The best romantic movies on Netflix
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When you need to escape from the real world, one of the best movie genres you can turn to is romance. And, thankfully, love stories pair perfectly with one of the other best escapism genres: comedy.
Among Netflix's many great rom-coms to help you romanticize your own reality are historical romances, sci-fi entanglements, musical serenades, and an epic — and epically terrifying — love at sea (you can probably guess what that last one is). Here are the best romantic movies streaming on Netflix right now.
<i>When Harry Met Sally…</i> (1989)
Is When Harry Met Sally… the best rom-com of all time? It's certainly high on the list. Written by Nora Ephron and directed by Rob Reiner, this 1989 film stars Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal as a pair of friends stuck in the will-they-won't-they cycle for 12 years.
In 2019, Reiner told EW that the ending of the movie was almost completely different, but then, he had a major life change of his own that inspired the ending fans have loved for over 30 years. "We had it where time goes by, they run into each other in the street…and then they walk in opposite directions. I'd been single for 10 years after having been married for 10 years, and I just couldn't figure out how it would work again."
If you liked When Harry Met Sally…, you might also enjoy: Notting Hill streaming on Starz.
<i>Loving</i> (2016)
Loving is a historical drama about the 1967 Supreme Court decision that invalidated state laws that prohibited interracial marriage. But, it's also a romance about the marriage at the center of that case. Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton star as Mildred and Richard Loving, the Virginia couple who were told they couldn't live in the same state for 25 years, took their case to the Supreme Court, and the rest is history.
"I think it's time to celebrate them and what they achieved," Negga told EW "and, you know, it's also just a beautiful love story, the most beautiful love story that's ever been told, to be honest."
If you liked Loving, you might also enjoy: If Beale Street Could Talk, available to rent on Amazon Prime Video.
<i>Titanic</i> (1997)
Titanic is a love story of epic proportions in multiple ways. Sure, the second half is mostly about the giant ship sinking, but the first half is what makes the disaster so devastating. The film begins with pure romance as Leonardo DiCaprio's Jack and Kate Winslet's Rose fall in love from opposite sides of the classist aisle, until the infamous iceberg intervenes.
In 2017, 20 years after the film's release, Winslet told EW her best memory from making the movie. "I think the most special thing, the best memory I have, really was the cast and the lovely crew," she said. "For me that's one of the best things about being in this business is getting to work with incredible technicians who are always great, committed, professional, fun people to spend time with and to go to work with, and we really had that on Titanic. And, of course, I walked away with one of the greatest friendships of my life in my back pocket, which is Leo."
If you liked Titanic, you might also enjoy: Romeo + Juliet, streaming on HBO Max.
<i>You've Got Mail</i> (1998)
Next up, another rom-com collab from Meg Ryan and Nora Ephron — two queens of the genre. You've Got Mail stars Ryan and Tom Hanks as a small bookstore owner and the man behind a large competing bookstore chain, respectively. They meet online and share romantic emails (it was the '90s after all), but run into problems when they get to know each other in person.
In 1998, Ephron talked to EW about the difference between You've Got Mail and her previous Ryan and Hanks starrer, Sleepless in Seattle. "It asks a different question than Sleepless," the writer-director said. "This time it's more like, Can Mr. Wrong turn out to be Mr. Right? That's really what this is."
If you liked You've Got Mail, you might also enjoy: Sleepless in Seattle, streaming on HBO Max.
<i>She's Gotta Have It</i> (1986)
Spike Lee's first feature film as a writer and director, She's Gotta Have It features multiple romances as lead character Nola Darling (Tracy Camilla Johns) figures out which of the three men she's dating (Lee, Tommy Redmond Hicks, John Canada Terrell) she wants to have a monogamous relationship with. The answer is only part of what makes this an atypical romantic comedy, not to mention the black and white cinematography and Lee's distinctively cutting creative mark.
In a review of Netflix's 2017 She's Gotta Have It adaptation (also directed by Lee), EW's Darren Franich described the original movie, writing, "She's Gotta Have It was Spike Lee's first feature film, and few movies feel so joyfully first."
If you liked She's Gotta Have It, you might also enjoy: Do the Right Thing, available to rent on Amazon Prime Video.
<i>Little Women</i> (1994)
Louisa May Alcott's 1868 novel Little Women has been adapted many times, and the classic 1994 version is currently on Netflix. The cast includes Winona Ryder, Christian Bale, Kirsten Dunst, Claire Danes, and Susan Sarandon.
The coming-of-age romance follows several years in the lives of the March sisters, including aspiring writer Jo March (Ryder), who has a complicated relationship with her friend Laurie (Bale). As EW critic Lisa Schwarzbaum put it: "If you can't get the man (or boy) in your life to budge, have a girls' night out with Little Women, and leave 'em guessing at what you enjoyed so much."
