Spending Valentine’s Day with a significant other, with your girls, or by yourself? Here are six movies and TV shows perfect for binging and allowing yourself to enjoy the holiday, no matter your relationship status.
- ‘Someone great’
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Someone Great, starring Gina Rodriquez, Brittany Snow, LaKeith Stanfield, and DeWanda Wise, is a heart-wrenching film about love and heartbreak and the importance of friendship. When Jenny accepts a job offer in San Francisco, she must leave her life behind in New York City, including her two best friends, Blair and Erin, and her boyfriend of nine years, Nate. The friends attend a music festival on the last night of Jenny’s life in New York before she becomes a writer for Rolling Stone. Although heartbreaking, Jenny learns to live with the devastation of leaving and how to leave New York the right way, excited to begin her new life in a new city.
- ’10 things I hate about you’
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10 Things I Hate About You, starring Julia Stiles and the late Heath Ledger, is a story of love and what it means to fall in love. Kat Stratford (Stiles) is a hot-headed star on her high school soccer team who doesn’t have time for boys or BS. Kat’s polar opposite sister, Bianca, is popular and has boys fawning over her. However, their father makes the rule for Bianca that she is not allowed to date until Kat does, knowing that with her track record of being a bully, that fate is a long way off for the two of them. Bianca’s admirer, Cameron, pays Patrick (Ledger), to get Kat to fall in love with him so he can then pursue Bianca. The plan unfolds, and secrets are revealed in a devastating love story of two unlikely characters. This film is perfect for showing unusual pairings in high school and the heartbreak that comes with falling in love, as described in Kat’s monologue toward the end of the movie.
- ‘the notebook’
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The Notebook is a classic love story about two young teenagers from very different backgrounds who fall in love. Based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks, Allie Hamilton, played by Rachel McAdams, and Noah Calhoun, played by Ryan Gosling, perfectly portrays young love and the hardship of having a parent’s influence over a relationship. Although from different social classes, Noah and Allie don’t let anything get in the way of their undeniable love. Life goes on, and the two must find each other later on, this time making sure to do it the right way. This heart-wrenching film will leave you in tears, but it’s the perfect movie for Valentine’s Day and proves that love is powerful, and nothing can keep two people who are perfect for each other apart.
- ‘Emily in Paris’
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A fun rom-com about the life of an American living in Paris, Emily in Paris is the perfect show that portrays what really happens in the City of Love. A new hire in a French marketing firm, Emily Cooper must adapt to life in Paris, fresh out of a breakup with a stickler for a boss who does not tolerate Americans. Emily’s neighbor, Gabriel, helps her adjust to life in a new country, and their relationship develops beyond just friends. However, Gabriel’s girlfriend sees Gabriel’s feelings for Emily develop, and the three must decide whether love is worth sacrificing friendships. Over the course of four seasons, Emily experiences love, heartbreak, career success, and drought, and must navigate what’s worth the sacrifice and what isn’t. This show is the perfect binge-watch for Valentine’s Day, and you may just feel better about your own relationship status, or lack thereof, after watching how difficult being in love really is.
- ‘anyone but you’
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Perhaps the most popular romantic comedy to hit the theaters in the last few years, Anyone but You is the perfect representation of how love can be unexpectedly incredible. Bea, played by Sydney Sweeney, and Ben, played by Glen Powell, must deal with their intolerance for each other during the wedding of Ben’s best friend and Bea’s sister. Their real relationship status has the pair under pressure from family and friends, leading them to commit to a fake relationship in order to get through the wedding in Australia. However, the couple finds their fake relationship strained by real feelings, and they must decide if their hatred for each other is actually love. Whether watching by yourself or with other people, Anyone but You will give you a good laugh, and keep you expecting the unexpected in life.
- ‘nobody wants this’
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Last but certainly not least, Nobody Wants This is a relatively new release on Netflix starring Kristen Bell as Joanne, a feminist podcaster, and Adam Brody as Noah, a well-respected Rabbi. The couple must decide if a relationship is worth the sacrifice of Noah’s career and religion, or if some things really can stand in the way of love. A funny show, the one season that leaves you wanting more, to see if love is more powerful than religion, or if it really does defy all odds. I highly recommend this show, no matter who you may be spending your Valentine’s Day with, and see just how difficult, but also fulfilling, falling in love with the right person really is.
Happy viewing!