On Valentine’s Day there’s nothing better than cuddling up on the sofa with your other half and taking in a romantic movie.
But what to watch? How do you choose just the right film to give you that loving glow?
Our critics have done the hard work for you by trawling through hundreds of options to bring you an unmissable selection of 20 movies to snuggle up with this Valentine’s Day…
Rye Lane
South London-set rom-com full of light and life
Year: 2023
Certificate: 15
Watch now on Disney+
When lovelorn accountant Dom runs into free spirit Yas at the opening of an art gallery just off Rye Lane in Peckham, south London, he’s swept up into a day and most of a night of adventure. Soon the pair are wandering across the city, dropping into parties, attempting a little light breaking-and-entering, and generally pinballing from joyously funny situation to situation.
This is a genuinely lovely and properly funny movie packed with heart and goodwill. It will have you falling in love with its two leads (Industry’s David Jonsson and Vivian Oparah from Class) just as quickly and completely as they lose their hearts to each other, and the film’s sense of place is as specific as it is joyful. (82 minutes)
Fingernails
Rom-com set in a world where a machine tests relationships
Year: 2023
Certificate: 15
Watch now on Apple TV+
‘I founded this institute to take the risk out of love.’ So says Luke Wilson’s character Duncan in a heartfelt film set in a world where a machine can tell you if you’ve chosen the right partner. Anna (Jessie Buckley) wants to learn more so signs up to work at the institute, but what she finds (a new colleague played by Riz Ahmed) puts the relationship she already has at risk. Why should it, though, if the machine said that she and Ryan (The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White) were fine?
There’s a kindness to this movie that you wouldn’t find in more sci-fi oriented forays into the same territory (Black Mirror, for instance) and the performances are spot on. Buckley has a lot of heart as the heroine, a woman who wants something more but isn’t quite sure what it is. And it’s nice to see Jeremy Allen White making a path for himself outside his success on The Bear. He has a very open face, and you spend a lot of the movie waiting for it to register hurt as Anna starts to question everything. Will it? (113 minutes)
Love At First Sight
Cheery rom-com about searching for a lost love in London
Year: 2023
Certificate: 12
Watch now on Netflix
When they meet on a flight from the US to London, Hadley and Oliver strike instant undeniable romantic sparks. This could be the start of a grand love story… or at least it might have been if she hadn’t promptly lost his number. Can they find each other in a city of millions with only a few vague hints about their lives to go on?
The star-crossed young lovers are played by Haley Lu Richardson (The White Lotus) and Ben Hardy (The Girl Before) but it’s a mark of how sweet and funny a script this rom-com boasts that its supporting cast features serious comic talent including Sally Phillips, Dexter Fletcher, Rob Delaney and Jameela Jamil. (90 minutes)
After Everything
The fifth instalment in the After series of romantic movie dramas
Year: 2023
Certificate: 15
Watch now on Prime Video
The tumultuous ups-and-downs of the romance between Tessa Young and Hardin Scott (Josephine Langford and the brilliantly named Hero Fiennes Tiffin, nephew of Ralph) has filled four films to date with doubts, revelations, rekindlings and dramatic break ups as the After series (based on the novels of Anna Todd) has rumbled along.
This fifth instalment finds them in a rocky place, separated seemingly forever after Hardin decided to turn the story of their relationship into a best-selling book against Tessa’s will. Big emotions are sloshing about as Hardin seeks out an ex-girlfriend in Lisbon and Tessa reconsiders their split in a fan-pleasing sequel brimming with high stakes and high emotion. (93 minutes)
Past Lives
Tender tale of lost love which foregrounds the migrant experience
Year: 2023
Certificate: 12
Sky, Apple TV+, Prime Video
It’s impossible not to shed a tear while watching this discreet and delicate film about two childhood sweethearts who were separated in youth and then brought together again as adults. South Korean-born Nora (Greta Lee) is best friends with Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), but when her family move from Seoul to Canada the pair lose contact. Years later Nora, now a married writer living in New York, reconnects with her old friend. They reunite for one week – but do they regret the life they’ve lost together?
