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The 50 Greatest Romantic Movies of All Time

Best Romance Movies for Valentines Day

It’s the closest thing there is to a universal genre. That’s because, with rare exceptions, everyone falls in love, or at least wants to. And when you think about it, almost every movie is a love story. Thrillers, comedies, sci-fi — no matter what the form, the spectacle of two people falling in love in the middle of it has always been what makes the world of movies go round. That’s why choosing the greatest movie love stories presents a special challenge. Because really, what isn’t a contender? In a way, though, we kept our criteria simple. We were looking for grand passion, for chemistry and heat and all that good stuff. Yet there’s an ineffable quality that elevates a truly great movie romance. Let’s call it the Swoon Factor. It’s about the swoon that happens onscreen; it’s about the swoon that happens between the audience and the screen. What follows are the 50 films that, more than any others, got our hearts racing.     

Dirty Dancing (1987)

Dirty Dancing

Set in 1963 but oh-so-’80s in its idea of hairstyles and heartthrobs, this sexy summer-camp romance defied its critics to become a classic. Nicknaming Jennifer Grey’s character “Baby” went a long way to illustrate what’s really going on here: The teenage daughter of conservative Jewish parents is forever being infantilized by her folks, until she meets a slightly older — but undeniably adult — dance teacher (Patrick Swayze) who shows her the time of her life. Corrupted by rock ’n’ roll, Baby grows up fast, getting over her initial shyness (“I carried a watermelon”) while rehearsing with her seductive instructor, who practices a racy new style of close-contact, ultra-suggestive moves that can only be read as carnal. Like “Rebel Without a Cause” and “Grease” before it, the movie plays on the fantasy of an off-limits attraction between Baby and the bad boy. — Peter Debruge

Trouble in Paradise (1932)

Trouble in Paradise

In this gold-standard screwball caper comedy, a gentleman thief, a lady pickpocket and a Parisian heiress form an elegant triangle, the preferred shape of Ernst Lubitsch — that sublime architect of romantic instability — who loved to test how seemingly solid couples might respond to a good romantic upset. Here, the temptation isn’t merely sentimental, as there’s a potential fortune on the line. What’s more, Gaston Monescu (Herbert Marshall) and Lily (Miriam Hopkins) make clear from the moment they meet that each is perfectly capable of robbing the other blind. She boosts his wallet, he knicks her garter (we needn’t see the deed to be scandalized). The movie came out before the Production Code, and it sparkles with the kind of naughty innuendo that was soon prohibited in Hollywood, but which Lubitsch was sophisticated enough to suggest even behind closed doors. — PD

Splash (1984)

SPLASH, Daryl Hannah, Tom Hanks, 1984. (c) Buena Vista Pictures/ Courtesy: Everett Collection.

A man falls in love with a mermaid: What could be simpler, or sweeter, than that? Yet Tom Hanks, in the movie that made him a movie star, does not go lightly into his communion with a woman who’s half-fish. Ron Howard’s landmark comedy was one of the first films to demonstrate that a high-concept premise could be executed in a way that was artful and classic: a throwback to the Hollywood that used fantasy to put us in touch with reality. Daryl Hannah, as Madison the red-tailed mermaid, acts with a dazed curiosity and eagerness that’s irresistible, and Hanks turns his disgruntlement into a profound expression of love’s challenge – namely, that we can’t choose who we love, but we can choose to embrace the love that chose us. — Owen Gleiberman

The Bridges of Madison County (1995)

THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, from left: Meryl Streep, Clint Eastwood, 1995. ©Warner Brothers/courtesy Everett Collection

Amid a career of macho performances, Clint Eastwood tapped into his sensitive side to deliver one of his most indelible characters in Robert Kincaid, a National Geographic photographer on assignment in Iowa, who stops by a farmhouse to ask for directions. He’s greeted by Francesca, a lonely war bride who offers to show him around (an Italian-accented Meryl Streep, who says so much in her silent gestures, like the way she absentmindedly touches herself in the places she wants to be caressed). It’s no big surprise that this dissatisfied housewife develops feelings for this stranger. More touching is Kincaid’s admission that he’s fallen for Francesca, too, but knows she has no intention of leaving her family. Still, that doesn’t stop him from trying. “This kind of certainty comes but just once in a lifetime,” he tells her. The sight of Kincaid looking desperate in the rain, the downpour likely masking tears, is so radically counter-Eastwood, you’ve gotta believe it. — PD

The Notebook (2004)

THE NOTEBOOK, Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, 2004, (c) New Line/courtesy Everett Collection

In the two decades since “The Notebook,” Ryan Gosling has cultivated his image as a chiseled heartthrob to such a degree that he seemed the perfect choice to play a live-action Ken doll in the “Barbie” movie. But back when director Nick Cassavetes was casting the role of Noah Calhoun, he saw the actor (and former Mouseketeer) differently — as someone both relatable and reckless enough to chase his dream girl (Rachel McAdams’ Allie) up a Ferris wheel. No matter what Allie does, he keeps on loving her in the best possible version Hollywood can make of a Nicholas Sparks novel. The secret formula here comes in catching up with Noah and Allie half a century later, as played by screen legends James Garner and Gena Rowlands, coupled with the tear-jerky reason we’ve been reliving all their most romantic memories. — PD

All That Heaven Allows (1955)

ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS, from left: Rock Hudson, Jane Wyman, 1955

The colors gush in Douglas Sirk’s lush 1950s melodrama, about a New England widow, Cary (Jane Wyman), who falls for the studly but respectful hunk (Rock Hudson) who tends the trees at her house. It may be love, but her two grown children — and nearly the entire community — are disapproving of Cary’s feelings, pressuring her to break off the relationship. Seen today, neither the age difference nor the class divide seem like deal-breakers, which makes Cary’s sacrifice seem all the more futile. (Years later, Todd Haynes updated the dynamic with a Black gardener and a still-living gay husband in “Far from Heaven.”) During the 1950s, Hudson carved out a niche as a sensitive leading man, to the point that he’s almost pathetic here (consider the state of him in the final scene). Others may try to meddle, but in the end, it’s her decision alone whom she loves. — PD

The Sound of Music (1965)

THE SOUND OF MUSIC, from left: Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer,  1965. TM & Copyright ©20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved/courtesy Everett Collection

You might ask: How romantic could a musical this notoriously G-rated and squeaky-clean really be? But if “The Sound of Music” has incandescent songs, as well as a singular true-life story about the Von Trapp Family Singers (seven motherless Austrian children returned to vitality through the life force of Julie Andrews’ nun-turned-governess Maria), the movie’s secret weapon is its love story. Andrews, while she’s certainly playing the soul of goodness, invests her slow-blooming affection for Christopher Plummer’s Capt. Von Trapp with an almost forbidden sense of broken decorum. And Plummer, who looks like he belongs in a far darker movie, plays the captain as a lost man literally coming back to existence. When these two dance and realize, at the very same moment, that they’ve fallen in love, it’s one of the most electrifying scenes in movie history. — OG

Once (2007)

ONCE, Marketa Irglova, Glen Hansard, 2006. TM and ©Copyright Fox Searchlight Pictures. All rights reserved./Courtesy Everett Collection

It’s not unusual to see a musical scale the heights of romantic passion. What’s different about John Carney’s film is that it’s a small-scale, non-stylized, kitchen-sink indie drama, yet in its lo-fi and platonic way it uses songs to create the majesty and devotion of a musical daydream. On the sidewalks of Dublin, a 30ish busker (Glenn Hansard) strums a guitar with a worn-out hole where the pick board should be. Most folks pass him by, but a girl (Markéte Irglová) lingers. They’re drawn into each other’s orbit, and though we never learn their names, a romance — or is it? — begins to play out in the songs they sing together. They both have other relationships, yet ”Once” tells the delicate tale of how, through song, these two save each other. As they give themselves over to numbers like “When Your Mind’s Made Up,” the movie swoons, and you will too. — OG

Pretty Woman (1990)

PRETTY WOMAN, Julia Roberts, Richard Gere, 1990, (c) Buena Vista/courtesy Everett Collection

Some think of it as the ultimate guilty-pleasure rom-com. Others say that its story of a wealthy businessman (Richard Gere) who hires an escort (Julia Roberts) for a week to be his public romantic partner represents Hollywood at it most reprehensibly sexist. The truth, however, falls right in between. “Pretty Woman” only got tagged with the guilty-pleasure label because it came out at the dawn of the modern rom-com era (it sparkles like Tracy and Hepburn next to a lot of the films that came afterward). And as far as morality goes, it’s not the movie that’s sexist. It’s the world of high-gloss commodification that Vivian, played by Roberts not just with the boldest smile of her era but with the vivacity that turned her into a singular movie star, must navigate. Look closely at the dance of chemistry and arbitration between Roberts and Gere, and you’ll see that “Pretty Woman,” in its slickly-packaged-by-director-Garry Marshall way, is nothing less than a screwball celebration of the politics of love. — OG

Mississippi Masala (1991)

MISSISSIPPI MASALA, Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, 1991

Mira Nair took a pioneering risk in depicting the romance between Demetrius (Denzel Washington), a blue-collar Black carpet cleaner, and Mina (Sarita Choudhury), a young Indian woman whose family fled Uganda to the American South. Set in Greenwood, Miss., where locals helped the creative team finesse the authenticity of the movie’s dialogue and detail, Nair’s contemporary interracial romance confronts the pushback of both the African American and South Asian communities to Demetrius and Mina’s relationship. But unlike Sidney Poitier social drama “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” her parents’ reaction makes up just a fraction of the script, which gives complex backstories to each side of the couple. It’s also incredibly sexy, whether they’re chatting by phone in separate beds or sharing the same one in the movie’s scorching love scene. The movie argues for colorblindness while celebrating both cultures, modeling a relationship never before seen on screen. — PD

Say Anything (1989)

movie review romantic

“Optimism is a revolutionary act,” writer-director Cameron Crowe quips in the commentary for his late-’80s teenage touchstone. That kind of radical confidence drives high school senior Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack), who musters the nerve to ask out valedictorian Diane Court (Ione Skye), even though all his peers think she’s out of his league. At first, Lloyd may seem like a nobody when compared to his most-likely-to-succeed sweetheart, but over time, he proves to be loyal, decent and unflappably sincere — qualities that made him the model boyfriend for kids of the ’80s. The clincher: Even when dumped, he shows up with a boombox, blasting Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” outside her window. The gesture became an iconic declaration of love for a generation … and still holds up, even if the technology is obsolete. — PD

The Way We Were (1973)

THE WAY WE WERE, Robert Redford, Barbra Streisand, 1973

Today, it would probably be a rom-com about opposites attracting: Katie (Barbra Streisand), a wisecracking Marxist Jewish political activist, and Hubbell (Robert Redford), a debonair WASP writer born with the entitlement not to have to worry about “causes.” But 50 years ago, when the story was filmed by director Sydney Pollack not as a comedy but as a romantic drama of tumultuous love-hate passion, the film, in its high-end soap-opera way, seemed to be expressing something new in the culture — the way that love, after the 1960s, was no longer going to be asking people to stay in their ethnic lanes. “The Way We Were” is a hefty slice of middlebrow Hollywood corn, yet the irresistible tug of it is that Streisand and Redford embody their characters on a level of romantic mythology. And let’s not forget the power of that title song! As sung by Streisand, it’s the incarnation of nostalgic beauty. — OG

Carol (2015)

CAROL, from left: Rooney Mara, Cate Blanchett, 2015. ph: Wilson Webb/©Weinstein Company/Courtesy Everett Collection

Movies that involve romantic stories of same-sex couples are inevitably placed in a category called “gay” or “queer” or whatever, often by their biggest fans. Yet if you think about it for five seconds, that’s a retrograde way of putting movies into boxes. The director Todd Haynes has made several masterpieces (“Far From Heaven,” “Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story”), but he has never made a drama more darkly romantic and enticing, more seductive in its suspense, more mired in the agonizing compulsion of love than this lavishly mesmerizing adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s 1952 novel “The Price of Salt.” During the Christmas shopping season, Therese (Rooney Mara), a New York department-store clerk, meets Carol, a woman of the world played by Cate Blanchett with a femme fatale swagger just this side of threatening. Their relationship will be fraught with the drama of divorce, blackmail, a private detective, and other elements that, as staged by Haynes, acquire the heightened quality of a vintage film noir. The final scene, set in the bar of the Oak Room, features one of the most transporting locked-gazes-across-a-crowded-room moments you’ll ever see. — OG

The Bodyguard (1992)

THE BODYGUARD, Whitney Houston, Kevin Costner, 1992, (c) Warner Brothers/courtesy Everett Collection

Is there anything more romantic than someone jumping in front of a bullet for you? Technically, that’s Frank Farmer’s job, but by the time Kevin Costner’s clean-cut, ex-Secret Service agent leaps in to protect endangered diva Rachel Marron (Whitney Houston) — on Oscar night, no less — we know he’s acting out of love more than duty. Frank sweeps both audiences and Rachel off their feet much earlier in the film, during a concert meltdown where he lifts her up and carries her through the mob — a chivalrous image immortalized on the film’s poster. Amazingly enough, “The Bodyguard” never made a big deal of its interracial romance, and that itself was a big deal. Powered by one of the all-time great soundtracks, the pop blockbuster is a classy entry in the oft-smarmy category of R-rated ’90s thrillers. Recent talks of a remake raise the question of which couple could out-sizzle Costner and Houston. — PD

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)

