63 Romantic Movies That Perfectly Explain Your Current Relationship (or Lack Thereof)
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No matter your relationship status, the best romantic movies provoke a rollercoaster of emotions, almost as if you're the one falling madly in love, losing the love of your life, or both in the span of roughly 90 minutes. At least, those are the ones you can watch over and over again, even when they hit a little too close to home.
Whether it’s Rose’s goodbye to Jack in Titanic or that rain-kissing scene in The Notebook, some cinematic moments are so iconic they’ve transcended pop culture, changing the way we view love in real life. I mean, tell me you watched those couple interviews in When Harry Met Sally and didn’t hope that would be you someday. You can’t!
Of course, most real relationships don’t begin or end with a dramatic sprint through an airport. Whether you’re single, starting a new romance, divorced, or something in between, there are plenty of movies that reflect every stage of your love life—past, present, and future. Personally, I could use a reminder that He’s Just Not That Into You every time I find a new “soulmate” on Hinge.
So while we can’t promise that watching these love stories will help you solve all (or any) of your current relationship woes, we can tell you that you’ll be able to relate to at least one of these comedies and dramas. You can see the rest of our picks for the best romantic movies, below.
PS: Of course, not all love movies are winners. See our list of romantic comedies that probably never should have been made.
©Hulu/Courtesy Everett Collection1/63If You Feel Like You’re Stuck in a Time Loop: Palm Springs
This 2020 rom-com sci-fi hybrid starring Andy Samberg and Cristin Milliotti struck a nerve when it dropped on Hulu during the peak of lockdown, when time felt like it was taken away from us and every day bled into the other. The philosophical film is uproariously funny, smart, and well-performed, and it sets itself apart from the traditional rom-com, offering hope for a creative future in the often repetitive genre.
Available to stream on Hulu
©Searchlight Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection2/63If You’ve Always Longed to Find Your Very Own Mr. Darcy on Vacation: Fire Island
This 2020s adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice, one of the best movies based on a book, reimagines the work as a gay love story set in Fire Island. The new setting offers a fresh perspective, with layered commentary on sexuality, race, and the gay community itself all while showcasing a predictable but classic Mr. Darcy–Elizabeth Bennett style courtship. It’s fun, it’s serious, and you will laugh out loud constantly while also wondering, Why can’t this happen to me?
Available to stream on Hulu
Netflix3/63If You Have a Crush on Someone Annoying: Set It Up
Zoey Deutch and Glenn Powell lead this equally raunchy and romantic Netflix movie that documents a classic love-hate relationship. Overworked by their bosses (played by Lucy Liu and Taye Diggs), Harper and Charlie attempt to set them up romantically to improve their work-life balance. The film, which came out in 2018, marked a return to rom-coms in modern cinema and launched successful careers for its leads. It also notably includes an appearance from one Pete Davidson.
Available to stream on Netflix
Courtesy of Focus Features4/63If You’re Just Hooking Up: Walk of Shame
Elizabeth Banks stars in Walk of Shame, a 2014 romantic comedy about a woman who has to maneuver her way across the city to an interview for her dream job following a one-night stand. And she does it all without her phone, ID, or money. It’s not all bad for Banks’s character, though: James Marsden plays her last-night lover, so you know that hookup doesn’t end at just one. While we wouldn’t call this a groundbreaking piece of cinema, it will make you feel relieved—because there’s no way anyone could have a worse walk-of-shame experience than this.
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video
Courtesy of Universal Pictures5/63If You’re Single but All Your Friends Are Engaged: Bridesmaids
At some point in life, most people go through a period when they feel out of sync with the world—and sometimes that happens around that time when someone you care about gets married. Kristen Wiig brilliantly captures this feeling for us all in Bridesmaids as Annie, a single woman who is struggling to be the best maid of honor possible for her best friend Lillian (played by the brilliant Maya Rudolph) while navigating a disappointing career setback. Things get even more complicated when a fellow bridesmaid, Rose Byrne’s Helen, starts getting competitive over Lillian.
