Another Valentine’s Day has come and gone. Honestly, I do not get the point of this day? On Feb 13th I was grocery shopping and the line-up at the florist was ridiculous and it was all men! I find the whole thing kinda silly, exclusive and unnecessary- maybe because I was single for so long and always felt left out? Now I’m jaded, what can I say. Don’t get me wrong, I love flowers and chocolate – but that’s every day of the year 😆. I think it’s wonderful men spoil their ladies once in a while – very sweet and romantic for sure. If Valentine’s Day is important to you – I hope you celebrated and enjoyed the quality time with your partner 💞- that’s the important thing for sure!
On Valentine’s Day Eve, on my way to the checkout at the grocery store there just happened to be chocolate covered strawberries and vanilla Valentine’s Day cupcakes. They somehow…the ended up in my cart🤷🏼♀️ – it was weird? 😉.
The roses 🌹I posted on Instagram on Valentine’s Day were actually from the previous week and were still kickin’ – which is amazing!
They’ve since been replaced with these beautiful red tulips 🌷 that were on sale post Valentine’s Day 🙌.
Dave did the dishes several times this week (what is usually my chore), he shoveled snow, he walked our dogs …. to me, this is romantic! May sound lame to some – but I don’t need cards, etc. Years ago I saw an Oprah interview with Gary Chapman discussing his best selling book, The 5 Languages of Love.
This guy has saved many struggling relationships and I found his theory really interesting: that not everyone receives love in the same way. He broke it out into a 5 categories:
- Words of Affirmation
- Acts of Service
- Receiving Gifts
- Quality Time
- Physical Touch.
He has a free quiz you can take online to find out what your love language is. You’re meant to want all of these things but you’ll receive love more depending on certain categories. I honestly found this so eye-opening! After Dave and I each completed a quiz it made sense why we landed with the numbers we did. My highest score was Acts of Service; meaning, when Dave does chores and takes things off my plate – I feel loved. Dave’s scores were very different from mine. So if I bust my ass doing chores thinking he’ll feel loved and appreciated – he’ll be grateful – but it won’t make him feel loved. So now we both make an effort to “speak the others language of love” and in honour of Valentine’s Day – if you didn’t know this quiz existed – my gift to you 😘. You may be surprised by the results. More importantly, you may be surprised by your partners results – I know I was! 😯 Even if you’re single – try it – it’s helpful info for future relationships.
Ok, forget Valentine’s Day! What I really wanted to talk about is RomComs! (aka, Romantic Comedies) I ended up watching Crazy Rich Asians last night and really liked it. Haven’t seen a great RomCom in a long while. Made me think of all the ones I’ve loved. Hands down RomComs are my favourite movie genre. They are cheesy, fun, escapism and all around uplifting goodness. I will be rating their gorgeous cheesiness from 1 cheese 🧀 to 5 cheese 🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀 (there’s no scientific method applied here, just my opinion on the level of cheesy). Here’s my list of my favourite RomCom’s (in no particular order)
Bridget Jones’s Diary: 🧀 🧀
Hands down one of my all time favourites. I love British humour and all the characters in this movie are amazing – the parents, the friends – excellent casting and super entertaining! It was inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice, and it doesn’t disappoint. The book is also great – you get a lot more of Bridget’s inner dialogue. Bridget’s 32 years old, still single and feeling like she needs to take control of her life so she starts writing a diary and the drama and inner thoughts are hysterical 🤣. It’s a goodie!
The Wedding Date: 🧀 🧀 🧀
This movie actually surprised me. I went into thinking it would be awful and I walked out of the theatre absolutely loving it! Just like in Bridget Jones, this movie has excellent supporting characters and I love all the London and English countryside scenery. So much fun! The lead character is invited to her sisters wedding back in England, her ex is the best man so she hires an Escort as her date and the movie is just great fun! Full of some surprises too. But it’s feel good, fun!
Love Actually 🧀 🧀 🧀 🧀
Definitely an all-time-fav and a staple for Christmas movie watching. But full disclosure, the first time I saw this movie I wasn’t really sure how I felt. My mom, my sister and I left the theatre feeling uplifted but also found it too cheesy, too many moving parts, lots of gaps and I believe the word “campy” was thrown around. I loved the British humour – the nude film couple killed me 😂. After a second watch I was hooked and just love everything about this movie. It’s wonderful and too many attempts to replicate this formula have resulted in big piles of 💩. It really is in a class of it’s own in the RomCom world. Can’t really outline the full plot – but the idea is love is everywhere – friends, family, marriage, etc.
