My friend from work, Eileen and I got to talk about romantic movies one day over lunch. I was so surprised to find out she hasn’t seen much of the raved about chick flicks. I grew up reading not only romance novels (Jude Deveraux anyone? Love Stories collection, yes?) but I also watched a whole lot of romantic films – and I mean a lot! It’s an ever growing list of romance movies I have to watch. My Dad got me into watching those movies, can you believe it? He was a romantic at heart.

Well, with Valentine’s Day just around the corner now, I thought I’d share some of my all time favorite romantic comedy movies because what better time to binge watch these than February, the love month?



1. You’ve Got Mail

Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks make a real cute couple! I loved them on Sleepless in Seattle which is also a really nice movie but You’ve Got Mail is my favorite! Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) and Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) They’ve never met in person but they do talk online via email, not knowing they actually knew each other! Seriously a cute movie!

This movie made me believe finding love online is a possibility. I actually did meet a couple of Filipino guys online before whom I exchanged emails with have a couple of times, talking about mundane stuff. They were around 16-18 years old and I was a 13 year old pretending to be 18 at the time. Boy! I couldn’t wait to grow up then! Ha! Ha!

  

2. The Wedding Planner

Oh yes, JLo and Matthew Mcconaughey! They had a meet cute way of meeting in this movie. JLo’s character, Mary is a very good wedding planner who makes couples’ wedding dreams come true. But she didn’t have a love life of her own. And then she meets Eddie, who makes her think maybe she could fall in love after all. But as fate would have it, the man of her dreams is getting married to someone else and she’s their wedding planner!
3. The Wedding Singer 

Oh who could forget the popular song from this movie, Grow Old with You? I mean Adam Sandler serenading Drew Barrymore on a plane was romantic enough but that song – that clinched it! 
I wanna make you smile whenever you’re sad
Carry you around when your arthritis is bad 
All I wanna do is grow old with you

I’ll get you medicine when your tummy aches 
Build you a fire when the furnace breaks 
Oh it could be so nice growing old with you

Robbie Hart was a popular wedding singer until his fiancee stood him up at the altar, leaving him broken hearted. Julia Sullivan meanwhile was a waitress he meets at one of the wedding receptions and she’s about to marry Mr. Wrong.  



4, Serendipity

Another meet cute story this time starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. John Cusack has been very well known for his Say Anything movie particularly because of that scene where he holds a boombox over his head as a way of serenading the girl he likes. But I love him in this movie! 
As their story goes, they meet at a Bloomingdale department store one snowy night in December, hit it off right off the bat but they didn’t get together because as Sarah (Kate Beckinsale) believed, if they were meant to be together, they’d find each other again. 
This movie made me believe in destiny. And I still hold on to that belief. 
5.  Something’s Gotta Give

Now this movie came as a surprise to me. I never thought I’d like it as a romantic film. After all, the usual romantic movies involve young people – you know, maybe twenty, thirty something folks not senior citizens. But Dianne Keaton and Jack Nicholson in this movie were just so funny, cute and charming together.
6. Never Been Kissed

Another Drew Barrymore fave of mine! I so so so love her as Josie Geller, a young reporter from the Chicago Sun Times who gets another chance to live high school. And she ends up meeting the right guy there – her English teacher played by the handsome Michael Vartan. 
My favorite lines in the movie: 
Sam: Sorry I’m late. It took me forever to get here.
Josie: I know what you mean. 

In her second turn at high school, Josie ends up dating the most popular guy in school. And just as she said, he’s the guy you wake up for every morning of a school day. So could relate to that because I had a crush on the most popular guy in our batch when I was in high school. 
7.  Hitch
Will Smith plays Hitch, the guy who helps the common man get the girl. He’s got all the moves. Til of course he met Eva Mendez’s character, Sarah and suddenly Mr. Smooth and Perfect goes out the window.
  
My favorite line from that movie? It’s when Hitch says:

Because that’s what people do… they leap and hope to God they can fly! Because otherwise, we just drop like a rock… wondering the whole way down… “why in the hell did I jump?” But here I am Sarah, falling. And there’s only one person that makes me feel like I can fly…That’s you. 


8. Bridget Jones Diary

Bridget Jones was 32 and she was single. She had her eyes on book publishing playboy, Daniel Cleaver played by Hugh Grant. who was also her boss. And at a New Year party hosted by her parents, she meets Marc Darcy who grumbles to his mother about Bridget being a verbally incontinent spinster who smokes likes a chimney, drinks like a fish and dresses like her mother. That’s of course the turning point for Bridget. She decided to take control of her life and start keeping a diary where all her thoughts are written down along with the number of alcohol she’s consumed, number of cigarettes she’s smoked, her age and her weight as she attempts to find Mr. Right.
Marc Darcy: The thing is I like you. Very much. Just as you are.
It’s not just the love story of Bridget and Marc that I loved in this movie. I loved that Bridget was also able to realize her worth. And I’m not just talking about the scene where she resigns and tells him she’d rather have a job wiping Saddam Hussein’s arse.  
Daniel: We belong together, Jones. You. Me. Poor little skirt. If I can’t make it with you, I can’t make it with anyone. 
Bridget: That’s not a good enough offer for me.  

9.  She’s the Man

The days when Amanda Byrnes could do no wrong in terms of the chick flicks she’s starred in! At least for me though, this was her best. For one thing, Channing Tatum is a hottie! Second of all, he’s so cute in this movie as Duke, the guy who’s crazy for this beautiful girl who could care less about him. He’s crushing on her so hard and he doesn’t know how to talk to her while she’s crushing on Sebastian (Amanda Byrnes), his roommate. 
  
10.  Notting Hill

Ever thought you’d meet a famous actor/actress and he/she would fall in love with you? Well that’s Notting Hill. Anna Scott (Julia Roberts) was a famous movie star and William Thacker is an English man who owns a travel book shop. Their worlds are different but fate brings them together. 
So many memorable lines in this movie! 

William: I live in Notting Hill. You live in Beverly Hills. Everyone in the world knows who you are. My own mother has trouble remembering my name. 

Anna: I’m also just a girl. Standing in front of a boy. Asking him to love her.