As February ends, so does the end of one of my favorite holidays, Valentine’s Day. Not because of the day itself, but I’ve always loved all the aspects that come along with Valentine’s Day. I love all the hearts, all the shades of pink and red, the flowers, everything. I even miss in elementary school when we would get to have our Valentine’s Day parties and make cute valentines for our classmates and put them in fun boxes. It’s really a month to celebrate love, which I think is something that is so important for everyone to do. But besides all that, my absolute favorite thing about February is all of the rom-coms I’m allowed to watch.Â
Rom-coms are my favorite genre of all time. There are just so many, and no matter how old they get, their message and whimsy never die. Some of my favorites include “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” “The Holiday,” “Clueless” and so many more. Although it seems that in today’s day and age, rom-coms are really nowhere to be found.Â
There are so many new movies out there, but a new rom-com is rare to see hit the theaters, and I blame it on the state of romance in society today. Today, the concept of romance and relationships has gotten really complicated. There are so many different words for relationships today. I mean, you can be dating someone but not committed to them, you can be talking to multiple people at once or you can be in whatever a situationship is. People today are so afraid to define a relationship that it seems like no one is dating at all, they’re just pulling someone along till something better comes along.
In the mess of all this, we have lost romance. Without all the cute dates and quality time together, we’re left with just talking to someone through a screen. If we made an accurate movie of most young adult relationships today, it would be a 19-year-old girl stressing over how many times a man has sent her a selfie of half his face in a day. It would be terrible and no one would watch it. This is why I think rom-coms have been abandoned. The idea of romance has been so forgotten now that no one wants to watch romcoms anymore. Honestly, I think the new rules of romance are the reason that shows such as “Sex and the City” have gained popularity again. “Sex and the City” for example, shows the many problems and dynamics of modern-day relationships and I think it has become very relatable for so many people. People want to relate to the media they’re watching, so rom-coms have been thrown off the table.
Another huge problem for rom-coms today is that people have become allergic to fun. I feel like no fun movies can come out today without being ripped apart by social media. Everyone has to have so many opinions, everything has to be so accurate, everything has to be so serious that nothing is fun anymore. “Anyone But You” is a prime example. Now, granted it wasn’t one of my favorites. I thought the acting could have been a little better, but I did enjoy how fun it was. The color palette was bright, the music was good and it had sweet moments, so I thought it was fine. Yet social media was constantly hating on it for a myriad of reasons. Whether it was because they didn’t like Sydney Sweeney, or thought the acting was bad, or disagreed with the marketing of Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell’s will-they-won’t-they relationship, “Anyone But You” couldn’t catch a break. Whatever it was, I saw this movie get a lot of hate and I was sad because we were finally getting a new rom-com. I felt like when it came to the vibes of the typical 2010 romcoms, it missed the mark. It didn’t convey the same classic vibes as the ones before it.
In the future, I have hopes for more rom-coms. I even have a couple of favorites that came out in more recent years. “People We Meet on Vacation” has got to be one of my favorite new rom-coms, and just movies in general. It’s a Netflix movie based on Emily Henry’s New York Times bestseller. The acting was really great and the characters are so likable. The whole movie is just so bright and bubbly. I also loved the fashion in the movie. The main character gets to wear so many fun looks. I absolutely loved it, and it goes back to my point that movies just need to be fun again.Â
“To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” is another one of my newer favorites. This Netflix movie, which came out in 2018, is the first in the series and I rewatch this movie all the time. This is based on a book series and the movie is so nostalgic to me. The whole movie is very aesthetically pleasing, with so many sweet moments throughout and not just with romance, but with the main character’s family and friends as well.Â
The last movie I’ll recommend is “Crazy Rich Asians.” This movie is also based on a book and came out in 2018. The movie has an incredible cast and is so aesthetically pleasing, too. There’s also a wedding scene in the movie, and in my opinion, it is one of the best wedding scenes of all time. So if you have time, I would highly recommend squeezing in some rom-com time. In 2026, I say bring back rom-coms, bring back romance and bring back fun!