The American President 🧀 🧀
This movie delivers! It’s smart, sophisticated and sadly, over two decades later, still entirely relative in the political topics it addresses. The acting is excellent! Many of the folks in this movie ended up in the show The West Wing. US President Andrew Sheppard is a widower raising his teenage daughter. Just before running for a second term he falls for a feisty lobbyist (she is hilarious!) and much of the movie is around their blossoming relationship and its effects on his campaign. It’s a feel good, entertaining and intelligent RomCom – a total 10/10 movie.
The F Word 🧀
This movie was such a surprise! I wasn’t sure about it and my fellow RomCom obsessed friend, Josh, kept pushing it on me. I finally sat down one Saturday night and LOVED it. It’s filmed in Toronto – which is always fun 🙂 and the story line is so relatably awkward at times – it’s just so well done & so sweet! I promise if you’re a RomCom lover and haven’t seen this you will fall in love with it.
Never Been Kissed 🧀 🧀 🧀 🧀
Sometimes you just need Drew Barrymore. She’s so adorable and endearing in this film! This movie is all feel good. The awkward lead character is a journalist who, in researching a story, gets a high school do-over (we all dream about that!) and it’s just pure gooey oozy cheesy fun! I adore this movie and if I need a pick-me-up it’s a definite go-to.
Only You 🧀 🧀 🧀 🧀 🧀
This movie is another one where the supporting cast really makes the movie. The characters are great and there is so much Italian scenery in this movie – I feel like I need to re-watch it soon after having been to Rome and Florence this past fall. The whole premise of this film is around destiny and soulmates. The lead character thinks her destiny is a name she got off a ouija board when she was young. By chance she meets an eccentric and adorable Robert Downy Jr. while in Italy. It’s so fun, hilarious and beautiful.
Silver Linings Playbook 🧀
Some may not agree this is a romantic comedy – but I think it is. I was really surprised by this movie. I knew it was going to be tackling mental illness so I went into it thinking it would be more dark and sombre and I came out just wanting to skip around in pure joy! The casting is great, I love the two main characters – they do such a fantastic job with this film. A real feel good and fun time with this one! Highly recommend it. And hell’er – JLaw won an Oscar for her role 🏆. Also, there’s enough football and guy-talk references that if your man usually doesn’t like RomComs – chances are he’ll like this one.
Sleepless in Seattle 🧀 🧀 🧀
This is probably one of THE classic RomCom’s. I happened to HATE this movie the first time I saw it. I was about 11 years old. My sister and I tagged along with my parents on a business trip to Niagara Falls and while my Dad was at a work function in the hotel banquet hall – my Mom, sister and I stayed upstairs in the hotel room to watch this movie and we all hated it! 😆 Maybe I was too young or the fact the main characters were apart much of the film didn’t resonate with me. Years later a cousin convinced me I was nuts for hating it and to give it another try – and now it’s one of my favourites. The movie even references what happens when one watches too many Romantic movies, haha! It’s a goodie and a classic for sure. A very Valentine’s Day friendly film! ♥️
Under the Tuscan Sun 🧀
I love RomComs so much it’s really hard to pick a favourite. This one is definitely one of my all time fav RomComs – I LOVE this movie. And if you made me pick one – it would probably be this one. Mainly because the whole movie is about a woman finding herself after her life dramatically falls apart. It’s not about finding a man – it’s about her finding herself. The supporting characters really compliment the main leading character’s journey. So well done and so much beautiful Tuscan scenery. I’ve seen this movie too many times and I love love love it! It’s all about starting over and finding happiness when life keeps getting in the way. I like the ultimate message that you can still get what you wish for in life – it just manifests in different ways. Lots of Italian food in this one too! OMG I need to watch it now! 😝🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻
What Women Want 🧀 🧀 🧀 🧀 🧀
This movie is classy! It’s beyond cheese (*heckhem*, a ranking of 5 cheeses here) After a freak accident with a hair dryer and a bathtub full of water, a toxic bachelor is electrocuted and wakes up being able to hear what women are thinking. Super silly but oohhhh so funny! The two main characters are chic, classy and sexy. They have great chemistry. This is just pure fun and it’s all from Mel Gibson’s heyday – before he got all weird and awful.
