Movies To Netflix And Chill With On Valentines Day
This content was paid for by Netflix and created by The List.
There are a lot of traditions you can turn to while celebrating Valentine's Day with your special someone. Cards, candy, and candles are of course the most classic gifts for the occasion, and some good dance music and a scrumptious meal will certainly help to set the mood for some major swooning. The thing that can really ramp up the romantic factor for couples, though, is cuddling up on the couch to watch a nice romantic film together.
If you're looking for some options for what to stream with your sweetie, there's a little something for everyone to be found in Netflix's library. From exciting capers with a romantic twist to dramas that will make you think and feel, here's a look at some movies that are perfect for your next Netflix and Chill session this Valentine's Day.
To All the Boys I've Loved Before
Sometimes young love just needs a nudge, and that's exactly what happens in To All the Boys I've Loved Before. Based on Jenny Han's book of the same name, the 2018 film centers on Lara Jean Song Covey (Lana Condor), a teen who makes peace with her unrequited crushes by writing them letters and then putting them away in a memory box. But when her sneaky younger sister finds those notes and decides to send them out, Lara Jean suddenly has to come face to face with her feelings for some of these fellows.
Making things even more awkward? Lara Jean's older sister's boyfriend also gets a letter. So when Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) comes to talk to her about his letter, Lara Jean hatches a plan to pretend-date him to make his ex-girlfriend jealous and to give her some much-needed cover with her sister's beau. The trouble is, Lara Jean and Peter are only really fooling themselves as their fake feelings give way to very real emotions. And that's not all: the love story that blossoms between them continues on in two sequels, To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You and To All The Boys: Always and Forever. Bingeing all three movies is the ultimate way to spend Valentine's Day.
The Lovebirds
Nothing spices up an ailing romance quite like a little danger. In the 2020 romantic comedy The Lovebirds, Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani star as Leilani and Jibran, a couple who decide to call it quits after they realize their relationship has become little more than constant bickering. Their breakup immediately gets put on hold, however, after Jibran and Leilani witness a murder as it unfolds — with their car getting used as the murder weapon.
Fearing that they will somehow be implicated in the crime after fleeing the scene, Leilani and Jibran team up to hunt down the man who used their car to comit the crime. Soon enough, they're fully enmeshed in a dark new world of secret societies and seedy parties and, of course, plenty more murders. The silver lining, however, is that Leilani and Jibran will definitely get the chance to reevaluate their priorities and find out how much passion and trust they actually have for one another. Equal parts caper and romance, this movie is perfect for those rom-com fans who prefer some extra excitement in between the smooches.
Always Be My Maybe
Love doesn't always happen on a schedule. In the 2019 romantic comedy Always Be My Maybe, Ali Wong and Randall Park star as Sasha and Marcus, two friends who were inseparable as children. But after an attempt to take their relationship into romantic territory as teenagers proves to be too awkward, they've grown apart. Sasha has since grown up to be a celebrity chef, and when she returns to San Francisco to open a new restaurant, she reconnects with Marcus after he's hired to do some handiwork for her rental house.
Old feelings die hard, though, and Marcus soon realizes he still harbors affection for Sasha. He'll have to keep his true emotions under wraps as Sasha gets over a broken engagement by having a very passionate fling with the ultimate leading man, Keanu Reeves. As Sasha and Marcus spend more time together, the depth of their connection is revealed to the audience and themselves.
The Kissing Booth
Sometimes the person you're looking for has been right under your nose the whole time. In The Kissing Booth, we meet Elle Evans (Joey King), a teen who has a lifelong friendship with Lee Flynn (Joel Courtney) and a major crush on his handsome big brother Noah (Jacob Elordi) that she just can't shake. The trouble is, it's against the sacred rules of Elle's friendship with Lee to date his older brother, and Noah has a whole lot of other admirers around the school.
As Elle and Lee work together to stage a Kissing Booth fundraiser at the fair, Elle's feelings for Noah grow, and she gets a major surprise during her turn on stage when it's Noah who shows up on the other side of her kissing booth. As Noah begins to return her affections, Elle's friendship with Lee is strained, and she must decide whether some rules are meant to be broken. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Beth Reekles, and the story continues in The Kissing Booth 2, with The Kissing Booth 3 coming soon.
Love, Guaranteed
Even online dating services have to come with disclaimers. In the romantic comedy Love, Guaranteed, we meet an attorney named Susan (Rachael Leigh Cook), who accepts a very strange case. Her new client Nick (Damon Wayans Jr.) has been on almost 1,000 dates through a service that promises a true connection but has so far failed to bring him anything but grief. Nick is a handsome, well-mannered man, so it makes little sense that he has had so little luck with love — especially considering the service is literally named "Love, Guaranteed."