Available to stream on Amazon Prime Video
Alamy6/63If You’re Taking a Break From Dating: Becoming Jane
Becoming Jane isn’t totally faithful to Jane Austen’s real-life history, though it is inspired by a rumored flirtation the author had with a lawyer named Tom Lefroy. Even so, Anne Hathaway’s version of the iconic Pride and Prejudice writer shows us a valuable lesson: Sometimes putting aside love to focus on yourself is the best thing you can do. So much attention is paid to the fact that Austen never married, as if that’s a sad thing; from all accounts, she lived a very full life until her death in 1817. And of course, her legacy lives on in her work.
Available to buy on Amazon
Everett Collection7/63If You’re Going on a Lot of First Dates: 50 First Dates
If you’re confused about how 50 First Dates, a very unrealistic romantic comedy about a man who resolves to woo a woman with amnesia anew every single day, can apply to your life, just stick with us here. You see, not all first dates are winners—the silly high jinks that take place in this romantic comedy are proof of that—but sometimes you can strike gold, and that makes all the effort worth it. The relationship between Adam Sandler’s and Drew Barrymore’s characters is a beautiful reminder that love can come in many, many unexpected ways.
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video
Everett Collection8/63If You’re Trying Dating Apps: You’ve Got Mail
Ever feel like Hinge or Bumble aren’t the best place to find lasting love? Yeah, we get it. All the time. We suggest watching the classic rom-com You’ve Got Mail to keep you in the game. The movie may be set long before dating apps became a thing, but it still shows that there are great people online looking for someone just like you—even if they might be trying to put your adorable little bookstore out of business. Some of those people may even be as hot and charming as Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan! (One can dream, can’t one?)
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video
Alamy9/63If You Have an FWB: Friends With Benefits
Sometimes what you really want is to be physically intimate without all the emotional effort that can come with a serious relationship. If that sounds like your current situation, this romantic comedy is exactly what you need to watch. It stars Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis as two friends who, you guessed it, start hooking up with no strings attached. Although they—spoiler warning—fall in love by the end of the film, that’s not always how friends with benefits work out in real life. In fact, we suggest just watching this movie to the halfway point.
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video
Netflix10/63If You Have a Secret Crush: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
Every time she has a new crush, Lara Jean (Lana Condor) writes a secret love letter to him. The notes are not meant to be shared, of course, so she’s mortified when they accidentally get mailed out to the guys. But then something great happens: The incident leads her on a path to love, one that she never would have taken without a shove from the universe. The lesson? If you have someone you’re crushing on, just tell them! It’s scary, sure, but you may never how they feel in return unless you put it out there. (Watch the whole movie series to see how it all pans out.)
Available to stream on Netflix
Alamy11/63If You’re Dating Someone Unexpected: How Stella Got Her Groove Back
Need to get your confidence back after a breakup? Feel like your life and relationships are in a rut? How Stella Got Her Groove Back offers up a fantastic option: dating someone outside of your usual type. It can be exciting, strange, uncomfortable, and awesome—all at the same time. Even if the relationship doesn’t last, you’ll walk away having learned more about yourself. Bonus points if you meet this someone new on a fabulous, first-class vacation, as Angela Bassett does in this 1998 romantic comedy-drama. Extra bonus points if that someone new looks like Taye Diggs. (There’s a reason it tops every list of best sexy movies.)
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video
Alamy12/63If You’re in a Budding Romance: Before Sunrise
Before Sunrise is the ideal movie to watch when you’re in a new, butterflies-in-your-stomach romance. This film (and its subsequent sequels) shows how quickly you can fall in love—and that being head-over-heels for somebody isn’t the worst thing in the world. In it, Ethan Hawke plays a young American man who meets a French woman (Julie Delpy) on a train; they have an instant connection, so they spend an entire evening walking around Vienna just getting to know each other and falling in love. It’s perfect if you’re in the mood to start a new relationship.
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video
©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection13/63If You’re Falling in Love for the First Time: Love, Simon
This teen rom-com about a high schooler (played by the always charming Nick Robinson) who comes out to his family and friends after falling in love with a mystery pen pal will warm any heart. Whether you’re in relationship or not, this movie is important for everyone to watch because it shows how necessary it is to stay true to yourself and love who you love. Friends, family, and romantic partners who have your best interests in mind will be supportive of that no matter what. (The soundtrack is great too, but that’s just a bonus.)
