The Best Romantic Movies on Netflix |2019 Updated| |
Posted: August 15, 2019 |
Friday night usually means date night, and if you don’t have something planned, you can get yourself into a bit of trouble. But maybe you're not trying to spend a small fortune on an overpriced dinner and a movie in a crowded theater with sticky floors and no privacy. If that’s the case, then we suggest you order in, and press play on one of the best romantic movies streaming on Netflix right now. Think about it: an intimate meal, a tearjerker of a film—optimal cuddle opportunity Maybe you and your boo aren’t into sappy romance movies at all, and hate anything associated with the genre. If laughter is your aphrodisiac, check out the best comedy movies on Netflix. If literally anything other than romance is more your style, be sure to check out our list of the best 50 movies streaming on Netflix. Someone Great (2019)Director: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson One of the latest critically acclaimed Netflix originals, Someone Great is both a traditional and an untraditional romantic comedy. It follows Jenny (Gina Rodriguez) as she gets broken up with by her boyfriend of nine years (Lakeith Stanfield), and enjoys one last New York City summer with her best friends Blair (Brittany Snow) and Erin (DeWanda Wise) before she moves away to California. Less about Jenny’s own romantic life and more about her relationship with herself, Someone Great posits that falling in love with yourself can be just as romantic as falling in love with someone else. Of course, for those who want real person on person romance, Blair and Erin’s romantic foibles throughout the movie ought to be satisfying enough. Someone Great is a, well, great romantic comedy that paves the way for further, more feminist romantic movies. Blue Jay (2016)Director: Alex Lehmann A stark romantic drama, Blue Jay remains criminally underrated. Jim (Mark Duplass) and Amanda (Sarah Paulson), two former high school sweethearts, meet by chance while visiting their hometown. While the plot isn’t by any means unique, it’s the acting and writing that elevate this movie into a true gem. Duplass and Paulson have an understated chemistry that makes the movie come to melancholic life and makes you believe they were once together a long time ago. The movie itself, shot in black and white, also has a naturalistic and gentle feel, furthering the intense realism. While Blue Jay isn’t the most heartwarming movie, it’s one of the most realistic and well-written romance movies you’ll ever see. Take Me Home Tonight (2011)Director: Michael Dowse Five years before Stranger Things hit the scene, Take Me Home Tonight was cashing in on that sweet ‘80s nostalgia. Four years after graduation, awkward 20something Matt (Topher Grace) uses his sister’s (Anna Faris) boyfriend’s (Chris Pratt) Labor Day party to finally get to know his high school crush, Toni (Teresa Palmer). An homage to the coming of age classics of the ‘80s, Take Me Home Tonight is perfectly enjoyable for anyone who’s loved those films. Similar to those movies, Take Me Home Tonight has laughs, as well as quietly realized character moments that make these characters feel all too real despite their over the top ‘80s style. The soundtrack, as one would expect from the title, is pure ‘80s bliss and used to great effect, especially when “Bette Davis Eyes” soundtracks a crush’s entrance to a party. Take Me Home Tonight doesn’t reinvent the wheel in terms of romantic comedies, but it’s an enjoyable pastiche of some teen comedy classics of yesteryear. About Time (2014)Director: Richard Curtis From the writer and director of Love Actually comes this underrated romantic comedy that might just bring tears to your eyes. About Time follows Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) who learns from his father (Bill Nighy) that the men in his family can time travel, but only affect events in their own lives. He later meets Mary (Rachel McAdams) and falls in love, but after a time travel incident erases their first meeting, he must meet her again and again in order to fix things. While the time travel component may make About Time seem complicated, it’s rooted in a deep humanism that is writer/director Richard Curtis’ specialty. Rachel McAdams gives a typically great performance here, and Domhnall Gleeson gives a great pre-Star Wars performance as well. About Time is crowd-pleasing, heartwarming, and underrated. Obvious Child (2014)Director: Gillian Robespierre An early winner from A24, Obvious Child is one of the best recent romantic comedies. The film follows Donna (Jenny Slate), a young comedian, as an unplanned pregnancy forces her to experience truly independent adulthood. Obvious Child is notable for its frank depiction of abortion as a choice people can and do make with unplanned pregnancies: no more, no less. It’s refreshing in that regard, given the fact that many movies still portray abortion as dark and