By Gary Bennett
We’ve all seen it on screen: opposites who squabble a little too much but eventually find they are perfect for each other. Or the perfect couple who is torn apart by circumstances but eventually, against all odds, find their way back to each other. In either case, you can look forward to lingering eye contact, slight smiles, swelling music, and the eventual embrace and kiss.
Is there anything better than a good romantic movie? Not on Valentine’s Day! And, there are so many to choose from. From sweeping dramas to lighthearted comedies, the genre is one of the most enduring in Hollywood. If you’re planning the perfect day with your sweetheart, you’ll want to cap it off with the perfect romantic movie.
Here is my list of the best romantic movies of all time. Some are well-known classics from a bygone era and some are newer favorites. Some are funny; some are serious. Some have a happy ending; some sad. But, no matter your choice, you’ll impress your significant other with your thoughtfulness and creativity in picking just the right movie.
10. “The Notebook,” 2004
This tear-jerker has blue collar Ryan Gosling (Noah) recklessly and single-mindedly chasing his wealthy dream girl Rachel McAdams (Allie). Spoiler alert: sad ending.
9. “Dirty Dancing,” 1987
This off-limits romance between a young debutante and her slightly older, “bad boy” dance instructor is set in 1950s Pocono Mountains and features a new type of threatening music called “rock ‘n’ roll” and accompanying racy dance moves. This musical romp stars Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey. Happy ending.
8. “Love Story,” 1970
Another tear-jerker featuring the unlikely pairing of a wealthy Harvard student (Ryan O’Neil as Oliver) and a working-class music student (Ali McGraw as Jenny) and their battles to be together despite the protests of parents and society. “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” Sad ending.
7. “When Harry Met Sally,” 1989
This light, romantic comedy explores the eternal question “Can men and women just be friends, or are they doomed to eventual couple-dom?” Stars Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan provide the answer. Movie has the comedic line of the century uttered by director Rob Reiner’s real-life mother portraying a restaurant patron who reacts to Ryan’s fake public orgasm with, “I’ll have what she’s having.” Happy ending.
6. “Sleepless in Seattle,” 1993
The story follows a widower, Sam (Tom Hanks), who calls a radio show to discuss his heartbreak and attracts the attention of countless female listeners. Among them is a woman named Annie (Meg Ryan) who is engaged to be married but feels like something is missing and falls for Sam. Happy ending.
5. “Titanic,” 1997
The unlikely love story between poor Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and wealthy, engaged Rose (Kate Winslet) may play second fiddle to the impending disaster of the Titantic, but that makes it all the more urgent. The two have an undeniable chemistry. Sad ending.
4. “An Officer and a Gentleman,” 1982
Another opposites-attract movie has test pilot-in-training Richard Gere eventually falling for Debra Winger, a local Navy test pilot wife-wannabee who has her sites set on Gere. She thinks better of it and gives up, not realizing that Gere is falling for her. It’s a classic, old-style love story with a happy ending.
3. “The Way We Were,” 1973
Still another opposites-attract movie has Katie (Barbara Streisand), a wise-cracking political activist, squabbling with Hubbell (Robert Redford) over his WASP-y entitlement. They eventually attract and marry, but the film’s ending is ultimately inconclusive … possibly sad, possibly happy.
2. “The Sound of Music,” 1965
This one seems to be an opposites-attract move but not really. This sweeping musical classic, set in the dangerous times of Nazi Germany and occupied Austria and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, features a slow-blooming attraction and love affair between the naïve good-hearted governess and the stern but ultimately also good-hearted master of the house. Happy ending.
1. “Ghost,” 1990
This emotional, love-triumphs-over-death story stars Patrick Swayze as a murdered banker who can’t leave this worldly realm until he bids farewell and ensures his loving but grieving wife, played sweetly by Demi Moore, that he is OK and ready to go. Have the tissues ready! Sad but ultimately happy ending.
CLASSICS IN A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
The following four incandescent, timeless romantic movies occurred before 1960 and belong in a category of their own.
“The African Queen,” 1951
Perhaps the original opposites-attract movie, “The African Queen” stars Humphrey Bogart as a grizzled riverboat captain and Katheine Hepburn as the prim and proper missionary who slowly but surely fall in love while pursuing Germans in World War I. Happy ending.
“Casablanca,” 1942
This ageless Hollywood classic pairs Humprey Bogart (Rick) and Ingrid Bergman (Ilsa) as star-crossed lovers haunted by the past.
“Doctor Zhivago,” 1955
Set in Russia before World War I, this epic tale recounts Yuri’s (Omar Sharif) passionate love affair with Lara even though he’s married to Tonya, whom he also loves. Sad ending.
“Gone with the Wind,” 1939
This classic starring Clark Gable as Rhett Butler and Vivien Leigh as Scarlet O’Hara is filled with dramatic flair and a not-to-be-denied love even in the face of the horrors of the Civil War. Both are fierce, strong … and manipulative. Sad ending.
Gary Bennett is a longtime Frederick resident who spends his time hiking, biking, volunteering and providing childcare for grandchildren. He is married and retired from his career as a nonprofit marketing executive.
