Love is in the air everywhere you look around, and it can be on your TV or laptop screen too! Whether you’re in a relationship or not, why not settle down this Valentine’s Day and work your way through watching a movie, and we have a few recommendations for you!
Waiting For Forever
How long would you wait for love? When Emma (Rachel Bilson) comes home to visit her terminally ill father, she is reunited with her childhood friend, Will (Tom Sturridge). While Emma has grown and matured, Will has kept his childlike and eccentric personality, and it seems as though the two had never parted ways until Will admits that he has been following Emma for years. When Emma demands that Will stop, he leaves town before being framed for the murder of Emma’s lover and arrested. Waiting For Forever is, as the title suggests, the story of waiting for that right moment and the right person that gives you not only a reason to love but a reason to live.
The First Wives Club
The First Wives Club tells the story of three friends who reunite after the suicide of their old college friend. Despite their attempts to feign that they each live perfect lives, Annie (Diane Keaton), Brenda (Bette Midler), and Elise (Goldie Hawn) each reveal that they are divorced and their husbands have all left them for younger women. The trio then join forces in order to get revenge on their ex-husbands and form what becomes known as ‘The First Wives Club’ in dedication to their friend with the aim of helping women who suffer abuse at the hands of their partners. This movie is the ultimate display of women power and that ‘old’ age truly shouldn’t matter when it comes to love.
Shirley Valentine
Just like time, love changes us and sometimes it doesn’t seem like it was for the better. Sometimes falling in love with someone means falling out of touch with your true self and Shirley Valentine is a movie that explores that in full swing. Tired of her mundane life as a housewife in a relationship that has lost its spark and reminiscent of her more youthful days, Shirley (Pauline Collins) escapes to Greece where she finds comfort in her new lifestyle and in herself. The movie is one of self-discovery and being true to who you are, exploring Shirley’s past and present as she defies all expectation and learns to live life as she likes.
Something Borrowed
It’s one thing for your dream man to be in a relationship already, it’s another for him to be about to marry your best friend. For Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin) this nightmare is her reality in Something Borrowed, directed by Luke Greenfield. The movie does well in portraying Rachel’s relationship with her best friend, Darcy (Kate Hudson), and how the difference in their personalities affects their friendship and feelings, particularly when it comes to Darcy’s outgoing nature in comparison to Rachel’s introverted personality. Is the power of friendship strong enough to withstand the desire that love brings, or is true love a bond strong to tear this friendship apart?
How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days
An expert writer of the “How-To” section of a popular women’s magazine, Andie Anderson (Kate Hudson) wants nothing more than to write about the subjects that matter. Following her best friend’s break up from her partner, Andie plans to write an article stating all the things women do that make men want to put an end to relationships, all the while carrying out the experiment in her own life! Unfortunately for her, the man she chooses just so happens to be attempting to prove that he can make any woman fall head over heels for him. What happens when one party in a relationship is determined to have the other end it when they’re intent on keeping you both together? And is love strong enough to overcome the truth? Why not give How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days a watch to find out?
Love Actually
We can hear it now: “But Love Actually is more a Christmas film!” and while that may be true given the time in which the events in the movie take place, it is ultimately a film about love and so what better time to watch it that Valentine’s Day? Love Actually covers a wide range of the different types of love stories out there, from a lost love, finding love, moving on, unrequited love, and even unfaithful love. The amazing collection of actors and actresses in this movie show their talent in bringing these characters to life on screen that you’ll no doubt find yourself getting teary-eyed and rooting for your favourite couples. What else could you ask for in a romance movie?
The Yellow Handkerchief
Having been imprisoned for six years, Brett Hanson (William Hurt) sets off in search of his ex-wife in an attempt to rekindle their relationship. His search for his lost love causes him to cross paths with a younger couple, Martine (Kristen Stewart) and Gordy (Eddie Redmayne). The road-trip that the trio embarks on a journey to unite Brett with his ex-wife is a journey of self-discovery and the struggle of relationships. Whilst it may not be your average rose-tinted love story, the realism that The Yellow Handkerchief portrays in the characters’ stories show just how powerful love is and how far people would be willing to go for those they did love.
Leap Year
We all know how the story goes: boy meets girl, they fall in love, and then one day he gets down on one knee to propose… Right? Wrong. Based on an old Irish tradition in which women are allowed to propose to them on leap day, this movie puts an interesting twist on your typical ‘romance’ film. When Anna Brady (Amy Adams) travels to Dublin in order to propose to her boyfriend, fate seems to want nothing more than to stop her. However, sometimes fate works in mysterious ways and Mr Right isn’t always the man you expect. Leap Year is a movie all about female empowerment and what it means to fall in love and the changes love can make to us as individuals. For that reason alone, it is most definitely a must-watch this Valentine’s Day.
Love, Simon
The movie adaptation of the 2015 book Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, Love, Simon is a romantic movie topped with comedy. The movie tells the story of high school student, Simon (Nick Robinson) who is yet to come out as gay as he struggles with the everyday drama of high school, family, friends, and life, in general, all the while being blackmailed and slowly falling for someone he doesn’t even know the identity of. This movie portrays all too real issues, such as life as the trials of teenage life, the importance of friendship and more so the importance of being yourself. On top of that, the movie has an almost fairytale, Cinderella story type flourish to it, making it one of the perfect films to watch this Valentine’s Day.
Great list! I’d add “The Lost Valentine” with Betty White and Jennifer Love Hewitt. Beautiful love story, funny, and a real tearjerker.