8 Films We’ll Be Watching In Bed This Valentine’s Day
By Hannah-Rose Yee
We’re going to wake up, wrapped in soft linen Bed Threads sheets (and maybe the arms of someone we love), eat breakfast right where we lie, and then we’re going to watch a romantic comedy. Nothing says Valentine’s Day, the most swoony, loved-up day of the calendar year, like a rom com streamed in bed.
And these are the ones we’ll be watching:
Romeo + Juliet
It’s a classic for a reason, people, and in our (humble) opinion you can’t go past Baz Lurhmann’s iconic take on the star-crossed lovers when it comes to romance. Featuring A young Leo and Claire Danes in 2 hours of utter extravagance, this film is rich with in 90s nostalgia… even though the story is more than 400 years old.
The Holiday on Netflix
Director Nancy Meyers is the queen of the romantic comedy, and in The Holiday she perfected the genre. This movie is about nothing more or less than finding love wherever, and whenever it might be. And as such, it’s become a Christmas classic and a romantic one, too.
We’re sure you’ve seen this one already, so we’re not going to delve into plot details. Suffice to say it has everything a good rom com should have: gorgeous leads (Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Jack Black and Kate Winslet), plenty of great lines and swoon-worthy houses to dream about. Perfect.
Love Actually on Netflix
Speaking of Christmas classics, there’s also this ensemble romantic comedy on Netflix if you want to continue the festive season feeling. It’s a perfect Valentine’s Day watch because it’s so cosy and familiar, you know all the beats of your favourite characters in the lead up to Christmas day, and you’re invested in their stories already.
Who is your favourite? We’re partial to the adorable couple who meet playing body doubles for porn actors. And we’ll always have a soft spot for Prime Minister David, dancing around 10 Downing Street in his shirt sleeves. Love, as the movie says, is all around you. And that’s a message not just for Valentine’s Day, but forever.
Man Up on Netflix
This movie came out in 2015 and remains largely forgotten by the genre, which is all the more reason to watch it on Valentine’s Day. It tells the story of a long-single woman who accidentally ends up on the blind date of someone she sat next to on a train. But, having too much fun with her sweet, over-excitable partner, she doesn’t do anything to disavow him of the notion that she’s the woman he was supposed to meet. Hijinks ensue.
Lying to the person you’re falling in love with is one of the biggest cliches in romantic comedies. It’s a feature in many of the movies on this list, in fact, and many other stellar examples that aren’t. (How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, Maid In Manhattan, the list goes on.) In real life, this kind of thing is terrifying, but as long as you remember that Man Up is a movie and not reality, it’s still enjoyable.
27 Dresses on Netflix
James Marsden has always been done pretty dirty by the romantic comedy genre. (The Notebook, anyone?) But here in 27 Dresses the man’s charm is allowed to shine as he reminds you, in true rom com style, how even a woman he lied to repeatedly would fall madly in love with him.
The story of this movie is simple: Jane (Katherine Heigl) is always the bridesmaid and never the bride, until her sister asks her to help her plan her whirlwind wedding to the man Jane has always loved. Marsden plays the journalist sent to cover the wedding and who falls for Jane. Worth a watch purely for the scene in which the pair drunkenly sing Benny and the Jets and make out in a dive bar.
My Best Friend’s Wedding on Netflix
Jules behaves so spectacularly badly in My Best Friend’s Wedding, trying as she does to steal her best friend from his loveable, big-hearted fiance, that some don’t like to call it a romantic comedy at all.
But it is, just not in the way that others on this list are. The point of this movie is for Jules to realise that she can’t always get what she wants, and that her best friend getting married doesn’t mean that their friendship will be any less keenly felt, any different. The love story in My Best Friend’s Wedding is between Jules and herself, as she processes getting older, growing up, and being the person that the people in her life need her to be. It’s also full of hilarious karaoke scenes and one very moving final dance. A true rom com classic.
Crazy, Stupid, Love on iTunes
Let’s be honest, about half of this movie is utter rubbish. We’re talking about the half with Steve Carell, of course. But the half with Ryan Gosling as a louche love guru lothario and Emma Stone as a driven lawyer whose no-good boyfriend is such a wet sponge is truly perfect.
This is the movie that gave us one of the best movie kisses of all time, the movie that gave us Ryan Gosling, shirtless, doing the Dirty Dancing lift, the movie that showed us just how much dizzy, delicious chemistry Stone and Gosling have. In that sense, it’s pure, perfect Valentine’s Day viewing.
Are We Officially Dating on Netflix
Sure, we all swooned over Michael B Jordan in Black Panther, but true fans know that the crushing started way back in this underrated raunch rom-com about three best friends trying to muddle through in the age of friends with benefits.
Jordan plays one of the good guys in this movie, while his buddies are played by Zac Efron and Miles Teller. The movie has a fun, sex-positive message, as well as the affirmation that romance still exists, it just looks a little different these days. And that’s a message we can get behind.
Lead image: Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, 1996.
Enjoyed this? Listen to these podcasts to make your commute fly.