SUNRISE, (aka SUNRISE: A SONG OF TWO HUMANS), from left, George O'Brien, Janet Gaynor, 1927, TM and Copyright ©20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved//courtesy Everett Collection

Marriage, they say, has its ups and downs. But it’s doubtful that any movie has ever dramatized the ebb and flow of feeling in a relationship with the primal power of F.W. Murnau’s silent classic. In outline, it could almost be a murderous film noir: A man — known only as The Man (George O’Brien), and haunted by better times with his wife, known only as The Wife (Janet Gaynor) — leaves the farmhouse where they live with their child to be with a woman from the city (Margaret Livingston). She wants him to drown The Wife, and part of the film’s shock is that he nearly does. But “Sunrise” proceeds as a series of shocks, which have the effect of jolting love back to life. Shot as a kind of sensuous living daydream, it is the cinema’s most profound and stirring roller-coaster of passion, an affirmation of what it means for two people to be meant for each other. — OG

The Princess Bride (1987)

THE PRINCESS BRIDE, Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, 1987, TM and Copyright (c) 20th Century-Fox Film Corp.  All Rights Reserved

Presented as a beloved fairy tale passed down between generations, screenwriter William Goldman’s tongue-in-cheek riff on classic adventure tales takes the best parts of nearly a century of cinematic love stories and remixes them for the home-video set (the goal was to get through to media-savvy audiences who thought they’d seen it all). Starting with two impossibly beautiful leads in Cary Elwes and Robin Wright, he builds a legend of swashbuckling pirates, dangerous rescues and well-earned revenge, describing it all (via kindly narrator Peter Falk) as the ultimate example of the form. That’s an impossible tall order — a genre-straddling smorgasbord the studio didn’t know how to market at the time — which director Rob Reiner miraculously achieves by enlisting an astonishing ensemble. Everyone from Billy Crystal to Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn to Andre the Giant assemble to support the sacrifice Westley makes to save his beloved Buttercup from marrying the wrong guy. — PD

Past Lives (2023)

PAST LIVES, from left: Teo YOO, Greta Lee, John Magro, 2023. © A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection

Two men and a woman sit at a bar, and before the audience knows anything about them, we try to figure out what their relationship is. Who belongs with whom? That we can’t entirely tell is key to what makes Celine Song’s remarkable drama such a haunting fable of love’s enigma. It turns out that Nora (Greta Lee), a New Yorker born and raised until the age of 12 in South Korea, is married to Arthur (John Magaro), a mouthy homegrown American she met at a writers’ retreat. The other man, Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), is the childhood friend Nora has maintained ties with; he’s at once her past, the spirit of her homeland, and maybe her romantic partner in another avenue of existence. “Past Lives” is a movie that will strike chords of recognition in any true romantic, as it’s about the secret journey that love takes: a communion that may occur in this life, or that may just be waiting for the next one. — OG

Beauty and the Beast (1946)

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, (aka LA BELLE ET LA BETE), from left, Josette Day, Jean Marais, 1946

It’s one of the most poetic distillations of romantic desire in all of movies; you could also call it the “Splash” of its day. Jean Marais plays the Beast, who in Jean Cocteau’s film is a kind of delicate aristocrat with the face of a courtly lion. Josette Day is Belle, who ends up imprisoned in the Beast’s castle to work off a debt accrued by her father. What follows is an intricate fairy tale of deception and magic, built around the luminous ingenuity of Cocteau’s visual effects. Yet the most magical thing about it is the bond that develops between Belle and her disarmingly chivalrous captor/lover, a character so touching in his passion that when Greta Garbo saw the movie, it’s reported that she reacted to his death at the end by crying out, “Give me back my Beast!” — OG

Love & Basketball (2000)

LOVE AND BASKETBALL, Omar Epps, Sanaa Lathan, 2000, (c)New Line Cinema/courtesy Everett Collection

The title of this Y2K sports classic references two very different games, and the rules aren’t fair in either one. After discovering that they both love basketball, Monica cockily challenges childhood friend Quincy to a match (later, famously, she’ll play for his heart). Monica wins that first bout, but he winds up injuring her — an early sign that the dynamic is different when two sexes occupy the court at the same time. That gap widens as they grow up (into Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan). He finds it relatively easy to follow in the footsteps of his NBA-pro dad, whereas there’s no equivalent path for female players. Writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood empathizes with Monica, who watches fame go to her old friend’s head. Per the formula, audiences are conditioned to root for the romance to work out, but basketball occupies a bigger part of Monica’s heart, and the movie finds the perfect solution. — PD

Call Me by Your Name (2017)

CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, from left: Armie Hammer, Timothee Chalamet, 2017. ph: Sayombhu Mukdeeprom / © Sony Pictures Classics / courtesy Everett Collection

Italian director Luca Guadagnino (“I Am Love”) turned André Aciman’s ecstatic, wildly overwritten novel of a formative first love between teenage Elio (Timothée Chalamet) and his father’s slightly older — but still relatively inexperienced — teaching assistant, Oliver (Armie Hammer), into a sensual summer dream. There’s an intensity to the sights, sensations and emotions that imprints itself on audiences, such that Elio’s memories become our own. One needn’t be gay to recognize the significance that such an all-consuming early infatuation can leave on a young person’s romantic identity, though the movie offers a welcome message to all who’ve struggled to come to terms with their own sexuality in the eloquent heart-to-heart between the boy and his surprisingly understanding dad: “How you live your life is your business. Just remember, our hearts and our bodies are given to us only once,” he says. “Don’t kill it and with it the joy you’ve felt.” — PD

Vertigo (1958)

VERTIGO, James Stewart, Kim Novak, 1958

For a director who was known as the thrillingly precise and methodical Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock was not shy about portraying romantic rapture. A number of his films (“To Catch a Thief,” “Notorious,” “Rear Window”) are entrancing love stories, but in “Vertigo” he dove deep into an almost private zone of love-as-fetishistic-obsession. James Stewart’s middle-aged detective falls for the woman he’s hired to follow — played, with a depressive carnality, by Kim Novak, who also plays the woman’s shop-girl look-alike, who Stewart then feels compelled to transform into the first woman. No classic Hollywood movie balances love on the precipice of kink and danger the way this one does, which is why “Vertigo” opened the door to everything from “Blue Velvet” to the career of Brian De Palma. — OG

La La Land (2016)

LA LA LAND, from left, Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, 2016. ©Summit Entertainment/courtesy Everett Collection

Damien Chazelle’s glorious, heartrending, bittersweet musical does an extraordinary job of retro-fitting the song-and-dance pleasures of vintage Hollywood into the sunlit freeway landscape of contemporary Los Angeles. Yet the film’s most radical feature is the way it brings Mia (Emma Stone), an aspiring actress, together with Seb (Ryan Gosling), a jazz pianist drowning in his own purity, and celebrates their union with intoxicating affection — only to show you how their love crashes on the shores of warring egos. What lifts “La La Land” into the realm of transcendently moving love stories is that it presents a happy ending that almost happened, and that could have happened if only life had turned out a bit different. — OG

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, Kate Winslet, Jim Carrey, 2004, (c) Focus Features/courtesy Everett Collection

Dramatically speaking, the most exciting part of a relationship occurs either during the time a couple is falling in love or else at the moment it’s falling apart. Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman incorporates both aspects — albeit as endangered flashbacks — while exploring a fantasy that anyone who’s been through the emotional wringer of a relationship can identify with: What if you could erase all traces of an ex from your memory? Director Michel Gondry proved the perfect partner to visualize the sketchy sci-fi apparatus that makes a brain scrub possible for Joel (Jim Carrey), who realizes halfway through that, however painful, he can’t live without any trace of his soulmate, Clementine (Kate Winslet), the manic free spirit with the Kool-Aid-colored hair. As Joel tries to hold on to the good times while his mind’s being wiped, Kaufman allows audiences to absorb their best memories and make them our own. — PD

Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)

FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL, from left: Andie MacDowell, Hugh Grant, 1994, © Gramercy Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection

Hugh Grant stammered his way into our hearts, fumbling and fluttering his eyelids the whole way, in a delightfully English rom-com from screenwriter Richard Curtis (who juggled no fewer than eight couples in his 2003 directorial debut “Love Actually”). This more streamlined love story starts where practically every Jane Austen story ends: at the altar. Grant’s not the one getting hitched at those opening nuptials, though he does fall hard for an American guest played by Andie MacDowell. Their courtship is unconventional (it amounts to shagging anytime their friends tie the knot), but the chemistry is undeniable. When it’s time for Charles and Carrie to get married, however, each of them says their vows with someone else. So how do they wind up together? It’s the little surprises that delight. — PD

Out of Sight (1998)

OUT OF SIGHT, Jennifer Lopez, George Clooney, 1998

In terms of sheer sex appeal, it’s hard to top the chemistry between George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez, who play an incorrigible bank robber and the U.S Marshall tasked with apprehending him in Steven Soderbergh’s sultry, time-skipping Elmore Leonard adaptation. It’s steamy from the start, as a prison break leaves cop and quarry stuffed in a trunk together — a cozy way to get acquainted. Four years after “Pulp Fiction,” the picture came at a moment when Soderbergh was experimenting with film editing and features several nifty innovations, including an unconventional love scene that turns up the heat by cutting between flirtation and payoff. In one thread, Jack Foley and Karen Sisco roleplay in the hotel bar, pretending to be strangers. Skipping ahead, it teases glimpses of the “time out” where all this cocktail talk is headed: a striptease upstairs, in which the pair put aside their differences long enough to make love. — PD

The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)

THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING, Juliette Binoche, Daniel Day-Lewis, 1988, (c)Orion Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection

Great as he is, we don’t tend of think of Daniel Day-Lewis as an overwhelmingly romantic movie star. In Philip Kaufman’s heady, intoxicating, high-wire adaptation of the Milan Kundera novel, he plays Tomas, a character who is very much a fickle Lothario — a randy physician in 1960s Prague who bounces from one conquest to the next, though he does have a regular thing going with Sabine (Lena Olin), an artist who likes to spice their lovemaking with mirrors and bowler hats. But then Tomas meets Tereza (Juliette Binoche), whose gravity pulls him down to earth. And then the Soviet tanks come rolling in, blowing up all their lives. When that happens, “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” becomes one of the most seriously moving love stories in cinema, a tale of three lost souls yearning to connect, to survive, to unlock love’s mystery. — OG

A Star Is Born (1954)

A STAR IS BORN, James Mason, Judy Garland, 1954

For 30 years, the Judy Garland/James Mason version of “A Star Is Born” was tainted by the messy circumstances of its making. The script kept getting rewritten, Garland was a notoriously unstable presence on set, and when the movie premiered in New York, it was three hours long — but executives at Warner Bros. then chopped it by half an hour, without so much as consulting the director, George Cukor. Yet when the movie was re-released in the ’80s, its reputation was elevated in a way that’s comparable to what happened with Hitchcock’s “Vertigo.” A world of moviegoers discovered that Cukor had crafted one of the most darkly entrancing love stories ever made. Its haunted spirit of rapture and loss is incarnated in Garland’s performance of “The Man That Got Away,” in Mason’s jaw-dropping drunken slap of Garland during a scene set at the Oscars, and in the tragic finale, which touches the secret heart of love: the faith necessary to sustain it. — OG

The Remains of the Day (1993)

REMAINS OF THE DAY, Emma Thompson, Anthony Hopkins, 1993

Repression and strict social restraints are constantly keeping lovers apart in the works of director James Ivory, producer Ismail Merchant and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, who together made a career’s worth of exquisitely nuanced literary adaptations frequently (and often unfairly) lumped in with lesser, made-for-TV costume dramas. While “A Room with a View” and “Maurice” are more overtly passionate, the trio’s take on Kazuo Ishiguro’s celebrated novel offers a heartbreaking portrayal of a couple kept apart by codes beyond their control. In this case, a butler (Anthony Hopkins) born and raised to serve the English aristocracy is so mindful of his place that he can’t bring himself to tell the housekeeper he adores (Emma Thompson) his true feelings. It’s wrenching to watch this docile attendant struggle between emotions for a colleague and devotion to his job, and yet, between the lines, and in these two masterful performances, are written volumes. — PD

Sid and Nancy (1986)

SID AND NANCY, Gary Oldman, Chloe Webb, 1986, (c) Samuel Goldwyn/courtesy Everett Collection

The director Alex Cox brought off something singularly audacious by centering a punk biopic on Sid Vicious, the Sex Pistols’ bassist and all-around showman-fuckup who was so dissolute most of the time that he could barely play his instrument or keep from nodding out. Yet the ultimate audacity of Cox’s film is that it dares to present Vicious’s relationship with Nancy Spungen, the torn-fishnet groupie from suburban Pennsylvania who turned him into a heroin addict, as if they were the Tristan and Isolde of the rock ‘n’ roll gutter. As Sid, Gary Oldman gives what may still be his greatest performance, and Chloe Webb, as Nancy, gives what is simply one of the most powerful performances in the history of cinema. Her Nancy is a caterwauling liar and junkie, such a damaged shard of a human being that it tears your heart apart just to behold her. Nancy and Sid are barely functional narcissist addicts, yet their love affair is fused on an animal level; they need each other to live, and to die. “Sid and Nancy” is raw and exhilarating — the greatest of all music biopics, and (not so incidentally) the most romantic. — OG

Moonlight (2016)

MOONLIGHT, from left: Jharrel Jerome, Ashton Sanders, 2016. ph: David Bornfriend/ © A24 /courtesy Everett Collection

