Rye Lane – Martina
The movie Rye Lane has all the components that your rom-com needs. Two sweet strangers, Yas and Dom, with their own messy pasts, the comedic-relief-sidekick-characters, a metropolitan city (London), embarrassing moments, and a little lie or two being exposed at the climax of the movie. Its peculiarity is that it takes place in just one day. While it sure isn’t love at first sight, could it be love on the first day? Despite some of the more comedic absurd moments in the film, it builds up slowly, making it feel true-to-life. The main characters Yas and Dom just happen to be heading in the same direction and from there the story unfolds. For this part one could draw a parallel to the very romantic Before sunrise from 1995 where two young people also fall in love in the span of a day while strolling around a European capital. However, the story feels more natural in Rye Lane even though, strictly speaking, I think Yas and Dom fit more adventures into their day than the couple in Before Sunrise do. I also appreciate the awkwardness and the back-handed jokes in Rye Lane. Without giving too much away, the ending is worthy of Valentine’s Day. What do you think, how long does it take to fall in love?
Sleepless in Seattle – Vanessa
Thinking about what movie to recommend, I realized that there are ironically not even that many (good) rom-coms in which Valentine’s Day plays a major role. One of the only ones that I could instantly think of was the movie Sleepless in Seattle which was made before most of us were even born. Nevertheless, I decided to put it on this list in hopes that there are some ’90s rom-com lovers among us. Sleepless in Seattle is your typical cheesy, perfectly unrealistic, over-the-top, yet still funny 90’s classic that doesn’t require deep movie knowledge to reveal any hidden meanings. Yet, the storyline is still somewhat unique. The movie is about Sam (Tom Hanks), a recently-widowed father from Chicago who just moved to Seattle with his son Jonah. The second main character is Annie (Meg Ryan), a reporter from Baltimore who feels like something is missing in her life (what could that only be). The plot begins with Jonah somehow managing to get his grieving father to open up on a national talk radio program, instantly sparking the interest of half of the women in the country, including Annie who lives on the other side of the US. Well, I guess now most of you will probably already know how this movie ends, but that doesn’t mean that it is not entertaining. The in-between is filled with plenty of obstacles, unfortunate incidents, miscommunications, and a lot of back and forth, keeping the watchers glued to their screens. So, Sleepless in Seattle is the perfect light-hearted entertainment for everyone who’s craving a bit of nostalgia, but also a whole lot of laughter.
Saving Face (2004) – Bia
Saving Face is definitely a movie about love, in all its forms. It’s about the romantic love that Wil, a Chinese-American surgeon, feels for Vivian, the girl of her dreams; a love that she however struggles to be out and proud about. It’s about the depth of parent-child love, and its ability to overcome the obstacles that generational and cultural differences sometimes place on its way. It’s about Wil’s bittersweet love for her community, and the balancing act of honoring all sides of her identity.
In just 90 minutes, Alice Wu manages to write a love letter to the Chinese-American community, showing the richness and beauty of its culture, without falling down the slippery slope of justifying its ugly sides in the name of tradition. Bigotry and homophobia are nobody’s tradition, that much is made clear. However, in exposing the dust hidden under her community’s rug, Wu shows the gentleness of someone who is doing this to clean the rug and honor its beauty, not to ball it up and throw it away.
The movie also feels like a love letter to its queer audience. The absolute incompetence of lesbians in making the first move, the unexplainable ability to find one another, even we are trying to be invisible to the rest of the world, the adorable awkwardness, the improbable excuses the closet has us make up on the spot sometimes: all of these queer experiences are represented; in a funny, warm, relatable way, I might add.
What more can I say? If funny, cute, and gay is the vibe you’re going for this Valentine’s, go watch it!
Amélie- Mariia
If your date is doing Film Studies you can definitely impress them with this movie. But honestly, even if you are not a big fan of arthouse, I would still suggest you give this quirky film about Paris a try. Hate to write cliches, but Amélie is indeed not your typical romcom. I love it for its absurd and sophisticated humor: you find yourself laughing about the death of a person in the first 10 minutes of the film, yet it captures so much ‘joie de vivre’ that I doubt that anyone watching it can physically end up in a bad mood. The main character, Amélie, has a really artistic vision on life and she gives attention to all the details around her: she is in love with Paris; she wonders about the stories of random by-passers; becomes friends with her weird neighbor who never leaves his house; and she is curious about the man who collects strangers’ pictures from the photo booths. She sees it as her goal to make the lives of people in her surroundings better and ends up finding true love herself, which enlightens her life. I know it sounds cheesy but come on, it’s Valentine’s day. While the storytelling is brilliant, it was the visual language that made me fall in love with the movie. All these picturesque streets of Paris, the color codes and the general ‘warm’ tone of the movie makes it really enjoyable to watch. Of course, Wes Anderson definitely comes first to your mind, although- and no offense to Wes Anderson’s fans- I personally like Amélie better.
While doing some research for this article, I found that in The Hague there was a restaurant which was heavily inspired by the cafe where Amélie worked and I immediately thought: ‘damn, that is like the perfect date idea for cinemaholics’. Get some wine, enjoy French food and pretend to be one of the main characters. I know it will be heartbreaking news but the place is apparently closed. Yet, I can still give you another idea for the date: go see Valentine’s special broadcast of the movie in the Filmhuis Lumen this Wednesday!
Notting Hill (1999) -Lilly
As another 90s timeless classic, Notting Hill can of course not go unmentioned. Countless times I‘ve seen this movie sitting on the couch with my mom, eating chocolate, and drinking tea. I can confidently say that this movie is not one to be reserved for Valentine’s Day only but can also be seen at any other time of year. What better day to watch a cheesy rom-com though, than the day of love?
This movie will take you to London in 1990, where young William (Hugh Grant) runs his book store and shares a flat with Spike, who is as weird of a flatmate as his name suggests. (For all those of you with strange flatmates this will be very relatable.) One beautiful day the famous American actress Anna Scott (Julia Roberts) enters Will‘s store and their story unfolds. The movie is nearly as corny as you now might assume. However, with all its romantic, comedic, and tragic components and the nostalgic flare, it will enchant and warm anyone‘s heart.
So please enjoy, and let your expectations be pushed to a more than unrealistic level 🙂
Life As We Know It (2010) – Bea
I was not really a fan of rom coms in the past: I found them incredibly cheesy, predictable, and plotless. But then, in high school, one of my best friends forced me to watch Life As We Know It. The movie itself is nothing special, but it made me realize why people watch and adore rom coms so much: it’s because of their predictability and the ‘no surprises’ that this type of movie keeps us glued to the screens and eager for more.
Life As We Know It talks about Holly Berenson, an overly organized bakery owner, and Eric Messer, a sports guy whose life is a mess. They met through a blind date organized by their best friends but did not like each other at all. Yes, it is the typical enemies-to-lover storyline, no surprises there, but we also add the trope of forced proximity. In fact, after the sudden passing away of both of their best friends, Holly and Eric become the guardians of their friends’ orphaned baby. This unlikely ‘couple’ will have to take care of a kid while trying to deal with the grief of losing their closest friends and keeping up with their normal life.
With this funny, lighthearted, and predictable movie you will end up cheering for a couple that screws up more times than they actually get something right, you will laugh at them and with them, but you will also feel the warmth of two people trying to create a family.
I must admit, it is not the best rom com I have ever watched, but it has a special place in my heart, and I will never get tired of recommending it. Do yourself a favor, bake some brownies (and not the kind of brownies they bake in the movie) and watch Life As We Know It.
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