This extraordinary directorial debut by South Korean-Canadian Celine Song was indisputably one of the movie highlights of 2023. It manages to tackle big ideas such as destiny, identity and longing with a simplicity that charms everyone who sees it. Available to buy or rent on Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video and Sky Store but, if you have Netflix, you may want to wait – it’ll be coming to that on 15 February. (105 minutes)
No Hard Feelings
Jennifer Lawrence sets out to seduce a teenager in a raunchy comedy
Year: 2023
Certificate: 15
Watch now on NOW
Watch now on Sky
Thirtysomething down-on-her-luck slacker Maddie (Jennifer Lawrence) is hired by a rich couple to ‘date’ their teenage son Percy before he heads off to college. She thinks it’ll be easy to seduce the kid, but Percy is an odd otherworldly 19-year-old who might just end up having a bigger effect on Maddie than she does on him.
The premise feels almost like something from another more cringey age of cinema but somehow it works, playing raunchy sex comedy set-ups off against some genuine moments of warm-hearted loveableness. It’s also a great showcase for Lawrence’s comedic talents as she indulges in everything from snappy dialogue and full-on innuendo to some bruisingly funny slapstick. (103 minutes)
Palm Springs
Time-loop comedy set at a wedding, starring Andy Samberg
Year: 2020
Certificate: 15
Watch now on Prime Video
Imagine Groundhog Day but set at a wedding, and with two people stuck in the loop instead of one, and you’ve got the gist of this perfectly formed American comedy. Palm Springs is a blast of sunshine set in the California desert city, with Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti (Fargo) as the bantering pair reliving a day they can’t escape, and steadily falling for each other in the process.
Don’t mistake this for a simple romcom, though. It has strong, well-earned philosophical and bittersweet streaks that ground both the rom and the com and make them hit deeper, while the increasingly surreal nature of the desert setting suits the time loop premise very well. How insanity-inducing must it actually be to relive the same day over and over again, after all? All told, this is a movie that, while it may look a little daft to start with, will hit you harder than you expect by the end. (90 minutes)
Ghost
Blockbuster supernatural drama starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore
Year: 1990
Certificate: 12
ITVX
A blockbuster mix of romance, mystery and comedy, this stars Patrick Swayze as a murder victim whose spirit hangs around to watch over his bereaved girlfriend (Demi Moore). Whoopi Goldberg also shines as a cranky psychic in a film that features what is probably cinema’s most famous pottery scene, performed to the tune of Unchained Melody.
In his posthumously published memoir, Swayze recalls working with Moore on that oft-parodied scene: ‘The best love scenes don’t require what I call “humpage”. You don’t really want to see the characters jumping each other’s bones. You want to see them looking intently into each other’s eyes. That’s what I feel is sexy.’ (127 mins)
Red, White & Royal Blue
Transatlantic romance between a British prince and the President’s son
Year: 2023
Prime Video
When a lifetime of transatlantic feuding turns into a very public brawl, the son of the US President and a British prince are forced to work together to stave off an international incident. But spending so much time in each other’s company makes them realise their feelings are much stronger than they suspected, and so begins a top-secret romance.
As high-concept story ideas go, the one that fuelled Casey McQuiston’s bestselling gay romance novel was a corker and this slick, glossy film adaptation more than does it justice. Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine are lovably awkward as the star-crossed lovers, while there’s strong support from Uma Thurman as the US President in a cast that also includes Stephen Fry, Sex/Life’s Sarah Shahi and rising star Ellie Bamber. (118 minutes)
Alone Together
Katie Holmes and Jim Sturgess star in a lockdown romance
Year: 2022
Certificate: 15
Watch now on Sky
Watch now on NOW
When the pandemic hits, New York food critic June (writer-director Katie Holmes) plans to ride out lockdown in a rented upstate house in the middle of nowhere. Two things go wrong with this plan. First, her boyfriend suddenly decides to stay in the city. And second, the house has been double-booked and she finds herself sharing the space with the newly-single Charlie (Hard Sun’s Jim Sturgess). But hey, it’ll all be fine. Surely lockdown can’t last more than a couple of weeks, right?
