Planning the perfect Valentine’s Day date can quickly grow stressful, exhausting and expensive. Maybe you and your SO have been together for a while now. Or maybe you just don’t get what the holiday fuss is all about. Either way, a relaxing movie night in can cure all your Valentine troubles. Whether you pop in your go-to favorite film or decide to try something a little more romantic to set the loving mood, a chill night spent cuddling on the couch will provide the perfect setting to indulge in chocolate and each other.
Before you choose your film, consider these 25 Valentine’s Day movies guaranteed to make you feel the love.
1. The Vow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JoXHO3ceUY&t=4s
If you want a tear-jerker based on a true story to bring you and your boo closer, then The Vow will resonate deeply with you. Starring two big-name actors, Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum, their talents will make you cry in the first 30 minutes of this heartbreaking film. Watch just how vulnerable love makes you, but also how powerful that love can be.
2. Beauty and the Beast
Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme. This ultimate classic will have you both singing along as you remember what it felt like when you first started falling in love. Whether you choose the original or the recent live action remake, you’ll feel like a child again and maybe understand Belle’s desire for independence and world travel a little more now that you’re in college. Or maybe you’ll think she has gone crazy for wanting to grow up because adulting takes too much effort.
3. Love Actually
Follow several different love stories and figure out how they all connect with this Holiday-themed flick. Yes, the setting puts you at Christmas time, but the romance makes it something to watch any time of the year. “My boyfriend’s a sucker for romance movies, along with anything to do with Christmas—and I’m not exactly opposed to it, either. I might as well get in the loop I’ve been missing out on for so many years,” said Florida State University sophomore Lucy Whitehead. Use the snowy setting as an excuse to get extra cozy tonight.
4. Letters to Juliet
Nothing says romance quite like Verona, Italy. As the setting for Romeo and Juliet, Sophie (played by Amanda Seyfried) visits a wall where the heartbroken leave letters as a sort of homage to Juliet. Sophie finds a letter over 50 years-old and decides to reach out to the author. The rest is history.
5. Love, Rosie
If you believe in “right person, wrong time,” then, oh boy, will you enjoy this movie. Full of frustrating moments that will make you think “ugh, not again!” and definitely keep you on your toes. Watch as these two childhood best friends try again and again to make it work. By the end of it all, you’ll feel lucky to have your SO right there next to you.
6. The Way He Looks
If you want a foreign coming-of-age story to keep you on your toes, The Way He Looks will meet your expectations tenfold. Watch Leo, a young blind boy, fall in love for the first time with Gabriel, the new boy in his class. The sweet and simple plot will leave your heart floating on clouds (and rewinding it to watch it over again).
7. 50 First Dates
This rom-com provides the perfect compromise if you want romance but your partner wants something funny. With Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler playing the leads, laughter will surely fill your night ahead. All jokes aside, Sandler’s character proves that love knows no bounds. And if this film sparks an Adam Sandler marathon, well, I don’t see an issue there.
8. Me Before You
This heartwarming film will have you experience a flood of emotions within its hour and 50-minute time frame. A young woman, Louisa, becomes a caregiver for a rich man left paralyzed after a terrible accident. She quickly changes his negative outlook on life and a full-bloomed romance soon follows suit. “Have you seen this movie yet? It’s literal gold,” said FSU sophomore Naomi Naganoma. Just don’t forget a box of tissues.
9. Corpse Bride
‘Til death do us part doesn’t apply in the world of Tim Burton. Add a spooky twist to your night full of love with this short and sweet film. “I would want to watch the Corpse Bride on Valentine’s with my lady because she’s spooky and cute and it’s her favorite movie,” said Pensacola State College freshman Nichole M. You may even feel relieved at the thought of love surpassing the grave when the end credits roll.
10. The Fundamentals of Caring
This Netflix original offers much more than your typical love story. Dealing with familial love (and loss), as well as self-acceptance and an unlikely romance, your heart will soar with this masterpiece. Find out what it takes to be a full-time caregiver and watch the oddest adventure of a lifetime unfold in front of your eyes, all from the comfort of the couch.
11. A Walk to Remember
You didn’t really expect to get through this list and not see at least one Nicholas Sparks movie, did you? What better one out of the plethora to choose from than this rite of passage with Mandy Moore playing the lead. See the world get turned upside down when the high school bad boy falls for the quiet, awkward girl in school. Don’t lie, we all wanted this to happen when we were 15.
12. The Time Traveler’s Wife
Get ready to take waiting on your loved one to come home to the next level with this heart-wrenching film adaption. The problems and hardships of any normal relationship can cause lovers to split ways, but when you add time travel to the mix, things get downright messy. It may just take a miracle for this couple to survive the burden of time, but you’ll just have to watch to find out.
