable rom-com sidekick is that she’s there for Erica during her heartbreak over Harry and helps ease her sister’s pain by reintroducing Dr. Keanu to the mix. Zoe claims the “gorgeous, wholesome doctor” isn’t her type, but after Erica chooses Harry over that dreamboat, my greatest wish is that Zoe and Julian find happiness together. Ah, the perfect fairy-tale ending.

11. Michelle (Kathryn Hahn), How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
Michelle is the hottest of messes. At the start of this film about a writer (Kate Hudson) trying to get an ad exec (Matthew McConaughey) to break up with her in just ten days for her next story (and he’s trying to get her to fall in love with him for a bet — ah, love!), Michelle is so upset after being dumped by her boyfriend of one week, that she can barely function as a human being. This is the exact opposite of what you want in your rom-com sidekick. The sidekick should be bringing you fancy clothes and beauty products and shoving ice cream and booze down your gullet — you are the one on a journey to find love! However, it is because Michelle is so hopeless that this entire thing gets started — Andie (Hudson) gets the idea for her story from her sad, sad friend who can’t seem to keep a man. More important: She keeps her on that journey. When Michelle pretends to be a couples’ therapist (honestly, the best thing in this movie next to Kate Hudson’s yellow dress and being blessed with the phrase “Frost Yourself”), she’s the one who forces Andie to meet Ben’s family on Staten Island, which of course, turns out to be the weekend that Andie and Ben really fall in love. Michelle may be a hot mess in her own, thinly plotted, servicing-the-main-plot life, but she knows what she’s doing with Andie.

10. Marie (Carrie Fisher), When Harry Met Sally
Although her husband Jess (Bruno Kirby) makes an excellent sounding board for Harry (Billy Crystal), there’s just something about Carrie Fisher’s Marie that sets her above and beyond your typical rom-com friend. Maybe it’s the Rolodex of men she brings to lunch to get Sally (Meg Ryan) back out there after a break up. Or maybe it’s the moment in the bookstore when Sally informs her she knows Harry and hates him, and Marie astutely informs her that falling for someone you hate happens all the time in the movies. When we first meet her, she has her own baggage — no, Marie, he’s never going to leave her — and eventually grows into an inspiration for Sally once Marie and Jess fall for each other and tie the knot. Marie changes enough throughout the movie that when Sally and Harry finally sleep together, it’s Marie who Sally calls in the wee hours of the morning to stress over what it means and how it will affect the friendship. Marie is a kind enough friend to ride the roller coaster of emotions that is that phone call — from “oh that’s great!” when she hears the two soul mates finally wised up to what was in front of them, to “don’t worry, it’ll be fine” when she hears Sally claim it was a mistake. But she’s also the type of friend who, when you tell her you’ve been dumped, will tell you a story about someone she knows who was dumped and died six months later.

9. Patti (Sandra Oh), Under the Tuscan Sun
Have you ever met a film character who knows her place more than Patti in Under the Tuscan Sun? Part way through the movie, pregnant Patti, who has just been left by her wife (fun fact for you Grey’s Anatomy fans: her wife, WHO IS A DOCTOR, is played by Kate Walsh), arrives in Tuscany to seek solace in the arms of her BFF Frances (Diane Lane), a divorced writer who impetuously buys an Italian villa in hopes of finding herself. Patti is, of course, the one who told her sad friend to stop being an empty shell and take the free ticket to Tuscany she was offering. She is also the one who knows Frances is going to meet a man and fall in love in Italy. Basically, Patti is very wise throughout the film. So it is no surprise that when she arrives in Tuscany — dealing with, as you can imagine, an awful lot — and sees Frances flaking on her Italian boy toy in order to spend time with her friend, she refuses to be the one to screw up Frances’s love life. Other rom-com sidekicks should take note, that’s how you play the part of supportive, encouraging best friend. Sorry supporting characters, but you need to wait your turn. If you’re lucky, you’ll get your happy ending in some sort of finale montage or post-credits scene. A supporting character can dream, right?

8. Becky (Rosie O’Donnell), Sleepless in Seattle
“You don’t want to be in love. You want to be in love in a movie!” Baltimore Sun editor Becky is not only telling her pal Annie Reed (Meg Ryan), who has fallen for Seattle architect and widower Sam Baldwin (Tom Hanks) after hearing him talk about his grief on the radio, to get herself together, but the audience, too. Becky’s right — true love isn’t always as magical as Sleepless would have you believe. Becky is nowhere near the funniest sidekick on this list (although her monologue about sleeping with the tree man is a classic), but she is quite functional. Yes, she tempers Annie with some words of wisdom like the line above and tales from her marriage woes, but she is also the biggest instigator in Annie’s mission to track down Sam. She “assigns” her the story about the radio show so that Annie can go to Seattle without setting off any red flags and she’s the one who secretly sends a draft of Annie’s letter to Sam and Jonah (Ross Malinger), which ultimately leads to both Jonah and Sam finding themselves on the top of the Empire State Building on Valentine’s Day. So really, without Becky, we wouldn’t have Tom Hanks reaching out his hand and saying, “Shall we?” which would be a crime against humanity.

