15 Best Upcoming Chick Flicks and Romantic Comedies of 2013

Chick flicks are changing, so women have a lot more to look forward to in 2013 than sappy, soppy romantic comedies about gals who end up falling for the guys that they hate. But don’t worry — there’s at least one movie aimed at Jane Austen fans looking for their own Mr. Darcy. Beyond the rom-coms, there are movies about gals looking to get laid, female buddy comedies, a “zom-com,” and the next “Knocked Up.”

Sadly, there aren’t any male stripper movies like “Magic Mike” coming out in 2013, but there will be a few hotties to drool over in upcoming chick flicks like these:

“Wonderful Tonight”

We’ll start with this “Knocked Up” wannabe, which stars everyone’s favorite McDreamy doctor/modern-day Prince Charming. But while the ladies love Patrick Dempsey, will they like watching the 46-year-old get 27-year-old Amanda Seyfried pregnant? Producers are banking on it in “Wonderful Tonight,” the romantic tale of a wealthy bachelor who impregnates a “free-spirited” young woman during a one-night stand. The “arrogant” guy has to work hard to win the heart of his baby mama by proving that he can be a good dad, and this will likely involve the new father dealing with the three P’s: puke, pee, and poo. There’s no release date set for this one yet.

“The To Do List”

Aubrey Plaza is the second-best thing about “Parks & Recreation” (Ron Swanson and his legendary mustache are impossible to beat). The actress who does sardonic so well will get nostalgic for the ’90s in “The To Do List” by playing a skort-wearing young woman who makes a list of all of the “sextracurricular” activities that she wants to participate in before going to college. The raunchy movie comes out on Valentine’s Day, so it will make a great alternative to the lame, tame romantic comedies that are released at the same time. Just make sure your significant other gets his joke about Aubrey Plaza being on his to-do list out of the way long before you go see the movie together.

“The Spectacular Now”

And here’s another upcoming high school rom-com. “The Descendants” actress Shailene Woodley plays a misfit teen named Aimee who gets taken under the wing of a popular, party-loving senior (“Project X” star Miles Teller). He sees dating Aimee as a social experiment, but soon realizes that he could be having a negative effect on her life. So it sounds a little like “She’s All That,” but it just has to be better — the screenplay was written by the team behind “(500) Days of Summer,” and it appeared on the 2009 Black List of the best unproduced Hollywood screenplays. The movie also stars Aubrey Plaza’s fellow geek goddess, her “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” costar Mary Elizabeth Winstead. The movie will be competing at Sundance.

“Austenland”

This is another Sundance competitor that will likely develop a large fan following — it was produced by “Twilight” author Stephenie Meyer, after all. But luckily, the heroine here doesn’t fall in love with a sparkly, supernatural control-freak. Instead, we have a 30-year-old woman named Jane (Keri Russell) who is so obsessed with Jane Austen that the only man she wants is the perfection that is “Pride and Prejudice” character Mr. Darcy (specifically, Colin Firth’s version of the character from the BBC adaptation of the book). When Jane takes a trip to Pembrook Park, a British resort where residents live like characters from Austen novels, she’s hoping to put her Darcy obsession behind her. But just guess what happens. Since the movie is based on the book of the same name, it already has a built-in fan following, and of course, “Twilight” fans will turn out to see it if Stephenie Meyer encourages them to.

“A Case of You”

MTV’s “Catfish: The TV Show” seems to be pretty popular, so maybe now is the perfect time for a rom-com about finding love on the Internet. Here, Justin Long wins the heart of a girl he meets on the Internet (Evan Rachel Wood) by lying to her. He then has to try to live up to his lies once she meets him in person and falls for him. The premise doesn’t sound too promising, but with more and more people looking for love on the Web, this one could become a big hit. The supporting cast includes Sienna Miller, Peter Dinklage, Busy Philipps, Brendan Fraser, and Rosie O’Donnell.

“Warm Bodies”

This is certainly one of the most intriguing upcoming romantic comedies of 2013. Instead of a brooding, super-smart, and super-strong vampire, here we have a shambling zombie who can barely talk as the female lead’s love interest. The lovely Teresa Palmer plays the woman who warms the cold, dead heart of Nicholas Hoult’s surprisingly cute zombie character. Zombies are all the rage these days, thanks to “The Walking Dead,” so this “zom-com” should do very well at the box office. It hits theaters on February 1.

