Valentine’s Day is a day to spend with your significant other. You get flowers, chocolate, a romantic candle-lit dinner for two, maybe… And then there are those of us without a special person. Ok, that’s not entirely true. We’ve got two special men in our lives: Ben and Jerry. And they treat us so well.
Really, that’s all we need this Valentine’s Day. A little wine, some chocolate chip cookie-dough ice cream, and our favorite rom-coms, and we are good to go. And we’ve made the choices easy for you! Here’s a list of the Top 10 movies for you to indulge in.
1. Crazy, Stupid, Love
We’ve got two words for you: Ryan. Gosling. Do we really need to say more? Probably not, but we’re going to anyway. Steve Carell and Julianne Moore are a dream team as they play a couple hilariously working to pick up the pieces of their broken relationships in this heartwarming film. Emma Stone is gorgeous as always and Ryan Gosling takes his shirt off, so… we’ll just let you mull that over.
2. Pitch Perfect
Grab your favorite bottle of wine (if you’re 21, of course) and you’re favorite ice cream (good for all ages) and belt out “Party in the USA” as loud as you can. Sing along with the Barden Bellas as they sing, dance, and laugh their way to Nationals. Who better to spend your Valentine’s Day than Fat Amy and her crew? (Let’s be honest, she’s the real star of the show.)
3. Bridget Jones’s Diary
An absolute classic for all of us singletons. Bridget Jones is all of us –she is the everywoman. Her life is a complete mess, and we love her for it. Watching her show up to a party in a bunny costume or run out in the snow in her granny panties will make you feel much better about being dateless on Valentine’s Day. Guaranteed. The one rule for this movie: you must have on your sweatpants with the elastic band while you eat over-priced candy and drink wine. No shame.
4. You’ve Got Mail
Another classic! Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks are delightful in this 90s throwback film. In case you’ve forgotten, there was once a time when text messaging and Tinder did not exist for single people. During this ancient time, people used AOL chat rooms and e-mail to communicate with one another. As long ago as that seems, Kathleen Kelly and Joe Fox’s love story will always be timeless. And what better day to indulge in the timeless classics than the day of love?
5. The Princess Bride
Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday. Just kidding, it’s only Valentine’s Day! For a little bit more 90s nostalgia, The Princess Bride is the perfect choice. The movie is pretty much a string of one-liners, so laughing until your sides hurt is a given. Buttercup and Westley’s love story is on almost every movie list you could possibly imagine, so we couldn’t very well leave it out of this one. Only the Princess Bride can make the dreaded Fire Swamp a place of romance.
6. Bridesmaids
It’s The Hangover for women. It’s another movie about a woman who’s life is in shambles, but, really, isn’t that the best kind of movie to watch on Valentine’s Day? Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, and Maya Rudolph are a riot in this refreshingly female-centric comedy. The best part about this one, though? It shows that the love between friends is just as important as romantic love. So grab your best friend and enjoy your man-free holiday!
7. Pride and Prejudice
No Valentine’s Day movie list would be complete a Jane Austen classic. And this Keira Knightley adaptation hits all the right notes. It’s impossible not to fall in love with the relationship between Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. This film brings out the true romantic in all of us. It may or may not also make us want a British man for ourselves. But since that’s not an option (for most of us, at least), watching Pride and Prejudice is the next best thing!
8. About a Boy
Who doesn’t love Hugh Grant (from his earlier years)? This may not be an extremely well-known choice, but it should be. It’s adapted from the Nick Hornby novel of the same name, and it’s one of our favorites! Featuring an emotionally-stunted Hugh Grant and an adorably awkward young Nicholas Hoult, this movie is an unconventional look at what it really means to be a family. Plus, Nicholas Hoult’s bowl cut is epic. Go check it out!
9. Warm Bodies
Fast forward over a decade, and Nicholas Hoult is no longer odd-looking. Far from it. He’s the best looking zombie, well, ever. Yes –you read that correctly. It’s a zombie love story. And it’s amazing! Give it a chance, and you won’t be disappointed. Adapted from the Isaac Marion novel (and with several not-so-subtle references to Romeo and Juliet), this strange and funny twist on a standard rom-com. It’s everything Twilight should have been and wasn’t. It gets the joke and lets you in on it, too.
10. 27 Dresses
Katherine Heigl is the queen of the romantic comedy. 27 Dresses is her masterpiece. It’s the perfect Valentine’s Day treat –the cynic and the dreamer fall in love over the cliché “always a bridesmaid, never a bride.” It may be too soon to officially label it a Valentine’s Day classic (it was only made in 2008), but there is no doubt it will be. Where else can you see Katherine Heigl and James Marsden drunkenly rock out to Bennie and the Jets? Nowhere. It’s pure gold.
Don’t let the fact that you’re single ruin your Valentine’s Day. Or any day, really. You don’t need anyone to complete you! You are fabulous! Valentine’s Day should be about love, plain and simple. It doesn’t have to be about romance. Get some great friends or gather your family, and watch the movies you love with the people you love. No pressure.