Told through poetic glimpses over three separate chapters in the life of its main character, “Moonlight” doesn’t feel like a love story at first. Director Barry Jenkins introduces Chiron at age 10, too young to recognize his own homosexuality, and yet already being teased as soft by his peers. In the middle segment, the boy meets Kevin, with whom he starts to explore his feelings, only to have that possibility derailed by bullying. Subverting stereotypes at every turn, the movie gives this lost soul a second chance in the final stretch, focusing on a tender, tentative reunion between Chiron (bulked up and thick-skinned from his time in prison) and his former crush. By this point, audiences are so invested in the character that “Moonlight” broke free of the rigid box that confines most queer stories to LGBT audiences, making it a crossover success and historic Oscar winner. — PD

The Apartment (1960)

THE APARTMENT, Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, 1960

The dialogue still zings and the heartbreak still stings in Billy Wilder’s ahead-of-its-time depiction of two Manhattan office drones who are both exploited by the same manager: Jack Lemmon plays ultra-cynical insurance salesman Bud Baxter, while Shirley MacLaine is Fran Kubelik, the elevator girl who brightens his days … but loves his boss. The plot (which involves Bud lending his place to higher-ups to schtup their secretaries) anticipates the #MeToo movement, while also acknowledging the reality that well-intentioned workers frequently fall for their colleagues. Bud goes about it the relatively respectful way, while Fran’s plight illustrates how unfair the world can be to those who mix business and pleasure. For audiences that love “Mad Men,” but identify with the underdog, the movie poses a wonderfully adult conundrum — one which forces Bud to decide between personal ethics and professional ambition, knowing it could all go sideways for him, career-wise. — PD

An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)

AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN, Richard Gere, Debra Winger, 1982, (c) Paramount/courtesy Everett Collection

In the New Hollywood ’70s, a great many aspects of classic big-screen romance — the unabashed yearning, the sparkle, the lock-step gender roles — began to fall by the wayside. There was a lot of chatter about how romance itself was fading out of the culture. But that’s part of what made “An Officer and a Gentleman” loom so large. In its meticulous throwback of a story about a drifter, played with pinpoint narcissistic glamour by Richard Gere, who enlists in the Navy and falls for one of the “Puget Sound Debs” (Debra Winger) who want to marry a future jet pilot, the movie seemed to bring back, for the post-feminist era, the kind of shamelessly ardent love story that had fallen out of fashion. It helped that director Taylor Hackford infused it all with a contempo grittiness. As a basic-training movie, “Officer” anticipated much of ”Full Metal Jacket,” but what makes it indelible is the hungry desire enacted by Debra Winger, whose gaze of soulful adoration brings Gere fully alive as a romantic actor. — OG

In the Mood for Love (2000)

IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, (aka FA YEUNG NIN WA), Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Maggie Cheung, 2000. ©Miramax/courtesy Everett Collection

Cinema could hardly conjure a more lovely or elegant couple than cigarette-smoking Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung, who floats through stairwells in form-fitting cheongsams. Operating on the wisp of a plot, improvised and evolved over nearly a year, Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai denies these two beautiful avatars a conventional romance. They play neighbors who discover that their spouses are having an affair, and rather than sink to the same level, they indulge in a bit of imaginative detective work, reenacting how their partners might have met. This thin outline leaves near-infinite room for Wong to evoke a subjective range of responses from his audience, using the full range of cinematic tools — color, costume, gesture, music — to solicit a different reading from each viewer. Your mileage may vary, but keep in mind: Wong’s a feel-maker as much as a filmmaker, rewriting the rules via this elliptical dance between unrequited lovers. — PD

Moonstruck (1987)

MOONSTRUCK, Nicolas Cage, Cher, 1987

At early test screenings, audiences weren’t falling for Norman Jewison’s now-classic New York romance the way they were supposed to, until he laid the tune “When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie…” over the opening credits. Cher tamped down her natural glamour to embody pragmatic Italian-American widow Loretta Castorini, who’s ready to settle for Johnny’s (Danny Aiello) passionless marriage proposal when she meets his brother Ronnie, played by a hot-blooded Nicolas Cage. Let’s just say, Ronnie gives this sensible Catholic woman reason to go to confession. The script by John Patrick Shanley is all but bursting with culturally specific detail, from drool-worthy dishes to unusual superstitions, but it’s the colorful ensemble — family members who want what’s best for Loretta — that ultimately serves to validate her seemingly reckless choice. After a lifetime of listening to her head, she finally decides to follow her heart. That’s amore! — PD

City Lights (1931)

CITY LIGHTS, Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, 1931

Charlie Chaplin stubbornly resisted the film industry’s embrace of sound, releasing this silent treasure into a sea of talkies. Cinema may have gone a different direction, but his stubborn adherence to pantomime (plus his obsessive need to reshoot every shot until perfect) makes this love story seem all the more timeless, as Chaplin’s signature character, the Tramp, falls for a blind flower seller (Virginia Cherrill). She mistakes him for a wealthy man, and the Tramp allows her to go on imagining him that way in the most poetic version of a familiar rom-com trope ever committed to film: At some point, he’ll have to come clean. Will she still love him when she discovers the truth? The final scene, in which she recognizes the vulnerable fool after her vision has been restored, not by sight but by contact, ranks among the medium’s most romantic. — PD

Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

BONNIE AND CLYDE, Faye Dunaway, Warren Beatty, 1967

Of the many qualities that made it a revolutionary movie, two stand above all others. The first, and most talked about, is how violent it was — the bystander shot through the eye, the climactic slow-motion blood ballet, and everything else that rubbed the audience’s nose in what being a criminal really meant. But the other quality that defined “Bonnie and Clyde” was how shockingly sultry and romantic it was. The ads for the movie said, “They’re young. They’re in love. And they kill people.” The subtext was that something in the connection between Faye Dunaway’s torrid hunger and Warren Beatty’s vulnerable stud glamour was itself so dangerous that it was lethal. Just check out the two stars’ faces as they exchange one last look before being strafed to death by a hail of bullets. That look is the essence of true love. — OG

The 'Before' Trilogy (1995, 2004, 2013)

BEFORE SUNRISE, from left: Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, 1995. ph: Gabriela Brandenstein /© Columbia /Courtesy Everett Collection

Taken by itself, 1995’s “Before Sunrise” represents the perfect encapsulation of young love: Two strangers meet on a train, get off together in Vienna and spend the night walking and talking (there’s some debate as to whether they make love, as the movie’s too modest to show it). Nine years later, director Richard Linklater delivered one of the most satisfying sequels of all time in “Before Sunset,” reuniting with his two characters, Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Céline (Julie Delpy), in Paris. Their time is once again limited, but now, the conversation deals with their regrets. But the attraction remains, and the movie ends with the implication they wind up together. But is it happily ever after? Linklater and company caught up with the pair once again with “Before Midnight,” and the movie finds them together, but dissatisfied, acknowledging the challenges that confront couples after nearly a decade together. It was impossible to guess when they first met how deep this relationship would go, and still anybody’s guess how it will end. — PD

Annie Hall (1977)

ANNIE HALL, from left: Diane Keaton, Woody Allen, 1977

“I lurve you,” says Woody Allen’s Alvy Singer, coming about as close as he can to declaring his feelings for Annie Hall (Diane Keaton), the beguiling thrift-shop space cadet who charmed the world with her la-di-da innocence. Allen’s late-’70s classic was, at the time, a new kind of love story — the saga of a “relationship,” which is to say a partnership not truly built to last. And maybe Alvy Singer had to say “lurve” instead of “love” because, deep down, he wasn’t really sure that he could commit himself to the L-word. Yet the magic of “Annie Hall” is that is channeled how an entire generation had come to regard love in the age of therapeutic navel-gazing: as something intoxicating yet transient, rooted in a seems-like-old-times nostalgia that felt more at home looking back than forward. — OG

Jerry Maguire (1996)

movie review romantic

Tom Cruise had always been a solo vessel — a cruise missile of a movie star. It was Cameron Crowe’s inspiration, in casting Cruise as a sports agent who gets tossed out of the game and has to reinvent himself as a better person in order to come back, to pair Cruise with Renée Zellweger, an unknown actor who did not come off like some female-movie-star equivalent of Tom Cruise. She had a homespun allure that seemed to be calling his cockiness, his very stardom, on the carpet. The beauty of the line “You complete me” is that Cruise seemed, at last, to be letting down the guard of a dozen years of mega-stardom. The beauty of “You had me at hello” is that it reminds us of how easy love is when it’s real. — OG

Roman Holiday (1953)

ROMAN HOLIDAY, Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, 1953

Audrey Hepburn plays the fed-up crown princess of an unspecified country in this escapist romp through the Eternal City. The project kicked off a seven-picture run with Paramount, during which she may as well have been the queen of Hollywood romances: “Sabrina,” “Funny Face,” “My Fair Lady” and more. Suffocating under the obligations of her position, she sneaks out during a European tour, landing in the hands of Gregory Peck’s dishonest (yet honorable) American newspaperman. He thinks he’s hit the jackpot, betting his editor he can deliver an exclusive interview with the princess — but he doesn’t gamble on falling for the dame. Their whirlwind romance lasts but a day, but in that time, the reporter gives Ann/Anya/Audrey a taste of freedom. She plays it coy for most of the movie, but the closeup on her face at the end says it all. — PD

Gone with the Wind (1939)

GONE WITH THE WIND, Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, 1939

The scene where Clark Gable carries Vivien Leigh up the stairs, with intimations of (to put it mildly) erotic coercion, would not pass muster today. Yet that scene, and others that rhyme with it, are part of what make the most epic of Old Hollywood love stories one of the most darkly complicated and enthralling of Old Hollywood love stories. Leigh’s Scarlett O’Hara is fierce, strong, manipulative — the Southern belle as aristocratic vixen — and so she and Rhett Butler are destined to turn love into a battle that’s doomed to end in a draw. But what heat and light their fireworks give off! “Gone with the Wind” is a movie that’s now seen as “problematic,” yet one of the most seemingly imperfect things about it — the alternating currents of sex and anger, devotion and contempt that fuel the central relationship — is what makes it such a tumultuous classic. — OG

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)

THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG, (aka LES PARAPLUIES DE CHERBOURG), Catherine Deneuve, 1964

A couple needn’t end up together for a love story to stand the test of time. In the case of Jacques Demy’s bittersweet musical, there’s a relatable quality to the way circumstances keep a working-class French couple from their happily ever after. That downbeat fate serves to balance the bright colors and bold choice of delivering every line of dialogue, no matter how banal, through song. That recitative strategy is common enough in opera, but downright revolutionary on film, still fresh and highly unusual all these years later. Naive young Geneviève (Catherine Deneuve, doll-like at 19) sells umbrellas in the family shop. Guy (Nino Castelnuovo) fixes cars at a nearby garage. They seem destined to be together, until military service calls him away. Michel Legrand’s score leans into the melancholy what might have been in what feels like a snow globe rendering of real life. — PD

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, 2005, (c) Focus Features/courtesy Everett Collection

It’s a queer love story set entirely in the closet. Yet by dramatizing the inner lives of two cowboys who find a romantic home on the range in early 1960s Wyoming, Ang Lee’s breathtaking adaptation of the Annie Proulx short story undermined every expectation of contemporary audiences. In showing us two men who discover a love that they themselves think is forbidden, the film dramatizes how prejudice can worm its way into the very fabric of people’s lives; it also demonstrates that the myth of the straight-as-an-arrow American macho he-man is just that – a myth. At the same time, our yearning for Ennis and Jack to make a life for themselves becomes overwhelming in its heartbreak. The performances of Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger are indelible — and, in Ledger’s case, miraculous, as he turns the muffled, barely articulate Ennis into a living metaphor for a love that cannot speak its name. — OG

Ghost (1990)

GHOST, from left: Demi Moore, Patrick Swayze, 1990. ©Paramount/courtesy Everett Collection

It’s a love story, a ghost story, a corporate crime story, a pottery story, and a movie in which Whoopi Goldberg plays the world’s funniest cut-up mystic. But who would have guessed that just four months after “Pretty Woman,” it would be the headiest romantic movie of its year? The director, Jerry Zucker, was a veteran of the “Airplane!” troupe, yet somehow he juggled all these elements to touch a chord of pure fairy-tale rapture, spinning out the story of a New York banker who’s killed by a mugger and returns as a ghost to protect his artist girlfriend. The way Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore bond across the ectoplasmic divide is at once thrilling and moving (true love, it seems, knows no restrictions, from either physics or the spirit world). The film turned the Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody” into a retro smash, but only because of how it tapped the film’s emotions: intimate, operatic, quavering with devotion. — OG

Brief Encounter (1945)

BRIEF ENCOUNTER, from left: Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, 1945

It all began with a little piece of grit in her eye. Fortunately — or not — for Laura Jesson (Celia Johnson), a doctor was present to remove the offending particle, and when her vision cleared, there he stood, Dr. Alec Harvey (Trevor Howard), handsome and kind. The train station where this meeting happens serves as a kind of romantic purgatory, with each locomotive that steams through reminding Laura and Alec of their obligations to their actual partners. But every Thursday, they meet in town, too weak to resist the growing love between them — feelings which the conservative forces of the time could not condone, but which spoke to a human experience too widespread to go ignored. And so David Lean’s slender, achingly honest film has stood for years, staunchly refusing to judge two would-be adulterous souls, letting audiences in on a secret that even their spouses don’t suspect. — PD

A Star Is Born (2018)

A STAR IS BORN, l-r: Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga,  2018. ph: Clay Enos /© Warner Bros./ Courtesy Everett Collection

It’s a seesawing Hollywood love story that’s been told on the big screen close to half a dozen times, yet never more powerfully or artfully than by Bradley Cooper in his astonishing directorial debut. From the bombastic kitsch of the 1976 Streisand/Kristofferson version, Cooper borrowed the idea of turning the central character into a rock ‘n’ roll star, and his performance as Jackson Maine — a half-deaf drunken burnout, running on fumes, even though he’s able to fool the world into thinking he’s still a rock god — grounds the soap-opera story in something disarmingly earthy and real. When Jackson meets Ally (Lady Gaga), a budding singer-songwriter, and invites her onstage to sing “Shallow,” you will get chills the way few romantic movies have given them to you — and the tremors don’t let up, as the two get on a serpentine roller-coaster of love vs. jealousy, arena rock vs. dance pop, and tragedy slipping into redemption. — OG

Moulin Rouge! (2001)

MOULIN ROUGE!, Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, 2001, TM & Copyright (c) 20th Century Fox Film Corp./courtesy Everett Collection

Baz Luhrmann’s visionary jukebox musical is in love with a lot of things: the look and feel of faux 1890s sound-stage Paris (that nightclub windmill etched in light), the epiphany of pop songs like Elton John’s “Your Song” when they pop up in what should be the wrong place (but then why does it feel so right?). Mostly, though, the film is in love with Christian and Satine, the romantic bohemians played by Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman, who summon gazes of such doomed longing that the film’s ultimate love affair seems to be with love itself — the unearthly kind, the kind that lives as an impossible dream. — OG

To Catch a Thief (1955)

TO CATCH A THIEF, Grace Kelly, Cary Grant, 1955.