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video
Everett Collection14/63If You’re With Your First Love: The Notebook
In any discussion about romance movies, there is no avoiding The Notebook. The drama, which was adapted from a Nicholas Sparks novel, is a sweeping love story about a young couple who fall in love but are separated after a series of miscommunications and misunderstandings come between them. When they finally reunite, it is...well, that photo of the two kissing in the rain should clue you in. The movie is a reminder that finding love for the first time can be just as wonderful, painful, and exciting as it is in the movies. Plus, you know, Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams.
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video
Alamy15/63If You’re Meeting the Parents: Meet the Parents
Meeting your partner’s family can be one of the most stressful and uncomfortable times in a relationship, but here’s one reassurance: Most parents aren’t as insane as Robert De Niro’s ex-CIA cat-loving character, Jack Byrnes. So if you’re concerned about how a meeting with the family will go, just think of this movie. After all, if Ben Stiller’s and Teri Polo’s characters, Greg and Pam, can still make a relationship work after the events of Meet the Parents, you and your partner should have no problem at all. If a lie detector test comes out, though, run.
Available to stream on Netflix
Alamy16/63If You’re in an LDR: Going the Distance
Long-distance relationships are difficult, even when you’re deeply in love. Going the Distance stars Drew Barrymore and Justin Long as a young couple trying to navigate how to be together despite living on opposite ends of the country. It’s not easy for them—sorry for the spoiler, but they even break up at one point—but the highs and lows of this type of relationship ring true to life. That said, if two people want each other enough, keep an open line of communication, and put in the effort, it’s totally possible to make an LDR work.
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video
Alamy17/63If You’re Secretly in Love With a Friend: Some Kind of Wonderful
John Hughes’s movies have taught us a lot about love over the decades, but Some Kind of Wonderful is a good one to watch if you’re starting to catch feelings for a person in your friend group. Eric Stoltz plays a teen with a crush on a popular, wealthy girl (Lea Thompson). Along the way, though, he realizes that he actually cares for his best friend (Mary Stuart Masterson), who has secretly loved him for years. It only makes sense that, sometimes, you fall for someone who has been there for you all along. And Some Kind of Wonderful proves that once in a while that person falls for us too.
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video
Everett Collection18/63If You’re Dating Someone You Once Disliked: When Harry Met Sally…
You met someone that is rude, annoying, self-centered, and pigheaded—and you totally love them anyway? If that sounds familiar, we suggest watching When Harry Met Sally, the movie that showed us all that the line between love and hate is very thin. This speech that Billy Crystal’s Harry delivers to Meg Ryan’s Sally sums it up best: “I love that you get cold when it’s 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you’re looking at me like I’m nuts.… I came here tonight because 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.”
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video
Alamy19/63If You’re With Your Perfect Match: Love & Basketball
Monica (Sanaa Lathan) and Quincy (Omar Epps) have bonded over two things for almost their entire lives: basketball and their friendship. They challenge each other over the years, which only makes their love evolve and grow deeper. Their relationship has its ups and downs—otherwise this wouldn’t be a good romantic drama, would it?—but that strong foundation is always there. So Love & Basketball is an excellent movie to watch whenever you need a reminder that even the best relationships struggle at times. Those hardships just make everything so much sweeter when you come through on the other side together.
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video
Alamy20/63If You’re in the Middle of a Love Triangle: Pretty in Pink
Ugh, if only this type of relationship happened just in the movies! At least with Pretty in Pink, the ending isn’t a complete bummer for all parties involved. In it, Andie (Molly Ringwald) starts a budding relationship with Blane (Andrew McCarthy); meanwhile, her best friend Duckie (Jon Cryer) is in love with her. She—spoiler warning—picks Blane in the end, after Duckie concedes that he should move on. The real-life takeaway? A love triangle will always feel messy and dramatic, so it’s best to handle it with as much grace and empathy for all parties involved as possible.
