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.”
6 replies on “Harlequin Editors’ Top 10 Feel-Good Romance Movies”
Sense and Sensability
Another classic that is enjoyable is
The Little Shop Around the Corner. All of the characters are well developed. The love letter that started it all. (Precursor to You’ve Got Mail)
It looks like I need to watch more movies! I’ve only seen 5 of those.
Maybe this explains why I’m not published with you all then. The only one I like on this list is The Princess Bride and I don’t consider it a realistic Romance, but a wonderfully funny fairytale.
I only love three romantic movies at all. Ever.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
50 First Dates
Yet, I’ve been married for multiple decades to my One & Only. Go figure.
🙂
My movies are Sabrina 1995, but the 1954 version is okay too, I liked The Midnight Hour which is a Harlequin film, The Notebook, Titanic and The Mirror has two Faces. I like a lot of romance films. I haven’t seen a few on the list. I have Bridget Jones 2 on DVD and When Harry met Sally. I saw working girl, but I haven’t seen the others.
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Comments ( 7 )
I spent the entire shutdown working. Had no time to wind down. I didn’t see my son much when school shutdown. My one co worker was told to stay home for 3 weeks so I picked up her hours. This year has been really crappy.
Ugh, Janell. Here’s hoping the rest of your summer is better.
Thanks for the info, Carol! Everyone is different in how they deal with the shutdown! I stay at home all the time since I don’t work so I haven’t been too effected but my shopping and errands sure have been effected!
Valri, I’ve been doing most of my shopping online. My local Target is still low on some items – mostly cleaning supplies. Grocery store is pretty much back to normal. Most of the dining in our town is outdoor. I can’t imagine have school-age kids!
Wow–getting your creative process on track must have been daunting–especially with “extra-large dog” glad to have you home. You don’t like coffee–I love coffee and have enjoyed my fortifying 2 cups in the morning even more than usual! How as COVID affected your story lines and characterizations? Best Wishes for all releases!
Interesting question, Virginia. You’ll have to tell me if the tone of my “COVID” books changed any! LOL
Life has changed so much! My dad passed Feb 2. The assisted living facility my folks were at went into hardcore lockdown the beginning of March. Mom couldn’t leave her apartment for 4 months! She was on the third floor, Will be 89 in two months & doesn’t use the phone. My husband and I remodeled the lower level completely and moved her in with us July 1. What a life change and difficult transition for the 3 of us! But we’re working thru it!