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Romantic Movies Streaming Guide: What to Watch This Valentine's Day Weekend

Romantic Movies Streaming Guide: What to Watch This Valentine's Day Weekend

It's Valentine's Day, and along with the carefully crafted cards, homemade meals and boxes of chocolate, the one thing everyone needs in order to celebrate is the perfect movie to watch while all snuggled up.

Streaming services are chock full of rom-coms, heartfelt dramas and other sweet offerings, but between Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and more, there are just too many movies to keep track of!

So we've decided to put together a list of our favorites to prevent you from scrolling endlessly for that perfect romantic flick.

Read on to find the ideal Valentine's Day movie for you -- and check back as we keep this list updated with new additions!

NETFLIX

Kate & Leopold

Netflix warmed hearts over the holidays with the Vanessa Hudgens-Josh Whitehouse fish-out-of-water romanceThe Knight Before Christmasin which a modern working woman falls in love with a chivalrous man who has been hurtled forward in time. If you liked the 2019 iteration of the story, you'll love the version of it from the Meg Ryan era of rom-coms, featuring a Hugh Jackman who had just done his first X-Men film and a Viola Davis who was still playing unnamed policewomen characters. Notable for being Ryan's last true rom-com, Kate & Leopold is sweet and just a little cheesy, the perfect fare for a snuggly night in.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Before the sequel drops on Feb. 12, relive the first film that brought Lara Jean Covey (Lana Condor) and Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) to life for lovers of the book trilogy and first-timers alike. Everyone loves a fake dating storyline, and this one pays off in spades as Lara Jean makes the best of her private love letters getting accidentally mailed to the boys she wrote them to. Don't be fooled by the happy ending, though. There's still more story to tell, and John Ambrose McClaren is coming back to town in the follow-up, To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, to put Lara Jean and Peter's relationship to the test.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The title is a mouthful, but don't worry, the film itself is much more delicious than the titular wartime concoction. When writer Juliet Ashton (Lily James) begins corresponding with Dawsey Adams (Michiel Huisman), a handsome pig farmer who is also a founding member of a mysterious literary society, she decides to travel to the island of Guernsey -- newly free from its World War II German occupation -- to learn more about this tight-knit group of book lovers. Will she stay with her posh fiance, Mark, or leave London life behind for seaside bliss? We'll give you exactly one guess. 

Set It Up

A twist on Parent Trap featuring two overworked assistants, Harper and Charlie (Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell), who attempt to set up their bosses (Lucy Liu and Taye Diggs) in order to score some personal time, Set It Up is a charming corporate rom-com for the millennial era. Both pairs have chemistry from the start, but it isn't until the bosses' relationship falls apart that Harper and Charlie realize what was right in front of them all along. Truly, two people have never had more chemistry while drunkenly stuffing their faces with late-night pizza. 

Blue Is the Warmest Colour

If you're looking for someone a little less saccharine, look no further than this Cannes darling from director Abdellatif Kechiche. Starring Adèle Exarchopoulos as Adèle, a teen just beginning to explore her sexuality, and Léa Seydoux as Emma, an eccentric artist with whom she forms her first real relationship, Blue Is the Warmest Colour is about the perils of growing up, the taboos of sex and the white-hot burn of first love. In true French style, it's not exactly a happy ending, but the journey is the beautiful part.

Sleeping With Other People

A raunchy rom-com featuring some of your favorite comedy stars, Sleeping With Other People is a salty-sweet modern antidote to the sappy love story -- without being too proud of itself for it. Alison Brie and Jason Sudeikis play former college hookups who meet again years later in a sex addicts meeting. Despite their obvious chemistry, they agree to just be friends, noting that any relationships beyond that tend to end horribly for both of them. Easy money says they probably don't stick to that bet, right?

HULU

When Harry Met Sally

The classic of all classics (and not just because of that diner scene), When Harry Met Sally is rom-com perfection. So much of this movie still holds up today, save for some of Meg Ryan's hairstyles, and the eternal question -- Can men and women ever be friends when they're attracted to each other? -- is a theme we're still making rom-coms about. Come for the star power and greatness of Rob Reiner directing a Nora Ephron script, and stay for the perfectly imperfect love story -- not to mention incredible supporting performances from two late superstars: Bruno Kirby and Carrie Fisher. I'm right, I'm right, you know I'm right.

Step Up

It may be a bittersweet watch nowadays, but a real-life split doesn't take away from the undeniable chemistry and partnership that Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan showcased in their breakout feature film. A classic "good girl meets bad boy" story, Step Up gave us a tale of young love and complex choreography between two double threats who would go on to build impressive careers -- and for good reason. It's no surprise that a YouTube clip of the final dance scene has been viewed 15 million times.  

My Best Friend's Wedding

Another blast from the not-so-distant-past, parts of My Best Friend's Wedding haven't stood the test of time quite so well as some others -- there are whole think pieces devoted to exploring how Julia Roberts' Julianne is actually the villain of the movie -- but it is still undeniably a Hall of Fame-level classic. From the prime of Roberts' rom-com reign, with iconic memorable moments (dancing lobsters!) and a stellar supporting cast (Rupert Everett!), thank goodness you no longer have to "say a little prayer" to happen upon this movie on cable.