depressing. On top of all of that, Obvious Child is regularly funny, thanks to a particularly charming performance from Jake Lacy. Obvious Child is an impressively progressive and well-made romantic comedy. To All The Boys I've Loved Before (2018)Director: Susan Johnson Netflix got in on the teen romance genre in 2018, to great success. Their breakout smash of the year was the YA romance adaptation To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. Based on the bestselling book of the same name, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before centers on teenager Lara Jean (Lana Condor) as she deals with the fallout of the release of her secret love letters to all of her past and present crushes, including Peter (Noah Centineo) and Josh (Israel Broussard), her sister’s ex-boyfriend. When Lara Jean and Peter decide to have a fake relationship to make his ex jealous, things go exactly how you’d expect a teen romance to go. To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is reminiscent of classic romantic comedies and will undoubtedly appeal to your inner teen. The Lobster (2015)Director: Yorgos Lanthimos The Lobster takes place in a surreal world where single people are forced to find a partner within 45 days or be turned into an animal of their choice. Newly single David (Colin Farrell) as he yearns to find a romantic partner, or else be turned into a lobster. There aren’t many movies like this surreal black comedy that effectively satirizes modern dating, specifically how little we try to get to know one another and instead focus on the sport of it all. Against all odds, it’s a very romantic, albeit strange, movie, as David falls in love with an unnamed shortsighted woman (Rachel Weisz), and together they rebel against the system. Save The Lobster for when you’re feeling exasperated with scrolling through Tinder. Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013)Director: Abdellatif Kechiche First love is a wet, fucked up mess. And the worst part is, it's a wet, fucked up mess you'll never forget. Like the topic it tackles, Blue Is the Warmest Color is just as unforgettable. Carried by the harrowing performances from leads Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos, the film is a frank and tellingly uncomfortable chronicle of a young woman's (Exarchopoulos) rocky journey of self-discovery. Along the way, she falls for another woman (Seydoux), with whom she begins a long-term relationship. You travel with her from puppy love to the open water of whatever the hell lies beyond the honeymoon phase. Set It Up (2018)Director: Claire Scanlon Another of Netflix’s big romantic comedy hits of 2018, Set It Up follows two overworked New Yorker assistants’ (Zoey Deutch, Glen Powell) attempt to set their bosses (Lucy Liu, Taye Diggs) up, only to find that they have a connection of their own. The film’s plot isn’t anything the average romantic comedy fan hasn’t seen before, but the qualified cast makes the material anything but stale. Zoey Deutch is effortlessly charming, as is Glen Powell, who makes the “lovable jerk” trope his own; Lucy Liu and Taye Diggs are also reliably hilarious as their unfathomably unreasonable bosses. Set It Up feels familiar but is undeniably fresh. Been So Long (2018)Director: Tinge Krishnan Released by Netflix a few days before Halloween to very little fanfare, Been So Long deserves your time. A contemporary romantic comedy musical, Been So Long stars Michaela Coel (creator and star of the acclaimed series Chewing Gum) as single mother Simone, who meets and falls in love with a handsome stranger named Raymond (Arinzé Kene) when she goes out on the town for the first time in a while. The film also highlights a couple of characters living in their London neighborhood, including a lovelorn drug addict named Gil (George Mackay) and Simone’s ex-partner and father of her daughter, Kestrel (Game of Thrones’ Joe Dempsie). Contemporary musicals are hard to come by, and this is one of the better ones, displaying Coel’s considerable charm and her chemistry with Kene. Been So Long is a refreshingly original concept that’s executed well. Carol (2015)Director: Todd Haynes A quiet cashier at a department store, Therese (Mara), finds herself magnetically attracted to Carol (Blanchett), a wealthy, enchanting divorcee struggling to get custody of her kids. What starts with a left-behind glove, leads to a lunch, leads to a hushed-up affair that the culture of the 1950s couldn’t handle. As the legal proceedings grow more dire, Carol and Therese’s relationship alternately strengthens and frays before the two of them take off for the West Coast on an impromptu road trip that’s discovered by a private investigator hired by Carol’s ex-husband. Todd Haynes depicts his entrancing leads in sumptuous colors and fabrics when they’re together, then opts for harsher textures when they’re apart, heightening and beautifying the drama captured in this singular romance.
|
||||||||||||||||
|