21 Valentine's Day Movies: The Best Romance Films to Watch With Your Special Someone
From adaptations of classic books to iconic romantic comedies.
So, you're looking for something to watch this Valentine's Day. Whether your plans include cozying up with your partner, hosting a Galentine's Day party, or simply showing yourself some love and relaxing with a movie alone, there are countless romantic films out there for you to enjoy, including romantic comedies, romantic dramas, and even romantic fantasies. It's a lot to sort through! To help out, we've narrowed down the list to the 21 best Valentine's Day movies. Out picks include a little bit of everything, from traditional romances like Pride & Prejudice to more unconventional tearjerkers like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Whatever your taste, keep reading. There's something here for the hopeless romantic in all of us.
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The 21 Best Valentine's Day Movies
1. When Harry Met Sally…
Starting off with one of the most beloved romantic movies of all time, we have 1989's When Harry Met Sally... Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan star as the titular characters, who reevaluate their friendship—and whether a potential romantic relationship is right for them—over 12 years. Supporting roles are played by Carrie Fisher and Bruno Kirby as Sally and Harry's best friends.
2. Crazy Rich Asians
Based on the first novel in Kevin Kwan's trilogy, 2018's Crazy Rich Asians stars Constance Wu and Henry Golding as a couple, Rachel and Nick, whose relationship is tested when he introduces her to his extremely wealthy family and friends in Singapore. Co-stars include Michelle Yeoh as Nick's mother, Gemma Chan as Nick's cousin, and Awkwafina as Rachel's college friend.
3. Pride & Prejudice
One of the most famous love stories of all time, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice has been adapted numerous times, but few versions are as popular as this 2005 movie. The film stars Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet and Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy with co-stars including Tom Hollander, Rosamund Pike, Donald Sutherland, Judi Dench, and more. Unlike Austen's original story, this version is set in the late 1700s rather than the early 1800s.
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4. The Princess Bride
The 1987 cult classic The Princess Bride mixes romance, adventure, and comedy as Westley (Cary Elwes) goes on a mission to rescue Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright) from a group of kidnappers and marrying the villainous Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon). It's actually a movie within a movie, since it's framed by a grandfather (Peter Falk) reading a fairytale to his grandson (Fred Savage).
5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
If you're in the mood for something more surreal and science-fiction-adjacent this Valentine's Day, you may want to revisit 2004's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet star as Joel and Clementine, who undergo memory-erasing procedures in an attempt to try to forget about each other after they break up. Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, and Elijah Wood play employees at the experimental medical office.
6. My Best Friend's Wedding
Julia Roberts was the queen of rom-coms in the '90s, and My Best Friend's Wedding is one of the most beloved of her run, especially because the 1997 film is an unconventional take. She stars as Jules, a food critic who attends her best friend Michael's (Dermont Mulroney) wedding with an aim to break him and and his fiancée Kimmy (Cameron Diaz) up. Rupert Everett steals all his scenes as Jules' pal, Michael, who tries to save her from herself.
7. The Notebook
Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling made for a romantic pairing for the ages with their portrayals of Allie and Noah in 2004's The Notebook, based on the Nicholas Sparks novel of the same name. The movie tells the couple's love story, beginning with the ups and downs they go through in the 1940s, including new love interests, economic differences, and meddling family members.
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8. Brokeback Mountain
Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger star in 2005's Brokeback Mountain as two cowboys who start a secret romance in the early 1960s. Their connection is strained, as they know their love won't be accepted by society, but their relationship spans several years, even as they end up in marriages to women played by Anne Hathaway and Michelle Williams.
9. Crazy, Stupid, Love
2011's Crazy, Stupid Love features seemingly separate love stories and slowly reveals how they overlap. Steve Carell plays Cal, who is separated from his wife Emily (Julianne Moore) and gets an education in courting women by a suave younger man, Jacob (Gosling). Meanwhile, Jacob, who is proudly a player, finds himself wanting to get more serious with a woman named Hannah (Emma Stone). The comedy also brings in a cast of supporting characters, most of whom collide in a hilarious third act scene.
