Gorgeous couples, grand romantic gestures, gooey warm feelings – great romance movies give you all the feels and make you believe in true love. In these films, bickering enemies become lovers, opposites attract, and people do the impossible for love. It’s what all of us secretly yearn for, making them the perfect escapade into a rose-colored world bursting with magnetic chemistry, swoony soundtrack, and dramatic declarations. These 10 films perfectly capture all of that in two hours of features – must watch if you are in the mood for something lovey dovey!
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The Notebook (2004)
In a nursing home, an elderly man recounts a love story to a female fellow resident. This takes us to the story of Noah and Allie, who, as teenagers in the 1940s, fell madly in love with each other. However, class difference soon drives a wedge in their budding romance. Despite their best effort, Noah and Allie get separated.
Years later, the two reunite and realize how much they still love each other. Chained to the weight of their stark realities, Noah and Allie must decide if their love is strong enough to bridge all the odds to be together.
Based on Nicholas Sparks’ bestselling novel, this romance drama is brimming with red-hot chemistry shared by the equally hotheaded Noah and Allie (and their portrayers, Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, respectively – who dated after making the film). Theirs is the kind of fateful romance that dramatically transcends everything that gets in its way, served up in the most beautiful package.
Flipped (2010)
Based on the book by Wendelin van Draanen, this 1950s-set film tells the story of the adorable young love between two middle schoolers, Bryce and Juli. Juli has been in love with Bryce since he moved across the street when they were children. Bryce secretly resents Juli’s attention and tries everything to shake her off. But just as he’s about to succeed, Bryce belatedly realizes that he’s drawn to Juli’s one-of-a-kind personality.
Although it is about an innocent puppy love between two young teens, there is something so pure and winsome about Bryce and Juli’s story. Director Rob Reiner, no stranger to the genre, deftly turns the children’s book’s his-and-hers narrative into a dual storyline that complements one another. Featuring endearing performances by its two young leads and evocatively nostalgic cinematography, this film is – like Juli – an iridescent hidden gem of a romance.
Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001)
Bridget Jones is a 32-year-old single woman with a knack for attracting the wrong kind of men. After a particularly nasty encounter with grouchy Mark Darcy at Christmas, Bridget resolves to turn her love life around. She gets involved with her sexy boss, Daniel Cleaver, who also shares a bad history with Mark. Through a variety of hijinks, Bridget gets to know the two men more intimately and discovers that first impressions may not always be accurate.
Adapted from Helen Fielding’s bestselling novel, the film portrays the anxieties and tribulations of a thirtysomething single woman in the early 2000s with humorous panache. Of course, not everyone gets to meet charmers who look like Hugh Grant and Colin Firth around – but through this film, you can live that dream! A modern adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the film is a classic tale of enemies-to-lovers, executed to perfection for the 21st century.
Featuring iconic performances by Grant, Firth, and the incredible Renee Zellweger – and a brilliant screenplay by British romance connoisseur Richard Curtis – this one hits all the right spots when it comes to romcom.
A Walk to Remember (2002)
In yet another Nicholas Sparks classic, high school delinquent Landon Carter gets sentenced to do community service with plain, bookish classmate Jamie Sullivan. As they spend time together, the two polar opposites gradually fall in love with each other. But one big secret threatens to derail their budding romance.
One might call the film saccharine, but sometimes you want to get sugar high on a hopelessly romantic star-crossed love story. Pop star Mandy Moore dresses down as an outcast high schooler whose quiet strength charms the resident bad boy, played by Shane West in his prime. The good girl and bad boy premise is indeed formulaic. Still, it works thanks to the pretty leads’ sweet chemistry, its emotionally stirring plot, and the gloriously sappy soundtrack.
Pretty Woman (1990)
Vivian, a young hooker roaming the streets of Los Angeles, gets picked up by Edward, a businessman looking to get back to the ritzier side of town. Next thing she knows, he enlists her to be her companion for a week. What begins as a transactional relation gradually turns into something tangible – but with their wildly opposing status, a happily ever after might be out of reach.
The romcom catapulted Julia Roberts to superstardom, and for good reason: she’s simply luminous in the role of a naive prostitute with a heart of gold – warm, witty, and exceedingly endearing. Despite their age difference, Roberts and Richard Gere’s chemistry smolders. A classic Cinderella story with a side of gritty urban touch, the plot is as improbable as it gets – but hey, that’s why we love fairytales.
La La Land (2016)
Two struggling artists – he a jazz musician, she a budding actress – meet and fall in love in Hollywood. Their cinematic romance soon encounters turbulent times as they strive to succeed in the harsh world of show business. Paying homage to classic Hollywood romance and musicals, the film is a love letter to the city and also the dreamers who flock there every year.
Starring Oscar-calibre performances by Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, the Damien Chazelle-directed film takes you through the rise and fall of a love story adorned with some of the most enchanting musical numbers in modern times.
When Harry Met Sally (1989)
In this Rob Reiner romcom classic, two longtime friends living in New York City navigate the age-old question: can a man and a woman be “just friends”?
While the premise is simple, the movie is buoyed by a whip-smart script by Nora Ephron that deftly handles the emotional complexity of friendship, dating, and relationships. Also, combining Meg Ryan’s girl-next-door charm with Billy Crystal’s acerbic wit was a stroke of genius that elevated the film.
Emma (2020)
This isn’t the first Jane Austen-related project on this list, and it won’t be the last! What can you say: she’s the grandmistress of romance, bar none.
Set in the Regency era, Emma is a young, wealthy lady who, although kind, tends to be vain. Emma’s pompous demeanor often leads to constant arguments with George Knightley, a neighbor with whom she grew up. Though vowing not to care about marriage, Emma is infatuated by Frank Churchill, an elusive bachelor she regards highly. As Emma meddles with the lives of those around her, she is forced to confront her misguided beliefs – with Knightley at the forefront.
Full of witty banter, meticulously shot, and peppered with just the right amount of humor, this Jane Austen adaptation brings the timeless novel to life with a kind of vibrancy that modernizes it without sacrificing the source material. It’s as visually stunning as it is romantic, just as it should be.
The Bodyguard (1992)
After receiving a murder threat, superstar Rachel Marron hires ex-Secret Service agent Frank Farmer to be her bodyguard. Their relationship starts contemptuously, but as they spend more time together and after several heroic acts, the two begin to fall in love.
Bodyguard romance always has that spicy blend of danger and passion, and this film embodies that perfectly. Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, as the star and her bodyguard, respectively, share such a palpable chemistry whenever they share the screen. And the soundtrack remains endlessly infectious, thanks to Houston’s powerhouse renditions.
Pride & Prejudice (2005)
Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bennet comes from a modest family of five girls with a mother obsessed with finding them advantageous marriages. One day, two eligible bachelors come to town. One is immediately smitten with Lizzie’s sister Jane, but the other one – Mr Darcy – greatly offends Lizzie with his aloof demeanor. Thus began their rocky courtship filled with misunderstandings, mixed messages, and a devious interloper.
P&P is without a doubt the ultimate blueprint of enemies-to-lovers romance. The 2005 adaptation by Joe Wright elevates it to high art thanks to the impeccable ambience and cinematography. At the center of it all, Keira Knightley and Matthew McFadyen lit up the screen with their tender but explosive chemistry.
