Forget the Apps, I’m Getting All My Romance from Netflix Rn
Disney princess movies may have given us unrealistic expectations about love, but the most romantic movies on Netflix keep the delusions alive. From rom-coms to Bridgerton, the streamer is constantly providing us with our daily dose of romance. Case in point: the best romantic movies on Netflix that are streaming right now, which fulfill all my love life fantasies without requiring me to actually leave the house.
There are many factors that go into making a good romantic movie. Charming, lovable leads are a big one (here's to you, Lana Condor and Noah Centineo), high emotional stakes, a killer soundtrack, and maybe even a kiss in the rain. Of course, not every movie can have all the things, but collectively, these romantic movies on Netflix check a lot of boxes: there are meet cutes, make-outs, awkwardness, friends to lovers, fake dating, pen pals, forbidden affairs, weddings, deaths, and gowns—beautiful gowns. Just be careful when you press play because these love stories are about to put all your Hinge dates to shame.
La La Land
If you were alive in 2016, odds are you saw La La Land, a bittersweet musical romance starring Emma Stone as Mia, an aspiring actress, and Ryan Gosling Sebastian, an aspiring jazz musician. And if you’ve seen it, you know—spoiler alert—that it doesn’t depict the happiest or most romantic of relationships. But when it’s romantic, it’s absolutely swoon-worthy. Plus, Stone and Gosling’s chemistry is undeniable, and they do a really cute dance routine, so that’s romance enough for me!
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Love Again
If you could pick one pop artist to sing the soundtrack to your romantic endeavors, who would it be? If you said Céline Dion, you’re in luck. The global superstar lent her voice and acting talents to Love Again, a movie about a jaded writer (Sam Heughan) whose ideas about love start to change when he gets mysterious text messages from a woman (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) who is grieving her fiancé by texting his old number. This movie is wonderfully sappy and features Nick Jonas as the worst date you’ve ever seen. Yeah, it’s a winner.
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The Adjustment Bureau
The Adjustment Bureau is a pure romance. Loosely based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, the film is about a politician (Matt Damon) whose chance encounter with a dancer (Emily Blunt) changes the course of his life. When they meet again years later, sparks fly, and they fall in love. The problem? According to the Adjustment Bureau, a shadowy, vaguely God-like organization that keeps people on track, they were never supposed to meet again. So, the couple has to make a choice: fight to be together or go their separate ways and get the success they’ve always wanted.
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The Half of It
The Half of It is an underrated Netflix original gem about a shy and (mostly) friendless high school girl, Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis), who is hired by a classmate, Paul (Daniel Diemer), to write a love letter to Aster (Alexxis Lemire). One love letter soon turns into more, and before she knows it, Ellie is helping Paul and Aster develop a real relationship. If only she wasn’t also into Aster herself!
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Eat Pray Love
The main romantic plot of Eat Pray Love is about the love between a woman and food. Food is good, food is great! We should enjoy food! Okay, so the movie is famously about a woman who goes on a journey (literally and figuratively) of self-discovery after a divorce, not about her deep love of pizza, but they kind of go hand in hand. (And, if you want a more traditional romance, just wait until Javier Bardem shows up in the second half of the film.)
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Carol
Part romance, part aesthetic, Carol is a perfect period romance. The film takes place in a glamorous version of the 1950s, but, of course, not everything is as perfect as it looks, especially not for Carol (Cate Blanchett), a rich housewife whose hiding romance with Therese (Rooney Mara), a young sales girl threatens to upend her entire life.
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Kal Ho Naa Ho
There’s nothing quite like a Bollywood romance, with the genre’s big musical numbers and extra dramatic twists and turns. Kal Ho Naa Ho is the perfect example. The film tells the story of Aman (Sha Rukh Khan), a young man who falls in love with his next-door neighbor, Jenny (Jaya Bachchan), but a secret forces him to hide his true feelings… and set her up with his best friend, Rohit (Saif Ali Khan) instead! It’s a friends-to-lovers/lovers-to-friends saga that any romantic will fall for.
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The Incredibly True Adventure of 2 Girls in Love
This ‘90s indie film is about an unlikely romance between two high school girls. There’s Evie (Nicole Ari Parker), a smart student from a middle-class family who drives a Range Rover, and Randy (Laurel Holloman), a lonely outcast and gas station attendant whose tomboy nature and sexuality make her less than popular among her peers. And what begins as an unlikely friendship soon turns into much, much more.