10. You've Got Mail
Ryan and Tom Hanks star in 1998's You've Got Mail as Kathleen and Joe, strangers who connect online and begin exchanging romantic emails. However, their virtual love story is complicated by real life: Kathleen owns a small independent bookstore that's about to be run out of business by the huge chain owned by Joe's family.
11. If Beale Street Could Talk
Adapted from James Baldwin's novel, 2018's If Beale Street Could Talk follows a couple in the 1970s, Fonny (Stephan James) and Tish (KiKi Layne), who deal with Fonny being wrongly accused and jailed for a crime while Tish is pregnant with their child. Tish and her mother (Regina King) fight for Fonny's freedom, while flashbacks show the early days of the couple's love story.
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12. Valentine's Day
That's right: There's a Valentine's Day movie called Valentine's Day. This 2010 romantic comedy—set on Feb. 14, of course—features an ensemble cast and many different overlapping love stories. Stars include Roberts, Jamie Foxx, Bradley Cooper, Taylor Swift, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, and many more.
13. Love, Simon
Also based on a book, Love, Simon from 2018 stars Nick Robinson as the titular high schooler, who falls in love with an anonymous classmate online, as another student threatens to out him. With the help of his friends, Simon searches for the identity of his secret pen pal and decides to live his life openly. Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel co-star as his parents.
14. The Wedding Planner
Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey teamed up for 2001's The Wedding Planner, in which wedding planning becomes extremely inconvenient when Mary falls for her client, Steve. They struggle with their feelings for each other as Mary tries to make Steve's fiancée's (Bridgette Wilson-Sampras) bridal dreams come true.
15. Titanic
Titanic is both a romantic classic and a big-budget disaster movie. The 1997 epic stars Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio as an upperclass passenger and a penniless stowaway who fall in love during their journey on the ill-fated ship. While the first half of the movie is all about their budding romance, the second half is focused on their mission to survive the ship's dramatic and tragic sinking.
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16. Stuck in Love
Stuck in Love, released in 2012, revolves around the love lives of the members of a small family. Writer Bill (Greg Kinnear) moons over his ex, Erica (Jennifer Connelly) left him for someone else, while their children (Lily Collins and Nat Wolff) also have their own romantic entanglements to deal with.
17. The Sun Is Also a Star
Yara Shahidi and Charles Melton star opposite each other in The Sun Is Also a Star, a young adult romance about two high school students who fall in love and learn about their different backgrounds. In the 2019 film, Natasha's family is facing deportation to Jamaica, while Korean-American teenager Daniel has a strained relationship with his father and brother.
18. Love & Basketball
Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps lead the 2000 slow-burn romance Love & Basketball, which is about childhood friends who fall for one another over time. As kids, they bond over their shared love of basketball and, as they get older, both attempt to find careers in the sport while also dealing with issues in their personal lives—including other romantic relationships that threaten to keep them apart.
19. Never Been Kissed
Drew Barrymore heads back to high school in the rom-com Never Been Kissed. The 1999 film is about a journalist named Josie who goes undercover as a high school student for an article while also confronting her own traumatic past as a teen outcast and the fact that she's, wait for it, never been kissed. Josie's love interest is played by Alias star Michael Vartan, while David Arquette and Molly Shannon are featured in supporting roles.
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20. Carol
In 2015's Carol—based on Patricia Highsmith's The Price of Salt—Rooney Mara plays Therese, a department store worker and photographer who begins a relationship with a wealthy older woman named Carol, played by Cate Blanchett. There are high stakes to their secret romance given the early '50s time period, and it becomes even more so with the involvement of Carol's family and the divorce she's going through with her husband, Harge (Kyle Chandler).
21. William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet
Why not celebrate Valentine's Day with one of the most famous love stories of all time, William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet? You're no doubt already familiar with the tragic ending of this classic play, but the 1996 adaptation gives the source material a new edge. It has a modern day setting but the characters still speak in the Elizabethan language of the original. DiCaprio and Claire Danes star as the young lovers, alongside supporting performances by John Leguizamo as Tybalt, Harold Perrineau as Mercutio, and Paul Rudd as Paris.
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