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video
Alamy21/63If You Have an Unrequited Love: Once
Once is a beautiful, heartbreaking film about two people who fall in love but ultimately decide not to act on their feelings. It’s complicated—and it happens all the time in real life. At least the guy and girl in this movie are inspired by each other to create a beautiful album. The relationship never materializes, but their music will last forever. So how can you learn from Once if you’re in a similar doomed situation? Channel that energy into something else you love: your career, your friends, your hobbies. Something really wonderful can come from all that heartbreak.
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video
Alamy22/63If You’re in a Relationship That’s Not Meant to Be: 500 Days of Summer
500 Days of Summer takes you through the highs and crushing lows of falling head over heels, only to find out your partner isn’t quite so smitten. Zooey Deschanel’s character, Summer, turns into a big disappointment for Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s lovestruck Tom after he realizes she’s not as serious about their budding relationship. It takes him time, but he eventually learns a valuable lesson that we all should keep in mind: When a relationship ends, that’s simply because it wasn’t meant to be. Heartbreak can feel extreme in the moment, but it will heal with time.
Available to stream on Hulu
Alamy23/63If You’re Going Through a Serious Split: The Break-Up
This Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn anti–romantic comedy perfectly shows how breaking up can be so bad and painful that it sometimes borders on hilarious. So your partner has banned you from your couples-only bowling league? You’ll find a new singles-only one. Are you arguing over who gets to keep what, even down to the most mundane items? Try to laugh it off and let it go. This is a dark chapter of your life, but the key to keep in mind is that it’s ending—and a new, shinier beginning is around the corner.
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video
Everett Collection24/63If You’re Ready to Get Over Your Breakup: Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Jason Segel’s character, Peter, has the right idea in Forgetting Sarah Marshall: Sometimes you need a change of scenery after a big breakup. When Peter’s longtime actor girlfriend leaves him for another man, he decides to embark on a solo vacation at a beautiful, luxe Hawaiian resort. He’s sad at first, sure, but he eventually finds himself—and a new love interest—in the end. While you may not meet someone as awesome as Mila Kunis’s character, Rachel, on your adventure, who cares? It’s all that alone time in a new location that is the perfect remedy for a broken heart.
Available to stream on Max
Alamy25/63If You’re Engaged: The Proposal
Congratulations, you are engaged! Now go watch The Proposal. Your situation with your fiancé(e) probably won’t be as legally complicated as that of Sandra Bullock’s character Margaret—at least, we hope not, since she persuades her assistant, Ryan Reynolds’s Andrew, to marry her so she can avoid deportation. (They eventually fall in love, of course. This is a romantic comedy, after all.) There’s still a good takeaway from the movie, regardless of the ridiculous, over-the-top plot: The Proposal will hopefully make you realize that there’s always more to learn and love about the person next to you.
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video
Alamy26/63If You’re Stressed About Your Wedding: My Best Friend’s Wedding
Technically, this film is about a woman—Julia Roberts’s Julianne—trying to prevent the wedding of her best friend, Dermot Mulroney’s Michael, whom she realizes she’s in love with. So if you’re that person, we hope this movie will teach you to just admit your feelings rather than concoct an elaborate, diabolical sabotage of other people’s happiness. On the other hand, if you’re the bride, learn from Cameron Diaz’s Kimmy and just try to enjoy the moment. Family drama, wedding planner issues, an ex who shows up—let them try to ruin your day. It’s not going to happen.
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video
Alamy27/63If You’re in a Relationship Rut: Take This Waltz
While it's decidedly not a feel-good movie, this wonderful film, which stars Michelle Williams and Seth Rogen as a couple dealing with some issues after five years together, shows that even the most loving marriage can still require a lot of work. Although—spoiler warning—Williams’s character eventually decides to leave her husband for another man, she learns by the film’s end that simply ending a relationship because you feel like you’re in a rut may not be the answer. All relationships are an effort, no matter who they’re with. The key is whether or not you’re willing to invest your time and energy into it.