Holmes and Sturgess are hugely likeable as the mismatched pair slowly falling for each other in this sweet and loveable romance that almost everyone will be able to identify with. (93 minutes)
Mr Malcolm’s List
Period romantic comedy to delight fans of Bridgerton
Year: 2022
Certificate: PG
Watch now on Sky
Watch now on NOW
When Julia Thistlewaite (Wanderlust’s Zawe Ashton) is rejected as a potential wife by the dashing Mr Malcolm (Gangs Of London’s Sope Dirisu) because she doesn’t meet his list of requirements for a good bride, she hits upon an ingenious revenge plan. She will get her best friend Selina (Freida Pinto, of Slumdog Millionaire) up from the country to 19th-century London and coach her to seem like she checks every box on Malcolm’s list.
Then, when he asks Selina to marry him, she will refuse him and Julia’s revenge will be complete. Except… well, what if Selina and Malcolm really do fall in love? With equal dollops of Jane Austen, Bridgerton and Bridget Jones in its make-up, this is a delightful slice of period romcom silliness. (117 minutes)
Shotgun Wedding
Jennifer Lopez stars in a romcom that swerves into Die Hard territory
Year: 2022
Certificate: 15
Watch now on Prime Video
For their wedding, Darcy and Tom (Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel) have a huge bash planned, whisking their friends and family away to a tropical paradise for a lavish affair. So far, so familiar romcom (complete with the usual assortment of unexpected guests and demanding family members, not least the always brilliant Jennifer Coolidge as Tom’s mum).
However, things then take a swerve into Die Hard territory when a group of armed terrorists arrives and takes everyone hostage. Can Darcy and Tom battle their way through the ranks of armed baddies and set their guests free? It’s certainly fun finding out… (100mins)
Upgraded
Transatlantic romcom with some Devil Wears Prada-style moments
Year: 2024
Certificate: 15
Watch now on Prime Video
This New York-to-London romcom makes a very funny start. Camila Mendes (Riverdale) stars as Ana, an ambitious, highly educated and borderline homeless art expert who longs to make a dent in the gallery world. One day, she makes a good impression on her boss, the take-no-prisoners Claire DuPont – played by a hilarious, Devil Wears Prada-style Marisa Tomei. Then, before Ana knows it, she’s on her way to London.
That’s where this movie starts to hit more traditional romcom territory, from the meet-cute at the airport to a couple of awkward deceptions that will need resolving before the end. That strong opening gives you a lot of goodwill for what comes next, though, and the movie does a better job than many of its kind with the woman’s side of the story. A couple of colourful side characters give it an extra dimension, too, including Derry Girls’ Saoirse-Monica Jackson as Ana’s friend in New York and Anthony Head as an eccentric in London. (104 minutes)
You Hurt My Feelings
Wry relationship comedy starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tobias Menzies
Year: 2023
Certificate: 15
Watch now on Prime Video
Novelist and writing teacher Beth (Seinfeld’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus) struggles with self-doubt, but at least she’ll always have her husband Don (The Crown’s Tobias Menzies) there to support her. Or that’s what she thinks, until one day she overhears him tell a friend that – despite what he’s been telling her – he really didn’t like her last book that much…
A clever and funny relationship comedy about the little white lies that people tell in order to make life liveable, this is a thoroughly enjoyable film full of clever moments and genuine laughs. Dreyfus is predictably great, but so too is Menzies, neatly capturing failing therapist Don’s own quirks and neuroses. (93 minutes)
A Tourist’s Guide To Love
Rachael Leigh Cook is travelling towards romance in this sweet feature
Year: 2023
Certificate: PG
Watch now on Netflix
After her boyfriend of five years declares that he’s moving to Ohio, travel company executive Amanda (Perception’s Rachael Leigh Cook) desperately needs a break. So when her business packs her off to Vietnam it seems like the perfect chance to forget all about it. Especially when she catches sight of her hunky personalised travel guide Sinh (Scott Ly). Will this just be a holiday romance, though, or is it shaping up to be something more?
