It’s that time of the year again where we as a society must stop, look, and judge the single people around us. It must be Valentine’s Day! Either you’re single and have to be bothered by friends, family, and the media telling you how you won’t be happy unless you find “that special someone”, or you already have “that special someone” and friends, family, and the media tell you no matter how much you do, it’s never enough. We here at Movie Issues are taking a stand and saying ENOUGH!
Whether you’re in a relationship or single, don’t conform to what “The Man” wants you to do! Do what you want to do: Go to dinner, see a movie, buy all the candy, or don’t! It’s your day! So carpe diem my friend, or as the Goths say “carpe noctem”, make this day/night what you want it to be. And with that, we have some ideas for your movie watching needs. Whether you’re with someone or not, these ten movie suggestions are sure to make your night/weekend good no matter what or who you do.
For the lovers/married/coupled/random hook-up that won’t leave, whatever you wanna call it. These five romantic flicks are sure to give any kind of good, fuzzy love feels you need. Now we could have given you all the clichéd flicks, Pretty Woman, Titanic, etc., but we feel those have been played out, so we went deep and came up with five that need a second look or a first look. Here are five great movies that show us the true meaning of love.
WALL-E
From 2008, this is just one great movie! Let’s stop to think about the plot of WALL-E for a second: lonely boy meets girl, falls in love, and chases girl to the ends of the earth, or in this case, the universe. How is that not the most romantic thing ever? Never mind they’re robots, or that there’s a lack of dialogue, and totally forget that it’s animated. When WALL-E and Eve dance together in the sky amongst the stars, we might as well be watching the second coming of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers on screen. This is absolutely one of the best movies ever made.
Some Like It Hot
From 1959, this is a slapstick romantic comedy like you’ve never seen before. Screen legends Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon witness a mob hit and the two have to run for their lives. Penniless, freezing cold, and in a rush to get out of town, the two musicians take a job with Sweet Sue and her all-female band heading to Miami. Disguised as women and calling themselves Josephine and Daphne, they meet the beautiful Sugar, played by Marilyn Monroe. Staying one step ahead of the mob and all their lying, they both manage to find love, tons of comedy, and new lives they never knew they wanted. Considered one of the best romantic comedies ever made, totally worth seeing at least once.
Only You
A personal favorite from 1994 finds this little romantic comedy that stars Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr. After playing with a Ouiji board in her youth, Faith is now totally convinced she will find true love with a man named “Damon Bradley”. She gives up hope and decides to settle with another man, but 10 days before her wedding she meets Damon Bradley, which sends her around the world to Rome to catch him before it’s too late. Yes, it’s very basic and it doesn’t re-invent the wheel by any means. But it’s just a good, fun movie staring good actors finding love in the beautiful city of Rome. And lets be honest, RDJ can do anything.
Sixteen Candles
John Hughes’s 1984 masterpiece made Molly Ringwald a star, and rightfully so: as Samantha, whose parents forgot her birthday and whose crush doesn’t know she exists, she appeals to the angsty high-schooler yearning to be seen in all of us. Her day starts off strange and just gets stranger by the minute. This movie has everything you could want: School dances, out-of-control parties, car chases, a wedding, and one iconic kiss that still is parodied today. Sixteen Candles has melded its way into almost every media you can think of: Music, TV, movies, meme’s, etc. There is a reason this is still talked about to this day, it’s a modern fairytale of the American Dream of teen romantic comedies.
Four Weddings and a Funeral
The first of several Richard Curtis-penned rom-coms, (Love Actually, Notting Hill, and the recent About Time), this 1994 flick follows our favorite bumbling Englishman, Hugh Grant, as he repeatedly runs into the love of his life at, you guessed it, four weddings and a funeral. While much of the movie is lighthearted and some of it borders on cheesy, it does have its graver moments too. It reminds us that love may be goofy and complicated and wonderful, but finding that one true love is serious business. The Academy agreed, nominating the film for Best Picture in a stacked year that included Forrest Gump, Pulp Fiction, and The Shawshank Redemption. This is one movie that really does have something for everyone to enjoy.
Now as unfortunate as it can be, some people are single, and no other day reminds us of that every chance it gets: Valentine’s Day. But every single man knows there is always one person he can count on, his best bud. At times you will find yourselves both single, and why spend it alone? You could go to a bar and hope that other single ladies or men are there waiting for you to see them from across the room, where a huge “Dream Weaver” spotlight will single them out and thus sends you both on the most romantic night ever, with the possibility of the most awkward morning ever. But if that’s not your thing, get your best bud, a six-pack, pizza, and watch one of these five suggestions for that important Bromance in your life.
Lethal Weapon
Let’s be real: in 1987 Murtaugh was already too old for the emotional roller coaster his bromance with Riggs put him through. It started out as a competition between a veteran police officer and a relative rookie, a by-the-books kind of man and a loose cannon. But then it turned into this buddy-cop bromance filled with mutual respect. What Murtaugh learned is that you can’t beat crazy, you’ll just have to join forces. All flicks are wroth a watch, but the first one is the best.
Wayne’s World
It was a 1992 bromance so popular it stretched beyond television sets on Saturday Night Live and turned itself into a comedy classic for the silver screen. The movie explores what happens when Wayne and Garth’s bromance is tested by sudden fame, money, and a new relationship for Wayne. And their friendship just didn’t make it, right? Sh’yeah, as if! It’s worth going back and remembering why you loved this movie back in the day. Still holds up, no matter what the Internet tell you.
Toy Story
In competing for their human’s love, they find a bromance with each other. And they needed that because humans come and humans go to college or run off for other non-toy-related reasons. It is because they have each other that they are able to ultimately accept it when Andy leaves them for good. Set against a backdrop of being an animated movie about their toys, this is one of the best and strongest bromances in film. Their friendship will stand the test of time for sure. All three films and shorts are wonderful, but I’d say check out Toy Story 2 for the real meat of their friendship.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek is already one of those shows that has legions of fans obsessing over it, but then it had one of the earliest sci-fi bromances that people couldn’t and still can’t stop talking about, the one between Spock and Capt. Kirk. One was known to fly off the handle, and the other for his sometimes-infuriating adherence to the use of logic at all times. It’s like The Odd Couple meets Lethal Weapon in space, and you loved it. We all did. And this is still going to this day. Even with the new movies, this friendship is still standing strong. All the films can be watched for showing off the bromance between Kirk and Spock, but 1982’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is the best at showing off their friendship.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
It’s based on real life Western outlaws who weren’t always as nice as their on-screen counterparts, but that doesn’t matter for the movie, because it’s all about watching Paul Newman and Robert Redford running around being awesome, chasing tail, robbing banks, and outrunning the law. This is the earliest and best the bromance cinema has to offer.
No matter what kind of movie trouble you get into this weekend for Single Awareness Day, or as the “The Man” calls it, Valentine’s day, we here at Movie Issues hope some of our choices help you out, weather it be for a romantic night for two, or a six-pack and pizza for you and your best bud. Huzzah!