10 Things I Hate About You 🧀 🧀 🧀 🧀
Confession – I was obsessed with this movie in my teens. I had a giant crush on Heath Ledger and I fell in love with this movie the moment I saw it. It was only released to select theatres – and I wanted to drag all my friends to it. I can remember begging my parents to take us to a theatre much farther away the the regular hot spot – which as a teen felt like a super far drive (it was the next city over)! I left the theatre immediately wanting to re-watch it. Inspired by Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew – it’s campy but so friggin’ fun and this movie is all about the characters. I haven’t seen it in ages and as I type this I’m mentally taking a note to watch it sometime soon. So fun, so great! so much nostalgia.
Pretty Woman 🧀 🧀 🧀
Do I even need to justify this one!? It’s a classic and it’s so awesome – Iconic even! All fun, so many great scenes, “slippery little suckers” 🐌😆. I think we’ve all had a Pretty Woman moment when someone treats us like crap and we’ve all fantasized Vivian-style going back and throwing their prejudice back in their face🛍. If you don’t know the scene I’m talking about, it means you haven’t seen this movie. So first, I’m sorry that you’ve gone this long missing out (“big mistake, huge!”). The good news! there’s still time. .. watch it immediately and fall in love with it like the rest of humanity.
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days 🧀 🧀 🧀 🧀 🧀
Another super cheesy – plot full of holes, great AF RomCom 👍👍. Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey have great chemistry and this movie is so silly, it’s just wonderful. She’s a columnist at a Women’s magazine and he’s a cocky Advertising executive. She’s been asked to write a column about all the things women do that drive men crazy and push them away. He, in order to score a new major advertising account, he needs to prove he can get a woman to fall in love with him. While they’re both using each other for their respective work projects – they end up falling for each other. They are likeable and just fun to watch for two hours. If you haven’t seen it, don’t go into it taking it seriously – just surrender yourself to it’s goofy goodness.
The Holiday 🧀 🧀 🧀
I know, there’s a theme here – I clearly adore RomComs that take place in England. And it’s true! 🇬🇧 ♥️. I actually went into this movie with super high expectations. So I left the first watch feeling disappointed and it felt like it was trying too hard. Watched it again and fell in love. I watch this one every Christmas 🎄 now – it’s such a great Holiday fun movie and Jack Black is so good in this – he’s so sweet and lovable. The two leading ladies decide they need a break from life (i.e. their love lives) so they swap houses for two weeks over the holidays and the romance ensues. This is another one not to take seriously and just enjoy it for 2 hours.
When Harry Met Sally 🧀 🧀
Ok, if I had to pick another top fav this would be it. I feel like this movie IS THE ultimate RomCom. Just looking at this poster makes me feel good about life, LOL 🍂🍁😍. This movie is great and a classic. If you haven’t seen it – you must! and if you have – you know what I’m talking about and why it’s so good! It starts with the premise that men and women can’t just be friends. It covers years of the two main characters journey into becoming best friends. I think I love it so much because most relationships need that foundation of best friends to succeed – we all change and evolve too much – to make it, you need that strong foundation. This movie is so entertaining – funny, classy, witty, and the iconic scene of, “I’ll have what she’s having” — unforgettable! It really is one of the best RomComs of all time.
Sabrina 🧀 🧀
Last, but not least, this is another all time favourite. This is a remake on the classic Audrey Hepburn movie. This movie is all class and chic chic chic. I love the leading ladies journey to self discovery and I really love all the scenes in Paris 😁🇫🇷. The lead character is a young woman struggling to move on from her lifelong obsessive crush on her Father’s wealthy employers son (a total playboy) who doesn’t know she exists. She leaves to spend a few years in Paris working for Vogue (eeeee!!) and returns home a stronger, chic, more confident woman. Now the former crush that ignored her is crushin’ on her 👊. This movie is so well done and I promise if you haven’t seen it you’ll really enjoy it. So good!
Ok, that’s enough. I’m sure I’ve missed some. Just felt like sharing some favs in case the February blues is hitting you hard and some RomCom joy could do you some good. ♥️♥️♥️♥️
Let me know what your favourite RomComs are – I’d love to hear them! 😃 and let me know if you disagree with my 🧀 scale 😆.
Love,
Tori
Great post!!!