Available to stream on Max
Alamy28/63If You’re Getting a Divorce: The First Wives Club
Getting a divorce? Gather your friends for a viewing party and turn on The First Wives Club as soon as you can. The 1996 comedy is the best thing to remind you to stay strong, no matter what your ex does next—be it dating a younger person, going after your money, or something even worse. Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn, and Bette Midler star as three women who get delicious revenge on their scummy ex-husbands, and it’s a thrill to watch. Even if you don’t have time for a full movie, watch the scene where they sing Lesley Gore’s “You Don't Own Me.”
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video
Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics29/63If You’re Still Friends With an Ex: Celeste and Jesse Forever
Watch Celeste and Jesse Forever if you’re trying to navigate how to keep an ex in your life after a breakup. This heartbreaking 2012 movie wonderfully tells the complicated story of two exes, Celeste (Rashida Jones) and Jesse (Andy Samberg), who want to stay close friends even though their romantic relationship has ended. It’s not easy for them, of course, and Celeste and Jesse run into some—okay, many—bumps along the way as they figure it out. But even though they’re not meant to be together as a couple, that doesn’t mean they can’t still love and support each other.
Available to rent on iTunes
Courtesy of Focus Features30/63If You Want to Get Back Together With Your Ex: Crazy, Stupid, Love
If you realize that your ex is still the one for you, check out Crazy, Stupid, Love. It shows the lengths that Steve Carell’s character, Cal Weaver, is willing to go to in order to win back his one true love: his soon-to-be ex-wife, Emily (played by Julianne Moore). Emily is skeptical about his attempts at first—and honestly, for good reason—but eventually she comes to remember why she fell in love with Cal in the first place. It’s a sweet movie about every up and down of a relationship, and one to watch for inspiration for your own love life.
Available to rent on Amazon Prime
Courtesy Everett Collection31/63If It’s You Two Against the World: Bonnie and Clyde
It’s unlikely that you and your partner would find yourselves on the run from the feds, but it happens! Bonnie and Clyde Barrow are, of course, best known for robbing banks, but this classic movie is actually much more of a love story than people often remember. Their passion for one another is the engine that fuels their escapades, and Clyde's impotence is explored in depth. These two would literally take a bullet for one another.
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video
©Lions Gate/Courtesy Everett Collection32/63If You’re Getting Ready to Come Out: But I’m a Cheerleader
THE quintessential Gen X/millennial queer girl movie stars Natasha Lyonne, Clea Duvall, and Melanie Lynskey (and RuPaul!) as teen lesbians sent to conversion therapy only to discover that there’s no cure for being true to yourself. It may sound like a bummer, but this is an uplifting and empowering film without being saccharine or tearjerker-y.
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video
©Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection33/63If You’re Looking for Love After Loss: Love Again
It’s that movie with all the Celine Dion songs! Priyanka Chopra stars as a woman who continues sending texts to the number of her dead fiancé—a number that now belongs to Sam Heughan's Rob. They fall in love from afar and then up-close, and of course it's sweeping and sentimental, just like a Celine song. Sometimes you need a good cry, and this movie delivers that along with a comforting message about moving on at your own pace.
Available to stream on Netflix
Sarah Shatz34/63If You’re Choosing a Job Over a Guy: Someone Great
It happens. When Jenny lands her dream job across the country, her boyfriend dumps her rather than trying to make it work, and only her friends can lift her spirits and give her the proper goodbye party she deserves. Not everything is meant to last forever, and while it might feel bad to lose something just to gain something else, you don't need to torture yourself for choosing what's right for you.
Available to stream on Netflix
©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection35/63If You’re Making It Work: Fools Rush In
Before Knocked Up we had Fools Rush In, a broad comedy about a free spirit and a WASP forced to meet in the middle when a one-night stand results in pregnancy. It may not be the most realistic (or well-advised) love story, but since when is parenting easy or straightforward anyway? At the end of the day, you’re picking a person and taking a risk, and that’s exactly what these two do.
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video
©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection36/63If You're From Different Worlds: Save the Last Dance
There are many (many!) movies about couples with little in common who come from different cultures and backgrounds, but only one has Julia Stiles as a ballerina who learns hip-hop. Teen parenthood, gang wars, parental death, the stuffed shirts over at Juilliard…Kenny and Sara have everything going against them, but they find a way to make it work.