From “The Awful Truth” to “An Affair to Remember,” Cary Grant enjoyed a two-decade run as Hollywood’s most dapper leading man, romancing everyone from Katharine Hepburn to Ingrid Bergman, sometimes multiple times over. But it was paired with impossibly elegant star (and future princess) Grace Kelly that Grant sparkled brightest, playing a notorious jewel thief who finds Kelly’s wealthy American tourist even more irresistible than her invaluable diamond necklace. Like a well-practiced cat burglar, this sprightly Hitchcock movie tiptoes so lightly it hardly touches the ground, sweeping audiences away to the chicest of locations on the French Riviera. Whether it’s the scene of Kelly’s gems outdazzling a fireworks show (she stands in the shadow while her diamonds glisten in full view of Grant) or the hilltop picnic overlooking Monaco, the vibrant full-color fling gave landlocked Americans a fizzy Mediterranean fantasy featuring the most distinguished couple imaginable. — PD

Titanic (1997)

TITANIC, from left: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, 1997. TM & Copyright ©20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved./Courtesy Everett Collection

The swooniest romantic movie of its time, and also the most sublime, James Cameron’s ocean disaster epic is the rare Hollywood blockbuster that achieves a larger-than-life quality. Yet its secret weapon as a love story is the too-often-unacknowledged deftness of its storytelling. As Jack and Rose, the sweethearts from opposite sides of the class divide, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet have an effervescent chemistry, yet they’re playing starry-eyed youths caught in a puppy-love fling. The implication is that their union might last just about as long as the Titanic’s voyage — were it not for that fateful iceberg. In “Titanic,” it’s disaster itself that elevates love into something timeless. — OG

Casablanca (1942)

CASABLANCA, from left, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, 1942

It was often said that in the 20th century, the movies taught people how to fall in love. You certainly know that watching “Casablanca.” In all of cinema, there is no love connection more pure, more impassioned, more haunted by the past, more alive in the present, more complicated by circumstance than the one between Rick (Humphrey Bogart), the expatriate owner of a shady Moroccan nightclub and gambling den, and Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), the woman he fell in love with in Paris in 1940, only to be abandoned by her for mysterious reasons. Do they still love each other? The answer to that is as simple as listening to Sam (Dooley Wilson), the saloon pianist, play “As Time Goes By” and hearing that it’s really about how a kiss is just a kiss…for all time. Yet if Michael Curtiz’s ageless Hollywood classic celebrates what love is, it’s also about the deepest level of what love means : not just rapture but sacrifice, devotion to the other, a giving over of oneself to something larger. “Casablanca” remains the ultimate big-screen romance, in part because Bogart and Bergman show us that love is a force within us powerful enough to connect to — and save — the world. — OG

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The 25 best romantic movies on Netflix

Any season can be a season of love with these swoon-worthy films.

Ilana Gordon is an entertainment, culture, and comedy writer originally from Connecticut. She currently lives in Los Angeles.

movie review romantic

Humans evolved to fall in love , which means falling in love is a learned behavior. And there's so much to absorb from the love stories on this list, which include historical romances, queer entanglements, authentic self-discovery journeys with messy moments, and farcical rom-coms with impressive ensembles.

If you're ready to spend this season falling in love, there's a romantic movie out there just waiting to help you out. Whether you're looking to escape to another decade or to engage with modern dating rituals, here are the 25 best romantic movies currently streaming on Netflix .

Always Be My Maybe (2019)

Two old childhood friends reconnect in Always Be My Maybe , starring Ali Wong and Randall Park . As teens, the pair considered a romantic relationship, but it didn't work out. As adults, she's become a famous chef while he's still stuck in a small-time band and working for his dad's business.

Now, they'll have to try and see if love is their destiny once again while facing her fame and his insecurities. The movie also features plenty of quirky moments, including Keanu Reeves playing an odd version of himself as a love interest for Wong's character. And, as an added bonus, there's also Wong's amazing wardrobe . — Lia Beck

Where to watch Always Be My Maybe : Netflix

EW grade: B ( read the review )

Director: Nahnatchka Khan

Cast: Ali Wong, Randall Park, Keanu Reeves, Daniel Dae Kim , James Saito, Michelle Buteau , Vivian Bang

Blue Jay (2017)

Twenty years after breaking up, former high-school sweethearts Jim ( Mark Duplass , who also wrote the script) and Amanda ( Sarah Paulson ) bump into each other in their California hometown and end up spending the day — and night — together. As they update each other on what's transpired in their lives in the years since they last spoke, Jim and Amanda reminisce together about the people they used to be while attempting to understand the people they have become.

A slice of life film that offers a glimpse into the optimism of youthful infatuation, and the bitter realities of aging, living, and loving, Blue Jay's simple story is still meaty enough for its two leads to dig their performative talons into. One of the best performances of Paulson's career, according to an EW writer , she is "effortlessly shifting from broken to brazen and everything in between." Blue Jay may be shot in black and white, the overall narrative is anything but. —Ilana Gordon

Where to watch Blue Jay : Netflix

EW grade: A– ( read the review )

Director: Alex Lehmann

Cast: Mark Duplass, Sarah Paulson

Call Me by Your Name (2017)

Sony Pictures Classics/Courtesy Everett Collection

There's no better place for a sexual awakening than northern Italy in the summer. Set in 1983, Call Me by Your Name tells the story of Elio ( Timothée Chalamet in his breakout performance), a 17-year-old whose life is upended after his academic father's new grad student, Oliver ( Armie Hammer ), arrives to stay with the family. Sparks fly between the bookish Elio and the worldly Oliver, and in spite of their differences, a relationship forms between the two.

A romantic coming-of-age drama, Call Me by Your Name is based on André Aciman’s novel from 2007, and meditates on themes of growing up, coming to terms with one's sexuality, and the depths of feeling found in young love. Nominated for four Oscars, with James Ivory taking home the trophy for Best Adapted Screenplay, Call Me by Your Name is a remarkable love story told with tenderness, respect, and nostalgia. —I.G.

Where to watch Call Me by Your Name : Netflix

Director: Luca Guadagnino

Cast: Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg , Amira Casar, Esther Garrel, Victoire Du Bois

Carol (2015)

Mad Men lovers will find a similar aesthetic in Carol , a queer romance set against the backdrop of the repressive 1950s. From the moment New Jersey housewife Carol ( Cate Blanchett ) meets aspiring photographer Therese ( Rooney Mara ) while Christmas shopping at a New York City department store, it's obvious a connection has been forged. Eager to escape the difficulties presented by the men in their lives, the women find solace in each other, their relationship sparking and burning as brightly as the tips of their cigarettes.

Lovingly directed by Todd Haynes who explores issues of class and sexuality with the lightest of touches, EW's critic writes that Carol has "taken what was once a taboo love story and has allowed it to speak to us with a directness and clarity that would have been hard to imagine more than six decades ago." —I.G.

Where to watch Carol : Netflix

Director: Todd Haynes

Cast: Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Kyle Chandler , Jake Lacy

Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

Sanja Bucko/Warner Bros. Pictures/courtesy Everett 

Singapore is a tiny country with a big thirst for gossip — at least as it pertains to the extravagantly wealthy families that populate the island’s society scene. And nobody in Singapore is considered a more eligible bachelor than Nick Young ( Henry Golding ), who left for the States years ago and is now returning to attend a friend’s wedding along with his girlfriend, Rachel ( Constance Wu ), who — to the dismay of the area’s singles — is American born, and worse, does not come from money.

Shocked to learn that her low-key boyfriend is actually the heir to one of Singapore’s biggest and longest-established fortunes, Rachel must learn to navigate this new culture, impress Nick’s snobbish family, and generally survive life amongst these Crazy Rich Asians if she hopes to continue her relationship.  —I.G. Where to watch Crazy Rich Asians : Netflix EW grade: B ( read the review ) Director: Jon M. Chu Cast: Henry Golding, Constance Wu, Michelle Yeoh , Gemma Chan , Awkwafina , Ken Jeong , Jimmy O. Yang

Duck Butter (2018)

Love gets fast-tracked in Duck Butter , a 2018 independent film co-written by and starring Alia Shawkat . Struggling with the local dating scene, actress Naima (Shawkat) and artist Sergio (Laia Costa) meet at a bar and decide to accelerate their relationship by spending 24 hours together and having sex once an hour. But the more time Naima and Sergio spend together, the more they find their quickly-established intimacy tested by new friends and loved ones.

While the Sergio character was originally written for a man, the decision to cast a woman instead adds another layer of specificity and nuance. Heavier on the toilet humor than you might expect, Duck Butter is worth a watch for its excellent acting and killer roster of supporting players. —I.G.

Where to watch Duck Butter : Netflix

Director: Miguel Arteta

Cast: Alia Shawkat, Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass , Mae Whitman , Hong Chau , Kate Berlant, Kumail Nanjiani

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)

If the Puritans knew that coming to America would later disqualify them from competing in the Eurovision Song Contest , they might have had second thoughts about leaving England. As it is, the closest Americans will get to participating in Eurovision is by turning on Will Ferrell 's 2020 parody of the annual competition. Lovingly crafted and full of legitimately good songs — including the always requested "Jaja Ding Dong" — Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is a silly story about a maligned musical duo (Ferrell and Rachel McAdams ) who are selected to represent Iceland at the competition after a tragedy befalls the country.

McAdams is particularly delightful as the nightingale-voiced Sigrit who commits to helping her bandmate (not brother) achieve his dream of competing in the Eurovision Song Contest. If you’re looking for a musical romp populated by whales and gnomes, this is the film for you.  —I.G.

Where to watch Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga : Netflix

EW grade: B– ( read the review )

Director: David Dobkin

Cast: Will Ferrell, Rachel McAdams, Dan Stevens , Graham Norton , Demi Lovato , Pierce Brosnan

Frances Ha (2013)

One of the best-known additions to the mumblecore movement that briefly invaded independent cinema during the mid 2010s, Frances Ha is also one of the most charming. Directed by Noah Baumbach and co-written by the film's star, Greta Gerwig , Frances Ha chronicles a difficult period in 27-year-old aspiring dancer Frances Halladay's life. Struggling with the dissolution of one of her closest friendships, financial challenges, and difficulties with her chosen career, Frances is both unmoored and undeterred.

A late-20s coming-of-age story released in 2012, Frances Ha contains some vague similarities to HBO 's Girls ( Adam Driver , for one) which premiered that same year, but the film offers such a high level of style, point of view, and performance as to distinguish itself from the rest of the genre. —I.G.

Where to watch Frances Ha : Netflix

EW grade: B+ ( read the review )

Director: Noah Baumbach

Cast: Greta Gerwig, Adam Driver, Mickey Sumner , Michael Zegen , Michael Esper , Charlotte d'Amboise

The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society (2018)

Fans of period romances will fall head over heels for the Netflix original The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society . The 2018 film stars Lily James as a writer who gets to know the residents of Guernsey, an island that had recently been under German occupation during World War II. As for the romantic aspect, the lead character is torn between two men: her American fiancé ( Glen Powell ) and a new man from Guernsey ( Michiel Huisman ). EW's review of Mike Newell 's film calls it "as snug and sweet and congenitally British as a tea cozy." —L.B.

Where to watch The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society : Netflix

Director: Mike Newell

Cast: Lily James, Michael Huisman, Glen Powell, Jessica Brown Findlay

The Half of It (2020)

Securing Tribeca 's Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature, Alice Wu 's queer revision of Cyrano de Bergerac introduces viewers to Ellie Chu ( Leah Lewis ), a booksmart outcast whose writing skills become a lucrative business with her peers as customers. When she starts drafting love letters for himbo jock Paul Munsky (Daniel Diemer, a.k.a. Will Poulter 's doppelgänger) to popular girl Aster Flores (Alexxis Lemire) — whom Ellie secretly harbors feelings for — the unlikely pair forge a connection far more profound than any high school crush.

