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Valentine's Day Movies: Recommendations To Please Both Of You

by Chris Flippo
02/10/2008

Guys, has there ever been a better dating tool than the movies? You can take her out for a few hours for (relatively) cheap. You get to sit next to her in the dark. Oh, and do you have a horrible personality? Well, with the movies, you don’t even have to come up with a couple of hours worth of witty banter. The movies even take care of that.

Better yet, you can tell a lot about a person by the movies that they enjoy. If your date loves Casablanca, you may have yourself an idealist. If your date loves Wes Anderson movies, you may have a hipster on your hands. If your date loves Meet the Spartans, you may have found yourself a very intelligent monkey.

Listed below are some films that I recommend for February 14. I tried to list films I think you would both enjoy. On this list, there is no Love Story, no You’ve Got Mail. On the other hand, there is no Die Hard, guys. There has to be some compromise. So, in no particular order:

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004): this is probably the most romantic head trip I could possibly recommend, but it is also a film I recommend without any reservations. If you haven’t seen it already, the film is about a man (Jim Carrey) who decides to undergo a procedure to get the memory of a former flame (Kate Winslet) erased from his mind. Its proof that Charlie Kaufman not only likes to turn film form on its head, he is able to craft a great screen romance. Kaufman and director Michel Gondry have never been this poignant.

Say Anything (1989): On paper, this sounds like your normal eighties teen movie. A would-be kickboxer (John Cusack) falls in love with his high school’s valedictorian (Ione Skye). Though at first they seem like any unlikely pair (don’t they always?), they soon realize that they actually make a pretty good fit. However, that doesn’t keep her dad (John Mahoney) from trying to keep the two apart. This movie is special for many reasons. Among them: (1) the romance is believable (2) Her dad is given enough screen time to develop into a sympathetic, even endearing character, and (3) the film never looks down at its characters. Director Cameron Crowe has come real close but has never captured another onscreen romance quite like this one.

Garden State (2004): Sweet, funny, and perceptive, Garden State features a very nice romance at its core. It’s the story of a young actor (Zach Braff) who comes home for his mother’s funeral. He falls in love with a local girl (Natalie Portman) who is everything he is not. This is one of the most successful films made about twenty-something angst. You could do much worse for V-day.

Once (2006): if your date is not a fan of independent cinema, just tell him or her to wait about 15 minutes. If they’re not won over by that point, then you might need to reconsider your decision. Once is about two musicians who write and record an album over the course of a week. Naturally, they develop an attraction for one another. Unless you’re a hopeless cynic, it doesn’t get much more heartfelt than this.

Casablanca (1942): probably the classiest way to spend Valentine’s. You know the story and many of you guys probably know it by heart. Casablanca just goes to show that a movie doesn’t have to end with a kiss to be hopelessly romantic. Like Once, Casablanca might be a nice test: if your date doesn’t want to watch it because its in black and white, trust me, you can do better.

Anyway, no matter how you spend Valentine’s Day, keep it fun and keep it safe... and don’t see Meet The Spartans.

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