IN THE SPOTLIGHT: The ‘other’ 10 romantic flicks that will make you fall in love
(From left) Your Place or Mine, Love and Leashes, Love is Color Blind, The Hating Game. Images: Netflix Philippines, Vertical Entertainment
Picture this. It’s Valentines Day and you just got off the phone after a nasty argument with your special someone. And then you read about the cheating scandals and messy breakups of some prominent couples, which don’t exactly inspire rose-tinted views of love.
Chill. Miley Cyrus’ song may be your favorite song to be on the loop as you tell yourself (sniff), “I can buy myself flowers,” but love is still around somewhere. To help you get into the groove of the love month, we have compiled a list of 10 romantic films that will make you believe in love again — even if no one asks you out on a date.
Of course, the usual suspects of popular romcoms such as “27 Dresses”, “When Harry Met Sally”, “13 Going on 30”, “My Best Friend’s Wedding”, “10 Things I Hate About You”, are still there for you to enjoy, but we dare you to try this updated list of light-hearted flicks to help you get back on your feet. Warning, though — these movies are best enjoyed with a tub of popcorn and a pint of beer.
The Hating Game
Cast: Lucy Hale, Austin Stowell
Hating someone feels disturbingly like falling in love with them. At least that’s what Lucinda “Lucy” Hutton (Lucy Hale) believes whenever she’s in the presence of her arch-enemy Joshua Templeman (Austin Stowell). Based on the novel of the same name, Lucy and Joshua are forced to work together after their respective publishing companies merge.
Their rivalry grows worse when they’re both up for the same promotion — until they realize that they have been intensely attracted to each other all along, thanks to one passionate and kilig makeout session in the elevator.
Your Place or Mine
Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Ashton Kutcher
Debbie (Reese Witherspoon) and Peter’s (Ashton Kutcher) 20-year friendship started with one passionate night after a poker game. Which is “so weird,” as they claim to believe. Their bond continues to grow, even through their video chat routine, as they move on with their separate lives.
Years later, Debbie is now a single mother living in Los Angeles, while Peter is a career-minded individual now based in New York. After they decide to swap lives for a week, they realize what they truly want out of life as well as the feelings that they’ve kept hidden for years.
Love is Color Blind
Cast: Belle Mariano, Donny Pangilinan
Cara (Belle Mariano), who has been in love with her best friend Ino (Donny Pangilinan), is in shock after finding out how much a past tragic accident changed his life for the worst. Despite his mom’s death, the colorblind Ino is desperate to keep going — even with his passion in painting.
The silently lovesick Cara finds herself in a romantic tug-of-war as Ino starts coping with his colorblindness with the help of gallery curator Iris (Angelina Cruz) who made him see the color red again. The former is then faced with the decision whether her love for her best friend is worth fighting for or worth letting go.
Love, Rosie
Cast: Lily Collins, Sam Claflin
Boy and girl friendships can be quite complicated, at least that’s what Alex (Sam Claflin) said, especially when his best friend Rosie (Lily Collins) asked him whether boobs au naturel or pushed up is better for the school dance.
Even so, their friendship remained strong. Alex then starts over as a doctor in Boston, U.S., while Rosie is forced to become a single mother to Katie. The best friends find themselves unable to hide their growing feelings for each other, as life wrecks them little by little. Until the latter says “No matter where you are, or who you’re with, I will always, truly, completely, love you” in the former’s wedding, and they’re forced to decide if their longtime romance is worth it — or not.
Love and Leashes
Cast: Seohyun, Lee Jun-young
Office worker Jung Ji-hoo (Lee Jun-young) finds himself embarrassed when his colleague Jung Ji-woo (Seohyun) accidentally discovers his hidden BDSM fetish after a delivery package goes wrong. He then summons the latter to become his “master,” as she discovers more about his hidden sexual desires.
Ji-woo, however, finds herself falling for Ji-hoo and wondering if their relationship can go beyond the dominant and submissive.
Letters to Juliet
Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Christopher Egan
After answering a letter from 1957 as Juliet, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) goes on an adventure with the now-elderly Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) and her grandson Charlie (Christopher Egan) in search of her long-lost love Lorenzo (Franco Nero). Sophie, who works as a fact-checker in The New Yorker, holds a passion for writing and takes notes about the old woman’s romantic pursuit.
Amidst the adventure in Verona, Italy, it sinks in that Sophie is actually on a pre-honeymoon with her fiancé Victor (Gael Garcia Bernal) even if they didn’t mind being apart from each other. The aspiring writer soon discovers that love is about wanting to be in the presence of your partner, even from the heart and soul.
Love Me If You Dare
Cast: Guillaume Canet, Marion Cotillard
Sophie (Marion Cotillard) and Julien’s (Guillaume Canet) friendship revolves around a dare. Whoever holds the small tin box, a gift from Julien’s fatally ill mother, needs to complete a dare — no matter how dangerous or life-changing it was — before changing its owner.
As they grow up, Sophie and Julien remain obsessed with completing their respective games until it almost turns their lives upside down. They soon realize that with every dare is an instinctive fulfillment of their “dream of an eternal love” despite their feelings being pushed back for years.
Vince and Kath and James
Cast: Julia Barretto, Joshua Garcia, Ronnie Alonte
Cousins Vince (Joshua Garcia) and James (Ronnie Alonte) find themselves having feelings for Miss Engineering 2016 Kath (Julia Barretto), although the former chooses to keep his love a secret. The budding love triangle goes from bad to worse when James asks Vince to help him win Kath’s love through engaging in text messages.
Vince, who goes by the nickname “Var” when texting Kath, finds himself in an inner battle between telling the truth and winning the girl of his dreams, or sacrificing his feelings for his cousin’s happiness.
Always Be My Maybe
Cast: Ali Wong, Randall Park
Sasha Tran (Ali Wong) and Marcus Kim (Randall Park) are childhood best friends turned strangers following a heated argument after sex. They eventually meet again after 16 years, where they reconnect and eventually find themselves back in each other’s arms.
However, the best friends-turned-lovers’ romance remains rocky as Marcus struggles to move forward after the death of his mother 16 years prior.
The Proposal
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds
Andrew (Ryan Reynolds) is forced to pretend as the fiancé of his boss Margaret (Sandra Bullock) to escape deportation back to Canada. As if fate decides to run its course, the unlikely duo find themselves in Alaska to celebrate the 90th birthday of the former’s grandmother.
Margaret eventually discovers that she’s in need of a loving family after seeing Andrew’s own, and decides to open up her heart to him. Sadly, their budding romance is faced with the realization that one is in a desperate battle to not be kicked out of the country. EDV