Through atmospheric camerawork, whip-smart dialogue, and a sea of film references for cinephiles to bathe in, The Half of It spins a coming-of-age love story that bleeds wisdom beyond its years. —James Mercadante

Where to watch The Half of It : Netflix

Director: Alice Wu

Cast: Leah Lewis, Daniel Diemer, Alexxis Lemire, Enrique Murciano, Wolfgang Novogratz, Catherine Curtin, Becky Ann Baker, Collin Chou

The Incredible Jessica James (2017)

Jessica Williams took the world by storm when she became the youngest correspondent on The Daily Show . And after leaving the program in 2016, Williams honed in on film — starting by taking on the roles of Executive Producer and lead actor in the rom-com The Incredible Jessica James. The role of Jessica James was created especially for Williams by writer-director Jim Strouse , and the character is perfectly customized to flaunt her many comedic and performative strengths.

In the film, Jessica is an aspiring playwright and employee at a children's theater workshop who just broke up with her boyfriend ( LaKeith Stanfield ). After her friend Tasha ( Noël Wells ) sets her up on a date with Boone ( Chris O'Dowd ), Jessica must decide if their romance is worth pursuing, and what she wants her love life and work life to look like going forward. —I.G.

Where to watch The Incredible Jessica James : Netflix

Director: Jim Strouse

Cast: Jessica Williams, LaKeith Stanfield, Noël Wells, Chris O'Dowd

Lady Chatterley's Lover (2022)

If Fifty Shades of Grey and Bridgerton welcomed a child, its name would be Lady Chatterley's Lover . Enduring decades of bans for its salacious content, D.H. Lawrence's 1928 avant-garde novel gets a fresh adaptation under the heedful eye of Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, who deftly explores the depths of female desire. In this soft-core romance about emotional and bodily fulfillment, an unhappily married aristocrat ( Emma Corrin ) defies gender roles by acting on her own urges — starting a clandestine affair with the gamekeeper ( Jack O'Connell ) of her husband's (Matthew Duckett) estate.

While EW's critic observes a lack of dramatic conflict in the film, they highlight that "what's left is just an unabashedly heady romance, rich in pretty costumes — when they're wearing them — and lush, lusty atmosphere." —J.M.

Where to watch Lady Chatterley's Lover : Netflix

Director: Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre

Cast: Emma Corrin, Jack O'Connell, Matthew Duckett, Faye Marsay, Ella Hunt, Anthony Brophy

La La Land (2016)

La La Land may not have won Best Picture at the Oscars, but there's a reason the film's name was on everyone's lips ( including Faye Dunaway's ). A movie musical that dances to the same tune sung by classic films like Singin' in the Rain , La La Land stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as aspiring artists struggling to find work and love in Los Angeles. When Mia (Stone) and Sebastian (Gosling) find themselves repeatedly running into each other across the city, they take it as a sign to start dating.

Gosling and Stone easily recreate the chemistry they established in 2011's Crazy, Stupid, Love , finding a modern spin on the Old Hollywood premise that everything always works out in love and art. Named by EW as our best movie of 2016 , La La Land is "Nostalgic without seeming old-fashioned…a testament to the timeless, transporting power of cinema." —I.G.

Where to watch La La Land : Netflix

EW grade: A ( read the review )

Director: Damien Chazelle

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Rosemarie DeWitt , J.K. Simmons

Long Shot (2019)

Philippe Bosse/Lionsgate/courtesy Everett Collection

It’s a timeless tale: an ambitious Secretary of State ( Charlize Theron ) reunites with the boy she once babysat (Seth Rogen), now a political journalist who's job hunting after getting fired for his incendiary, left-leaning writing. Recruiting him to punch up her speeches for her presidential election campaign, the two travel the world on a diplomatic tour while also discovering sparks between them.

A cross between Beauty and the Beast (1991) and Veep — with a little There’s Something About Mary (1998) thrown in for good measure — Long Shot brings a political edge to the rom-com genre, as Dan Sterling ( The Interview ) and Liz Hannah's ( The Post ) script features a perfect blend of satire, treasured tropes, and rapid-fire dialogue that comes alive with some serious chemistry between its two leads. —I.G.

Where to watch Long Shot : Netflix (last day to watch: September 30)

Director: Jonathan Levine  

Cast: Seth Rogen, Charlize Theron, O'Shea Jackson Jr. , Andy Serkis , June Diane Raphael , Bob Odenkirk , Alexander Skarsgård

Love at First Sight (2023)

Rob Baker Ashton/Netflix

The year 2022 saw the rise (and slight meme-ification ) of The White Lotus star Haley Lu Richardson , thus paving the way for her lead role in this 2023 adaptation of Jennifer E. Smith 's best-selling novel, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight . Here, Richardson's quirky charm is on full display as Hadley Sullivan, a 20-year-old American who spends her seven-hour flight from New York to London engrossed in banter with her charismatic British seatmate, Oliver (Ben Hardy). (Alexa, play "London Boy" by Taylor Swift .) Once the strangers part ways upon landing, fate works its magic.

Without venturing into cringe territory,  Love at First Sight pulls off a time-worn, formulaic trope by simply embracing its sweetness — thanks to Richardson and Hardy's onscreen magnetism, a carefully curated indie soundtrack, and Jameela Jamil 's intimate narrations — leaving you plotting your next trip in hopes of an airport meet-cute. —J.M.

Where to watch Love at First Sight : Netflix

Director: Vanessa Caswill

Cast: Haley Lu Richardson, Ben Hardy, Jameela Jamil, Rob Delaney , Sally Phillips, Dexter Fletcher

The Lovebirds (2020)

After four years of dating, Jibran ( Kumail Nanjiani ) and Leilani ( Issa Rae ) are prepared to call it quits — until the couple finds themselves involved in a murder that requires them to put their break up aside and go on the run. Too concerned about racial profiling to involve the police, Jibran and Leilani must hunt down the identity of the man who was murdered so they can find out who killed him and clear their own names.

Directed by Michael Showalter ( Wet Hot American Summer ), The Lovebirds is a romantic evening gone wrong in the style of films like 2010's Date Night and 2018's Game Night . Boasting a high ratio of jokes per minute and a pair of lead actors who know how to wield their witticisms like machetes, Nanjiani and Rae's on screen bickering and loving needling will have you rooting for their relationship, even as it's falling apart. —I.G.

Where to watch The Lovebirds : Netflix

Director: Michael Showalter

Cast: Kumail Nanjiani, Issa Rae, Anna Camp , Paul Sparks

No Hard Feelings (2023)

Jennifer Lawrence is such an accomplished dramatic actress, it’s easy to forget her first big career break came on the  TBS  sitcom  The Bill Engvall Show . But her comedic chops are rock solid, and she gets to show them off in the 2023 raunch-com  No Hard Feelings . Lawrence plays Maddie, a struggling thirtysomething who agrees to seduce a wealthy couple’s introverted 19-year-old in exchange for a car.

The premise is simple but the execution is designed to let Lawrence play in ways we haven’t seen since  Silver Linings Playbook . From taking throat punches to brawling naked, the Oscar winner manages to balance the physical comedy of the film while still centering the story’s emotional heart.  As EW’s critic writes ,  No Hard Feelings  is “a reminder that Lawrence is one Hollywood's best (and funniest) leads.” —I.G.

Where to watch  No Hard Feelings : Netflix

Director: Gene Stupnitsky

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman, Laura Benanti , Natalie Morales , Matthew Broderick

Our Souls at Night (2017)

Some partnerships just keep getting better with age, and the onscreen relationship between Robert Redford and Jane Fonda — now in its fourth iteration — is one of those unions. In the Netflix original movie Our Souls at Night , Redford and Fonda play longtime neighbors and widowers Louis and Addie, who find comfort in spending their nights together as platonic friends. Aware that their unorthodox relationship and sleeping arrangement is eliciting side eyes from the town and their adult children, the pair must eventually choose between their growing emotional dependence on each other and the needs of their respective families.

With a cast of only seven actors, the strength of Our Souls at Night lies mainly in the steady hands of its two leads, who make falling in love look just as appealing as they did half a century ago in Barefoot In The Park . —I.G.

Where to watch Our Souls at Night : Netflix

Director: Ritesh Batra

Cast: Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Judy Greer , Matthias Schoenaerts , Bruce Dern , Iain Armitage

Phantom Thread (2017)

There are lots of lighthearted romantic movies on Netflix, but if you're looking for something much, much darker, there's Phantom Thread . The Paul Thomas Anderson movie stars Daniel Day-Lewis as a fashion designer who finds a muse and partner in a waitress ( Vicky Krieps ) during the 1950s. The couple's relationship is rocky to say the least, and some poisonous mushrooms play a hefty role in the film's tension.

"What's true with Daniel is that you're always in front of someone very awake, so you have to be awake," Krieps tells EW about working with Day-Lewis in what is purportedly his final role. "You couldn't go and do something not really knowing what you're doing or being half thinking about your lunch. It wouldn't work because you'd just crash against the wall." —L.B.

Where to watch Phantom Thread : Netflix

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Kreips, Lesley Manville

Plus One (2019)

RLJE Films/Courtesy Everett Collection

Fed up with being single during wedding season, two Millennial college pals Ben ( Jack Quaid ) and Alice ( Maya Erskine ) agree to be each other's platonic plus ones at every event. Winning Tribeca's Narrative Audience Award in 2019, Plus One is a lighthearted buddy-comedy that blossoms into a richly nuanced friends-to-lovers romance, showcasing two fully realized characters who share universal anxieties of being alone and societal expectations to settle down.

Erskine summed up the film to EW , saying: "At its core, it’s a movie about friendship [and] she’s able to be her ugliest self. She’s able to fart, curse, and show every facet of herself and still be looked at as a beautiful woman, and to me, that’s what sets it aside from other romantic comedies." —J.M.

Where to watch Plus One : Netflix

Directors: Jeff Chan , Andrew Rhymer

Cast: Maya Erskine, Jack Quaid, Beck Bennett , Rosalind Chao , Perrey Reeves , Ed Begley Jr.

Set It Up (2018)

If you found Glen Powell to be perfect boyfriend material in Anyone but You (2023), wait until you see him paired with the dynamic Zoey Deutch in Set It Up . When two stress-ridden assistants from adjoining companies, Harper (Deutch) and Charlie (Powell), conspire to set up their Type-A bosses ( Taye Diggs , Lucy Liu ) in hopes of freeing themselves from the nonstop office grind, it sparks an enemies-to-lovers fling between the two matchmakers that's as satisfying as a sublime slice of pizza . Set It Up ranks among Netflix's finest rom-coms, injecting the genre's familiar elements with an extra dose of heart — all fueled by the palpable chemistry between Powell and Deutch. —J.M.

Where to watch Set It Up : Netflix

Director: Claire Scanlon

Cast: Zoey Deutch, Glen Powell, Lucy Liu, Taye Diggs, Joan Smalls, Meredith Hagner, Pete Davidson , Jon Rudnitsky , Tituss Burgess

She's Gotta Have It (1986)

Island Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

Spike Lee ’s first feature film as a writer and director, She’s Gotta Have It presents intertwining romances as lead character Nola Darling (Tracy Camilla Johns) decides which of the three men she’s dating (Lee, Tommy Redmond Hicks , John Canada Terrell ) she wants to have a monogamous relationship with. Luxuriating in Lee’s creative sensibility and shot in crisp black and white, Nola’s journey towards picking a partner is funny, thought-provoking, and unique in every respect.

In a review of Netflix’s 2017 She’s Gotta Have It adaptation (also directed by Lee), EW’s critic describes the original movie , writing, “ She’s Gotta Have It was Spike Lee’s first feature film, and few movies feel so joyfully first.” A dramedy that questions sexual, relationship, and gender norms of the time, She’s Gotta Have It is notable for its subject matter, aesthetic, and for launching Lee’s storied Hollywood career. —I.G.

Where to watch She’s Gotta Have It : Netflix

EW grade: B– ( read the review )

Director: Spike Lee 

Cast: Tracy Camilla Johns, Spike Lee, Tommy Redmond Hicks, John Canada Terrell

Shortcomings (2023)

Jon Pack/Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Regrettably overshadowed during its initial release by the Barbienheimer phenomenon, Randall Park's directorial debut is an underdog deserving of a spot on your Letterboxd watchlist. Adapted from the beloved graphic novel by The New Yorker 's Adrian Tomine, Shortcomings trails the introspective journey of Asian American man-child/culture snob, Ben Tagawa (Justin H. Min), whose on-the-mends relationship with girlfriend Miko (Ally Maki) hits a temporary pause once she relocates from California to the Big Apple for an internship.

With the dubious counsel of his skirt-chasing best friend, Alice (Sherry Cola), Ben dives headfirst back into the dating pool and grapples with his own desires, which exposes his inclination toward Western standards of beauty. A film about accepting life's ebbs and flows, Shortcomings invites audiences to witness Park's burgeoning directorial talent while engaging in incisive social commentary, particularly on the complexities of race in relationships.  —J.M.

Where to watch Shortcomings : Netflix

Director: Randall Park 

Cast: Justin H. Min, Sherry Cola, Ally Maki, Tavi Gevinson , Debby Ryan, Sonoya Mizuno, Jacob Batalon, Timothy Simons

Someone Great (2019)

Heartbreak just hits different in Netflix's Someone Great , a film about Jenny ( Gina Rodriguez ), a music journalist who goes through a breakup after accepting her dream job in San Francisco and learning her boyfriend (LaKeith Stanfield) doesn't want to come along. Emotionally buttressed by her best friends Erin (DeWanda Wise) and Blair ( Brittany Snow ), Jenny decides to make the most of her last night in New York City, and along the way encounters an eclectic supporting cast including Rosario Dawson , RuPaul , and SNL 's Alex Moffat.