7. Spike (Rhys Ifans), Notting Hill
He’s just a roommate, standing in front of a roommate, asking him if he thinks his “Fancy a Fuck?” T-shirt is appropriate for a date. Spike is in no way the most helpful rom-com sidekick: Does he inadvertently alert the paparazzi that superstar actress Anna Scott (Julia Roberts) is staying with his flatmate William Thacker (Hugh Grant), thus causing extreme pain and giant obstacles on their road to true love? Well, yes. But he doesn’t mean to do it! He is also, at times, creepy and disgusting: Waking William up in the dead of night to tell him he’s going to try and sleep with Anna is, well, not great. But Spike is one of the most memorable supporting characters in rom-com history. William and Anna might be upset they were caught by the paps in their sleepwear, but ol’ Spikey gives the photogs a show neither they nor us will ever forget (#ChicksDigGray). And although Spike may be that friend who ruins everything but you just can’t quit, he redeems himself in the end. Out of everyone in Will’s group of friends (all excellent, really), it is only Spike who speaks the truth when Will tells them that he turned down Anna’s “asking him to love her” gesture — he appropriately informs his roommate that he’s a “daft prick.” Furthermore, on the group’s race to track down Anna so Will can profess his love, it is Spike who jumps out of the car and holds up traffic in order to let Will’s car pass through. The man can really rock a scuba outfit in the middle of the day, and his heart is typically in the right place.

6. Delilah Abraham (Whoopi Goldberg), How Stella Got Her Groove Back
It’s hard to think of anything but how hot Angela Bassett and Taye Diggs are together when thinking about the May-December romance How Stella Got Her Groove Back, but Whoopi Goldberg’s Delilah Abraham, the “life’s short, live a little” best friend to the uptight protagonist, sure tries to steal the spotlight. As a sidekick, Dee does have an advantage: Since she’s secretly dying of cancer, all of her big “just go for it” speeches have deeper meaning. She’s the one who forces workaholic Stella (Bassett) to take time off to relax in Jamaica. And she’s the one who encourages her lonely friend to forget about being self-conscious and strike up a romance with 20-year-old Winston (Diggs). Okay, so actually she tells Stella to “fuck him,” which isn’t the most eloquent of sidekick speeches, but it gets the job done. It is also proof that although Dee suffers a tragic end (still tearing up when you hear “Row, Row, Row Your Boat?” Cool, me too.), she’s funny as hell while we have her. Don’t believe me? Go watch the scene when Stella and Dee exercise on the beach. It’s cool, we’ll wait.

5. Freddie Bauer (John Candy), Splash
There is no greater racquetball scene in pop culture (I’m looking at you, The Americans) than Allen (Tom Hanks) playing a game against his very sweaty, cigarette-smoking brother Freddie in seminal 1980s mermaid–human love story Splash. That scene alone (“How long we been playing?” “About five minutes.”) earns Freddie, though he may be a complete dog, a spot in the rom-com sidekick hall of fame. But comedy alone (not even paired with an excellent scarf game) will not push you into the top five — there’s more to Freddie than just laughs. He’s not particularly good at anything — his greatest achievement to date is getting a letter published in Penthouse magazine — but man, does he love his brother. John Candy is so funny in this role that when it finally comes time for Freddie to step up and deliver the patented “get your head out of your ass and go after love” sidekick speech, the sincerity catches you off guard and makes it all the more powerful. So powerful, in fact, that it moves Allen to break into a secret government lab (with the help of Freddie and his R-rated knowledge of the Swedish language, of course) and free his fish soul mate. The ’80s were weird, guys.

4. Arthur Abbott (Eli Wallach), The Holiday
To all the people who watched The Holiday and then immediately went online to look at home-swapping opportunities in hopes of meeting a fiesty elderly person to give them sage relationship advice — this one’s for you. When Iris Simpkin (Kate Winslet) lands in Los Angeles as part of a two-week house-swapping vacation with Amanda Woods (Cameron Diaz), to get away from her toxic relationship in London, she finds what she’s needed all along: the magic of the Santa Ana winds, Jack Black, and most importantly, an unlikely friendship with her neighbor and screenwriter from Hollywood’s Golden Age, Arthur Abbott (Amanda finds what she needs in England, too: Jude Law in Glasses). There are two love stories in this winter rom-com, but Arthur’s own story arc about overcoming self-consciousness to attend a WGA ceremony honoring his work, is undoubtedly the most compelling thing about this movie — which is saying a lot because again, Jude Law in Glasses. Even aside from his own excellent story line, Arthur also serves as the consummate rom-com sidekick. Within just a few hours of meeting her, he sums up Iris’s problem: There are leading ladies and there are best friends and she’s been living her life like the best friend. Iris calls him “brutal but brilliant,” which is really what all the best rom-com sidekicks should aspire to be. Who knew that the ultimate “get a grip” friend would be an octogenarian?

