Romantic movies take many forms. There’s the drama, the comedy, the classics and — according to Kaley Cuoco — the “slutty.”
Ahead of Valentine’s Day, we asked every celebrity we spoke with to share their pick for the best onscreen love story: the film they watch with a plus-one, or solo when they’re in the mood for love.
It was no surprise that the sweeping, sentimental romance The Notebook, which paired Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling in 2004, remains a heart-tugger. The same goes for 1989’s When Harry Met Sally…, in which Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan finally connect after years of friendship (and awkward deli moments). Less predictable? The yearning for 1990s Pretty Woman, which on paper — a sex worker (Julia Roberts) meets a businessman (Richard Gere) and “rescues him right back” — doesn’t follow a traditional romantic blueprint. And then there’s the TV star who insists she finds horror movies romantic.
Different tastes, same destination: love stories worth pressing play for. Here’s what they recommend.
Glen Powell (actor, Chad Powers)
“50 First Dates. That movie kind of makes me cry every time.”
Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler’s 50 First Dates makes Powell feel the feels.
(Columbia/Everett Collection)
Dylan Efron (Dancing With the Stars)
“I love The Notebook. I watched it on one of my first dates.”
Chris Pratt (actor, Mercy)
“Probably Love Actually. Or wait — The Princess Bride.”
Kaley Cuoco (actress, Vanished)
“Oh my God — there are so many. I do love a good romance movie. Pretty Woman. It’s a slutty romantic movie, and I love it.”
Hailee Steinfeld (actress, Sinners)
Sarah Pidgeon (actress, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette)
“About Time. I really love it. I think it’s so beautiful. It makes me cry just thinking about it. I think it’s such a wonderful watch, and everyone needs to see it.”
Brittany Bowe (Olympic speed skater)
“The first thing that comes to my mind is A Star is Born. It’s so sad, but it’s so good. It just pulls on your heartstrings. That movie made me feel all the feels.”
Sheryl Lee Ralph (actress, Abbott Elementary)
“There’s an old movie I saw as a child … called Black Orpheus, and it was all about love. It took place in Brazil. When I saw them all on the screen [acting], I said, ‘I want to do that. I can do that.’”
Jayme Lawson (actress, Sinners)
“My favorite rom-com is Boomerang, and if you have not seen Boomerang, we cannot be friends. Or we’re friends from a distance.”
Kelly Rowland (singer/actress, Relationship Goals)
“Hands down, The Notebook! The way you fall in love with the characters, and watch the love story unfold, and see how connected they were! It melts my heart every time.”
Kelly Rowland wants The Notebook, starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, forever, every day.
(New Line/Everett Collection)
Connor Wood (internet personality)
“50 First Dates, I have to say. Or This Is 40.”
Alyssa Milano (actress, activist and producer of Balanced)
“Love Actually.”
Paul Anthony Kelly (actor, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette)
“The Princess Bride.”
Miles Caton (singer/actor, Sinners)
Olivia Culpo (television personality)
“The Notebook. That movie is so romantic.”
Maura Higgins (reality star, The Traitors)
“I love Pretty Woman. It’s an iconic movie.”
Kaley Cuoco thinks it’s a big mistake — big, huge — to sleep on Pretty Woman starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts — and she’s not the only one.
(Everett Collection)
Chris Olsen (internet personality)
“My mind immediately goes to The Great Gatsby. He threw all these parties, hoping she would come until her cousin showed up randomly. What a pivot. Or Wicked, because it’s a platonic story about love and it passes the Bechdel Test, which more movies need to be doing.”
Omar Benson Miller (actor, Sinners)
“You can’t lose with Love Jones, I’ll tell you that much.”
Abby Elliott (actress, The Bear)
“When Harry Met Sally…”
Kendra Wilkinson (The Girls Next Door star turned real estate agent)
“One of my favorite movies is Somewhere in Time with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. I love the old-fashioned vibe to it and how romantic it feels. And obviously The Notebook.”
D.B. Sweeney (actor, Megalopolis)
“The one that just jumped into my head — because I love James Garner so much and we did Fire in the Sky together — is The Notebook. That belongs in the conversation. I really liked Sullivan’s Travels. It Happened One Night is great. Dirty Dancing.”
Mia Manganello (Olympic speed skater)
“The Proposal. I’m a huge sucker for rom-coms. The most romantic thing to me is to make me laugh, and I’m good to go.”
Jenn Lyon (actress, Stumble)
“I’m trying to think of a rom-com I love, but honestly, I watch so many … horror movies and I find [them] inherently romantic. You get to be scared with somebody, and that is exciting. There’s something about what happens to your body and your nervous system when you’re scared — and the release of tension — that I think is sexy and romantic. [I’ll say]: Bring Her Back. It is scary.”
