In "The Five-Year Engagement" (out now), Jason Segel goes from being a successful and put-together chef in San Francisco to a burly, dirty bunny suit-wearing woodsman in Ann Arbor, Mich. and back again. It's an arc that seems perfectly suited for these times. After all, since Richard Gere wooed Julia Roberts' hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold while wearing a bespoke suit in "Pretty Woman," the male leads in romantic comedies have become decidedly more schlubby.
To investigate this trend, HuffPost Entertainment decided to look at the 24 highest-grossing romantic comedies of all time, to see whether featuring an Average Joe (or perhaps worse; see: the dirty bunny suit) helps or hurts a film's box-office potential. (Spoiler: it's mostly split.)
Check out the evolution of male rom-com leads below, with the HuffPost Entertainment-patented Schlub-o-Meter giving schlub ratings to all 24 leading men.
(Key: 100 = Most Schlubby; 0 = Least Schlubby; timeline designed by Chris Spurlock)
Male Rom-Com Leads In Order Of Box Office (Schlub Rating in Parenthesis)
1. "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" ($241.4 million): John Corbett (70)
2. "What Women Want" ($182.8 million): Mel Gibson (20)
3. "Hitch" ($179.4 million): Kevin James (75)
4. "Pretty Woman" ($178.4 million): Richard Gere (10)
5. "There's Something About Mary" ($176.4 million): Ben Stiller (50)
6. "The Proposal" ($169.9 million): Ryan Reynolds (15)
7. "Sex and the City" ($152.6 million): Chris Noth (5)
8. "Runaway Bride" ($152.2 million): Richard Gere (35)
9. "Knocked Up" ($148.7 million): Seth Rogen (100)
10. "As Good As It Gets" ($148.4 million): Jack Nicholson (35)
11. "Bringing Down the House" ($132.7 million): Steve Martin (15)
12. "Sweet Home Alabama" ($127.2 million): Patrick Dempsey (5)
13. "My Best Friend's Wedding" ($127.1 million): Dermot Mulroney (40)
14. "Sleepless in Seattle" ($126.6 million): Tom Hanks (45)
15. "Mr. Deeds" ($126.2 million): Adam Sandler (90)
16. "Something's Gotta Give" ($124.7 million): Jack Nicholson (20)
17. "50 First Dates" ($120.9 million): Adam Sandler (80)
18. "The Break-Up" ($118.7 million): Vince Vaughn (75)
19. "Notting HIll" ($116 million): Hugh Grant (55)
20. "You've Got Mail" ($115.8 million): Tom Hanks (10)
21. "It's Complicated" ($112.7 million): Alec Baldwin (15)
22. "Valentine's Day" ($110.4 million): Ashton Kutcher (65)
23. "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" ($109.4 million): Steve Carell (70)
24. "How To Lose a Guy In 10 Days" ($105.8 million): Matthew McConaughey (25)
PHOTOS: "Five-Year Engagement" Premiere
Emily Blunt, Jason Segel, and Bill Hader attend 'The Five Year Engagement' Premiere opening night party during the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival at the MOMA on April 18, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Tribeca Film Festival co-founder Jane Rosenthal and NBC Universal President-COO Ron Meyer attend 'The Five Year Engagement' Premiere opening night party during the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival at the MOMA on April 18, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Elizabeth Banks attends 'The Five Year Engagement' Premiere opening night party during the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival at the MOMA on April 18, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Leelee Sobieski, Tribeca Film Festival co-founder Jane Rosenthal and actress Camilla Belle attend 'The Five Year Engagement' Premiere opening night party during the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival at the MOMA on April 18, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Judd Apatow and Robert De Niro attend 'The Five Year Engagement' Premiere opening night party during the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival at the MOMA on April 18, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Emily Blunt attends 'The Five Year Engagement' Premiere opening night party during the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival at the MOMA on April 18, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Bill Hader attends the Magnum Ice Cream hosted opening night party for the Tribeca Film Festival 2012 premiere of 'The Five Year Engagement' at MOMA on April 18, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Magnum Ice Cream)
Emily Blunt and comedian Kevin Hart attend 'The Five Year Engagement' Premiere opening night party during the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival at the MOMA on April 18, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Snowboarder Shaun White (L) and Robert De Niro attend 'The Five Year Engagement' Premiere opening night party during the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival at the MOMA on April 18, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Judd Apatow, Elizabeth Banks and Bill Hader attend 'The Five Year Engagement' Premiere opening night party during the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival at the MOMA on April 18, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Actress Leelee Sobieski walks the red carpet as she arrives for the showing of 'The Five-Year Engagement' which opens the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival in New York, April 18, 2012. (Photo: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)
Jason Segel walks the red carpet as she arrives for the showing of 'The Five-Year Engagement' which opens the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival in New York, April 18, 2012. (Photo: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)
Kim Cattrall walks the red carpet as she arrives for the showing of 'The Five-Year Engagement' which opens the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival in New York, April 18, 2012. (Photo: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)
Olivia Wilde walks the red carpet as she arrives for the showing of 'The Five-Year Engagement' which opens the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival in New York, April 18, 2012. (Photo: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)
Actress Emily Blunt walks the red carpet as she arrives for the showing of 'The Five-Year Engagement' which opens the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival in New York, April 18, 2012. (Photo: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)
Brad Hall and actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus walk the red carpet at the 'The Five Year Engagement' Premiere during the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival at the Ziegfeld Theatre on April 18, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Alison Brie walks the red carpet at the 'The Five Year Engagement' Premiere during the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival at the Ziegfeld Theatre on April 18, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Actress Dakota Johnson walks the red carpet at the 'The Five Year Engagement' Premiere during the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival at the Ziegfeld Theatre on April 18, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Also on HuffPost:
The Five-Year Engagement (2012) - IMDb
The Five-Year Engagement Movie | Official Site for the The Five ...
The Five-Year Engagement - Rotten Tomatoes
The Five-Year Engagement | Movie Reviews | Rolling Stone
Review: Segel and Blunt make Five Year Engagement both funny ...
The Five-Year Engagement - Movie Trailers - iTunes
Review: 'The Five-Year Engagement' is no different from other rom-coms
'Pirates! Band of Misfits,' 'Safe,' and 'The Five-Year Engagement': Review Revue
The Huffington Post | By Christopher Rosen | Posted: 04/27/12 03:52 PM ET | Updated: 04/27/12 03:55 PM ET