Here’s a list of adorable and sweet movies to watch for the season of love.
Valentine’s Day is full of love for your soulmate—platonic or romantic. Here’s a list of movies to watch this February. Whether you are looking to watch a rom-com with a group of friends or the one you are head over heels for, give these suggestions a peek.
“IQ” (1994)
This movie is full of laughter, love, friendship and science. My parents watched this on their first date, and I have seen it countless times and will never grow tired of it.
The two protagonists, Catherine Boyd and Ed Walters, played by Meg Ryan and Tim Robbins, embark on a journey to win each other over. Catherine is a brilliant doctoral student at Princeton and is to be wed to a pompous professor James Moreland (Stephen Fry).
Ed, a car mechanic, teams up with Catherine’s uncle, the one and only, Albert Einstein (Walter Matthau) to make Catherine fall in love with Ed. Thinking the only way to do that is through IQ, Ed poses himself as a physicist to win her over.
Watching the friendship between Einstein and Ed shows that friends can come from the most random places and last forever. The comedic timing of one-liners and their actions is on point and workswell.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
“The Princess Bride” (1987)
Full of action, love, adventure and fairytale feelings, “The Princess Bride” is a classic that everyone needs to watch.
The film stars Cary Elwes and Robin Wright as the destined lovers Westly and Buttercup. After years of being separated, in a desperate effort to save Buttercup from being married off to Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon), with the help of a few new allies, Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), and Fezzik (André the Giant), Wesley set out to find her and regain her love.
I love this movie because it’s not just some cheesy fairytale story, but a balance of different genres of adventure, comedy and action. It is based on a book and still has the childhood feeling of fairy tales but it doesn’t just stop there.
Where to watch: Disney+
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
This movie is one of my all-time favorites! It is a must-watch with a mix of setting their own future, falling in love, belly laughter,and family.
While working at her family’s restaurant, Toula (Nia Vardalos), is an unmarried 30-year-old who concerns her parents that she will be single for the rest of her life. Her parents Maria (Lainie Kazan) and Gus (Michael Constantine) want her to marry a Greek man.
While Toula is working at her aunt’s travel agency, she meets a handsome man, Ian Miller (John Corbett) who is nowhere near Greek. Toula is worried about disappointing her family, mainly her father, but what worries her the most is that he’s a vegetarian.
It’s hard to explain why this movie is so funny, but it is one that you just have to experience to fully understand why I love this so much. The quotes, the one-liners, the family inside jokes, all of it is just so iconic.
Where to watch: HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video
Happiness Is For Beginners (2023)
As someone who loves the outdoors, this movie was right up my alley. It covers hard and lighthearted topics—love, struggles and laughter. I love this movie because, as sappy as it is, it is still unique to itself.
Helen Carpenter (Ellie Kemper) went through a messy divorce and doesn’t know what path to take to figure out who she really is. After being convinced by her brother Duncan (Alexander Koch)to go on a wilderness survival camp, she learns that it’s okay to lose yourself because that’s how you gain a new understanding of who you are.
I will not spoil how it ends, you can figure that out for yourself, but it would not be on this list if it did not contain some ounce of falling in love. I love this movie because it shows that it is okay to get lost and struggle and hurt because through it all you can also rediscover who you are and love who you are becoming.
Where to watch: Netflix
When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Another fantastic classic movie that anyone should watch at least once. This movie shows that when you are destined to be together it will work out. It’s a very sweet movie where both protagonists are witty, lovable and supportive of each other.
Two college graduates, Harry Burns (Billy Crystal) and Sally Albright (Meg Ryan) carpool together from Chicago to New York to start their new lives. They have the argument through the whole car ride, and actually, the film too, if men and women can ever be just friends. Throughout the movie, there are time jumps of the two reuniting at different points in their lives.
They become friends and the argument comes up yet again. Their best friends Jess (Bruno Kirby) and Marie (Carrie Fisher) push them to be just friends without letting physical attraction get in the way.