Available to stream on Paramount+
ph: Michael P. Weinstein37/63If You Fell for the Wrong Person First: While You Were Sleeping
No offense to The Family Stone, but THIS is the movie about realizing that the guy you want is not the guy you need…his brother is. Sandra Bullock plays a toll-taker/cat lady in Chicago who lies about being engaged to an amnesiac (listen, it’s a rom-com) and gets away with it, only to discover that just because you crush on someone from afar doesn't mean he’s your soulmate—especially when his hot brother is right there.
Available to stream on Disney Plus
Courtesy Everett Collection38/63If Your Family Is Suffocating You: My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Toula loves her family. Toula loves being Greek. Toula needs to get the hell away from all of it so she can grow into her own person and attract a man who will appreciate her. Based on screenwriter and star Nia Vardalos's real-life love story, My Big Fat Greek Wedding is the highest-grossing rom-com of all time and still an absolute delight, from the quotable lines (“Put some Windex on it”) to the sweet love story. He gets baptized, she steps into her own light, and no one has to give up what’s important to them.
Available to stream on Peacock
©20th Century Studios/Courtesy Everett Collection39/63If Your Love Is Forbidden: West Side Story
Sometimes your families aren’t just different—they’re actually rivals. The Romeo and Juliet tale has been done a hundred times, but Spielberg’s recent remake of the musical West Side Story is as good as it gets, with fiery dance numbers, aching love songs, and a tragic ending that will make you think, I’m gonna be careful with how I approach this relationship and make sure no one has a gun. Always a good lesson.
Available to stream on Disney Plus
©Hulu/Courtesy Everett Collection40/63If You’re Out, But Your Partner Isn’t: Happiest Season
This holiday rom-com takes a light look at the perils of coming out, but winning central performances make it a crowd-pleaser and a welcome break from the same old Christmas fare. If your partner isn’t fully authentic around their family, you may feel pressure to step back into the closet, a direction no one wants to be forced in. Maybe this movie can provide a road map for navigating some of those tricky discussions? Plus it features a killer pop song from Tegan and Sara.
Available to stream on Hulu
©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection41/63If You’re Meant for Each Other, Come What May: Moulin Rouge!
About as grand and sweeping as it gets! Baz Luhrmann's Oscar-winning spectacle spawned a Broadway musical, and its central theme has become a common track for partners figure skating because it's just that romantic. Nicole Kidman was never lovelier, Ewan McGregor never more charming. Sure, there’s consumption and elephant apartments and a green fairy played by Kylie Minogue, but at the end of the day, this is a story about star-crossed lovers who simply refuse to let go. Isn’t that what we’re all looking for?
Available to stream on Hulu
©Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection42/63If You’re Still Thinking About Your High School Sweetheart: Sweet Home Alabama
The right guy, the right ring, the right career can all be wrong if you never fully got over your ex (or signed the divorce papers). They say you can’t go home again, but if the rest of your town never left, that’s not quite true. This movie is admirable for how it doesn’t put down any of the characters’ choices—it’s not like there’s a good guy and a bad guy, just flawed people trying to make the best decisions they can given all their past baggage. Plus, Melanie Lynskey brings a baby to a bar!
Available to stream on YouTube TV
©IFC Films/Courtesy Everett Collection43/63If You Desperately Need to DTR: Sleeping With Other People
A slightly twisted rom-com from Leslye Headland starring all your comedy faves. Jake and Lainey are commitment-phobic sex-addicted besties who make all the wrong decisions in life and apparently haven't seen When Harry Met Sally, because they don't recognize that they're in love with each other until it's almost too late. If you're in a sticky situationship, this might actually cut too close to home.
Available to stream on AMC Plus
©Lions Gate/Courtesy Everett Collection44/63If You Found a Kindred Spirit: La La Land
They’re two of a kind, for better…and for worse. Two aspiring artists meet and fall in love while chasing the dream in Hollywood, but the fame and success they want pulls them apart despite their intense connection. It's a bittersweet story that doesn't offer any easy answers, but Emma Stone (who got an Oscar for her role!) and Ryan Gosling’s chemistry and the toe-tapping musical numbers make it a must-watch for film fans.
