1
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is, IMO, the best romantic comedy Netflix has ever produced. ICYMI, the film is about Lara Jean (Lana Condor), a teenager who enters into a fake relationship with popular jock Peter (Noah Centineo) after love letters she wrote to her crushes are accidentally sent out. It’s awkward, it’s funny, and it launched a popular rom-com trilogy (a sentence I never thought I’d write) guaranteed to make you feel giddy and joyful. The series, based on books by Jenny Han, was so popular that Netflix made a spin-off series called XO, Kitty.
2
A Walk to Remember
My only hope is that A Walk to Remember never leaves Netflix. The 2002 classic, based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks, may be sappy, but it is also an undeniably satisfying teenage love story between church girl Jamie (Mandy Moore) and bad boy Landon (Shane West). On a personal note, when I saw this movie as a kid, it convinced me that the sexiest thing a man could possibly do was give a woman a temporary tattoo in a parked car on state lines, and TBH, I stand by that assessment.
3
The Perfect Find
Gabrielle Union deserves all the love for this Netflix original romance, which she produced and starred in as a woman who, after a very public firing, is given a shot working for a frenemy. Things seem to be looking up when, newly employed, she hooks up with a charming younger man. Only to get to work and learn that the younger man is actually her co-worker…and her frenemy’s son.
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4
Plus One
Leave it to Meg Ryan’s son to help revive the rom-com genre. Jack Quaid stars opposite Maya Erskine in this R-rated romantic comedy about two single friends who, in an effort to survive a summer of weddings, make a pact to be each other’s plus ones. Awkwardness abounds, as do the drinks, but it isn’t long before feelings are caught and a simple pact between friends becomes something more.
5
The Last Letter From Your Lover
Sure, modern romances are fun, but you know what’s even better? A period romance. And The Last Letter From Your Lover has both. The film, adapted from a book by Jojo Moyes, takes place in two timelines: in the present, Ellie (Felicity Jones) uncovers love letters written in the ’60s, when a married woman, Jennifer (Shailene Woodley), engaged in a consuming affair with Anthony (Callum Turner). The two stories intertwine as Ellie becomes desperate to give Jennifer and Anthony their happy ending. Still hesitating pressing play? What if I told you Taylor Swift’s ex, Joe Alwyn, plays Jennifer’s controlling and abusive husband?
6
Always Be My Maybe
There are so many reasons to fall in love with this rom-com about two childhood friends who reconnect as adults: Great performances from Ali Wong and Randall Park, a scene stealing Michelle Buteau, Keanu Reeves playing himself?! I could go on, but for now, I’ll just say that if you want to experience pure, romantic joy, you should give Always Be My Maybe a shot.
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7
Elisa y Marcela
Elisa y Marcela is a beautiful story of forbidden love inspired by the true story of the first recorded same-sex marriage in Spain. The film follows Marcela and Elisa, classmates whose close relationship survives condemnation from their families, time apart, attacks from neighbors, and persecution from the police. It’s the story of love in the face of prejudice and injustice, and also the hard choices we must make for the ones we love.
8
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is part WWII drama, part romance, so if you prefer your romantic movies war-free, I’d steer clear. The film follows Dawsey (Michiel Huisman), a farmer on the island of Guernsey, currently under German occupation, who started a book club with his friends to avoid German forces, and Juliet (Lily James), the author who becomes enamored with the club’s story and Dawsey… even though she’s engaged to an American soldier played by Glen Powell. What’s a girl to do?
9
Long Shot
I will not rest until Long Shot is recognized for the genius rom-com that it is! The film, which stars Charlize Theron as a former Secretary of State gearing up for a presidential run and Seth Rogen as her derpy speech writer, is severely underrated. You’ll laugh, you’ll swoon, and you might even shed a tear. Just one warning: don’t watch this one with your parents. You can thank me later.