This movie has wit, chemistry, and the diverse perspectives of the two characters. When Harry Met Sally shows that friendship is a strong basis of a relationship and that those who are made to be together will always find their way.
Where to watch: Tubi, Amazon Prime Video
Love At First Sight (2023)
What is the probability of love at first sight? Well, you can watch this movie and find out. The actors were a perfect pairing and showed the authenticity of strangers falling in love.
Hadley (Haley Lu Richardson) and Oliver (Ben Hardy) meet on their flight to London from New York and not only do they meet, they fall in love. Destiny has a funny way of making two people come together. When Oliver and Hadley get separated at customs, finding their way back to each other seems near impossible. If they are soulmates, they will always find their way back.
This movie had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. As a viewer, I know that it will work out but watching it thinking the whole time, will they or won’t they?
Where to watch: Netflix
13 Going On 30 (2004)
When we are young many of us dream of growing up, but what if those wishes came true? Jumping from being a junior high school to a full-grown adult in the blink of an eye, proves to have its challenges. This movie is full of real-world issues, humor and discovering love. Not just love for someone else but love for where we are in life.
Jenna (Christa B. Allen) is sick of the hierarchy of junior high school, when she has no luck in getting a boyfriend she wants nothing more than to be an adult who is used to the way the world works. When this wish comes true, she becomes a 30-year-old (Jennifer Garner). She quickly understands that there is a whole new set of challenges that she has to face as an adult.
This film works well because it has a good message of loving where you are at, and that love may just be right in front of your face.
Where to watch: Netflix
Along For The Ride (2022)
This movie is a tale as old as time— the academic-driven, old soul, loner girl meets the carefree, go-with-the-flow, boy. This high school-to-college romance, it shows the importance of embracing your childhood and that good love can bring out a childlike personality.
Before college, Auden (Emma Pasarow) spends her summer in the small beach town of Colby where she meets a mysterious boy, Eli (Belmont Cameli). They have one thing in common—they are both insomniacs. Auden missed out on having a carefree and fun childhood because she put all her time and energy into academics. Eli takes up the task of getting her to live her life to the fullest.
I can see how the storyline did its job in showing that teen love is important, but also as far as Netflix teen romances go it’s better than others.
Where to watch: Netflix
Notting Hill (1999)
This movie is in a league of its own. The two characters are opposites of each other but fit so well together. One character takes everything to the extreme whereas the other takes a more logical and calm route to life. One never travels, despite having a travel bookstore, and the other rarely stays in the same place. This movie separates itself from all other rom-coms because there is a sophisticated feel to it.
The story follows a bookshop owner in London, William Thacker (Hugh Grant), who gets pulled from his repeat of everyday life and put into one where he meets Anna Scott (Julia Roberts), who is an American actress. From one small encounter to a full-on affair, their worlds become tangled together. They go through the struggles to untie their worlds but deal with the fact that love is what keeps them tangled together.
I love this movie because it shows that a small encounter can lead to the biggest of events. They lived two very different lifestyles and had very different experiences with their lives. They put the chaos of the world and everything surrounding their lives aside to focus on the love that they have.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
The Proposal (2009)
When presented with the issue of being deported back to Canada, a very strong-willed editor Margret Tate (Sandra Bullock) tries to save herself by saying that she is going to marry her assistant Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds). He agrees to the plan but he has a few bargaining points she has to follow—one being meeting his family. Despite many bumps in the road they are determined to stick to the plan.
This movie is great because it is very sweet to see how Margaret’s character starts super intimidating and closed off but she turns out to be so much more complex, relatable and sweet when she falls in love with Andrew. Also, it’s just so funny because Betty White is in it and she is an icon and is hilarious.
Where to watch: Hulu
Some other honorable mentions worth taking a look at, Groundhog Day (1993) and Sleepless in Seattle (1993).
I hope you take a relaxing night in with people you love with some movies, maybe some of my suggestions. Let me know which ones are your favorites.