Originally posted on the Harlequin Blog
Flowers, chocolates, candy—people either love the official day of romance or love to hate it. But no matter how you feel about Valentine’s Day, everyone can get behind celebrating true love by binge-watching some feel-good romance movies. To help you plan your Valentine’s viewing, the Harlequin Editors have put together their Top 10 Romance Movie list. Put on your comfiest clothes, snuggle up with your sweetie (or your bestie!), and enjoy!
#10 BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM
A feel-good story of football and family, Bend It Like Beckham scores the #10 place on our list for its big heart and empowering story, as Jess and Jules find their way on the soccer pitch and in their relationship with each other and with Joe.
#9 IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT
Rich heiress + cranky hero= screwball comedy for the ages in this 1934 classic romance. From the moment heroine Ellie dives off her father’s yacht in an evening gown, the race to reunite with her new husband is on—with a little help from dashing reporter Peter Warne. Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert match wits and charm with dialogue that still feels fresh, fun and flirty.
#8 STRICTLY BALLROOM
From Dirty Dancing to Step Up, we love a good romance set in the dance world. Our #8 spot goes to Australian comedy Strictly Ballroom. This colorful journey into the world of ballroom dancing gets our feet tapping as we watch Scott and Fran twirl their way to their happy ending.
#7 WORKING GIRL
No matter how often we watch it, Working Girl has us cheering for Tess as she fights back against her duplicitous boss, ditches her smarmy boyfriend and gets her dream job and her dream man. We recommend that you get out your Aqua Net, switch your heels for your running shoes and re-watch this 80s classic.
#6 BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY
Right from the first notes of All By Myself in the opening credits, lovable hot mess Bridget offers hope that everyone can find someone who loves them, “just as you are.” From granny panties to drunken karaoke, Bridget Jones Diary shows us a hilariously relatable heroine as she comes to see the sweet hero hidden under the ugly Christmas sweater of awkward but honorable Mark Darcy.
#5 CRAZY RICH ASIANS
Crazy Rich Asians offers a tantalizing peek into the ultra-wealthy lifestyle of the Young family, but it’s Nick and Rachel who won our hearts as they fight for their relationship, despite the disapproval of Nick’s family.
#4 LOVE, SIMON
Love, Simon lets us relive the angst of high school with the story of complicated but heartwarming teenaged friendships and romance. Perfect for John Hughes fans, we loved this sweet and uplifting story of Simon’s relationship with the mysterious “Blue.”
#3 MOONSTRUCK
This swoon-worthy movie has operatic highs and down-to-earth comedy gems we adore, in this romantic story of love, family and Puccini. To quote Nick Cage’s character, Ronny Cammareri, “The snowflakes are perfect. The stars are perfect. Not us!”—but this movie might be close.
#2 THE PRINCESS BRIDE
A Top 10 Romance Movie list that doesn’t include the most passionate, purest kiss since the invention of the kiss? Inconceivable! Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles…The Princess Bride has everything you could ever want in a movie, all wrapped up in a fairy tale romance.
#1 WHEN HARRY MET SALLY
The ultimate “enemies-to-friends-to-lovers-to enemies-to love-at-last romance,” Nora Ephron’s screenplay had everyone asking, can two friends sleep together and still love each other in the morning? The decades-long build up to Harry and Sally’s happily ever after pays off perfectly when Harry finally realizes “it’s not because I’m lonely, and it’s not because it’s New Year’s Eve…when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”