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To All The Boys I've Loved Before
To All The Boys I've Loved Before is, IMO, the best romantic comedy Netflix has ever produced. ICYMI, the film is about Lara Jean (Lana Condor), a teenager who enters into a fake relationship with popular jock Peter (Noah Centineo) after love letters she wrote to her crushes are accidentally sent out. It's awkward, it's funny, and it launched a popular rom-com trilogy (a sentence I never thought I'd write) guaranteed to make you feel giddy and joyful. The series, based on books by Jenny Han, was so popular that Netflix made a spin-off series called XO, Kitty.
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A Walk to Remember
My only hope is that A Walk to Remember never leaves Netflix. The 2002 classic, based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks, may be sappy, but it is also an undeniably satisfying teenage love story between church girl Jamie (Mandy Moore) and bad boy Landon (Shane West). On a personal note, when I saw this movie as a kid, it convinced me that the sexiest thing a man could possibly do was give a woman a temporary tattoo in a parked car on state lines, and TBH, I stand by that assessment.
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The Perfect Find
Gabrielle Union deserves all the love for this Netflix original romance, which she produced and starred in as a woman who, after a very public firing, is given a shot working for a frenemy. Things seem to be looking up when, newly employed, she hooks up with a charming younger man. Only to get to work and learn that the younger man is actually her co-worker...and her frenemy's son.
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Plus One
Leave it to Meg Ryan's son to help revive the rom-com genre. Jack Quaid stars opposite Maya Erskine in this R-rated romantic comedy about two single friends who, in an effort to survive a summer of weddings, make a pact to be each other's plus ones. Awkwardness abounds, as do the drinks, but it isn't long before feelings are caught and a simple pact between friends becomes something more.
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The Last Letter From Your Lover
Sure, modern romances are fun, but you know what's even better? A period romance. And The Last Letter From Your Lover has both. The film, adapted from a book by Jojo Moyes, takes place in two timelines: in the present, Ellie (Felicity Jones) uncovers love letters written in the '60s, when a married woman, Jennifer (Shailene Woodley), engaged in a consuming affair with Anthony (Callum Turner). The two stories intertwine as Ellie becomes desperate to give Jennifer and Anthony their happy ending. Still hesitating pressing play? What if I told you Taylor Swift's ex, Joe Alwyn, plays Jennifer's controlling and abusive husband?
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Always Be My Maybe
There are so many reasons to fall in love with this rom-com about two childhood friends who reconnect as adults: Great performances from Ali Wong and Randall Park, a scene stealing Michelle Buteau, Keanu Reeves playing himself?! I could go on, but for now, I'll just say that if you want to experience pure, romantic joy, you should give Always Be My Maybe a shot.
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Elisa y Marcela
Elisa y Marcela is a beautiful story of forbidden love inspired by the true story of the first recorded same-sex marriage in Spain. The film follows Marcela and Elisa, classmates whose close relationship survives condemnation from their families, time apart, attacks from neighbors, and persecution from the police. It's the story of love in the face of prejudice and injustice, and also the hard choices we must make for the ones we love.
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The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is part WWII drama, part romance, so if you prefer your romantic movies war-free, I'd steer clear. The film follows Dawsey (Michiel Huisman), a farmer on the island of Guernsey, currently under German occupation, who started a book club with his friends to avoid German forces, and Juliet (Lily James), the author who becomes enamored with the club's story and Dawsey... even though she's engaged to an American soldier played by Glen Powell. What's a girl to do?
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Long Shot
I will not rest until Long Shot is recognized for the genius rom-com that it is! The film, which stars Charlize Theron as a former Secretary of State gearing up for a presidential run and Seth Rogen as her derpy speech writer, is severely underrated. You'll laugh, you'll swoon, and you might even shed a tear. Just one warning: don't watch this one with your parents. You can thank me later.
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Lady Chatterley's Lover
Girl meets boy, boy goes off to war, boy comes back paralyzed, girl has a passionate affair with their groundskeeper. If this sounds familiar, that's because it's the plot of Lady Chatterley's Lover, the 1928 novel by D.H. Lawrence that has inspired many film and television adaptations, including this one. It's a bittersweet, romantic film that'll have you wondering: is there any universe in which spontaneous outdoor sex is actually comfortable?