In addition to being a solid modern rom-com, Someone Great also has great significance in Swiftie lore: Taylor's 2014 song "Clean" off the 1989 album was one of the inspirations for the film's story, and Swift wrote Lover 's "Death by a Thousand Cuts" after seeing the movie. Deeply relatable for anyone who's been blindsided or suffered a broken heart, Someone Great is about endings, beginnings, and finding the joy in both. —I.G.

Where to watch Someone Great : Netflix

Director: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson

Cast: Gina Rodriguez, DeWanda Wise, Brittany Snow, LaKeith Stanfield, Rosario Dawson, RuPaul, Alex Moffat

To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018)

Navigating high school is painful enough without all of your crushes finding out you like them — at the same time. A modern rom-com that EW's critic calls "breezy and charming," To All the Boys I've Loved Before follows Lara Jean Covey ( Lana Condor ) as her worst fears are realized when the love letters she never meant to send find their way to the boys who inspired them. Cornered by love, Lara Jean negotiates a sham relationship with her former crush to throw off her current one, but when feelings start catching, Lara Jean must deal with the consequences of both her lies and the truths she's starting to realize. The first in a series of three films, which also include 2020's To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You and 2021's To All the Boys: Always and Forever , the original still hits the hardest. —I.G.

Where to watch To All the Boys I've Loved Before : Netflix

Director: Susan Johnson

Cast: Lana Condor , Noah Centineo , Janel Parrish , Anna Cathcart, Andrew Bachelor, Trezzo Mahoro, Madeleine Arthur , Emilija Baranac, Israel Broussard, John Corbett

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The 24 Best Romantic Movies on Netflix Right Now

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Looking for a good love story? We've put together the best romance movies streaming on Netflix right now, from rom-coms to tear-jerking dramas to something a little sexier. Netflix has been leaning into their own original romantic content in recent years, so there are plenty of new releases to check out, but there are also some bonafide classics, award-winners, and box office hits in the mix. So without any further ado, settle in for meet-cutes, public professions of love, mind games, romantic gestures, slow dances, seductions, and all the classic romance movie beats.

If you didn't find quite what you're looking for here, check out the Best Movies on Netflix or Best Rom-Coms on Netflix .

Disclaimer: These titles are available on US Netflix.

Editor's note: This article was updated May 2024 to include Mother of the Bride.

'Mother of the Bride' (2024)

Rotten tomatoes: 13% | imdb: 4.8/10.

Mother of the Bride 2024 Film Promo Image-1

Mother of the Bride

Directed by Mark Waters and written by Robin Bernheim , Mother of the Bride is a romantic comedy film that kicks off when Emma ( Miranda Cosgrove ) surprises her mother, Lana ( Brooke Shields ), with the news of her engagement. As mother and daughter head to Phuket, Thailand, for the wedding, things take a turn for the worse when it turns out the groom’s father is Lana’s ex-boyfriend ( Benjamin Bratt ). The movie also features Sean Teale , Chad Michael Murray , and Rachael Harris in supporting roles. Cast in the now-familiar mold of the Father of the Bride movies, Mother of the Bride has had largely unfavorable reviews from critics, with Shields and Cosgrove’s performances receiving some criticism. However, if you’re in the market for a silly Netflix rom-com, Mother of the Bride does not disappoint. Set in a beautiful and lavish setting and just funny enough to keep you amused, it’s a cute movie that’s great for casual comfort watching.

Watch on Netflix

'Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga' (2020)

Rotten tomatoes: 63% | imdb: 6.5/10.

eurovision-song-contest-the-story-of-fire-saga-poster

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga

A goofy yet poignant Netflix Original comedy, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga stars Rachel McAdams and Will Ferrell as a pair of Icelandic singers with dreams of winning the Eurovision Song Contest. Directed by David Dobkin ( Shanghai Knights ), the film was written by Will Ferrell and Harper Steele . Besides the two leads, Eurovision Song Contest also stars Dan Stevens , Graham Norton , Demi Lovato , and Pierce Brosnan .

You might not expect Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga to be one of the most touching and romantic movies of 2020, but one should never underestimate the power of Rachel McAdams. The Mean Girls and Game Night star proves once again that she's one of the most underrated comedic actors of her generation. The movie is sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, but the big surprises here are the fabulously catchy original songs and the unexpected tenderness between the laughs that might just leave you with a tear in your eye and warmth in your heart. That's not just because of the love story, but that's sure a big part of it.

'Love Is in the Air' (2023)

Rotten tomatoes: 25% | imdb: 5.6/10.

Love Is In the Air Netflix Poster

Love Is in the Air

Directed by Adrian Powers from a script by Caera Bradshaw and Katharine McPhee , Love Is in the Air is a laugh-a-minute rom-com about seaplane pilot Dana Randall ( Delta Goodrem ), who finds love in the unlikeliest of places, with her romantic partner, William ( Joshua Sasse ), initially intending to bring Dana’s business to the ground. The film’s talented cast also stars the likes of Mia Grunwald ( Romance at the Vineyard ) and Roy Billing ( The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader ).

In Love Is in the Air , romance in whimsical abundance is the order of the day as the central pair’s delightful chemistry is brought to life. While the film received largely negative reviews from critics, it’s just the sort of easy story that makes for a fun romantic movie night. Ticking all of the genre’s many boxes, Love Is in the Air is a gentle flight with little turbulence, with its great cast helping to ease the film into its satisfying landing.

'Happiness For Beginners' (2023)

Rotten tomatoes: 33% | imdb: 6.1/10.

Happiness for Beginners Netflix Poster

Happiness for Beginners

Adapting the popular novel by Katherine Center , Vicky Wight ’s Happiness For Beginners is a movie that reminds us that it’s never too late to rediscover and redefine who we are. Ellie Kemper ( Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt ) plays Helen, a recent divorcée who decides to join a survivalist hike along the Appalachian Trail in an attempt to become someone other than the lonely woman she sees in the mirror. On the trip, she reconnects with an old friend of her brother’s (played by Luke Grimes ), who gives her a new perspective on the way she wants to live her life.

While the film received a mixed response from critics, this romantic comedy is very cute, and Kemper and Grimes have such easy yet electric chemistry on screen, it sucks you in instantly. Happiness for Beginners is carried by that chemistry and the performances of the whole cast. If nothing else, this movie is worth watching if you’d like to see Ellie Kemper take on a role that’s drastically different from the cheerful, bright-eyed young women she usually plays.

'The Perfect Find' (2023)

Rotten tomatoes: 69% | imdb: 5.1/10.

The Perfect Find Netflix Poster

The Perfect Find

Written by Leigh Davenport , directed by Numa Perrier , and based on the novel by Tia Williams , The Perfect Find is a romantic comedy following Gabrielle Union ( The Perfect Holiday ) as Jenna Jones, a woman in her 40s trying to rebuild her life and career after a very public breakup and firing. On her journey to get a new job and find love, Jenna meets a younger man in his 20s, played by Keith Powers ( Before I Fall ), who makes her reevaluate what she truly wants out of life. Unfortunately, her new beau turns out to be the son of her domineering new boss ( Gina Torres ), which forces her to choose between the career she’s always wanted and the man who inspired her to pursue it.

The Perfect Find premiered at the Tribeca Festival in 2023, where it won the Audience Award for Narrative Feature. The film has received positive reviews from critics, especially for the chemistry between the movie’s two leads. If what you’re looking for is a low-key but comfy romance film, then The Perfect Find is, well, the perfect find.

'A Tourist’s Guide to Love' (2023)

Rotten tomatoes: 67% | imdb: 5.7/10.

A Tourists Guide to Love Netflix Poster

A Tourist’s Guide to Love

Rachael Leigh Cook ( She’s All That ) and Scott Lý star in A Tourist’s Guide to Love by director Steven Tsuchida . The movie follows an executive named Amanda Riley (Cook), who travels to Vietnam to learn about the country’s tourism industry. There, she meets a charming and charismatic tour guide named Sinh Thach (Lý). Rounding out the cast of the cute romantic comedy are hilarious actors, including Ben Feldman and Missi Pyle .

Through a delightful story of resilience written by Eirene Donohue , A Tourist’s Guide to Love dives headfirst into themes of heartbreak and second chances. While the movie received mixed reviews from critics, its charismatic, likable characters and catchy soundtrack make A Tourist’s Guide to Love an entertaining journey.

'Your Place or Mine' (2023)

Rotten tomatoes: 30% | imdb: 5.7/10.

Your Place or Mine Movie Poster

Your Place or Mine

Aline Brosh McKenna ’s directorial debut film Your Place or Mine follows long-distance best friends Debbie Dunn ( Reese Witherspoon ) and Peter Coleman ( Ashton Kutcher ) as they swap cities and get a taste of the other's daily struggles. While Peter takes care of Debbie’s son in Los Angeles, Debbie pursues a dream of hers in New York. However, when Debbie falls for the smooth and handsome Theo Martin, played by Jesse Williams , it reframes their whole relationship in a way neither Debbie nor Peter could have foreseen. The film boasts a great supporting cast featuring the likes of Zoë Chao , Tig Notaro , and Steve Zahn .

Though it didn’t quite capture the hearts of critics, Your Place or Mine has proven to be fairly popular with audiences, bringing in over 80 million views since its debut on Netflix. Reminiscent of iconic romantic comedies like When Harry Met Sally and You’ve Got Mail , this coast-to-coast rom-com has a lot of heart and will bust your gut with the incredible cast of comedians sprinkled throughout.

'Good on Paper' (2021)

Rotten tomatoes: 50% | imdb: 5.6/10.

good on paper poster

Good on Paper

Written by and starring comedian Iliza Shlesinger , Good on Paper is a romantic comedy about a stand-up comic named Andrea (Shlesinger) who meets Dennis ( Ryan Hansen ), a man who seems to check all her boxes. But as she gets to know him, Andrea begins to realize Dennis might not be who he says he is. Kimmy Gatewood ’s directorial debut, this awkwardly funny rom-com also boasts a brilliant supporting cast, which includes legend Margaret Cho and GLOW alum Britney Young .

The film’s delightfully charming premise is based on an unfortunate real occurrence in Schlesinger’s life. Good on Paper is a carefully crafted hour-and-a-half film full of chemistry between the entire cast. The story transitions well from a comedy routine to the screen by embracing the unconventional and finding humor in heartbreak and discomfort. Though critical reception to Good on Paper has been mixed, the unconventional plot and genre-breaking elements make it an entertaining watch.

'Holidate' (2020)

Rotten tomatoes: 45% | imdb: 6.1/10.

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Emma Roberts ( American Horror Story ) stars alongside Luke Bracey ( Elvis ) in the Netflix original holiday rom-com Holidate , directed by John Whitesell and written by Tiffany Paulsen . The movie is centered on Sloane Benson (Roberts), who strikes a deal with Jackson (Bracey) to be each other’s holiday dates — without getting into a romantic relationship. As you might expect, this “perfect plan” falls apart when Sloane starts yearning for more. Besides its two talented leads, Holidate also features a stellar supporting cast that includes the likes of Jake Manley ( The Order ), Jessica Capshaw ( Grey’s Anatomy ), and the incomparable Kristin Chenoweth ( Schmigadoon! ).

A classic romantic comedy to the core, Holidate brilliantly balances hilarity with heartwarming moments, proving itself an adorable movie that charmingly exposes the familial and societal pressures that come with being single. Through a delightful journey of finding love, Holidate builds on the iconic and often cringe-worthy holiday movie tropes, allowing the two single strangers at the heart of the movie to find unexpected attraction and genuine chemistry.

'Look Both Ways' (2022)

Rotten tomatoes: 62% | imdb: 6.3/10.

Look Both Ways Film Poster-1

Look Both Ways

Directed by Wanuri Kahiu and written by April Prosser , Look Both Ways is a romantic dramedy starring Lili Reinhart , Danny Ramirez , Luke Wilson , David Corenswet , and more. After Natalie (Reinhart) spontaneously sleeps with her friend Gabe (Ramirez), she has a pregnancy scare on her college graduation night. The film follows two different paths: what her life would look like if the test was positive and what it would be like if it was negative.

Look Both Ways is a funny, charming film that explores the notion of one decision having the power to change the trajectory of your life forever. The movie received generally favorable reviews from critics, and it has some compelling tales to tell, with the focus on Natalie’s career in addition to the romance providing a refreshing change.

'Persuasion' (2022)

Rotten tomatoes: 31% | imdb: 5.8/10.

persuasian poster

Based on the Jane Austen novel, Persuasion is a post-modernist historical romance starring Dakota Johnson ( Fifty Shades of Grey ) as Anne Elliot, a heartbroken woman who is presented with a second chance at true love. Directed by Carrie Cracknell and written by Ron Bass and Alice Victoria Winslow , the film features a brilliant British supporting cast — including the incomparable Richard E. Grant ( Loki ) and Crazy Rich Asians ’ heartthrob Henry Golding — in a classic romance story set in a bygone era.

Gorgeously costumed and filled with breathtaking scenery and landscapes, Persuasion is a feast for the eyes, revealing a grounded story intended to tug on the heartstrings and warm the soul. The movie’s use of modern elements like fourth-wall breaks has polarized audiences and critics; you’ll either love it or hate it, but those very elements are what add a fresh touch to Persuasion ’s well-tread story.

'Love & Gelato' (2022)

Rotten tomatoes: 22% | imdb: 5.2/10.