3. Cyn (Joan Cusack), Working Girl
There are so many things to love about Working Girl: Tess (Melanie Griffith) fighting to be taken seriously in the Wall Street world and coming out on top. Sigourney Weaver’s deviously two-faced Katharine Parker being put in her place. The hair. The Harrison Ford. Getting Carly Simon’s “Let the River Run” stuck in your head. But the truly unforgettable element of this ’80s rom-com is Joan Cusack’s turn as Tess’s best friend from Staten Island, Cyn. I mean, her sky-high hair, ridiculous ’80s eye shadow, and that accent, will stay with you long after the movie’s over. But more than comic relief — please see Cyn pretending to be Tess’s secretary to keep her friend’s ruse at work up and then get me a T-shirt that says “Coffee? Tea? Me?” on it, thanks — Cyn is a fully realized character even though she only appears in a few scenes. She doesn’t completely understand Tess’s desire to become more than a secretary from Staten Island, but that doesn’t stop her from assisting her friend with a more “serious” makeover, doling out light sedatives, and being an accomplice to Tess borrowing one of Katharine’s expensive dresses. Cyn may question why Tess would go to such lengths and put her livelihood at risk, but it is extremely clear all of Cyn’s doubts are based in love. She doesn’t want to see Tess get hurt. Out of everyone on this list, it is most clear that Cyn truly, unconditionally loves her friend. But seriously, how does that multicolored eye shadow work?

2. Sandy Lyle (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Along Came Polly
It’s unfortunate that Philip Seymour Hoffman’s hilarious turn as washed-up child actor Sandy Lyle is tied to a wholly forgettable movie about risk-averse Reuben (Ben Stiller) falling for free spirit Polly (Jennifer Aniston). This performance deserves better. Both I, as sidekick ranker, and Sandy freely admit that although he’ll always be there for his best bud, he is terrible at giving advice. If it were left to him, Rueben would still be married to his awful wife who cheated on him during their honeymoon. So advice isn’t Sandy’s rom-com specialty. But stealing the show is. As if they knew Sandy Lyle was a treasure to behold, he gets an entire story arc that has nothing to do with the main romance. Honestly, if you wanted to (you’ll want to), you could fast-forward through the main story line and just watch Sandy scenes, and you’ll get an enjoyable comedy about Sandy coming to grips with the fact that he has no career and needs to move forward. But let’s get real: The reason Sandy Lyle catapulted to the top of this ranking is because of the comedy.

Choosing the best Sandy moment in Along Came Polly is impossible. Is it the display of his terrible yet enthusiastic basketball “skills?” Is it the moment he decides he wants to play both Judas and Jesus in his community theater production of Jesus Christ Superstar? Or perhaps it’s the big boardroom speech in which Sandy fills in for Reuben at work and gives a rousing argument about a client that is full of both passion and nonsense? You guys, it is impossible to choose one Sandy Lyle moment because they are all magic. From the moment he makes his entrance at the wedding and slips on the ballroom floor, he steals the scene, the movie, and our hearts. Let it rain, Sandy. LET IT RAIN.

1. George (Rupert Everett), My Best Friend’s Wedding
Two things are very clear about the 1997 classic about a woman trying to break up her, well, her best friend’s wedding: Julianne (Julia Roberts) is a straight-up dick and her editor George (Rupert Everett) is a prince among men; he’s the best thing about this movie. Without George continually reminding Jules that her plan to steal her BFF Michael (Dermot Mulroney) away from his fiancée Kimmy (Cameron Diaz) is both devious and not going to end well for her, things would’ve gotten really out of hand. Take that in for a minute, because the climax of this movie involves Julia Roberts careening down the streets of Chicago in a stolen bread truck.

Perhaps it is unfair to compare George to other rom-com sidekicks, and not just because he has the otherworldly ability to make the phrase “breezing through the doors from the electroshock therapy room” sound downright swoony, but because in this movie, the sidekick gets to be the hero — more than once! Julianne is a very needy friend, and when her plan goes to shit and she calls George in a panic, he arrives in Chicago as backup. When Juls then changes her shit plan to include telling everyone that George is actually her fiancé, he isn’t happy about it, but he leans way into it (yes, yes, getting everyone in a seafood restaurant to sing “I Say a Little Prayer” is wonderful). And when it all comes crashing down on Julianne, despite George’s repeated, thoughtful warnings that it would, he still comes to his friend’s rescue. George showing up at the end of the wedding to dance with his broken-hearted friend is honestly one of the most romantic moments in rom-coms and it is a lovely showcase of platonic love. Who needs a soul mate when you have your friend? Rupert Everett took a role that easily could’ve turned into the “gay best friend” trope and turned it into something iconic. His George is at once comedic relief and the voice of reason throughout the movie. If there is a Rom-Com Sidekick Club out there — if there’s anything good in this world — the motto is without a doubt: “Maybe there won’t be marriage. Maybe there won’t be sex. But by God, there will be dancing.”

20 Great Rom-Com Sidekicks, Ranked