As Susan works with Nick to prove his case against the company, the two find that they have a lot more in common than just an interest in a big settlement. As they begin to have feelings for one another, the trouble becomes clear: If they do find love with one another, it could nullify Nick's case. But if they keep things purely professional, they could miss out on the ultimate chance at true romance. Find out how the gavel lands by watching this cute courtroom drama unfold.
Holiday in the Wild
The concept of a romantic getaway gets an all-new meaning in Holiday in the Wild. The film introduces us to New York native Kate Conrad (Kristin Davis) as she heads out for an African safari in Zambia alone. Why's she flying solo? Kate's husband has broken up with her just before the trip, even though it was supposed to be their second honeymoon. Needless to say, the adventure is not the lavishly romantic vacation Kate had in mind, but things take a pleasant turn when she meets the hunky pilot Derek (Rob Lowe), who has a big heart for baby elephants and introduces her to a whole new world in Africa.
Kate extends her vacation to help Derek with an animal rescue, but she can't avoid the reality of her broken home life in New York forever. And while Derek has a beautiful girlfriend named Leslie (Hayley Owen), he also has some decisions to make once he begins developing feelings for Kate. Will these two find their forever in the wild? With incredible scenery and characters that are beautiful inside and out, Holiday in the Wild is a romantic watch no matter what time of year it is.
50 First Dates
After starring together in The Wedding Singer, Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore reunited for another romantic comedy in 2004's 50 First Dates. The film features Sandler as Henry, a sea life veterinarian who develops a crush on Barrymore's Lucy, an artist, after seeing her in a local Hawaiian diner. The two hit it off over breakfast, but her feelings don't last long: As a result of an unfortunate accident, Lucy has been diagnosed with anterograde amnesia and wakes up each day having forgotten everything that happened before.
Her father and brother, along with some of the townsfolk, work together to protect Lucy from the shock of her condition by pretending every day is still the day of the accident. Although they try to keep Henry away from Lucy, he continues to fall in love with her. And even though Lucy is unable to remember him, she begins to care for him on a deeper level than anyone thought would be possible. Not only is 50 First Dates a unique and sweet installment in the Sandler-Barrymore film series, but it features some incredible Oahu landscapes and a breezy soundtrack that'll have you humming along.
Playing for Keeps
All's fair in love and soccer — er, football. In Playing for Keeps, we meet George Dryer (Gerard Butler), a down-on-his-luck dad whose professional career has gone under — along with his marriage to Stacie (Jessica Biel). After he's recruited to coach his son Lewis' (Noah Lomax) soccer team, he finds that he's a hit with both the kids and their parents, and suddenly his social life is busier than ever.
The trouble is, even though several of the moms from his son's team are suddenly interested in him, the one team mom he really cares about — Stacie — has already moved on and is engaged to someone else. As George works to repair his relationship with Lewis, he also gets to spend some quality time with his ex, which reminds them both of what they used to have together. With Stacie's wedding date fast approaching, though, the clock might have already run out on his chance to keep his whole family together on the home field. Playing for Keeps not only boasts a star-studded cast, but it's also grounded in the reality that sometimes love is about more than just the couple at the center of it all.
Loving
History buffs who also love romantic stories are in for a real treat with Loving. The celebrated 2016 biographical drama gives cinematic life to the true story of Richard (Joel Edgerton) and Mildred Loving (Ruth Negga), an interracial couple who took their fight for the right to marry each other all the way to the Supreme Court, resulting in the consequential civil rights decision in Loving V. Virginia.
In the film, we meet Richard and Mildred at the start of their story, when they decide to take their relationship to the next level but are unable to marry in their home state of Virginia due to the state's anti-miscegenation laws. Despite having a Washington, D.C. marriage license, the two are arrested and forbidden from returning to Virginia but decide to fight back. With the help of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, the American Civil Liberties Union, and other first-rate litigators, the Lovings advance their case to the state's supreme court and, ultimately, to the highest court in the land. Their history-changing case is compelling in its own right, but the film also features a pair of beautiful performances that honor the significance of the story and the tender romance at the center of it all.
Safety Not Guaranteed
When it comes to romance, it's important to keep an open mind. That's certainly true when it comes to Kenneth Calloway (Mark Duplass) in Safety Not Guaranteed. Kenneth is such an eccentric man that he becomes the subject of a full-on journalistic investigation after putting out a wacky classified ad inviting someone to join him on a time-traveling adventure.
One of the interns covering the story is Darius (Aubrey Plaza), who's more than willing to play along with his story in order to get the inside scoop — in fact, she may not just be playing along as she spends time with Kenneth and instead seems to find his many idiosyncrasies to be endearing. Of course, anyone as odd as Kenneth is bound to have some strange secrets, and as some heavy truths about his story begin to surface, Darius has to decide whether she is willing to follow Kenneth into the unknown or not. Directed by Colin Trevorrow, Safety Not Guaranteed is a quirky and darkly hilarious addition to the rom-com genre.