The Best Meg Ryan Movies for Your Next Cozy Night In
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After an eight-year break, Meg Ryan is back on the big screen with What Happens Later, a new film that she not only stars in (alongside the perpetually adorbs David Duchovny) but also directed and co-wrote. In honor of the long-awaited return of the rom-com legend, we've rounded up a dozen of the best Meg Ryan movies. From her swooniest, sweetest romantic films to a selection of serious flicks that showcased America's Sweetheart's surprising dramatic chops—and even an animated feature!—these are 12 of her most notable celluloid outings.
Of course with nearly 40 film roles to Meg's credit, beginning with 1981's Rich and Famous, we had a lot of content from which to choose. Some were absolute no-brainers, like the beloved classic When Harry Met Sally (with its fall vibe, a perfect watch while you get cozy with a cup of tea and a soft throw) and the monster hit Top Gun, one of her earlier efforts. But you'll also find other, less well-known winners on our list, including the feature that fatefully introduced Meg to Russell Crowe.
So get set to take a walk down memory lane with the woman who won our hearts more than 30 years ago—and still has 'em to this day. And then, after your mega Meg-a-thon, be sure to check out our rundown of another super-charming star's movies: 8 Biggest Box Office Hits Starring Sandra Bullock.
When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Topping list after list of the best romantic comedies of all time, this is the movie that sky-rocketed Meg into the stratosphere. She's a spritely delight as Sally Albright, a sunny, sensitive and somewhat uptight New Yorker who keeps crossing paths with Billy Crystal's hilarious Harry. Will their friendship ever develop into anything more? The answer's obvi, but the film's wit and warmth—and the crackerjack chemistry of the two leads—make it all downright magical. Meg earned a Golden Globe nomination for When Harry Met Sally, a feat she would repeat for each of the next two films on our list.
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Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
Meg's highest-grossing movie after Top Gun, and her second with Tom Hanks (following 1990's Joe Versus the Volcano), Sleepless in Seattle concerns a Baltimore reporter who falls for a widowed Seattleite after hearing him on a radio call-in show. Filled to the brim with heart and humor, this is a deeply romantic film that always feels honest thanks in part to Meg's sincere, slightly wide-eyed performance. Writer/director Nora Ephron, who also penned the Academy Award-nominated When Harry Met Sally screenplay, likewise snagged a nod for this one.
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You've Got Mail (1998)
Our girl returned with Tom Hanks and Nora Ephron for the third of her trio of iconic 90's rom-coms, in which Meg plays a bookstore owner who goes gaga for a fella over email, not knowing he's her bitter business rival. She's as irresistible as always but never cutesy, and such a delight to watch with Hanks (who out-Jimmy-Stewarts even Jimmy Stewart here) that we wish they'd teamed up for another pair (or more!) of these guaranteed feel-good mood boosters. Meg? Tom? What say you?
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City of Angels (1998)
Let's be honest. Nic Cage has gotten a little...oooky in his later years. But there's no denying that in City of Angels he had us wrapped around his little finger as a divine being who falls hard (literally and figuratively) for Meg's radiant heart surgeon. A boffo box office success, this tear-jerker has a lot going for it in addition to the wonderful lead performances, including gorgeous cinematography, a scene-stealing turn by Dennis Franz and a killer soundtrack featuring U2, Alanis Morissette and The Goo Goo Dolls' massive hit, "Iris," one of the 90s' very best power ballads. Have tissues at the ready.
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Courage Under Fire (1996)
Meg got serious for this well-received war mystery with a big-name cast that also includes the always-brill Denzel Washington and a very young (and very good) Matt Damon. She acquits herself admirably, though she's cast against type, as Karen Waldren, a tough-as-nails Gulf War Army captain killed in battle and up for a Medal of Honor. Washington plays the troubled Army lieutenant colonel tasked with determining her suitability for the tribute, an investigation that reveals all may be not as it seems.
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Anastasia (1997)
This animated tale uses a surprisingly grim historical event as a jumping off point: the 1918 execution of Russia's royal Romanov family by revolutionaries. Meg gives voice to the long-lost Anastasia—once rumored in real life to have survived the murders—as she seeks to take her rightful place on the throne. Despite coming from Fox, Anatasia follows Disney's winning formula for animated movies to a T, with plenty of musical numbers, action sequences and youthful romance, plus a spirited princess, amusing sidekicks and an evil baddie (Christopher Lloyd, playing the mad monk Rasputin) all adding to the fun.
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Top Gun (1986)
Is there anyone on Earth who hasn't seen Top Gun by this point? You know the drill—Tom Cruise plays Maverick, a rebellious Navy fighter pilot who has more trouble following orders than he does saving the day. Meg has a bitty, largely thankless role as the wife of Mav's doomed co-pilot, but she brings such energy and appeal to the proceedings that she manages to elevate the few scenes she's in. We just wish she'd snared at least a cameo in the sequel. (Or stolen the female lead in this one away from the lackluster Kelly McGillis.)
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Kate & Leopold (2001)
As light and airy (and yummy) as a slice of angel food cake, Kate & Leopold brings together Meg's practical, successful Big Apple businesswoman with Hugh Jackman's time-traveling British nobleman, and then sits back and lets the hijinks ensue. The fish-out-of-water jokes mostly hit, Meg's as loveable and lovely as ever and Hugh Jackman, one year after first strapping on Wolverine's claws, makes for a beguiling leading man. Hey, we'd probably give it all up for him, too. Sigh.
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When a Man Loves a Woman (1994)
Featuring another one of her more dramatic turns, When a Man Loves a Woman garnered Meg her first and only Screen Actors Guild nomination. She earned it and more for her deeply vulnerable, brutally honest portrayal of an alcoholic San Francisco school counselor fighting to get, and stay, sober. Andy Garcia plays her airline pilot husband who struggles to accept the changes to the family dynamic her hard-won sobriety brings (Weird tidbit: former U.S. Senator and SNL star Al Franken co-wrote the film's affecting, intelligent screenplay.)
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Proof of Life (2000)
Perhaps most remembered more as the movie that indirectly helped spell the end of Meg's decade-plus reign as everyone's favorite girl-next-door, Proof of Life is actually a well-made nail-biter that adeptly mixes action, suspense and a bit of romantic intrigue. Meg shines as an unhappily married woman whose husband has been kidnapped in South America. She brings in a mercenary (a smoking hot Russell Crowe) to get him back and it isn't long before not just bullets but sparks are flying. The latter did in real life, too; the pair were alleged to have fallen into a controversial love affair that broke up Meg's own troubled marriage to Dennis Quaid.
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French Kiss (1995)
Meg made this sugar-spun Gallic confection in her glory years between Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail, and if it never achieved the popularity of those two favorites, French Kiss is still an absolute pleasure. She's a spunky, smart, somewhat neurotic teacher chasing her former fiance (Timothy Hutton) across Paris and Cannes. Kevin Kline is a comedic wonder as the French con man with whom she gets entangled. The two play beautifully off each other, the direction keeps it all moving along with a deft touch and those jaw-dropping locations don't hurt, either.
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What Happens Later (2023)
Quirky and winsome, kind of like Meg herself, What Happens Later is a love letter to the 90s rom-coms that made its leading lady a superstar. Meg and David Duchovny are former sweeties who bump into each other at a regional airport and become stranded together when a snowstorm hits. She's a bit of a kooky free-sprit, he's a droll businessman, but we know that opposites attract, right? Overlaid with a dash of magical realism, Meg's latest film, which bears a touching dedication to Nora Ephron, feels as comfy and cozy as slipping into a favorite pair of jammies. See it with your whole squad or on a date night with your S.O.
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