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Set It Up
The O.G. Netflix original rom-com Set It Up gave audiences not one, but two love stories. The film is about two assistants, played by Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell, who, desperate to get their bosses off their backs, decide to set them up. In the process, they start to become friends...and then maybe a little more than that, too. The movie was heralded as the one that would bring back the rom-com. Whether it succeeded or not has yet to be determined, but it did set Powell on the road to romantic leading man supremacy, and that's a pretty good legacy if you ask me.
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6 Years
What happens when young love has to grow up? This is the question posed in 6 Years, a small, indie drama about a young couple convinced that they will be together forever. Of course, life has other plans, and the two eventually have to figure out if they want to put their relationship over themselves.
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All the Bright Places
Another tearjerker, All the Bright Places, is a tragic love story about two teenage outsiders brought together by grief. There's Violet (Elle Fanning), a girl reeling from the sudden death of her sister, and Finch (Justice Smith), her classmate, who is haunted by "dark moods" and family trauma. Note: this film does deal with undiagnosed mental illness and suicidal ideation.
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Phantom Thread
Phantom Thread is more of a character study of a narcissist dress maker than a love story, but, if you've seen it, then you know that it's also about letting yourself be vulnerable in love. Appearing in his last film role (so far), Daniel Day-Lewis plays Reynolds Woodcock, a dressmaker who falls in love with a waitress, Alma, who challenges his need for control. It's a gripping movie about one man's massive ego and the women he depends on.
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Been So Long
Sure, a movie about a single mom and a recently incarcerated man developing an undeniable attraction would be romantic in any genre, but the fact that Been So Long is a musical is what really puts the film over the romantic edge. That Michaela Coel stars in it is just a bonus.
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Love at First Sight
Missing your flight sounds like a very inconvenient annoyance, but in Love at First Sight, it's full-on swoon-worthy. The film follows Hadley (Haley Lu Richardson), a young woman who misses her flight to London and, due to the delay, has to borrow a charger from a handsome stranger, Oliver (Ben Hardy). She doesn't know it yet, but she just met the love of her life.
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Something's Gotta Give
I'll be honest: When I think of Something's Gotta Give, the first word I think of isn't "romance," it's "white turtleneck." Still, the Nancy Meyers rom-com focuses on an unexpected relationship between a woman in her 50s and a man in his 60s (a rare feat)—not to mention a love triangle with Keanu Reeves—and let's not deny that it arguably inspired the coastal grandmother trend.
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Alex Strangelove
Looking for a coming-of-age romance? Look no further. Alex Strangelove follows Alex (Daniel Doheny), a straight A student with a longtime high school girlfriend, but a chance encounter with a gay classmate suddenly has him wondering who he really is, and who he might be attracted to.
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Players
Mack (Gina Rodriguez) is a sports writer who, along with a group of close friends, is a master at playing the field. But when a handsome new co-worker Nick (Tom Ellis) catches her eye, she decides she wants to use her player ways to keep a man for more than a one night stand. As is rom-com law, things don't exactly go as planned.
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After
Like Fifty Shades of Grey before it, After skirts the line between hot and extremely problematic, but the movie is a YA romance phenomenon, so it would be impossible to ignore it here. The movie, based on a book based on Harry Styles fan fiction, is about a college freshman, Tessa (Josephine Langford) who, despite her better judgment, falls for bad boy Hardin (Hero Fiennes Tiffin). No spoilers, but the plot also includes jealous exes, strained parental relationships, and a secret bet.
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Entergalactic
Entergalactic is an animated romance anchored by Kid Cudi, who stars as Jabari and also wrote two original songs for the film and co-wrote the script. Jabari is a young artist committed to the hustle, but when he meets his charming neighbor Meadow (Jessica Williams), he must decide whether or not love is worth making time for. It's a pretty basic romance elevated by great voice performances and modern animation that makes the film feel larger than life.
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The Old Guard
I have a confession: The Old Guard isn't really a romance movie. It's actually an action epic based on a graphic novel. However, not only is it an absolute banger of a movie, it also contains a declaration of love so pure, so epic, so beautiful, that you will remember it forever. It's hands down one of the best romantic monologues in the history of cinema and I will die on this hill!
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