Leigh Cook is the perfect lead for a gentle romance like this, with plenty of sharp and spiky attitude to undercut the schmaltz, while still wide-eyed enough to leave you hoping for a big romantic finish. And the beautiful shots of Vietnam will have you reaching for your passport… (96 minutes)
The Perfect Find
Gabrielle Union stars in an age-difference romance
Year: 2023
Certificate: 15
Watch now on Netflix
Jobless after a high-profile sacking, fashion editor Jenna (Gabrielle Union) is desperate to get back to work so happily takes a job working for an old rival (Gina Torres). There’s just one teeny problem: the much younger guy that the fortysomething Jenna has just started seeing turns out not only to work at the same magazine, but to be her new boss’s son. Awkward…
A properly enjoyable romance which neatly balances its serious moments of relationship drama with some gentle comedy (Suits star Torres is clearly relishing her scenery-chewing performance as the over-the-top magazine boss), this is well worth finding. (99 minutes)
A Love Song
Beautifully bittersweet movie about love, loneliness and landscapes
Year: 2022
Certificate: PG
Watch now on Sky
Watch now on NOW
At a remote and dusty campsite by the side of a lake, lonely widow Faye (A League Of Their Own’s Dale Dickey) sits and waits by her caravan for the arrival of a man from her past (Penny Dreadful’s Wes Studi). Will he come? When will he get there? And will she even recognise him if he does? A gentle movie that shades into melancholy as often as it rises towards bittersweet hopefulness, this is an odd, low-key treat.
The setting and gorgeous shots of empty landscapes bring to mind old-fashioned westerns as much as they do the Oscar-winner Nomadland, but it’s the craggy all-too-human heartbreaking appeal of Dickey that hooks you and refuses to let you loose. (81 minutes)
Love Is In The Air
Neighbours star Delta Goodrem pilots a high-flying romantic comedy
Year: 2023
Certificate: PG
Watch now on Netflix
When their corporate owners send buttoned-up businessman William (Joshua Sasse) to inspect their ramshackle island-hopping n airline, the staff of Fullerton Airways fear the worst. Can they really persuade him not to ground them permanently? If anyone has a chance of changing his mind, it has to be the company’s chief pilot Dana (Neighbours’ Delta Goodrem). But can falling for her really change William’s mind about the business?
With hints of fish-out-of-water comedies such as Local Hero and lashings of romantic goodwill, this is a sweet and charming old-fashioned romcom. Perfect Friday-night viewing. (88 minutes)
Sharp Stick
Girls’ Lena Dunham writes and directs a modern sex satire
Year: 2022
Certificate: 18
Watch now on Sky
Watch now on NOW
Naive 26-year-old wallflower Sarah Jo (Kristine Froseth) longs to be noticed. Which leads to her beginning an ill-fated affair with her older married boss (John Bernthal) as she tries to find her place in 21st-century Los Angeles.
Written and directed by Girls’ Lena Dunham, Sharp Stick is a raunchy, funny, frequently excessive and oddly life-affirming look at one young woman’s journey to find herself, both sexually and personally. Froseth is a kooky and likeable lead, while the likes of Bernthal, Dunham herself and Jennifer Jason Leigh (as Sarah Jo’s oddball sex-positive mother) make even the supporting cast memorable. (92 minutes)
Spin Me Round
Fish-out-of-water comedy-drama starring Alison Brie
Year: 2022
Certificate: 18
Watch now on NOW
When the small-town manager of a US branch of a pasta restaurant (Mad Men’s Alison Brie) is selected to take part in a training programme in Italy, she thinks she’s in for the trip of a lifetime. Especially when she catches the eye of the company’s smouldering hunk of a boss (Alessandro Nivola) at the first seminar. But things soon dissolve into comic and possibly perilous chaos…
Brie is predictably great as the lead in this quirky comedy with hints of darkness, but there’s fine support from Zach Woods, Molly Shannon and Nivola too. If anyone steals the movie though, it’s Aubrey Plaza, who delivers a fantastically arch performance as Nivola’s drawling personal assistant. (104 minutes)