Get ready for a cozy night with our handpicked selection of the best romantic movies ever! Whether you’re in the mood for a classic love story or a feel-good rom-com, I’ll try to give you some insights into the film without spoiling it. Have fun!
Table of Contents
The Joy of Romantic Movies
- Movie Night Essentials: Picture this – a piping hot pizza, a bottle of wine, and your closest friends gathered around for a movie marathon filled with love and laughter. That’s what we call a perfect evening!
- Challenges in Finding Good Romantic Movies: We’ve noticed the struggle to find well-made and well-written romantic movies amid a sea of clichés and predictable plots.
- While we appreciate an excellent tearjerker now and then, not every movie night must end in a sob-fest.
Our Top Picks: The Cream of the Crop
While it’s tough to rank these five gems, we couldn’t resist highlighting their timeless appeal:
- About Time: A young man discovers he can time travel and uses it to find love, but soon learns that altering the past can have unexpected consequences.
- Love Actually: Interweaving stories of love and heartbreak unfold during the holiday season in London, showcasing the various forms love can take.
- Crazy Rich Asians: When an American woman accompanies her boyfriend to Singapore for a wedding, she discovers his wealthy and eccentric family, leading to cultural clashes and romantic revelations.
- Age of Adaline: A woman mysteriously stops aging after a near-fatal accident, leading her to live a solitary life until she meets a man who challenges her perspective on love and mortality.
- When Harry Met Sally: Over several years, two friends navigate the complexities of their relationship and whether men and women can be friends.
Tried and True Classics: Timeless Romance
For a dose of classic romance, these movies are sure to hit the spot:
- Pretty Woman: A businessman hires a prostitute to accompany him to social events, but their relationship evolves deeper.
- Bridget Jones’s Diary: A quirky woman documents her personal and romantic experiences in her diary as she navigates life and love.
- Sweet Home Alabama: A New York fashion designer must confront her past and decide between her sophisticated city life and her Southern roots.
- You’ve Got Mail: Two people who dislike each other in real life unknowingly fall in love through anonymous email exchanges.
- Just Go With It: A plastic surgeon enlists his assistant to pose as his ex-wife to cover up a lie, but complications arise when they fall for each other.
- The Holiday: Two women swap homes for the holidays and find unexpected romance in their new surroundings.
- Ghost: After a man is murdered, his spirit remains on Earth to protect his girlfriend from danger.
- The Big Sick: A Pakistani-American man and his girlfriend’s relationship is tested when she falls into a coma.
- The Proposal: A high-powered book editor coerces her assistant into marrying her to avoid deportation, but they fall in love.
- While You Were Sleeping: A woman saves a man’s life and is mistaken for his fiancée while he is in a coma, leading to romantic complications.
- A Walk to Remember: A high school bad boy falls in love with a devout Christian girl who changes his life.
- A Star is Born: A seasoned musician falls in love with a young singer, but their relationship faces challenges as her career takes off.
- Titanic: A young couple falls in love aboard the ill-fated RMS Titanic.
- P.S. I Love You: A widow receives letters from her late husband, guiding her through grief and encouraging her to move on.
- Crazy Stupid Love: A middle-aged man’s life is turned upside down when he learns his wife wants a divorce, leading him to seek guidance from a smooth-talking bachelor.
- Hitch: A professional “date doctor” coaches a hapless man on how to win the heart of the woman of his dreams.
- Dirty Dancing: A young woman falls in love with a dance instructor while vacationing with her family in the Catskills.
- Lake House: Two people communicate across time through a magical mailbox, leading to a unique and enduring romance.
- 50 First Dates: A man falls in love with a woman who suffers from short-term memory loss, forcing him to woo her daily.
- How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days: A journalist bets she can make a man fall in love with her and then drive him away in ten days, but complications arise when she falls for him.
- Wedding Planner: A wedding planner falls in love with the groom-to-be she is hired to assist, leading to romantic complications.
- Serendipity: Two people meet by chance and instantly connect, but fate keeps pulling them apart.
- Overboard: A wealthy woman suffering from amnesia is convinced by a carpenter that she is his wife, leading to an unexpected romance.
- Beauty and the Beast: A young woman falls in love with a cursed prince transformed into a beast, learning to see beyond his exterior.
- Sleepless in Seattle: A widower’s son calls a radio talk show to find a new wife for his father, leading to romantic complications.
- Roxanne is a modern adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac. In it, a big-nosed firefighter helps a handsome but dull man woo the woman they both love.
- To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (Only on Netflix): A high school girl’s secret love letters are mysteriously sent out to her crushes, leading to romantic entanglements.
Classic Gems: Timeless Beauties
For those who appreciate the classics, these five films are a must-watch:
- Sense and Sensibility: Jane Austen’s classic tale of love and societal expectations.
- Pride and Prejudice (With Colin Firth): Another Austen classic featuring the iconic Mr. Darcy.
- Sabrina (The Original): A chauffeur’s daughter falls in love with the wealthy son of her father’s employer.
- Casablanca: A timeless romance set against the backdrop of World War II.
- Breakfast at Tiffany’s: A young woman in New York City is torn between a wealthy suitor and a struggling writer.
Listener Favorites: Recommended Gems
While we haven’t seen them ourselves, these movies came highly recommended by our friends and listeners:
- Bed of Roses: A woman falls in love with a mysterious florist who sends her roses.
- Notting Hill: A British bookseller falls in love with a famous American actress.
- Wicker Park: A man becomes obsessed with finding a woman he met briefly years ago, leading to a web of secrets and deception.
Honorable Mentions: Noteworthy Picks
Although they didn’t make our top favorites, these movies are still worth a watch:
- 10 Things I Hate About You: A modern retelling of Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew” set in a high school.
- The Vow: A newlywed couple’s marriage is tested when the wife loses her memory in a car accident.
- The Wedding Date: A single woman hires a male escort to accompany her to her sister’s wedding.
Movies to Avoid: Our Controversial Picks
We know these choices might stir up some debate, but here are five romantic movies that didn’t quite hit the mark for us:
- The Notebook: An elderly man recounts a young couple’s love story to a fellow nursing home resident.
- Something Borrowed: A woman sleeps with her best friend’s fiancé, leading to romantic complications.
- My Best Friend’s Wedding: A woman tries to sabotage her best friend’s wedding after realizing she’s in love with him.
- Hope Floats: A woman returns to her hometown after a divorce and finds unexpected love.
- Message in a Bottle: A woman discovers a love letter in a bottle washed ashore and sets out to find its author.
Do you agree with our selections? What are your favorite romantic movies? Let us know, and happy movie-watching!
