What do you look for in a romantic movie? Is it laughter all the way to a happy ending? Is it an unlikely coupling, or a grand gesture? Is it classic Hollywood romance: two beautiful people meet and fall in love? Because I love so many movies it’s usually very hard for me to choose favorite films, but it was surprisingly easy to pick my favorites for Valentine’s Day. Check them out below!
Overboard
You may have cast this movie off as one of those unworthy reruns that’s always playing on cable during the holidays. Well, you’d be wrong. Goldie Hawn stars as the HILARIOUS and bitchy, Joanne Stayton, a rich, snob who spends her time bossing people around on her yacht while wearing the most outrageous, over-the-top outfits. Late at night while looking for her wedding ring, she falls off her pricey boat into freezing water and losses her memory. Here comes the handsome carpenter (played by Kurt Russell), who sees an opportunity to get his money back for a rejected boat job. He pretends to be her husband, brings the posh aristocrat back to the redneck town where he and his 4 boys live, and puts her to work.
Overboard is so funny and certainly doesn’t fit into any classic romantic movie box. Expect Pee-Wee Herman impressions, ridiculously dirty man-caves, and overwhelming sweetness. I can nearly quote the whole thing – it’s that good. It’s also the movie where Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell met (yes, they are still together!) so that should tell you how romantic it is.
Favorite Line: “Eat your checkers!”
Overboard is available on Apple TV.
Sixteen Candles
Every girl wanted to be Molly Ringwald in Sixteen Candles. After a terrible sixteenth birthday full of disappointments (her family forgetting about it, her awful sister’s wedding, embarrassments at school) everything works out better in the end. Jake Ryan is the rich, hot, 80’s stud-muffin whose name is doodled on notebooks everywhere. When I was a sophomore in high school, I too had a crush on a senior – my Jake Ryan. It didn’t end up working out longterm, but I will tell you, for a little while, I got to feel the true glory of Sixteen Candles.
Best Scene: The last one, of course!
Sixteen Candles is available on Apple TV.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Probably best known for the song, “Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend,” (sung by a beautiful Marilyn Monroe) Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is one of my favorites. I guess by now, if you’ve been reading the blog regularly, you may have figured out that I have a particular obsession with old films from the golden era of Hollywood. I gravitate to them, much like my father does, though his reasons for watching them make more sense. I think it might be the fact that the outfits were incredible (matching hats & shoes!), or maybe Technicolor is my preferred color palette. Whatever it is, I love this movie and all the songs. It’s funny, a little bit tacky, and finishes with a happy ending.
Best quote: “Young lady, you don’t fool me one bit.” “I’m not trying to, but I bet I could though.”
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is available for streaming on Netflix.
Any Pride & Prejudice Movie
Bride and Prejudice, the 5 hour A&E miniseries, Keira Knightly…whatever version you are selling, I am buying. Though the A&E version is my favorite and the most thorough (sigh, young Colin Firth), the story’s charm translates through all the different tellings. I’m particular to period dramas, so it that’s not your cup of tea, you might want to skip it. But if you’re like me, and long for entertainment of high-english accents and corset wearing bosoms, then section off five hours and get watching!
Great scene: Any with Colin Firth in them.
The A&E version is available for streaming on Amazon Prime.
Gone With the Wind
Rhett Butler may be my favorite male character in a movie. Yes, I know, he’s an old-world stereotype, but the sizzling chemistry and naughtiness between him and Scarlett O’Hara is everything. I like to call him the “bad boy” of the Civil War.
Favorite Quote: “You should be kissed, and often. And by someone who knows how.”
Gone With the Wind is available on Apple TV.
So, if you are in the mood for love, set up your DVR, prep the roses, and get ready for a night of laughter and romance!
Tell me your favorite romantic movies in the comment section below! Images courtesy of each film.
