My Favourite Romantic Films

Happy Valentines Day! 

Whether you celebrate this (admittedly, very commercial) occasion or not, I thought it was the best time to share my top 10 romantic films. I've always had a soft spot for rom-coms, and have quite my fair share of them in my blu-ray collection at home.

My list includes a few renowned classics, as well as a few of my own different ones, too. Check them out below!

10. Get Over It

While the critics pretty much panned it, I've always had a soft spot for Get Over It. Loosely based on Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', this high-school comedy followed a fairly predictable story of a high school kid who desperately tries to win back his ex-girlfriend by joining the school play that she and her new boyfriend are performing in. Filled with cheesy musical numbers, and pretty funny scenes, this ones a bit of a guilty pleasure for me.

Favourite quote: "She was the first girl to see me naked. Granted we were 7 years old at the time, but I had a feeling, even then. There's really something about the first girl you play doctor with. Maybe it's cosmic or something. Or perhaps it's just that she's seen your package and didn't run away screaming. Whatever it was, Allison and I were made for each other. A perfect fit. So, when her family moved away, I knew that some day, some how, fate would bring us back together."

9. The Notebook

Based on the book of the same name by Nicholas Sparkes, The Notebook often makes people's 'top romantic film' lists, because that's what it is - romantic. The film is narrated from present day by a man to a fellow nursing home resident. Heading back to the past, it tells the love story between Noah and Allie. Spoilers aside, the film ends on a bittersweet, sob-fest.

Favourite quote: "So, it's not gonna be easy. It's gonna be really hard; we're gonna have to work at this everyday, but I wanna do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, everyday. You and me... everyday."

8. Splash

Ever since I was a little girl, I've loved mermaids, so it was pretty obvious that I would fall in love with Splash, too. Starring Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah, it followed the story of a man who unwittingly falls in love with a mermaid. For me, this one also makes my list of favourite 80s films, and is quite a fun, light-hearted film to put on.

Favourite quote: "I don't ask for much. I don't ask to be rich, and I don't ask to be famous, and I don't ask to play center field for the New York Yankees. I just want to get married and have a wife, and a house, and I want to have a kid, and I want to go see him be a tooth in the school play!"

7. 500 Days of Summer

500 days of Summer made my list because of just how different it was from other romantic films. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Zooey Deschanel, the film follows 500 days of Tom and Summers failed relationship. Told in a nonlinear narrative, 500 Days of Summer is full of memorable moments. A stand-out one being the musical number set to Hall & Oates 'You Make My Dreams'.

Favourite quote: "I love how she makes me feel, like anything's possible, or like life is worth it."

6. You've Got Mail

Based on the James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan film 'The Shop Around the Corner', You've Got Mail updates it for the modern audience. Well, modern when it was originally released in 1998 at least. The tried and tested 'they hate each other, then fall in love' formula is used once again here, but there's something charming about having Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan fall in love in romantic comedies. Although I love this film, there's no denying that it's a little dated nowadays. Check out that dial-up internet!

Favourite Quote: 

5. 10 Things I Hate About You

Released in 1999, 10 Things I Hate About You is a modernisation of Shakespeare's 'The Taming of the Shrew'. Starring Julia Styles, a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and the late Heath Ledger, the film shows the brewing love between the school's bad boy Patrick, and the ill-tempered Kat. 

Favourite quote: "I hate the way you talk to me, and the way you cut your hair. I hate the way you drive my car. I hate it when you stare. I hate your big dumb combat boots, and the way you read my mind. I hate you so much it makes me sick; it even makes me rhyme. I hate it, I hate the way you're always right. I hate it when you lie. I hate it when you make me laugh, even worse when you make me cry. I hate it when you're not around, and the fact that you didn't call. But mostly I hate the way I don't hate you. Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all."

4. Me Before You

An adaption of one of my favourite books by Jojo Moyes, Me Before You stars The Hunger Games Sam Claflin, and Game of Thrones' Emilia Clarke. It follows the likeable Louisa Clark, who after being made redundant, takes up the post of the carer for a paralysed young man by the name of Will Traynor. Bitter, cynical, and depressed, Will soon starts to warm to the bubbly Louisa, and their relationship blossoms. But, not everything is quite as happy as it seems. Like a few on my list, this is another film that you'll definitely be reaching for the tissues by the end.

Favourite quote: "You only get one life. It's actually your duty to live it as fully as possible."

3. A Walk to Remember

The second Nicholas Sparkes novel adaptation to feature in my list, A Walk To Remember starred a young Mandy Moore opposite Shane West, in an 'unlikely to fall in love' story. Just like The Notebook, this one is pretty sweet, but also incredibly sad. A definite 
'chopping onions', movie.

Favourite quote: "Love is always patient and kind.It is never jealous. Love is never boastful nor conceited. It is never rude or selfish.It does not take offence and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people's sins, but delights in the truth. It is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope and to endure whatever comes."

2. Sleepless in Seattle

The second Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan romantic film to make my list, Sleepless in Seattle is, like many romantic films, pretty predictable, but I can't help but smile when I watch this. Dealing with both loss and love, it's bittersweet, and definitely one I love to return to.

Favourite quote: "I knew it the first time I saw her. It was like coming home, only to no home I'd ever known. I was just taking her hand to help her out of a car and I knew. It was...magic."

1. When Harry Met Sally 

And we've reached my number one favourite! When Harry Met Sally follows two best friends through twelve or so years of chance encounters. The film raises the question "can men and women ever just be friends?", and is littered with witty dialogue, and 'that fake orgasm' scene that has been referenced so many times since. Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal also have fantastic chemistry, which definitely helps for their eventual get-together to be all the more believable. 

Favourite quote: "I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."