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video
©Roadside Attractions/Courtesy Everett C / Everett Collection45/63If You’re Already Obsessed After Just One Date: Southside With You
Once upon a time…in the summer of ’89…. The Obamas’ first date isn’t exactly a thrill ride, but it’s charming as all hell and, as we all know, their marriage ends up being one of the strongest in American politics. Not every first meeting is as magically easy as theirs, but if you've just fallen hard for the new guy at work/school/church/book group, you’ll totally get how these two feel.
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video
Focus Features46/63If You Have the Kind of Love That Will Go Down in History: Loving
Interracial couples continue to celebrate Loving Day in honor of the Supreme Court striking down anti-miscegenation laws once and for all. They didn’t set out to change the country, but Richard and Mildred weren’t about to let something as backward as racism come between them. They simply wanted to be together as a family in their home state.
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video
LANDMARK MEDIA / Alamy Stock Photo47/63If You’re in Love With a Workaholic: Jerry Maguire
“Show me the money,” “You had me at hello,” “You complete me.” The quotable lines just don't end with this modern classic about an ambitious sports agent going through a crisis and the kindly single mom who can see the man beneath the mania. This is a sweet, sexy, funny rom-com dressed up as a sports movie, exploring what we prioritize in life and why it really should be people.
Available to stream on Paramount+
Apparition/courtesy Everett Collection48/63If It’s Fated to Be Brief: Bright Star
Titanic, The Fault in Our Stars, Love Story…Hollywood has endless examples of perfect, beautiful loves that end prematurely when one of the lovers dies tragically. But Bright Star is perhaps the most poignant, as it’s based on the true story of poet John Keats, whose best works were inspired by his true love Fanny Brawne. Warning: You may weep uncontrollably and then get really into poetry, which is actually a great way to grieve.
Available to stream on Amazon Prime Video
Glen Wilson/ © 2021 Amazon Content Services LLC49/63If You’re Married to a Coworker: Being The Ricardos
A couple with a complicated marriage playing a couple with a very happy marriage. Fame, money, power, and passion collide in the true(ish) story of Lucy and Desi. This movie gets into a little bit of everything: cheating, being a woman in the workplace, what happens when you hate someone you love. And putting pregnant women on TV, which, shockingly, was not allowed for many years.
Available to stream on Amazon Prime Video
©Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection50/63If You’re Fighting the Patriarchy While Falling in Love: Mulan
The simplest, purest exploration of being, literally, a woman in a man’s world and how that can complicate romance is in this Disney classic. Hopefully the songs will lift your spirits as you navigate what is a pretty tricky situation.
Available to stream on Disney Plus
©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection51/63If You’re in a Custody Battle With Your Ex: Marriage Story
Good romance movies don’t necessarily come with a happy ending. And sadly, not all divorces kickstart a fun new era, as in The First Wives Club. When a young child is involved, ripping a family in half is devastating. This movie offers no easy answers except “compromise,” but you’ll surely relate to the endless parade of semicompetent lawyers and Driver’s rendition of “Being Alive” at the end.
Available to stream on Netflix
©Warner Bros/courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection52/63If You’ve Found Your Artistic Soulmate: A Star Is Born
Far from the shallow now! Though their partnership is ultimately destructive, Jackson and Ally find in one another something deeper than a soulmate: a true artistic partner. Gaga and Cooper had such good chemistry in this movie and in live performances that it sparked (untrue) rumors of an affair. Most romantic movies don’t also come with a soundtrack as good as this.
Available to stream on Max
©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection53/63If You Cheated and Feel Weird About It: Closer
Human desire is explored oh-so-adult-ly in this contemporary drama about longing. Everyone in the movie is kind of a bad person who wants what they shouldn’t and lies to get it; but if you’re past the fairy-tale portion of your life, it may very well ring true. It’s also pretty hot, if depressing!
