Valentine's Day Movie Picks
By The Standard Report Staff, 02.11.05
As Valentine's Day flutters around the corner and romantics are planning a perfect evening, the staff at The Standard Report, has compiled a list of our favorite love movies. The films fall anywhere from silly, sappy, and superb, but all will add a spark to your special day.
"It Happened One Night" (1934)
"It Happened One Night" is a classic romance story about what lovers are willing to do to overcome obstacles. Heiress Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) has secretly married King Westley, but her father snatches her away and has the marriage annulled. Fed up with her father's control, Ellie runs away and eventually winds up on a bus headed back to New York. She accepts the help of a street-smart, unemployed reporter named Peter Warne (Clark Gable). Actually, he doesn't give her a choice: either she sticks with him until he gets her back to her husband (and prints a juicy newspaper story), or he'll contact her father, who is frantically searching for her. This cinema treasure is a love story with laugh-out-loud moments of witty comedy. - Hannah Goodwyn
"Gone with the Wind" (1939)
"Gone with the Wind" is one of the most classic romance stories depicted on film. Scarlet O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) is the epitome of a selfish, immature and self absorbed woman that everyone in Tara just loves to hate. This movie is set in the South during the civil war: a time of chivalrous gentlemen and submissive ladies.
But Scarlet and Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) break all the rules of civility and fall deeply in love. The only problem is there is a major love triangle that looms throughout the entire flick. Rhett the handsome wealthy bad boy of the town, loves Scarlet. Scarlet always likes to flirt with Ashley Hamilton, the boyishly good-looking but boring boy next door. By the time Scarlet realizes her love for Rhett, he's gone. Not to give away the ending, but as the civil war rages so does Rhett and Scarlet's love for one another: the themes of their tumultuous relationship transcend time and reason making this classic the best romance movie. - Katherine Newingham
"The Sound of Music" (1965)
Love is the central theme of this epic musical whose characters embody love of family, love of God and love of country. Romantic love also plays a role throughout the plot. Captain Von Trapp (Christopher Plummer), a bitter widower with seven children under age 16, falls in love with his children's governess Maria (Julie Andrews).
The fact that the Captain is engaged to be married to someone else and that Maria is training to be a nun only complicates the romance. With the backdrop of the Austrian Alps, the historical context of pre-World War II Europe, and a memorable score of original songs, this movie has become a classic story of hope, dreams and love. - Heather Murphy
"Titanic" (1997)
Everything about the story of "Titanic" draws into the main characters of Rose Dewitt Bukater (Kate Winslet) and Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio). It is an early twentieth century Romeo and Juliet story set on a sinking boat. You can't help but cry when Rose is holding her lover's hand and tells him that she will never let him go.
- Terry Ann Rendon
"Serendipity" (2001)
"Serendipity" is a movie about the unexpected events love brings. Love can take you on a wild ride if you just let it.
Jonathan Trager, (John Cusack) a New York City man meets Sara Thomas, (Kate Beckinsale) an English woman in a department store. They bump into each other at a glove counter and cannot decide who should get the gloves. They decided to buy them and split the pair. Jonathan asks for her number. Sara reasons that if they are meant to be together, fate will let them meet again. She takes $5 and writes his number on the bill. She spends it and says that if she sees it again then she will know that he is the one for her.
Five years later, they are both engaged to other people while thinking about each other. They both embark on separate journeys to find each other before their marriages takes place. - Faith Camp
"You've Got Mail" (1998)
"You've Got Mail," is a classic love story of boy meets girl. The coolest thing about it is that it really appeals to our technologically-savvy generation. The two main characters are played by Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks (a classic romantic comedy pair) fall in love over e-mail. Kathleen Kelly (Ryan) and Joe Fox (Hanks) meet in a chatroom, which they both said they had never been in before, and develop a really cool friendship.
Over the course of a couple of months, situations arise where the two characters lives change dramatically. As the plot unfolds, their lives are intertwined not just on the Internet but in real life too. How they actually figure it all out, and fall in love makes it one of the best romantic comedies of the '90s, and a great Valentines Day flick. - Lindi Whittemore
"A Star is Born" (1976)
"A Star is Born" is story about John Norman Howard (Kris Kristofferson), a washed up rock star who is his own worst enemy. Even though his career is just about over, he has no problems recognizing true talent in Ester Hoffman (Barbara Streisand).
John, at one of his own concerts, introduces Ester and allows her to perform on stage. The crowds love her, as does John and "A Star is Born." John and Ester get married. Her stage changes to Ester Hoffman Howard. Even though Norman's self-destructive and abusive life involves drugs and alcohol, Hoffman still loves him and stands by him.
She tries to change him and once she realizes that she can't, she issues him an ultimatum and leaves it up to him to either become the man she knows he can be or continue to self-destruct. - Trenessa Karen Gambrill
"When Harry Met Sally" (1989)
The best romance movie would have to be, "When Harry Met Sally." The couple is introduced by Harry's (Billy Crystal) girlfriend who arranges for them to drive to New York together in Sally's (Meg Ryan) car. She despised him after the "longest 18 hours of my life." Years pass, and they run into each other in an airport. He still makes a horrible impression. Then, they meet in a bookstore in New York as both are coming out of hurtful relationships. A friendship blossoms. To complete the happily ever after scenario, their friendship blooms into romance. It's the perfect start, friendship then romance. The lines are awesome and the restaurant scene in which Sally demonstrates how women fake orgasms is hilarious. - Theresa Dale Cianciolo
"While You Were Sleeping" (1995)
Another great love movie is "While You Were Sleeping," starring Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman. The story focuses around a tollbooth worker in Chicago named Lucy Eleanor Moderatz (Bullock). Day after day, she admires a handsome commuter named Peter Callaghan. One day, after taking his fare, she notices him being mugged and pushed onto the train tracks. In a daring move, Lucy saves his life by jumping onto the tracks and moving him out of danger as an oncoming train approaches.
While he is in a coma, Peter's family comes to believe that she is his fiancée. During this time, Lucy and Peter's brother, Jack (Pullman), begin spending a lot of time together, and eventually fall in love, while Peter is "sleeping." This delightful movie has a surprise ending perfect for this quirky romance movie. - Tasha Polizzi
"Amélie" (2001)
"Amélie" is a foreign flick about a French girl named Amélie (Amélie Poulain). Amélie has a peculiar imagination, a cute haircut and endearing nuances. She returns a man's childhood treasure, encourages her father to travel with a garden gnome and helps a blind man see. Amélie encounters a boy who makes her heartbeat race and her mind wonder. In the end, she solves a mystery and opens herself up to experience the unknown. - Tiffani Bryant
"There's Something About Mary" (1998)
As the title suggests, there is something different about Mary Jensen, (Cameron Diaz). Something that attracts the entire cast of characters in "There's Something About Mary," to her door step.
Ted Stroehmann (Ben Stiller), a geek, fell for Mary in high school. They had plans to go to the prom together, but the date never happened because of a strange accident. Years later, Ted realizes he is still in love with Mary. Through the advice of his friend Dom Woganowski (Chris Elliot), he hires a private investigator to track her down. The Investigator, Pat Healy (Matt Dillon) finds Mary and falls in love with her. To keep Ted away from Mary, Pat feeds Ted false information. The plot twists and Mary meets Ted, once again. But He faces competition from a past boyfriend, a deceitful private investigator and a handicapped architect as they all battle for Mary's heart. - Andrea Salisbury