If Beale Street Could Talk

For a story about love strong enough to overcome even the most heartbreaking adversity, look no further than Barry Jenkins’ acclaimed adaptation of the James Baldwin novel. Featuring stunning breakout turns from KiKi Layne and Stephan James, and an Oscar-winning supporting performance by Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk isn’t a sunshiney rom-com, but it is a powerful depiction of the realities of love, loss and the black experience in America.

Plus One

Were not saying Jack Quaid was born to do rom-coms, but when your mom is Meg Ryan (and your dad is Dennis Quaid), you might just have it in your blood. In Plus One, he gets his first real shot at the genre, starring opposite PEN15's Maya Erskine as friends who team up to be each other’s dates to a series of summer weddings, falling into a relationship of their own in the process. It's a sweet, simple indie with a few real gems in the supporting cast and some hilariously-real riffs on the wedding toast -- well worth a watch.

Some Kind of Wonderful

Ever watch Pretty in Pink and finish the film in disbelief that Molly Ringwald’s Andie ends up with the smarmy rich guy, Blane (Andrew McCarthy), and not her quirky, but sweet best friend, Ducky (Jon Cryer)? So did writer and producer John Hughes, who channeled his resentment at his test audience-altered ending into a new film where the protagonist does in fact choose the friend over the idealized fantasy -- starring Eric Stoltz, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Lea Thompson. Every rom-com list needs at least one Hughes addition, and this one is simply wonderful.

AMAZON PRIME VIDEO

The Big Sick

Before he was super yoked and starring in Marvel's phase 4 tentpole, The Eternals, Kumail Nanjiani had his breakout film role in the acclaimed movie he and wife Emily V. Gordon wrote about the unusual circumstances of their real-life love story. Weeks after the fictional Kumail (played by Nanjiani) and Emily (played by Zoe Kazan) break up due to pressures from his family to marry a Pakistani woman, she is placed in an induced coma as she battles a mysterious illness. The film is a perfectly raw look at just how messy love can be, as Kumail meets Emily's parents (the stellar Holly Hunter and Ray Romano) for the first time and supports her throughout her hospital stay, but realizes when she wakes up that their reconciliation is just beginning. Watch it with a box of tissues. 

No Strings Attached

Once you’re ready to move beyond the eternal punchline that is the “friends with benefits” genre, it's time to admit that this Natalie Portman-Ashton Kutcher iteration is far superior to the Mila Kunis-Justin Timberlake version that came out around the same time. The formula's not hard to follow (spoiler alert: they make grand plans to not get attached but "accidentally" fall in love), but the chemistry and the jokes are both on point, and watching Portman lend her acting chops to a straightforward rom-com is a treat.

Juliet, Naked

A somewhat cautionary tale about meeting your heroes (or rather, other people's heroes), Juliet, Naked is an adaptation of the Nick Hornby novel of the same name, which tells the story of Annie (Rose Byrne), a woman who strikes up an online correspondence with Tucker Crowe (Ethan Hawke), the mysteriously disappeared musician with whom her longtime boyfriend (Chris O'Dowd) is obsessed. Exploring themes of family, fame and falling in and out of love with yourself and others, Juliet is a charming modern love song. 

Harold and Maude

If you're into a more morbid kind of love story, try this Hal Ashby-directed cult classic about a young man obsessed with death and the 79-year-old woman he falls in love with. Harold (Bud Cort) and Maude's (Ruth Gordon) relationship is unconventional to be sure, but the film is darkly funny and uniquely poignant -- gallows humor with a Cat Stevens soundtrack probably shouldn't work as well as it does, but thank goodness for it.

Fleabag, Season 2

Sure, it’s TV, but who are you to question maestro Phoebe Waller-Bridge when she looks directly at the camera in the season premiere and declares, “This is a love story." Both seasons of Fleabag are spectacular, but season 2 really shines -- and has picked up the awards to prove it -- as Waller-Bridge's titular protagonist continues to wrestle with grief, family, and responsibility. Oh, and of course, the Hot Priest.

DISNEY+

10 Things I Hate About You

A newer classic, but a classic all the same, this modernized retelling of The Taming of the Shrew has an all-star supporting cast (Allison Janney! Gabrielle Union! Save Ferris!) but is lifted up to the top tier of rom-com royalty by the pairing of Julia Stiles as the shrew herself, Kat Stratford, and Heath Ledger as Patrick Verona, the "bad boy" hired to woo her. The secondary Larisa Oleynik–Andrew Keegan–Joseph Gordon-Levitt love triangle is also sweet (and perfectly late '90s), but any millennial slumber party veteran will tell you, this movie is about Kat and Patrick, from that epic stadium serenade to the tearful poetry reading. We're swooning just thinking about it.

