Looking for something romantic to watch this Valentine’s day, but not interested in anything too sappy/lovey-dovey/formulaic? Why not try one of these films instead? They run from new takes on classic stories, to animation for adults, to horror and action flicks that may not seem super romantic until you really pay attention to them.
Much Ado About Nothing (2012, the Joss Whedon version) – One of Shakespeare’s best comedies and best romances, updated for a modern audience. The setting is one big beautiful house party full of people and intrigue and witty repartee. While the young lovers Hero and Claudio seem to have the textbook fairytale ending, it is the snarky back-and-forth that eventually leads to true love between Beatrice and Benedick that makes this tale worthwhile. And the cast of Joss Whedon regulars (Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Nathan Fillion, Clark Gree, Fran Kranz, and Sean Maher) make it extra delightful.
Rock & Rule (1983) – A Canadian 80’s animated film featuring songs by Debbie Harry, Cheap Trick, Lou Reed, and Earth Wind & Fire, and a story about musicians raising demons for world domination, this isn’t some cute Disney romance. The anthropomorphic animal characters populate a post-apocalyptic wasteland. They drink, they smoke, they drive too fast, they dance too hard, and they love with all the drama you can expect from a story about a famous pop star using an innocent singer’s voice to open a gateway to hell. The finale song performed by the central lovers is awesome and one of the most 80’s things you’ve ever heard.
Bride & Prejudice (2004) – There are many great film versions of Jane Austen’s classic Pride & Prejudice, but this is the only one with Bollywood style song and dance numbers. It’s bright and fun and musical and exciting and works well as a romantic feel-good kind of flick. Martin Henderson is a pretty good Mr. Darcy (though not nearly as prideful or surly as some Mr. Darcys in the past) and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is clever, snappy, and drop-dead gorgeous as Lalita Bakshi (this film’s version of Lizzy Bennet).
Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) – Another animated romance, this time from Japanese maestro Hayao Miyazaki and based on a fantasy novel by Diana Wynne Jones. The stunning visuals are enough on their own to recommend this film, but it also has a delightful romantic fairytale at its core. Sophie (voiced in English by Emily Mortimer and Jean Simmons) is resigned to a fate as a boring hat maker, until she is cursed by an evil witch and finds herself taking refuge in the magical household of the wizard Howl (voiced by Christian Bale). She eventually has to literally save her true love’s heart, leading to one of the most satisfying, gentle, yet wonderful happy endings in film.
Let the Right One In (2008) – This Swedish horror film may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think ‘romance’. But the story, which centers around a lonely young boy who becomes friends with a strange girl who moves into his apartment complex, is a lot more about love than it may initially seem. Oskar, played by Kare Hedebrant, is bullied at school and starting to dream about getting bloody violent vengeance on the kids that have hurt him. Eli, played by Lina Leandersson, is a 200 or so year old vampire with a thirst for blood and no compunction about killing people to get what she wants. They find each other in their loneliness, and accept each other warts (and fangs) and all.
The Thin Man (1934) – Talk about ‘relationship goals’. Nick and Nora Charles (played by the wonderful William Powell and Myrna Loy) are witty, funny, intelligent, adventurous, and full of sparkling chemistry. The plot for this Dashiell Hammett mystery may revolve around a murder, but the true heart of the story is just how delightful it is to watch Nick and Nora interact with each other. They absolutely adore each other, even when they’re making snide comments, teasing each other, or steering each other in the wrong direction on the murder case.
Warm Bodies (2013) – Zombies are kind of a thing right now, so it makes sense that a zombie romance was bound to happen at some point. Here we have Nicholas Hoult as R, a zombie who falls in love with living girl Julie (Teresa Palmer) after eating her boyfriend’s brains. It isn’t a traditional meet-cute, but the growing relationship that comes about during the course of the film is more relatable than you’d think. And this movie has a really catchy soundtrack, featuring songs by The Black Keys, Guns N’Roses, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Iver, Bob Dylan, and more.
Airplane (1980) – Sure this is a parody film that spends a good deal of its run time making fun of the big disaster flicks of the 70s, but at its heart it is the story of a man (Robert Hays) who loves a woman (Julie Hagerty) who is trying to fly out of his life on an airplane that just so happens to be crashing after the majority of the crew – including the pilots – have fallen gravely ill due to food poisoning. It wanders off to scenes of hysterical women, inappropriate conversations with children, glue sniffing, and storytelling so boring it literally kills people, but always comes back to the love story at its core.
The Terminator (1984) – This may be a science fiction action adventure starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a killer robot from the future intent on murdering Linda Hamilton, a poofy haired waitress who rides a Vespa and can’t keep a boyfriend, but it is also a love story. Michael Biehn’s character comes back to the past specifically to save Linda Hamilton after falling in love with her picture after her future son showed it to him. That’s a kind of commitment you won’t see in just any old romance tale.