Love and Gelato Film Poster

Love & Gelato

Based on the best-selling novel by Jenna Evans Welch , Brandon Camp ’s Love & Gelato follows 17-year-old Lina ( Susanna Skaggs ) as she tries to fulfill her mother’s last wish by venturing to Rome the summer before heading off to college. Although she’s a socially awkward and introverted person who would much rather spend the time back home, Lina takes on the challenge and finds more than she bargained for.

Love & Gelato is an adorable rom-com sure to appeal to Emily in Paris fans or anyone just looking for a lighthearted watch. The movie employs many beloved tropes of the genre – love triangles! Insta-love! An endlessly supportive bestie! – making it as sweet as its name. Bonus points for the beautiful cinematography showcasing Italy in all its glory.

'To All the Boys I've Loved Before' (2018)

Rotten tomatoes: 96% | imdb: 7.0/10.

To All the Boys Ive Loved Before Netflix Poster

To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Based on the novel by Jenny Han , To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is a young adult rom-com directed by Susan Johnson and written by Sofia Alvarez . The movie follows Lara Jean ( Lana Condor ), a teenager whose worst nightmares are realized when five letters she wrote to her secret crushes are sent out without her knowledge. When she’s confronted by her old crush, Peter ( Noah Centineo ), she’s afraid it could get in the way of her current crush, Josh ( Israel Broussard ). Lara Jean and Peter resolve to fake a relationship so they can get with the people they really want to be with. Naturally, pretending to be together starts to create real feelings between the two.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before has received near-universal praise from both critics and fans, and it’s now developed into a franchise with two sequels and a prequel series. Easily one of the most popular romance films of the 2010s, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is a joy from start to finish, letting you relive a time when who “liked” you was the most important thing in the world without any of the trauma high school entails. If you’re looking for a fun, sweet YA romance to brighten your day, you can’t do much better than this.

'Set It Up' (2018)

Rotten tomatoes: 92% | imdb: 6.5/10.

Set it Up Netflix Poster

Two corporate executive assistants hatch a plan to match-make their two bosses.

Claire Scanlon ’s charming rom-com Set It Up follows two beleaguered assistants ( Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell ) who decided to set up their bosses ( Lucy Liu and Taye Diggs , respectively) so they can get some precious free time away from their demanding jobs. However, with all their scheming, they start to fall for each other instead.

Written by Katie Silberman , Set It Up received generally favorable reviews from critics. If you’re looking for a charming romantic comedy but don’t want to rewatch something from yesteryear for the umpteenth time, you should definitely give this movie a shot. You can see the rom-com beats coming from a mile away, but they’re done so well and so effectively that you won’t mind. Plus, the film sizzles thanks to the outstanding performances from the dazzling Deutch and Powell, who should be the streaming generation’s Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks .

'Let It Snow' (2019)

Rotten tomatoes: 81% | imdb: 5.8/10.

Let It Snow Netflix Poster

Let It Snow

Adapted from the YA novel of the same name by Maureen Johnson , John Green , and Lauren Myracle , Let It Snow is a breezy holiday rom-com that follows a series of overlapping love stories on one fateful Christmas season snow day. Directed by Luke Snellin , the movie stars Isabela Merced ( Dora and the Lost City of Gold ), Shameik Moore ( Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse ), and Kiernan Shipka ( Chilling Adventures of Sabrina ) and was written by Kay Cannon , Victoria Strouse , and Laura Solon .

A bit of a Love Actually for the teen set, Let It Snow is a sweet film from top to tail, as interested in the dramas of teen friendship and domestic struggles as it is the blossoming romances. Even more, it's filled with delightful performances from a knockout cast of young up-and-comers. A lot of the Netflix Christmas romances follow in the Hallmark Channel vein, and absolutely no judgment if that's your preferred thing, but for those who want an old-fashioned feel-good holiday romance, Let It Snow is just the ticket.

'Alex Strangelove' (2018)

Rotten tomatoes: 81% | imdb: 6.3/10.

Alex Strangelove Netflix Poster

Alex Strangelove

Written and directed by Craig Johnson , Alex Strangelove is a romantic coming-of-age comedy film. Daniel Doheny stars as Alex Truelove, a high school senior and class president who is in a relationship with his best friend, Claire ( Madeline Weinstein ). The couple sets a date to have sex for the first time. As you can imagine, something happens to derail those plans, and that something is the charming, openly gay teenager Elliot ( Antonio Marziale ). After meeting him at a party, Alex starts to get closer to Elliot, which leads him to begin questioning his sexuality.

Alex Strangelove premiered at the San Francisco International Film Festival in 2018 and received largely positive reviews from critics. While the movie isn't particularly deep, it delivers a funny, enjoyable story about accepting yourself that's worth checking out. Yes, Alex Strangelove is a romantic comedy, which is how it got onto this list, but what makes the movie so endearing isn't so much the romance as it is the personal arc of the lead character.

'Someone Great' (2019)

Rotten tomatoes: 83% | imdb: 6.2/10.

Someone Great Film Poster

Someone Great (2019)

After a devastating break up on the eve of her cross-country move, Jenny enjoys one last NYC adventure with her two best pals. Someone Great is a romantic comedy about love, loss, growth and the everlasting bond of female friendship.

Pitched somewhere between a love story and a wild night-out comedy, Someone Great

is centered on a young woman ( Gina Rodriguez ) who heads out for one last crazy night with her best friends before leaving town. Oh, and she just got dumped by her boyfriend of seven years ( LaKeith Stanfield ). Written and directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson in her directorial debut, the movie also stars Brittany Snow , DeWanda Wise , and Peter Vack .

Someone Great received generally favorable reviews from critics, with the performances being hailed as the movie’s highlight. Stanfield, in particular, is in peak charming mode in this film, and the chemistry he has with Rodriguez is a knockout, keeping you wrapped up in their love even though you know it's over. There's plenty of raunchy comedy to go around, but the dynamic between Rodriguez and Stanfield is what gives the film its heart and spark.

'The Incredible Jessica James' (2017)

Rotten tomatoes: 89% | imdb: 6.5/10.

The Incredible Jessica James Netflix Poster

The Incredible Jessica James

An indie rom-com written and directed by James C. Strouse , The Incredible Jessica James follows the fiercely independent title character as she navigates life after a breakup. An aspiring playwright living in New York City, Jessica James is trying (and failing) to get over her ex when she ends up on a blind date with a recent divorcé. Despite an awkward start, they end up hitting it off and set out to make their way through the post-breakup world together as best they can. The movie features the iconic Jessica Williams in the lead role and boasts an ensemble supporting cast that includes Chris O'Dowd , Noël Wells , and Lakeith Stanfield .

Sexy, funny, and decidedly modern, The Incredible Jessica James is a refreshing spin on the rom-com that doesn’t pander to the lowest common denominator, and it received a lot of praise from critics for doing just that. The film was Jessica Williams’ first leading role after her tenure on The Daily Show , and she lights up the screen. Now, the character of Jessica James may not be quite as incredible as the title leads you to believe — she’s pretty selfish and naive — but she’s passionate, raw, and ambitious, and Williams makes you love her despite her faults. A supporting performance from the constantly charming Chris O’Dowd certainly doesn’t hurt, and the two have electric chemistry as they try to navigate the waters of heartbreak together toward something healthy and new.

'Always Be My Maybe' (2019)

Rotten tomatoes: 89% | imdb: 6.8/10.

Always Be My Maybe Netflix Poster

Always Be My Maybe

Starring Randall Park and Ali Wong , Always Be My Maybe follows a pair of teenage best friends who have since drifted apart and are pushed together once more in adulthood, even though their lives have followed very different paths. Directed by Nahnatchka Khan , the film was also co-written by Park and Wong alongside playwright and screenwriter Michael Golamco . Always Be My Maybe ’s ensemble cast also includes Michelle Buteau , James Saito , Vivian Bang , Daniel Dae Kim , and Keanu Reeves .

Netflix brought the rom-com back in a big way with 2018’s Set It Up , and Always Be My Maybe is similarly charming and delightful, finding success with both critics and audiences. Park and Wong are dynamite together, and the film takes time to breathe with some well-paced dramatic sequences. It’s also not lacking in scene-stealers, as Michelle Buteau is a hoot, and Keanu Reeves once again proves his talent knows no bounds.

'The Half of It' (2020)

Rotten tomatoes: 97% | imdb: 6.9/10.

The Half of It Netflix Poster

The Half of It

Written and directed by Alice Wu , The Half of It offers an update on the classic Cyrano de Bergerac . The film follows shy straight-A student Ellie Chu ( Leah Lewis ), who writes love letters for inarticulate school jock Paul Munsky (Daniel Diemer) to woo the beautiful Aster Flores ( Alexxis Lemire ). What Paul doesn’t know is that Ellie is secretly in love with Aster herself.

Critically acclaimed and nominated for numerous awards, The Half of It is a brilliant exploration of three teenagers searching for their identity and hungry for their first love, all wrapped up in a messy, hungry love triangle that never feels cheap or exploitative. Gorgeously shot, expertly paced, and filled with characters you can't help but learn to love, Wu’s touching tale is a knockout, self-aware teen romance that's as bittersweet as the real thing.

Netflix

'Nobody Wants This' review: Kristen Bell, Adam Brody are electric and sexy

movie review romantic

The show is called "Nobody Wants This," but I actually think quite a few people will be clamoring for it.

That's because there's something absolutely scrumptious about Netflix's new romantic comedy starring Kristen Bell and Adam Brody. Besides existing as a way to warm the cold hearts of millennials who grew up on "Veronica Mars " and "The O.C.," "Nobody" (now streaming, ★★★½ out of four) also might just be the romance to make you believe in a little thing called love. It's an opposites-attract story about a down-to-Earth rabbi (Brody) and an irreverent agnostic (Bell) pulled irresistibly together. Cue the long, lingering, lovesick glances, fish-out-of-water cultural high jinks and a lot of use of the Yiddish term "shiksa" (a non-Jewish woman).

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It's possible a story that relies on stereotypes and cultural truisms could have turned into something soapy and insensitive, but propelled by its leads and keen sense of modern comedy, "Nobody" adds up its disparate parts into something delightful and delicious . The 10-episode season is bingeable in the most literal sense; you'll want to eat it all up in one sitting.

10 best new TV shows to watch this fall: 'Nobody Wants This' to 'Matlock'

Who couldn't help being charmed by Joanne (Bell), an outrageous and easily outraged podcast host who trades on stories of bad dates and worse sex in a show with her sister Morgan (Justine Lupe). She hasn't found any contenders for long-term relationships in her life, but she has brought her podcast to the brink of major success and major money. Then there's Noah (Brody), the "hot rabbi" of the local Los Angeles temple who finally realizes he hasn't yet proposed to his long-term girlfriend not because he's a commitment-phobe, but because he didn't actually want to be with her.

With the guy on the rebound, and the girl never in love long enough to make a rebound, the pair meets at a dinner party in one of the most palpably romantic and sexy scenes you'll see in modern TV (it's less meet-cute and more meet-hot). There's plenty of flirtation before they figure out they're from completely different worlds. But in spite of this, they can't stay apart (or keep their hands off each other).

The meat of any good romantic comedy is all the run-around that keeps these crazy kids from making it work. Noah's family is anti-Joanne on principle; it's traditional for everyone, and especially a rabbi, to marry within their faith. Morgan is afraid her sister is falling for the wrong guy. Noah and Joanne have their own reservations, and they trip up in their efforts to move the relationship forward, please themselves and please their families and communities.

'Nobody Wants This': Adam Brody, Kristen Bell on love, why perfect match 'can't be found'

As fun and situationally comedic as all the extraneous plot blockades are, the best part of this particular love story is actually the love. So many series and films in this genre are afraid of letting the relationship be the star of the show. But when Joanne and Noah kiss or cuddle or share a Shabbat dinner, you can't help but melt.

Noah and Joanne are never specifically given ages, but both actors are 44, and the series is not shy about portraying dating for a more mature demographic. It's refreshing to see a show where love can come at any time, and the interesting parts of life don't end just because you turn 40, have kids or settle into a job.

It's just the beginning for Noah and Joanne in "Nobody." The pure, unadulterated chemistry between Brody and Bell turns the series from "just another rom-com" into one of the best shows of the year. It's helped by some equally electric scripts by series creator Erin Foster (who based it in part on her own love story with her husband, for whom she converted to Judaism). It's all a little heightened, sure, but in a way that gives you the vibes of the last 20 minutes of a Kate Hudson movie in every episode − ridiculous but deeply fun, and there's definitely going to be a good kiss.

Perhaps the worst thing about "Nobody" is its title, but if you can discover the show in spite of a warning not to watch, you'll be amply rewarded.

Everybody wants this kind of love.

Netflix's new romantic comedy show just landed — and it already looks like the perfect binge-watch

Critics are calling it 'wholesome' and 'electric'

Adam Brody and Kristen Bell in "Nobody Wants This" on Netflix

It’s been a minute since Netflix dropped a romantic comedy that really stands out in a crowded market. However, it seems like "Nobody Wants This" is set to be the latest hit now that it’s landed on the streaming service . As someone who loves a fun rom-com series that doesn’t take itself too seriously, I know I’ll be one of the first to binge-watch it.

This feel-good rom-com seems to have all the right ingredients to make it an easily consumable watch. It’s almost guaranteed to climb the Netflix top 10, even having the strength to battle the newest controversial show for the No.1 spot . Early reviews are very much glowing, with critics calling it "electric" and praising its sharp humor, standout performances and "crackling chemistry" between its leads. 

