Every once in a while, there comes a love story that takes our breath away and makes us either say “Aww” or reach for a box of tissues.
Spend this Valentine’s Day with your significant other (if taken) or a group of besties (if not) and admire these 14 great modern romances on the big screen.
This series begins with a very unlikely love between boxing star in-the-making Rocky Balboa and a shy pet store worker named Adrian. Despite their differing personalities and lifestyles, though, they bring out the best in each other, and it’s clear by the end of the first film that true love is always worth fighting for.
Best quote: “I want to kiss you. You don’t have to kiss me back if you don’t want. But I want to kiss you.”
High school rebel Landon Carter meets conservative Jamie Sullivan after he gets in trouble and needs to complete community service as punishment. Over time, the two become close and once Jamie reveals an unexpected secret, bad-boy Landon grows a soft spot for her and forever changes for the better.
Best quote: “Our love is like the wind. I can’t see it, but I can feel it.”
Holly is a beautiful woman who, at 19, married the love of her life: Gerry Kennedy, an Irishman with an impeccable sense of humor. After Gerry passes away from an illness, Holly finds herself in a world of unbearable pain. Moving forward, Holly comes across 10 letters Gerry preemptively wrote to help ease her sadness, and she eventually becomes repaired again.
Best quote: “You made me a man by loving me, Holly. And for that, I am eternally grateful.”
4. Dear John
While on spring military leave, Army soldier John Tyree falls head-over-heels in love with college student Savannah Curtis. The two become inseparable, and even when John must complete his 12-month enlistment, they constantly send each other letters to keep in touch. Although he made her a promise he’d fulfill upon his return, John reenlists and Savannah is troubled with the question, “Is it worth the wait?”
Best quote: “Two weeks together, that’s all it took. Two weeks to fall in love with you.”
5. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Benjamin Button was born an old man and ages in reverse, but this doesn’t stop him from finding love in a girl named Daisy. Her grandmother took care of him when his biological mother passed away after giving birth. The couple reconnects when their ages match up around their forties, and the two work together as they try to defy the truths of time, wrinkles and bedtime stories.
Best quote: “I wanna remember us just as we are now.”
6. Forrest Gump
The life of Forrest Gump is truly a magnificent one: he overcame bad legs when he was little and turned into a running star; he enlisted in the Army and saved lives during Vietnam; and he even became a national icon after picking up ping-pong. However, none of those things fully matter to him because Forrest’s life isn’t complete without his childhood sweetheart, Jenny, for whom he’d do absolutely anything.
Best quote: “I may not be a smart man, but I know what love is.”
7. Pretty Woman
Rich businessman Edward Lewis hires a spunky female escort named Vivian to attend events with him and keep him company in his penthouse suite. Through his moral and financial support, Edward watches Vivian lower her guard, and he encourages her that she’s worthy of more than she thinks. This film features an undeniable love… and a kink in the classic Cinderella fairytale not to be missed.
Best quote: “In case I forget to tell you later, I had a really good time tonight.”
Conservative, daddy’s-girl Frances “Baby” Houseman finds herself stuck at an uppity country club during the summer with her parents and older sister. When she discovers a secretive nighttime tradition among the staff, she meets the camp’s dance instructor named Johnny, whose partner she later becomes and falls in love with, despite her father’s opinion.
Best quote: “Nobody puts Baby in the corner.”
9. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
In this action-packed adventure film, blacksmith Will Turner partners up with a pirate named Jack Sparrow, whose former pirate allies captured Will’s childhood sweetheart, Elizabeth Swann. Although Elizabeth is expected to marry a man who her father, the governor, introduced her to, it’s becoming harder to deny the attraction she has for the blacksmith she met when she was only 11 years old.
Best quote: “Elizabeth, I should have told you every day from the moment I met you. I love you.”
10. Twilight
As the new girl in the town of Forks, Bella Swan tries to make friends at her high school but is noticeably awkward. Within the first few weeks of her arrival, though, she’s drawn to a group of people, “The Cullens,” and especially one boy in particular: Edward Cullen. He’s gorgeous and has messy hair… and also happens to be a vampire. When she blatantly ignores the risks involved, Bella gets caught up in a dangerous romance that, if not careful, could end in a bloodbath.
Best quote: “I feel very protective of you.”
11. The Hunger Games
Upon the random selection and announcement of Katniss Everdeen’s younger sister to be a part of the Hunger Games—a televised competition between the 12 districts of Panem in which competitors fight to the death—she volunteers to take her sister’s place. Although acknowledged for her bravery, Katniss can’t deny the feelings she has for the other enlistee from her district, Peeta Mellark, which is also caught on camera for everyone to see.
Best quote: “We saved each other.”
After meeting at a mutual cancer support group, teenagers Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters embark on a miraculous journey of making every second of their lives count before time runs out. Along the way, they fall deeply in love with each other, and their story will be forever written in the stars and in our hearts.
Best quote: “But, Gus, my love, I cannot tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I’m grateful.”
Before the almighty ship had its historically tragic first (and last) sea voyage, two strangers from different classes—Rose Bukater and Jack Dawson—meet and fall in love, despite the woman’s engagement to another upper-class passenger named Cal. Rose and Jack must not only must fight for their relationship, but also for their lives once Titanic goes down.
Best quote: “Promise me you’ll survive. That you won’t give up, no matter what happens, no matter how hopeless. Promise me now, Rose, and never let go of that promise.”
14. The Notebook
This movie is my personal favorite romance of all time, so I figured I should save the best for last. Besides the fact that Ryan freaking Gosling plays Noah Calhoun and stars beside Rachel McAdams, who plays Allie Hamilton, the love between the two characters is beautifully unreal. After meeting each other at a carnival and having a humorous encounter, the two become inseparable. Despite their social class differences, they portray one of the best romances ever. Moral of the love story: love’s not only worth living for, but also it’s worth dying for.
Best quote: Literally the whole movie, but especially, “I want all of you, forever—you and me, every day.”