Streaming on Hulu
©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection54/63If They Cheated and You’re Pissed About It: Heartburn
Based on Nora Ephron’s fiery roman à clef about being cheated on by Carl Bernstein. If your husband won’t stop having affairs, clearly, the best course of action is to take your kids, move to a great apartment in New York, and make a bunch of food.
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video
Jonathan Prime55/63If It’s an International Incident: Red, White & Royal Blue
When the American president’s son falls for a British prince, the implications are downright cross-cultural. This adaptation of the beloved, funny novel makes for perfect afternoon viewing.
Streaming on Amazon Prime
©Focus Films/Courtesy Everett Collection56/63If It’s Almost Too Painful to Bear: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Would you erase all memories of a painful relationship if you could? Even if the love helped you grow? Even if it’s more honest to face it? This absolute heartbreaker starring Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey, one of the best romantic movies to watch on this list, is wacky and wondrous, using dreamlike sequences to illustrate the experiences of memory and emotion and explore how our childhoods inform our relationships.
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video
©TriStar Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection57/63If You’re in Your Delusional Phase: Sleepless in Seattle
Ya ever hear a guy on the radio and fantasize about him so hard you end up breaking it off with your fiancé and using your company’s money to fly across the country? It’s delulu to the max. But what if it’s also love? Annie’s certainly not dangerous in her low-level stalking of Sam. Okay, we’re making excuses, but suspend your disbelief and lean into the magical realism. The universe put them together, with a little help from eight-year-old Jonah. And it’s so sweet! One of the best romance movies of all time, full stop.
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video
©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection58/63If You’re Childhood Friend Should Be More: Always Be My Maybe
When they say home is where the heart is, sometimes they mean your hometown. After 15 years apart, celebrity chef Sasha Tran (Ali Wong) returns to San Fransisco to open a restaurant and reconnects with her childhood friend (and one-time fling) Marcus (Randall Park). Though she’s engaged to a big shot restaurateur (played by Daniel Dae Kim), she finds herself falling for her childhood partner in crime. It’s giving “Hey Dorothea.”
Available to stream on Netflix
©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection59/63If You’d Like a Do-Over: About Time
Is it still a meet-cute if one of you has already met? From the makers of Love Actually, About Time tells the adorable love story of a sweet British lawyer (Domhnall Gleeson) who falls in love with an charming American (Rachel McAdams) after inheriting his father’s ability to go back in time…. As dubious as that might sound, this quirky comedy is a pure, heartfelt delight for those of us who don’t always say the right thing the first time.
©New Line Cinema/Courtesy Everett Collection60/63If He’s Just Not That Into You: He’s Just Not That Into You
We all need a friend like Justin Long who will tell us when we’re being delusional…and then fall madly in love with us. No but really, He’s Just Not That Into You is Love Actually for cynics, following a friend group of 20- and 30-somethings as they navigate miscommunications and romance woes. The cast includes Ginnifer Goodwin, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Scarlett Johansson, and more. That’s one hell of a friend group, huh?
Available to stream on Max
©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection61/63If You’re About to Break Up: The Lovebirds
You may think you’ve tried everything to save your dying relationship, but have you tried linking up with your partner to stop a dangerous murderer? Right on the cusp of a breakup, Lellani (Issa Rae) and Jibran (Kumail Nanjiani) are forced to push off their split when they witness a brutal crime…. It’s much more hilarious than it sounds, promise.
Available to stream on Netflix.
Courtesy Everett Collection62/63If You Have Complicated Feelings About Marriage and Motherhood: We Live In Time
Cancer is not the only aspect of this beautifully imperfect love story worth mentioning. Throughout this tearjerker, Almut (Florence Pugh) struggles with complex feelings about building a family with Tobias (Andrew Garfield), desperate to retain her autonomy and avoid losing parts of herself, especially as her illness progresses. Many millennials in their 30s can probably relate.
Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video.
©Amazon/Courtesy Everett Collection63/63If You’re Dating a Younger Man: The Idea of You
Though it’s not technically based on a fan fiction, The Idea of You does depict the sexy love story of a 40-something divorced mom (Anne Hathaway) and the 20-something frontman of an über-famous boy band (Nicholas Galitzine)—and that’s what makes it beautiful.
Available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
