Couples celebrate Valentine’s Day in many different ways. For some the idea of dinner out followed by a stroll arm-in-arm seems the epitome of romance, while others may want to go out dancing or engage in a favorite hobby.
Valentine’s Day also can be a romantic endeavor if a couple chooses to spend time at one with each other watching a romantic movie. The following are a handful of love-inspired movies that can add a special something to Valentine’s Day festivities.
· The Notebook: Author Nicholas Sparks has a way of taking the everyday experiences in a person’s life and making them relatable and heartbreaking in a pluck-at-your-heartstrings sort of way. His novel “The Notebook” won the hearts of many and seemed a natural to be adapted to film. Starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, the movie illustrates how love can last through the years and even survive an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
· The Proposal: In order to remain in the country, a demanding New York-based book editor (Sandra Bullock) asks her brow-beaten assistant (Ryan Reynolds) to marry her. Their tumultuous relationship involves a trip to Alaska to meet his family.
· An Affair to Remember: Romantic melodramatic master Cary Grant falls in love with Deborah Kerr aboard a cruise ship while they are traveling with other people. They agree to meet at the top of the Empire State Building in six months if they have ended their relationships and are ready to commit to each other. Grant makes it to the rendezvous spot, but an injured Kerr never shows as Grant assumes she has rejected the proposal.
· Say Anything: In pursuit of a woman he believes is out of his social league, Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) creates hope for the underdog in us all. The movie inspired teens to raise their boom box radios over their heads and blast romantic tunes to illustrate their love.
· The Wedding Singer: This quirky movie about a wedding singer who falls for a banquet waitress highlights the importance of loving each other for what makes you unique.
· Once: Attraction between the main characters comes by way of creative musical collaboration. Music proves to be an aphrodisiac, making the film and the song “Falling Slowly” from its score so popular. This romantic tale helped take the film from the big screen to the Broadway stage.
· West Side Story: “West Side Story” is yet another homage to “Romeo and Juliet.” But the film made Shakespeare’s tragic love story relatable to audiences of the 1960s.
· My Best Friend’s Wedding: Julianne (Julia Roberts) is called on to be the “best man” for her friend’s (Dermot Mulroney) wedding. Only when the wedding planning is underway does Julianne realize she is in love with her friend and needs to get him to fall for her instead.
· Never Been Kissed: A reporter goes undercover at a high school to discover something controversial and ends up being the subject of her story when she falls in love with her English teacher.
· Harold and Maude: A man in his twenties and a much older woman begin a romantic relationship and challenge social norms along the way.
· Annie Hall: Winner of four Academy Awards, “Annie Hall” follows a comedian who is trying to maintain his relationship with a woman.
· Bridget Jones’ Diary: A modern adaptation of “Pride and Prejudice,” the movie tells the tale of a self-conscious woman who finds love in a man that seems to be her polar opposite.
· Ten Things I Hate About You: Filmmakers reinvented “The Taming of the Shrew” in this teen comedy starring Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger.
· Casablanca: No romantic movie list would be complete without this wartime drama. Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman are in top form in this movie of chance meetings.
· The Princess Bride: Girl meets boy, girl detests boy, girl truly loves boy, and then girl loses boy. This fairy tale shares the purity of true love and happily ever after.
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