“Admission”

Sad that the days of “30 Rock” are numbered? Never fear — Tina Fey is working on her movie career! And guess what? This movie is about a man and a woman with completely different personalities falling in love with each other. Tina plays a straight-laced Princeton University admissions officer who gets a call from a former free-wheeling college classmate (Paul Rudd) who tells her that he’s teaching a gifted student (Nat Wolff) who might be the son she gave up for adoption in college. Obviously, spending time with her maybe-offspring and cute former classmate makes the anal admissions officer change her life drastically — she does crazy things like showering in a barn and going to work with messy hair. You can see Liz Lemon become a mom on March 8.

“Adult World”

And here’s yet another of the many 2013 chick flicks aimed at a younger crowd. Since “50 Shades of Grey” is all the rage these days, an adult book store seems like the perfect setting for a movie. The coming-of-age comedy is about a young graduate (Emma Roberts) who believes that she’s destined to become the next great poet. She ends up working at an adult book store, instead, but refuses to give up on her dream. John Cusack plays a poet who eventually becomes her mentor, while “American Horror Story” hottie Evan Peters plays the manager of the adult book store. The cast also includes “Raising Hope” stars Shannon Woodward and Cloris Leachman.

“The Heat”

Will this be the best 2013 movie for gal pals? The buddy comedy is directed by the mastermind behind “Bridesmaids,” and it stars Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy as a mismatched pair of law officers working to bring down a drug lord (but it’s not “Miss Congeniality 3”). It’s possible that the filmmakers here didn’t work on bringing the funny enough, because they’re relying on the big names involved (it kind of looks that way based on the trailer), but hopefully it will live up to all the hype it will likely get before it hits theaters on April 5.

“The Big Wedding”

Of course, you won’t be able to make it through 2013 without being bombarded with trailers about a wedding movie! But don’t worry — this one probably won’t make you feel too depressed about your Pinterest board loaded with images of your dream wedding. Here, Robert De Niro and Diane Keaton play a divorced couple pretending to still be married at their kid’s wedding. The premise seems vaguely familiar, but it’s hard to be too skeptical with a cast that also includes Amanda Seyfried, Susan Sarandon, Robin Williams, Topher Grace, and Katherine Heigl. The film will hit theaters on October 26.

“I Give It a Year”

There have been movies about young love, old love, and getting knocked up on this list, so it’s time for a film about newlyweds. In this British rom-com, a successful executive (“Bridesmaids” beauty Rose Byrne) and her struggling novelist hubby (Rafe Spall) try to prove their friends wrong by making their relationship work. It hits theaters on February 8 — just in time for Valentine’s Day — and the trailer looks promising with its naughty Justin Bieber joke and bad beaver joke. The couple com also stars Anna Faris, Minnie Driver, and Simon Baker.

“About Time”

Rachel McAdams falls in love with a time traveler yet again, but this time, the results are more comedic. The man behind beloved rom-com “Love Actually” directs this tale of a man who can visit the past (Domhnall Gleeson) who falls for McAdams’ character. So forget vampires and werewolves; it’s time for Marty McFly’s brethren to become the next fantastical characters for women to lust after. “About Time” hits theaters on May 10.

“Are We Officially Dating?”

In “American Pie,” a group of guys make a pact to lose their virginity, but here, three male friends vow to avoid sex. However, they all conveniently begin to fall in love right after they decide not to. Since the screenplay was the highest-rated comedy on the 2010 Black List and stars pretty face Zac Efron, it will probably do pretty well.

“Much Ado About Nothing”

The Avengers” director Joss Whedon wrote and directed this modern-day take on Shakespeare’s play, and it was filmed in just 12 days. One of 2013’s most intriguing movies will hit theaters on June 7 (Nathan Fillion even makes an appearance!).

“Don Jon’s Addiction”

The Dark Knight Rises” and “The Avengers” meet in Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s directorial debut. Scarlett Johansson plays one of the potential conquests of JGL’s womanizing character. He might start out as a bit of a jerk, but don’t worry, ladies; JGL tries to change his evil ways so that he can become that perfect guy from “(500) Days of Summer.” The Sundance-bound movie also stars red-hot redhead Julianne Moore, who probably teaches JGL a thing or two about how to treat women right.

So which of these chick flicks and romantic comedies are you looking forward to seeing most?