The Princess Diaries and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement

Two of the most iconic Disney rom-coms, it's impossible to pick just one of these to recommend as they're both stellar in their own right. Both have Anne Hathaway as geek-turned-chic Genovian princess Mia Thermopolis, both have the legendary Julie Andrews as the queen herself, Clarisse Renaldi. Only one, however, has Chris Pine, and a scene in which Andrews raps and then surfs a mattress down the stairs, and a charming conclusion to Clarisse's love story with bodyman Joe (Héctor Elizondo) -- OK, we have to admit it, we're Princess Diaries 2 stans through and through! Both are streaming on Disney+, however, so feel free to pick for yourself.

The Lizzie McGuire Movie

Lizzie fans know this movie is all about those four little words: "Sing to me, Paolo!" The feature film finale of the Disney Channel series follows Lizzie (Hilary Duff) and her classmates to Rome, where the titular teen gets ensnared in a Hannah Montana-esque mixup when she's mistaken for Italian pop star Isabella. But the real capper of the film -- and the one that has fans wondering where Lizzie's heart lies in the upcoming Disney+ reprisal -- is the sweet final moment between her and best friend Gordo (Adam Lamberg). We can't wait to see what happens next!

While You Were Sleeping

For a more grown-up story, Disney+ is also home to While You Were Sleeping, a Sandra Bullock rom-com classic. In the film, Bullock plays Lucy, a fare collector for the Chicago Transit Authority who is in love with a businessman she sees every day but never speaks to (played by Peter Gallagher). One day, she saves him from being hit by a train and finds herself ensnared in a lie about being his fiancee -- made even more complicated by his warm, accepting family and her growing feelings for his brother, Jack (Bill Pullman). No spoilers, but we're betting it all works out in the end.


LIFETIME

Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance and Harry & Meghan: Becoming Royal

As you read up on the latest headlines about their decision to step back from palace life, check out Lifetime's telling of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's love story for the ages. A Royal Romance stars Murray Fraser and Parisa Fitz-Henley as the titular royals, detailing their initial meeting and courtship, while Becoming Royal stars Charlie Field and Tiffany Smith, and tells the story of their adjustment to royal life as a married couple. Both films are available to stream on the Lifetime Movie Club service.

William & Kate

While you're on a royal kick, you may as well check out Harry's big brother's love story too. Starring Grey's Anatomy'sCamilla Luddington as Kate Middleton, and Nico Evers-Swindell as Prince William, William & Kate tells the story of the meeting and courtship of the future Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and was released just before their wedding in 2011. The film is currently available to stream on Amazon.

Love by the 10th Date

Starring Meagan Good, Kelly Rowland, Keri Hilson and Kellee Stewart as four friends on their own romantic journeys, Love by the 10th Date -- which is streaming on Lifetime Movie Club -- explores the modern world of dating, sexuality and romance as Gabby (Good) and Nell (Stewart) set out in pursuit of the elusive "10th date," Billie (Hilson) faces a crossroads in her marriage and Margot (Rowland) fights her attraction to a famous musician she's been assigned to interview. As a bonus? The trailer features Lizzo's "Good as Hell" -- all the way back in January 2017!

Marry Me

A two-part miniseries that stars Lucy Liu as Rae Ann Carter, an artist turned social worker who is trying to find the right man to commit to, Marry Me (along with Set It Up, above) proves that Liu is an under-utilized rom-com talent. Her chemistry and crackling delivery alongside Rae Ann's three prospective paramours -- played by Steven Pasquale, Bobby Cannavale and Enrique Murciano -- is a true delight. Marry Me is currently streaming on Amazon.

HALLMARK

While Hallmark has its own streaming service -- where a cable login gains you access to a library of some of their most popular rom-coms (and of course, all those Christmas classics) -- for this one, we're going to preview. 

A Valentine's Match

Fired from her job as a reality TV host, Natalie (Bethany Joy Lenz) returns home for Valentine's Day, only to find herself running the town festival's auction with her ex-fiancé (Luke Macfarlane) thanks to two scheming mothers. A Valentine's Match premieres Saturday, Feb. 1 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Matching Hearts

Starring Taylor Cole and Ryan Paevey, Matching Hearts tells the story of a matchmaker tasked by her mentor to find a Valentine's Day match for an entrepreneur who believes staying single is the key to success. The movie premieres Saturday, Feb. 8 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

The Secret Ingredient

Small-town baker Kelly (Erin Cahill) gets a big surprise when she is invited to compete on a Valentine's Day baking show in New York City -- and an even bigger surprise when she runs into her ex-fiancé (Brendan Perry). The Secret Ingredient premieres Saturday, Feb. 15 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Love in Store

Starring Alexandra Breckenridge, Robert Buckley and Jackée Harry, Love in Store follows two rival home shopping hosts who are forced together while competing for a promotion. Along the way, they find their on-air chemistry kindles an off-air spark. This post-Valentine's Day treat premieres Saturday, Feb. 22 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Each product has been selected, and each product’s style has been reviewed, by our editorial team; however, we may receive affiliate commissions from some links to products on this page. Prices listed are subject to change by the retailer.

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