10 Best Date Movies

It always seemed odd to me that Valentine's Day is in February, one of the coldest, grossest months of the year. The argument can be made that what the world needs (now) is love... sweet love, and that when just looking outside makes you want to stay indoors and cry it's nice to focus on happier things. That said, this is the time of year when we start getting all the subtle--and not so subtle--reminders that if you don't get your girlfriend/boyfriend the perfect gift, or you fail to make the day as special as possible, that you will die alone.

With that in mind, it's impossible lately to avoid romantic lists. We, as a people, love lists. We like lists of the best places to go, the best places to eat; we like to be told which wax will give our Prius' the best shine, and which Danity Kane songs are the most poppin'. Now that it's Valentine's Day week, there are lists all over the place about what to buy her and how to give her the perfect V-Day (which always makes me think of Vietnam, not Valentine's Day). Above all the lists you might have to wade through, the most prevalent have to be the "Best Date Movie List." Honestly, if you read enough of these you start to subconsciously consider your own nominees constantly, and it begins to ruin your life.

In an effort to not go insane, here's my Top 10 Best Date Movies list. Maybe after getting this out there on the internet, it'll stop bouncing around my brain, and I might just be able to sleep tonight. These are all movies I've seen. There are some obvious choices like Titanic that should probably be on the list that I haven't seen. However, a determining factor of my list is that I want to include movies that both sexes might enjoy. I haven't seen Titanic because I know I'd probably think it's boring and crappy. On with the list!

10) The Princess Bride - Has anyone not seen this movie 1000 times? I just asked Julianne if she's seen it and she said "many many times," which is an astoundingly common answer. In fact, it's not even a common answer, it is the only answer. Everyone in my (our) generation has deep seeded memories of this movie, and you have to admit that it holds fond memories for us all. Male or Female there's something to love about this movie.



9) The Notebook - Guys like this movie but usually won't admit it. The book was absolutely terrible, but the movie adaptation with Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams was incredible. No two people have ever had that kind of chemistry on-screen, and when they broke up in "real-life" I felt like a piece of me stopped believing in true love. I remember watching this movie one 4th of July in my apartment and getting really annoyed with people in the nearby Albertson's parking lot because I couldn't hear the dialogue over the black cats and M80s they were setting off... I shouldn't have told you that.



8) High Fidelity - A lot of people would say Say Anything is a better date movie, but those people are fools. Actually, I can completely see the argument for Say Anything. It's a classic romance that focuses strictly on the relationship of two people. High Fidelity, however, is a more multi-faceted movie that takes a far more interesting take on relationships. It does a better job framing thought processes in relationships, and has more interesting characters. The story is more compelling because you really get to know the protagonist, and there are lots of other supplementary characters to support his internal conflict. Anyhow, I just think it's a better movie, and much more entertaining to guys than Say Anything. Though there is that part of Say Anything, I'll concede, with the Peter Gabriel that cannot be denied.





7) Annie Hall - I dated a girl once whose name was A. Hall. She had never heard of Annie Hall and I couldn't believe it. I couldn't make myself understand that someone whose name sounded like Annie Hall could live for 20 years without seeing this movie. This is one of my favorite movies, for dates or not. I think any girl who likes this movie is awesome. I say any girl because most guys like this movie. Somehow all relationship neurosis got placed on women, and you never see good depictions of male relationship neurosis in movies. So usually when you see it, it's done well. If it's not you just wind up hating the guy in the movie and not watching it. This is a good date movie because you can both sit there, look at the relationship between Diane Keaton and Woody Allen, and discuss why they're both so horribly flawed at many points in the movie and how true-to-life the movie really is (as far as film romance is concerned).



6) Brokeback Mountain - If you're a guy and you're watching this movie with your boyfriend, you're in for a long night. A long night of talking, a long night of tears, and probably a long night of passionate guy-on-guy action. For the gay readers, this is your number 1 best date movie pick, and you should go buy it right now. For hetero couples, however, this movie is still great. It's got an actual story arch and two really compelling characters. The romance between the men in the movie feels genuine, and is made even more powerful by their own struggles in dealing with their taboo feelings. Additionally, the cinematography is unbelievable. Even if you're not into the story, the art direction alone should keep you compelled. I wasn't really impressed by this movie the first time I saw it. It was in a theatre, and I was with my current girlfriend. Her brother is gay, and I had heard how much he and everyone else had just loved this film; there was so much build-up that there was really no where to go for my expectations. When the lights came up in the theatre I saw people crying, and hugging, and I was generally under-whelmed. That said, when I finally saw this movie again, without all the expectations, I realized it has a truly touching story, and it was also visually stunning.

[5 - 1] to come...