Valentine’s Day is almost upon us and as is now the norm, this week is a love-fest of epic proportions. Regardless of whether your status is single, in a relationship, or it’s complicated, there is one thing that all of us can enjoy, and that’s rom-coms! Now you might be all anti-love and absolutely detest the idea of watching a romantic movie, but don’t worry, this list has something for everyone. This list covers nearly every trope under the sun, to fulfill all your romantic needs for this week!
- Friends To Lovers
-
Let’s start off with a traditional trope. There are so many good friends to lovers’ movies, but I’m gonna go with the classic When Harry Met Sally. This movie has long been seen as the epitome of rom-coms with the queen Meg Ryan who featured in so many of the greatest rom-coms! Though this didn’t feature the classic pair of Hanks and Ryan, this movie is still up there. It’s been a while since I watched it but it’s a great movie that starts out with the leads setting out to prove that a heterosexual man and a woman can be just friends and they succeed for years before circumstances finally change. It’s definitely worth watching!
The movie is available to stream with a Showtime subscription. - Enemies to Lovers
-
Looking at the exact opposite of the previous trope that just proves how thin the line between love and hate really is. 10 Things I Hate About You features a young Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles in a modernization of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. Yes, it’s set in a high school. But I’ll be the first to say that teen romances, if done right, can be sooo good and this is just one example. For those who just can’t stand them, another good enemies to lovers film is The Ugly Truth, starring another common rom-com lead, Katherine Heigl. Along with Geread Butler, the two go on to prove that bickering and arguing instills the same amount of passion as love.
The former can be found on Disney+ while the latter is available on Hulu. - Fake Relationship
-
This is one of my all time favorite tropes! What’s better than seeing two people pretending to love one another eventually realize that they’re not just pretending? The Proposal is a fantastic example of this trope. I am a huge Sandra Bullock fan, so don’t be surprised when you see more of her movies pop up on this list. But this one with Ryan Reynolds is absolutely swoonworthy! Another more recent example is To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. The adaptation of Jenny Han’s novels is one of the only adaptations I’ve liked more than the book. I’ve only seen the first one, but it still does a good job of translating from the page to the screen.
You can find The Proposal isn’t available to stream but can be rented on Amazon Prime and other services. TATB is available to stream on Netflix. - Sports Romance
-
I’ve read so many sports romances, but I haven’t really watched many of them. One that comes to the mind is the Tom Cruise starrer, Jerry Maguire. Why, you ask? Just for one line really. You know the one I’m talking about. This line is so famous and I don’t think many people even realize it’s from this movie. Well if you didn’t let me be the one to tell you that the classically romantic line, “You had me at hello,” originated from this film. Another sports romance that I adore is She’s the Man, starring Amanda Bynes and Channing Tatum. This adaptation of Shakespeare’s works, Twelfth Night, really puts the “com” in rom-com.
Jerry Maguire is available on Sling and She’s the Man can be rented online. - Second Chance
-
This is one of those bittersweet tropes that show that even when things end, you can always find your way back to one another. Sweet Home Alabama does a wonderful rendition of this trope. With Reese Witherspoon and Josh Lucas playing childhood sweethearts, this movie is absolutely adorable and one I have rewatched multiple times. Another really good second chance romance is the Netflix original Always Be My Maybe, that is quirky and fun, and features a really interesting scene with Keanu Reeves. It’s not traditionally romantic but it’s wholesome and definitely worth watching.
Sweet Home Alabama can be rented while Always Be My Maybe is available on Netflix. - Anonymous/Secret Relationship
-
This trope has a lot of names. I personally think of this as the modern-day Cinderella trope, as it’s used in most Cinderella adaptations. But the classic movie that really brought this trope to the forefront is You’ve Got Mail, starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. This pairing is absolutely amazing and they make this movie so beautiful to watch. One hundred percent recommend watching it just for them, and if that’s not enough, this movie also has some really wonderful dialogues to go with that winsome combo.