If you liked Little Women (1994), you might also enjoy: Little Women (2019), available to buy on Amazon Prime Video.
<i>Love Actually</i> (2003)
Sure, it's technically a Christmas movie, but don't let the season stop you from watching this rom-com about various types of love (and cheating… and falling for your best friend's wife). The Richard Curtis-written and directed movie features an ensemble cast including Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley, Alan Rickman, Colin Firth, and many more.
Love Actually has been reevaluated in recent years and some of the stories are, admittedly, a little… creepy. Still, check out EW's ranking of all nine of the love stories here.
If you liked Love Actually, you might also enjoy: About Time, streaming on Starz.
<i>The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society</i> (2018)
Fans of period romances will fall head over heels for the Netflix original The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society. The 2018 film stars Lily James as a writer who gets to know the residents of Guernsey, an island which had recently been under German occupation during World War II.
As for the romantic aspect, the lead character is torn between two men: her American fiancé (Glen Powell) and a new man from Guernsey (Michiel Huisman). EW's review of Mike Newell's film called it "as snug and sweet and congenitally British as a tea cozy."
If you liked The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society, you might also enjoy: The Notebook, available to rent on Amazon Prime Video.
<i>Something's Gotta Give</i> (2003)
It's the movie where Diane Keaton has to choose between Keanu Reeves as a doctor and Jack Nicholson as a man who is dating her 29-year-old daughter (Amanda Peet). It's also the official Nancy Meyers rom-com contribution to our list, as she both wrote and directed the film.
According to EW's review of Something's Gotta Give, "Nancy Meyers takes a snappy battle-of-the-sexes issue — in this case, the mystery of middle-aged men who are attracted only to younger women — and exhorts the already converted with needling jokes and psych-lite speeches."
If you liked Something's Gotta Give, you might also enjoy: It's Complicated, streaming on Starz.
<i>Phantom Thread</i> (2017)
There are lots of lighthearted romantic movies on Netflix, but if you're looking for something much, much darker, there's Phantom Thread. The Paul Thomas Anderson movie stars Daniel Day-Lewis as a fashion designer who finds a muse and partner in a waitress (Vicky Krieps) during the 1950s. The couple's relationship is rocky to say the least, and some poisonous mushrooms play a hefty role in the film's tension.
"What's true with Daniel is that you're always in front of someone very awake, so you have to be awake," Krieps told EW about working with Day-Lewis in what is purportedly his final role. "You couldn't go and do something not really knowing what you're doing or being half thinking about your lunch. It wouldn't work because you'd just crash against the wall."
If you liked Phantom Thread, you might also enjoy: The Favourite, available to rent on Amazon Prime Video.
<i>Always Be My Maybe</i> (2019)
Two old childhood friends reconnect in Always Be My Maybe, starring Ali Wong and Randall Park. As teens, the pair considered a romantic relationship, but it didn't work out. As adults, she's become a famous chef while he's still stuck in a small-time band and working for his dad's business. Now, they'll have to try and see if love is their destiny once again while facing her fame and his insecurities.
The movie also features plenty of quirky moments, including Keanu Reeves playing an odd version of himself as a love interest for Wong's character. And, as an added bonus, there's also Wong's amazing wardrobe.
If you liked Always Be My Maybe, you might also enjoy: Set It Up, streaming on Netflix.
<i>To All the Boys I've Loved Before</i> (2018)
Based on the YA novel by Jenny Han, To All the Boys I've Loved Before tells the story of Lara Jean (Lana Condor), a high schooler whose crushes see the secret letters she wrote about them. It also features the rom-com classic: two people teaming up for a fake relationship that turns out to be all too real.
EW's review called the teen movie "breezy and charming," while also noting that "Condor as Lara Jean has a winning, be-true-to-yourself sense of independence that's infectious." As a bonus, two sequels are also available to stream on Netflix.
If you liked To All the Boys I've Loved Before, you might also enjoy: Love, Simon, streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
<i>Crimson Peak</i> (2015)
Looking for a spooky love story? Check out Guillermo del Toro's 2015 film, Crimson Peak. The story follows a newlywed writer, Edith (Mia Wasikowska), who moves into a creepy, old, and clearly haunted mansion with her husband (Tom Hiddleston) and sister-in-law (Jessica Chastain). There, Edith lives amongst visions of ghosts while trying to figure out the mysteries of her new home, but not without a little gothic romance.
"I wanted the house to feel like an enchanted castle from a fairy tale, quite a sinister one," del Toro told EW. "It's like a cage, a killing jar that you use to kill insects, that you kill butterflies with. That's the house, the house basically is a sinister, sinister trap."
If you liked Crimson Peak, you might also enjoy: The Shape of Water, streaming on Hulu.
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