13. Lady and the Tramp
I don’t think you can find a better way to spend Valentine’s then watching two dogs fall in love. Feel like a child again with a Disney classic. If you really think about it, this film really started the theme of the rich, classy woman falling in love with the town’s stray bad boy. And the Disney marathon this film will inspire will take you back to sweet childhood with your sweetheart.
14. The Notebook
Time, distance and other lovers can’t keep soulmates apart. They won’t keep Noah (Ryan Gosling) and Allie (Rachel McAdams) apart either. “The Notebook is a super romantic movie, so it will set the mood for a romantic evening,” said PSC freshman Bayley Rasmussen. Pull out the wine and settle in for a long night of romance in your living room.
15. The Proposal
With a cast that includes Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds and Betty White, you can’t possibly expect to refrain from giggling. Full of humor, love and eccentricity, if you haven’t seen this film, Valentine’s provides the perfect scenario to change that (and culture yourselves).
16. Hitch
The perfect plot consists of a dating doctor with all the answers who has bad luck with women in real life. The icing on the cake—none other than Will Smith plays the dating doctor. “Hitch is a classic rom-com. It’s slick enough to not be a dumb rom-com like Wedding Crashers, but it’s not on the Nicholas Sparks flick level either—it’s the perfect happy medium,” said University of Central Florida sophomore Alex Hinkle. Enjoy a light-hearted flick, and maybe binge some Fresh Prince of Bel-Air after.
17. Warm Bodies
Whoever decided zombies couldn’t experience emotions other than ravaging hunger should feel ashamed of themselves. If you want gore and your bae wants a love story, this flick that changes our view on the impending zombie apocalypse is the perfect compromise. You’ll feel warm too after watching R’s transformation.
18. WristCutters: A Love Story
Love surpasses death, especially when you get stuck in purgatory with everyone else who’s successfully died of suicide. “It’s my favorite movie of all time and it’s essential that any of my potential boyfriends watch it with me. The story is so romantic and different from anything else I’ve ever seen. It never gets old,” said UF freshman Amanda Arnone. This out-of-the-box love story lets you enjoy a not so typical Valentine’s night.
19. Nerve
If you and your SO identify as adrenaline junkies, then Nerve will add the perfect twist to your typical love story. Watch Dave Franco and Emma Roberts fall for each other as their involvement with an online game of dares goes to the extreme. You’ll find yourself on the edge of the couch at the climax of this intense film.
20. Call Me by Your Name
If staying home seems a little too low key for you, then you can go see Call Me by Your Name in the theater this Valentine’s Day. Another film set in Italy, you’ll remember what it was like to have your first love as you watch Elio fall for a summer visitor. “The film portrays first love in such a beautiful and vulnerable way,” said UF freshman Amy Lelis. It may seem destined to fall apart, but you’ll have to watch for yourself.
21. La La Land
Things don’t always work out the way you want them to, and what better way to celebrate the ups and downs of life than with this Oscar-wining musical. Full of passion and color, the two hours will fly by before you get the chance to blink. Despite the theatrics, this film presents a more realistic take on a love story. Unfortunately, it doesn’t make it hurt any less.
22. 500 Days of Summer
Most extreme things in life, good or bad, come unexpectedly. That’s exactly how Tom, played by a young Joseph Gordan-Levitt, feels when his girlfriend Summer (Zooey Deschanel) breaks up with him. Follow along as he traces back to the beginning of their relationship to figure out where it all went wrong, experiencing some self-revelations in the process.
23. The Last Song
If your SO doesn’t shed a tear or two while watching this movie, then dump them immediately because they lack a heart. This movie gave us all unrealistic expectations for a high school relationship, but the story is still so moving that you can’t get mad about it. You’ll feel so relieved that Miley and Liam found their way back to each other when you finish this flick.
24. 10 Things I Hate About You
This classic tale of a raging feminist and a recluse bad boy falling in love never fails to make us swoon. Okay, maybe that has something to do with the young Heath Ledger playing Patrick, but you get the point. “It’s a totally iconic chick flick that honestly just makes you feel good every time you watch it,” said UF freshman Maddie Sabis.
25. Valentine’s Day
Yes, I had to include this cheesy yet entertaining film all about the holiday and the mixed feelings that come along with it. While it may be best known for briefly giving us the Taylor and Taylor fling that was the talk of 2010, the sweet series of interconnected love stories calls for a watch in the name of the holiday. A basic Valentine’s still has meaning when you spend your time with the right person.
