Because it’s Valentine’s Day, you’ve come to the right destination if you’re seeking the greatest romantic movies to watch right now. Classics like Casablanca, chick flicks like 50 First Dates, and heart-wrenching tragedies like Portrait of a Lady on Fire are among our picks. There’s also Fifty Shades of Grey, which doesn’t fall into any of the above categories but is still a perfect sweet choice. Here’s where you’ll find something smelting your heart.
We’ve drawn up a list of contemporary gems and old classics, recent releases, and others we believe you’ll be able to find your cups of tea here to enjoy on Valentine’s Day this year. We also offer suggestions for Netflix (movies/shows), Amazon Prime Video (movies/shows), Hulu (movies/shows), Disney+ (movies/shows), HBO Max (movies/shows), Apple TV+, and Peacock if you want additional hand-picked choices based on your taste. Take a look!
The Sky is Everywhere
This isn’t the most typical Valentine’s Day film, but there’s a reason Apple TV+ debuted it the weekend before the big day. It’s a film as much about first grief as it is about first love, directed by Josephine Decker and inspired by Jandy Nelson’s self-titled novel. It is around 17-year-old Lennie (Grace Kaufman), a high school student whose elder sister dies suddenly. Lennie quickly falls in love with a new kid at school (Jacques Colimon), and she also develops complex feelings for her sister’s boyfriend, who keeps coming around the house. Decker’s beautiful vision elevates a sensitive subject.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a slow-burning love story that will both upset and enchant you. The French film, directed by Céline Sciamma, is set in the 18th century and follows the development of an affair between an artist and her subject, a young aristocratic woman ready to be married off. The connection between the protagonists, Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel, is a delight to witness in action, which is made all the more distressing by the knowledge that their relationship has an expiry date.
If Beale Street Could Talk
With this stunning James Baldwin adaption, Barry Jenkins follows up his coming-of-age drama Moonlight. It is around Tish (KiKi Layne), a young pregnant woman in Harlem in the 1970s, as she strives to clear her fiancé’s (Stephan James) identity after he is jailed for a crime he didn’t commit. It’s a delicate, emotional love tale with two outstanding protagonists and amazing supporting performances, particularly Regina King’s Oscar-winning portrayal as Tish’s mother.
Valentine’s Day
What best option to begin than with the film named after the holiday? It features Julia Roberts, Jennifer Garner, Bradley Cooper, Anne Hathaway, Kathy Bates, and Taylor Swift (! ), among others, in one of those big ensemble romantic comedies from the past when nothing actually occurs but all the love stories are somehow intertwined. They no longer create ’em like this.
10 Things I Hate About You
10 Things I Hate About You is adapted from Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew set at a high school. Julia Stiles portrays Kat, a sarcastic, bad-tempered character whose general poor attitude hinders her from dating, complicating matters for her younger sister, who isn’t permitted to date until Kat gets a lover. Because this is a rom-com, a perfect plan is made to persuade Patrick (Heath Ledger), the school’s resident bad boy, to fall for Kat so that everyone else may date in peace.
Titanic
Have you ever heard of it? I don’t think I need to introduce you to the Titanic. You’ve heard of Titanic, you’ve fallen in love with Titanic, and you’ve sobbed to Titanic. Wherever you are, I think Titanic will come for us all at some moment. If you want to end your Valentine’s Day with a hearty cry, this is the perfect movie for you.
Fifty Shades of Grey
Have you remembered when everyone was buzzing about Fifty Shades of Grey, a film about a college student who embarks on a BDSM-lite relationship with a wealthy man? It’s incredible to think that this film helped launch the careers of Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan, like the way that Twilight did for Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. If you want to make it a marathon, there are two more films in the series.
Pretty Woman
There’s a reason why Julia Roberts’ visage is inscribed on the Mount Rushmore of rom-com queens. Pretty Woman is essentially the cause behind this. Sure, she appeared in a few other classics, but only one is about a corporate raider (Richard Gere) who falls for the whore (Roberts) he pays to be his girlfriend for a week. It has it all: the classic shopping scene, the iconic necklace scene, and the legendary Roy Orbison song that will be with you for the rest of your life.
Pride & Prejudice
Matthew Macfadyen appeared in the greatest Jane Austen film adaption of all time before becoming TV’s saddest guy. Joe Wright directs this retelling of the classic romance, in which the stubborn Elizabeth Bennett (Keira Knightley) meets Mr. Darcy (Macfadyen), who bottles his deep emotional up hampering their blossoming relationship. You haven’t lived if you haven’t seen Tom Wambsgans flex his hand.
Matthew Macfadyen appeared in the greatest Jane Austen film adaption of all time before becoming TV’s saddest guy. Joe Wright directs this retelling of the classic romance, in which the stubborn Elizabeth Bennett (Keira Knightley) meets Mr. Darcy (Macfadyen), who bottles his deep emotional up hampering their blossoming relationship. You haven’t lived if you haven’t seen Tom Wambsgans flex his hand.
50 First Dates
Adam Sandler plays a veterinarian who meets and falls in love with an art teacher (Drew Barrymore), only to discover that she has a rare kind of amnesia that leads her to forget him the next day. I adore this movie because of its crazy idea and how well Sandler and Barrymore sell it.
