Let's face it, we've all been there: you're planning the perfect night in with a hankering for a movie that you'll both love. Alas, it seems a verdict can never be reached when it comes to actually picking exactly which movie to watch. In some cases, you spend so long choosing it's already time to wrap up the night or you simply lose the desire to carry on the dreaded search on various streaming sites - it happens to the best of us.
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The best Valentine's Day movies
But on the other hand, who doesn't love the idea of snuggling up to their boo (or their blankets) whilst enjoying some quality screen time? If there's one night the art of 'Netflix and chill' should be orchestrated just right, it'sValentine's day. Indeed, once the 'Netflix' part of the night is sorted, there's only more room left for the 'chill' part.
To help you along with the inevitable loss for choice, we've picked out some good old classics that scream 'romantic' without the overwhelming sop. Best part? No need to convince your beau into watching them because these bad boys truly sell themselves... Just kidding, these movies are totally soppy, but if there's one night that absolutely calls for a romance film, it's Valentine's.You don't even need a partner to enjoy these films either, as a single gal in lockdown, I will be marathoning all of these films.
1. Casablanca (1942)
In this film, the one and only Humphrey Bogart takes on the role of Rick Blaine, an ex-pat nightclub owner in Casablanca, Morocco. The story takes place during the early stages of WWII where despite pressure from authorities, Blaine is helping refugee's escape to America. But, when Ricks former lover (and her husband) enters his nightclub, a dramatic and complicated love story unravels.
2. Dirty Dancing (1987)
No doubt many of us have seen Dirty Dancing no less than 500 times, but Valentine's Day definitely calls for a re-watch. For those who haven't seen it, the film takes place at Catskills resort where Frances "Baby" Houseman falls in love with her dance instructor played by the swoony Patrick Swayze.
3. Ghost (1990)
Patrick Swayze is the absolute king of romance films so it's no shock that he's on this list twice. In this tragic love story, Sam Wheat (Swayze) and Molly Jensen (Demi Moore) are madly in love. However, Sam gets murdered by a man he thought was his friend. After discovering the betryal, Sam's ghost then sets off on a mission to find psychic Oda Mae Brown, to try to protect his lover against his backstabbing friend.
4. Amélie (2001)
Amélie, perhaps one of the quirkiest romance films, follows the story of Amélie Poulain, a woman who's childhood lead her to develop a wild imagination and a grand sense of romance. When Amélie discovers a box of childhood memorabilia in her Paris apartment, she sets off on an adventure to find the boxes owner. During her journey, Amélie meets her reclusive neighbour who has painted Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party over 20 times, the neighbour reveals the identity of the past tenant and the owner of the memorabilia and upon receiving it back, he decides to reconnect with his grown children. The man's reaction led Amélie on an escapade of helping others, only to realise that her devotion to helping others prevented her from finding love. Her reclusive neighbour notices that Amélie has been projecting her loneliness onto the girl in his paintings, prompting him to use his work to persuade the girl into exploring her attraction to Nino Quincampoix. Nino, a photographer, drops an album of images, leading to a cat and mouse chase between the two all over Paris, sparking the begging of a romance.
5. Pride and Prejudice (2005)
Pride and Prejudice, the classic of all classics follows the turbulent relationship between the country gentleman's daughter Elizabeth Bennet and aristocrat landowner, Fitzwilliam Darcy. The two must overcome their senses of pride and prejudice in order to fall in love and find a future together.