While it’s still early days, "Nobody Wants This" already feels like a strong contender for the streamer’s next No. 1 show. With an irresistible premise and charm to spare, this could be the binge-worthy hit viewers have been waiting for. So, here’s everything to know about this rom-com and what critics are saying about it.

What is 'Nobody Wants This' about?

Nobody Wants This | Official Trailer | Netflix - YouTube

"Nobody Wants This" is a romantic comedy show that follows the unlikely romance between an agnostic podcaster, Joanne (Kristen Bell), and a newly single rabbi, Noah (Adam Brody). After meeting at a mutual friend’s dinner party, they quickly fall for each other, but their relationship faces challenges from their vastly different lifestyles and meddling families. 

This rom-com is actually based on the true story of how show creator, Erin Foster, met her husband. It explores whether love can truly bridge such stark differences, all while serving up plenty of humor and heart. 

'Nobody Wants This' early reviews — here's what critics are saying 

As mentioned before, "Nobody Wants This" has only just landed on Netflix, so it doesn’t even have a Rotten Tomatoes score yet at the time of writing. However, some early reviews of the show have gone live, and they all sound pretty positive.

The Guardian’s Lucy Mangan called it a "joyous rom-com" and stated it’s the "funniest, sweetest, most scabrous, most romantic, most real thing we’ve seen since – well, since Colin from Accounts." Meanwhile, Mike Hale from the New York Times valued the emotional performances: "Bell and Brody, who have both done this kind of thing before, are a marvelous pair. You root for Joanne and Noah as the pressure on the relationship builds to a season-ending peak."

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movie review romantic

Most of the praise seems to be directed toward the powerful chemistry between Bell and Brody. The AV Club’s Saloni Gajjar found it "remarkably breezy to watch," but that comes down to how the characters navigate such an unexpected relationship: "It’s clear Noah and Joanne really want this [relationship] to work. And without Brody and Bell selling the hell out of this feeling, the show wouldn’t be as believable and charming."

However, not every review is so positive. Daniel Fienberg from The Hollywood Reporter called it a "frustratingly uneven rom-com" that "leans as heavily into stereotypes as it does sitcom tropes." But they didn’t completely dislike the show, ending the review with: "In response to the show’s title, it isn’t that I don’t want this. I actually want this badly. But to reference a complete unconnected rom-com … it’s complicated."

Should you stream 'Nobody Wants This' on Netflix?

Kristen Bell and Adam Brody in

I didn’t even have to look at the reviews to know I’ll be binge-watching all ten episodes of "Nobody Wants This" as soon as possible. It seems like the refreshing rom-com Netflix subscribers have been waiting for, and I hope it at least makes it into the top 10. 

Of course, it might not be the most groundbreaking show ever, but the unique pairing of a sex podcaster and a rabbi creates plenty of room for hilarious moments and deeper conversations about relationships and faith. Plus, the undeniable chemistry between the leads is a huge bonus.

If you want more to watch this week , check out our guide on the best Netflix shows you’re not watching . You can also see what’s coming to the big red streamer in October 2024 (expect plenty of Halloween-themed entertainment).

Stream "Nobody Wants This" on Netflix now.

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Alix is a Streaming Writer at Tom’s Guide, which basically means watching the best movies and TV shows and then writing about them. Previously, she worked as a freelance writer for Screen Rant and Bough Digital, both of which sparked her interest in the entertainment industry. When she’s not writing about the latest movies and TV shows, she’s either playing horror video games on her PC or working on her first novel.

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movie review romantic

There is a fantasy scene in “Romance” where a woman’s body is divided by a wall. On one side, from the waist down, she is in a brothel. On the other side, from the waist up, in a delivery room. What is the message of the scene? Don’t be too sure you know. I know I don’t. It isn’t some kind of simplistic message linking childbirth with misuse by men. The woman having the fantasy isn’t really against the activities on either side of the wall. Maybe the scene is intended as an illustration of her own confusion about sex.

The woman’s name is Marie ( Caroline Ducey ). She could be the woman Freud was thinking about when he confessed he could not answer the question, “What do women want?” Marie asks herself the same question. She wants something, all right. She is unhappy with her boyfriend Paul, who refuses to sleep with her, and unhappy, too, with the sexual adventures she has. It’s like there’s a disconnect between her body and her identity. She does things that sometimes make her feel good, but she doesn’t feel good because she has done them.

“Romance,” written and directed by Catherine Breillat , became notorious on the festival circuit this autumn because it is an intelligent, radical film by a woman, and at the same time it contains explicit nudity and, as nearly as we can tell, actual sex. It is not arousing or pornographic, because the sex isn’t presented in an erotic way; it’s more like a documentary of a dogged woman’s forced march toward orgasm, a goal she is not sure she values. Marie narrates the film herself and also seems to be reading pages from her journal; she is baffled by herself, baffled by men, baffled by sex. Even after climax, her hand closes on air.

Of course the film is French. It is said that for the French, wine takes the place of flirting, dining takes the place of seduction, smoking takes the place of foreplay and talking takes the place of sex. “Romance” is so analytical that you sometimes get the feeling Marie is putting herself through her sexual encounters simply to get material for her journal. These poor guys aren’t lovers, they’re case studies.

And yet the film has an icy fascination. Perhaps it is a test of how men and women relate to eroticism on the screen. I know few men who like it much (sure proof it is not pornographic). Women defend it in feminist terms, but you have the strangest feeling they’re not saying what they really think. At a screening at the Toronto Film Festival there was some laughter, almost all female, but I couldn’t tell if it was nervous, or knowing.

Perhaps the sex content gets in the way, causing our old tapes to play. When we see a stud on the screen (like Rocco Siffredi , in real life an Italian porno actor famous for one very good reason), we go into porno mode and expect to see–well, what we usually see. But “Romance” doesn’t have that mode. Marie relates to Paolo (Siffredi’s character) as if he is a laboratory specimen. So this is the famous white rat she has heard so much about. Can he bring her pleasure? Is it perhaps a matter of physical endowment? And what about Robert ( Francois Berleand ), who offers to tie her up? He is an ordinary man, not handsome, not exciting, but he has all the necessary equipment and skills, and when he makes his offer, she agrees, as if he is a guide at Disney World suggesting one more ride she should try before leaving the park. Does she like bondage? She goes back for more. Perhaps it is not the sexual side that pleases her, but the fact that when Robert is arranging his ropes and restraints, at least he is thinking about her.

There is a scene in the movie that looks like rape, but is it? She more or less invites the stranger who mistreats her. She wants–well, she wants to take a chance, and then she finds out she didn’t like it. So she’s defiant toward the guy, but it’s not anger at how he treated her, it’s triumph that she feels undefeated. Later, there is a gynecological examination–perhaps the creepiest scene in the movie, as interns line up for their turn.

I did not really enjoy this movie, and yet I recommend it. Why? Because I think it’s on to something interesting. Movies buy the whole romantic package, lock, stock and barrel. People look great, fall in love and have wonderful sex. Even intelligent characters in smart movies all seem to think more or less the same way while they’re in the sack. Erogenous autopilot takes over. Here is a movie about a woman who never stops thinking. That may not be as good for you as it is for her.

movie review romantic

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

movie review romantic

  • Rocco Siffredi as Paolo
  • Caroline Ducey as Marie
  • Sagamore Stevenin as Paul
  • Francois Berleand as Robert

Written and Directed by

  • Catherine Breillat

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TAGGED AS: Netflix , Rom-Com , romantic comedy

Drama series Love stars Paul Rust, Gillian Jacobs (Netflix)

(Photo by Netflix)

Netflix Romantic Comedies Ranked by Tomatometer

Romantic comedies have a unique Catch-22: They are both beloved by their fans and often despised by jaded critics who review them.

Thankfully for those who love a good meet-cute, Netflix understands the marketability of the former and has fallen head-over-heels with the genre. The streaming giant has bankrolled Netflix Originals series and films with a variety of takes on romantic comedies, giving us 2018’s Set It Up and the teen dream that is  To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before and its 2020 sequel, To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, as well as dramedies like Sex Education and Love . Netflix also helped with 2019’s Keanaissance, thanks to John Wick star Keanu Reeves ’ stellar cameo in Ali Wong and Randall Park ’s Always Be My Maybe .

Love doesn’t always conquer all in this genre, however. Netflix’s 2018 film  The Kissing Booth  fell flat with critics, scoring 17% on the Tomatometer, despite starring former teen rom-com goddess Molly Ringwald , but the Netflix original film was a hit with viewers, scoring a 60% Audience Score, and Netflix reporting that one in three viewers have rewatched the film. No wonder the streaming channel ordered a sequel, The Kissing Booth 2 , which is scheduled to premiere in 2020.

But which of Netflix’s rom-coms is the best for a night of cozying up on your couch? We’ll definitely kiss and tell! Below, we rank all of Netflix’s romantic comedies based on their Tomatometer scores.

Is your favorite Netflix rom-com missing? Tell us in the comments.

Added 05/29 :  The Lovebirds , The Wrong Missy , I Love You, Stupid (Te quiero, Imbécil).

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To Each, Her Own (2018) 17%

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Love Per Square Foot (2018) 100%

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Blockbuster (2017)

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Always a Bridesmaid (2019)

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F... the Prom (2017)

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Naked (2017) 0%

' sborder=

The Last Summer (2019) 29%

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The Kissing Booth (2018) 15%

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Valentine's Day (2010) 18%

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Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009) 28%

' sborder=

Life as We Know It (2010) 30%

' sborder=

Irreplaceable You (2018) 32%

' sborder=

The Holiday Calendar (2018) 33%

' sborder=

A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby (2019) 36%

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The Wrong Missy (2020) 32%

' sborder=

Holiday in the Wild (2019) 38%

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He's Just Not That Into You (2009) 41%

' sborder=

Christmas Inheritance (2017) 43%

' sborder=

When We First Met (2018) 43%

' sborder=

Tall Girl (2019) 38%

' sborder=

Bachelorettes (Solteras) (2018) 44%

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Murder Mystery (2019) 44%

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Like Father (2018) 46%

' sborder=

A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding (2018) 50%

' sborder=

I Love You, Stupid (2020) 63%

' sborder=

Sierra Burgess Is a Loser (2018) 56%

' sborder=

Wolkenbruchs wunderliche Reise in die Arme einer Schickse (2018) 63%

' sborder=

The Perfect Date (2019) 68%

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Falling Inn Love (2019) 68%

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The Lovebirds (2020) 66%

' sborder=

Ibiza (2018) 67%

' sborder=

The Knight Before Christmas (2019) 68%

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Nappily Ever After (2018) 67%

' sborder=

A Christmas Prince (2017) 73%

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To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You (2020) 77%

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The Princess Switch (2018) 63%

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The Fundamentals of Caring (2016) 78%

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She's Gotta Have It (2017) 78%

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I Am Not an Easy Man (2018) 80%

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Alex Strangelove (2018) 81%

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Let It Snow (2019) 81%

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Someone Great (2019) 83%

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Happy Anniversary (2018) 83%

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Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (2005) 84%

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Win It All (2017) 85%

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The Incredible Jessica James (2017) 89%

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The Breaker Upperers (2018) 87%

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Always Be My Maybe (2019) 89%

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Our Souls at Night (2017) 89%

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Easy (2016) 90%

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Ali's Wedding (2017) 92%

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Set It Up (2018) 92%

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Love (2016) 94%

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Sex Education (2019) 93%

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Tramps (2016) 92%

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To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018) 96%

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Lovesick (2014) 98%

' sborder=

Catching Feelings (2017) 100%

' sborder=

Lust Stories (2018) 100%

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  9. Romance Movies

    TV/Streaming. Roger Ebert. Festivals & Awards. Ebert Co. About the site. Contact us. Advertise with us. Contributors. "Roger Ebert Loved Movies" In Memoriam 1942 - 2013.

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    Mar 29, 1959 • Rated Passed. When two male musicians witness a mob hit, they flee the state in an all-female band disguised as women, but further complications set in. 98. Metascore. 9. Jules and Jim. Apr 23, 1962 • Rated Not Rated. Decades of a love triangle concerning two friends and an impulsive woman. 97.

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  16. New Romance Movies in Theaters

    Patrice: The Movie Opened Sep 20, 2024. Watchlist. Kadha Innuvare Opened Sep 20, 2024. Watchlist. The 4:30 Movie Opened Sep 13, 2024. Watchlist. Girls Will Be Girls Opened Sep 13, 2024. Watchlist ...

  17. Isn't It Romantic movie review (2019)

    The film from director Todd Strauss-Schulson ("A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas") and screenwriters Erin Cardillo and Dana Fox & Katie Silberman places Wilson at the center of a tricky balancing act. "Isn't It Romantic" simultaneously ridicules and embraces the many, many clichés of the rom-com genre. It knows these movies are pure formula, and it makes fun of that formula in myriad ...

  18. The New Romantic movie review (2018)

    4 min read. A somewhat palatable quasi-rom-com that declares the death of contemporary romance from the get-go, only to try and resurrect it later, writer/director Carly Stone 's "The New Romantic" unfolds more like an aspiring writer's checklist of narrative influences than a fleshed out story on modern-day relationships.

  19. The 200 Best Romantic Comedies of All Time

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  20. 'Nobody Wants This' Netflix review: Bell and Brody are electric

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  21. Isn't It Romantic (2019)

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  22. Netflix's new romantic comedy show just landed

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  23. Romance movie review & film summary (1999)

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  24. Netflix Romantic Comedies to Watch Now

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