You can watch this movie on HBO Max. - Office Romance
-
Ah, the intricacies of love in the workplace. It’s complicated, against the rules, but makes for some beautiful stories. The Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant starred Two Weeks Notice is an opposites attract story that is funny and sweet. That last scene in the movie? Absolutely adorable. And if you’re not already watching this movie for Bullock, you should definitely watch it for that scene. Another one of my favorites is Set It Up, and like Zoey Deutch’s character says multiple times in the movie, two assistants Cyrano their bosses to gain some freedom in their own lives (If you don’t know what that means, watch the movie and you’ll see). The movie also features one of my absolute favorite characters Creepy Tim played by Tituss Burgess, who is a wonderful addition to the already stellar cast of this movie.
The first movie is available on HBO Max, while the second is available on Netflix.
- Forbidden Love
-
Is a romance movie list really complete without some forbidden love? There’s just something about the forbidden that really adds to the intrigue of a romance. It also enhances the meaning of the question, will they or won’t they? Even though we totally know they will. While You Were Sleeping, starring Sandra Bullock (I warned y’all that she’s gonna be featured a lot), isn’t high on the forbidden aspect, but I think it’s extremely underrated and I really wanted to put it on this list, so here it is. It’s an absolutely adorable movie with so many cute moments that you can’t help but root for the characters to be together. If you haven’t watched it, what are you waiting for?
You can stream it on Disney+.
- Love With A Twist
-
his trope is my own personal creation, as in, I don’t know where to categorize them so I created my own trope. You know those romances that have a little magic or a little time travel, but it’s not really a fairytale or fantasy film? Well this is for all those movies and to further explain what I’m talking about, here’s my first movie on this list: 13 Going On 30. When Jennifer Garner’s tiny counterpart is humiliated on her 13th birthday, she wishes to be 30. And what do you know, she emerges as a glorious 30 year old with a fabulous life. If only life worked that way. This magical wish essentially gives her a do over on life where she falls in love and realizes that getting humiliated at 13 years old isn’t that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things.
My second movie for this trope is a little different, and a lot more groundhog day in its magic. In When We First Met, Adam DeVine finds a magic photo booth that allows him to go back in time to make the girl of his dreams fall in love with him. But things don’t really go the way he expects them too. It certainly makes for an entertaining film.
13 Going On 30 is streaming on HBO Max, while you can find When We First Met on Netflix. - Fairytale Romance
-
Now for the actual fairytale romance, I give you Ever After, starring Drew Barrymore in an adaptation of Cinderella. There are a lot of Cinderella adaptations out there, with Disney constantly making more. This one doesn’t go in the direction of a modern retelling but goes the historic route. There’s still no magic or wonder of a traditional fairytale, but it does a great job of taking the core of the story and making it its own. If fairytales aren’t really your thing, you should still watch it, cause it is a beautiful film.
Ever After is now available to stream on Disney+. - Dance Romance
-
I’m a sucker for a good dance movie. Even if the plot is horrendous, I would still watch it just for the dances. And I will not be putting this movie in a corner by not featuring it on this list. Dirty Dancing is a little bit forbidden, a little bit dance, a whole lot of swoon. I guarantee that you will have the time of your life, watching this movie. If you’re here for more dance and less love, I’d suggest anything from the Step Up franchise, cause those movies have some absolutely phenomenal dance sequences. I sometimes go on YouTube just to watch the dances. They’re that good.
Dirty Dancing is on Hulu and HBO Max, and the Step Up movies are available to rent over multiple platforms.
- And One For The Single People
-
I did say I’d have something for everyone, so if you’re a little sick of love, I would recommend gathering a bunch of your friends and watching Someone Great. Though this movie is classified as a rom-com, and yes, it does have romance in it, but this movie is just so much more. At the core of it, this is about friendship. It’s about the beauty of knowing who your people are and how just being around them can make life a little bit better. This movie is about falling in love and falling out of love and it’s something that showcases couples breaking apart as much as it shows them coming together. It is a must-watch in my book.
Someone Great is available to stream on Netflix.
And there you have it, folks! We’re at the end of my oh, so long list. There are sure to be more tropes with even more movies, but I hope this one just might help you find the movie you’re looking for!