10 Favorite Romance Movies
What are your ten favorite romance movies? There are so many great, and I mean really epic, answers to this that it’s tough for me to narrow it down. But these are the romance movies I go back to time and again, over and over to a point that may well border on obsessive. Movies that are like comfort food to my romance writer’s soul.
There are so many great romance flicks that this was a hard list to write! I decided to go through and list them in order of how many times I’ve watched and re-watched. Some notable entries like Gone With the Wind and The Notebook are missing simply because they aren’t the ones I watched until DVDs wore out and the family even stopped bothering to ask, “That one again?”
Now, my 10 Favorite Romance Movies, listed in order of how many times I’ve watched:
1 – Pride and Prejudice
My favorite romance, period, whether we’re talking books or movies. I’ve read the novel countless times and watched the film so much I had to repurchase the DVD and finally relent to buying a streaming copy. While many can’t live without Colin Firth’s wet shirt version, I personally prefer the 2005 Kiera Knightley film. I fell as much in love with the breathtaking cinematography itself as I did with the brilliant casting choices. Either way, the tale of Elizabeth Bennett and her Mr. Darcy goes at the very top of my list.
2 – Runaway Bride
Julia Roberts and Richard Gere…what a pairing. The story of a jaded columnist who falls for the small-town serial bride he’s writing about is one I watch twice a year easy. It wasn’t only the main stars’ chemistry that made this film a sparkling highlight in my repertoire, but the pacing, humor, and ensemble casting as well.
3 – The Wedding Planner
The first of two J.Lo movies that made my list. Matthew McConaughey as a romantic lead–what more can I say? In this case, quite a lot. The story of an obsessive-compulsive wedding planner who falls for one of her grooms is quirky, humorous, and a fun ride all around. This is one of my top yearly go-to’s when it’s time for romance movie comfort food.
4 – Ever After
This Cinderella retelling marked the first film I watched in theaters more than three times. A lot more, actually. We’re talking more like fifteen. Bought the VHS. Then the DVD. Tried popping it on my laptop the other night and alas, it’s worn out. I love the retelling with Angelica Huston as the quintessential evil stepmother, Dougray Scott as the handsome, romantic, and yet stubborn prince, and Drew Barrymore as a strong, determined Cinderella who isn’t as helpless and in need of rescuing as he might think. Scenes involving her stepsister Marguerite getting just desserts are sweet icing on a satisfying cake.
5 – Mama Mia
The newest flick of my list, Mama Mia has quickly risen in my rewatch count to land at #5. Based on the play of the same name, this is a fun and music-filled romance taken directly from the music of ABBA. Aside from an amazing cast including the plucky Amanda Seyfried, the diva of cinema Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and more, the beautiful, idyllic setting of Greece only adds to the romance in the air.
6 – Maid in Manhattan
The second J.Lo romance on my list, this one features a fun storyline of a maid who accidentally lands herself in an interracial romance with a politician who mistakes her for one of the hotel’s wealthy guests. Ralph Fiennes stars opposite as her leading man, and an adorable little Tyler Posey plays her son. Voldemort and Teen Wolf in romantic comedy? Absolutely.
7 – Persuasion
Another Jane Austen romance lands on my list for re-watched movies as well as re-read novels. While this one hasn’t dug into my heart quite as deeply as Pride and Prejudice, I have played the 2007 version into oblivion. The casting includes Alice Krige (the Borg Queen of Star Trek fame), Anthony Head (Giles in the Buffy: the Vampire Slayer series), a convincing Sally Hawkins as Anne, and Rupert Henry-Jones playing a Captain Wentworth that made my pulse quicken. Jane certainly persuaded me to make this a favorite for this romance author.
8 – Practical Magic
Many consider this a “Halloween” movie more than a romance. I admit, this is number one on my list when October rolls around and I’m in the mood for seasonal viewing. But I’m known to pop this one on at other times of year as well. The tale sits strongly in the romance camp, since the plot involves a curse that befalls any man who dares fall in love with one of a long family line of Owens witches. Good romance, terrible romance, and tragic romance all combine in this funny and yet surprisingly touching paranormal tale. And with a cast including Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Stockard Channing, Aidan Quinn as the hero, and Goran Visnjic (ER, Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) as a sexy but evil bad guy, the only bad thing about this movie is that it ends before I’m ready. Highlights like activating a phone tree to assemble an emergency “coven” of PTA moms, along with the midnight margarita scene with “Coconut” (put the lime in the coconut…) in the background, makes me smile all the way into December.
9 – Pretty Woman
Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in their first romantic team-up is still a great one for funny, feel-good romantic fare. The way their romance changes things is a great lesson in character arcs for authors. And the scene where he opens the velvet box and Julia’s character reaches in only to have him tease her by snapping it shut? Richard Gere ad-libbed it.
10 – The Princess Bride
Arguably the most quotable flick on my list, this is one that the whole family enjoys enough to watch time and again. The tale of a “farm boy” who becomes a pirate to find his fortune and win the heart of his true love, Buttercup, pokes so much fun at the genres of romance, fantasy, and swashbuckling pirate adventure that it became one of the best examples of each. Inconceivable!