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10
Lady Chatterley’s Lover
Girl meets boy, boy goes off to war, boy comes back paralyzed, girl has a passionate affair with their groundskeeper. If this sounds familiar, that’s because it’s the plot of Lady Chatterley’s Lover, the 1928 novel by D.H. Lawrence that has inspired many film and television adaptations, including this one. It’s a bittersweet, romantic film that’ll have you wondering: is there any universe in which spontaneous outdoor sex is actually comfortable?
11
The Vow
WARNING: The Vow must be watched with a box of tissues handy, no exceptions!!! The romantic drama is based on the true story of a married couple, Paige (Rachel McAdams) and Leo (Channing Tatum), whose picture-perfect love story is thrown a heartbreaking curve ball when an accident causes Paige to lose all memory of their relationship. Aren’t you glad you have those tissues now?
12
Set It Up
The O.G. Netflix original rom-com Set It Up gave audiences not one, but two love stories. The film is about two assistants, played by Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell, who, desperate to get their bosses off their backs, decide to set them up. In the process, they start to become friends…and then maybe a little more than that, too. The movie was heralded as the one that would bring back the rom-com. Whether it succeeded or not has yet to be determined, but it did set Powell on the road to romantic leading man supremacy, and that’s a pretty good legacy if you ask me.
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13
6 Years
What happens when young love has to grow up? This is the question posed in 6 Years, a small, indie drama about a young couple convinced that they will be together forever. Of course, life has other plans, and the two eventually have to figure out if they want to put their relationship over themselves.
14
All the Bright Places
Another tearjerker, All the Bright Places, is a tragic love story about two teenage outsiders brought together by grief. There’s Violet (Elle Fanning), a girl reeling from the sudden death of her sister, and Finch (Justice Smith), her classmate, who is haunted by “dark moods” and family trauma. Note: this film does deal with undiagnosed mental illness and suicidal ideation.
15
You’ve Got Mail
Rom-com queen Nora Ephron wrote and directed this delightful ’90s classic about book superstore CEO Joe (Tom Hanks) and independent bookstore owner Kathleen (Meg Ryan), who fall in love online, not realizing that they actually kind of hate each other IRL. The movie is a pure 1998 time capsule, which only adds to its charm and will have you desperate to find love via anonymous correspondence.
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16
Phantom Thread
Phantom Thread is more of a character study of a narcissist dress maker than a love story, but, if you’ve seen it, then you know that it’s also about letting yourself be vulnerable in love. Appearing in his last film role (so far), Daniel Day-Lewis plays Reynolds Woodcock, a dressmaker who falls in love with a waitress, Alma, who challenges his need for control. It’s a gripping movie about one man’s massive ego and the women he depends on.
17
Been So Long
Sure, a movie about a single mom and a recently incarcerated man developing an undeniable attraction would be romantic in any genre, but the fact that Been So Long is a musical is what really puts the film over the romantic edge. That Michaela Coel stars in it is just a bonus.
18
Love at First Sight
Missing your flight sounds like a very inconvenient annoyance, but in Love at First Sight, it’s full-on swoon-worthy. The film follows Hadley (Haley Lu Richardson), a young woman who misses her flight to London and, due to the delay, has to borrow a charger from a handsome stranger, Oliver (Ben Hardy). She doesn’t know it yet, but she just met the love of her life.
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19
Something’s Gotta Give
I’ll be honest: When I think of Something’s Gotta Give, the first word I think of isn’t “romance,” it’s “white turtleneck.” Still, the Nancy Meyers rom-com focuses on an unexpected relationship between a woman in her 50s and a man in his 60s (a rare feat)—not to mention a love triangle with Keanu Reeves—and let’s not deny that it arguably inspired the coastal grandmother trend.
20
Alex Strangelove
Looking for a coming-of-age romance? Look no further. Alex Strangelove follows Alex (Daniel Doheny), a straight A student with a longtime high school girlfriend, but a chance encounter with a gay classmate suddenly has him wondering who he really is, and who he might be attracted to.
