February 14th is right around the corner! This day may either bring your joy or dread. Now, if you’re going to be celebrating this day with someone you love, there is nothing better to do than get in your comfiest clothing, order take-out from your favorite restaurant (or Dominos, because hello, dining points!), and stay inside and watch a movie! I am here to help you pick the best movie to watch with whomever you’re spending Valentine’s Day with, so you don’t have to spend thirty minutes scrolling through your Netflix account trying to find the right movie for that special Tuesday night. Here is my what-to-watch guide!
What to watch with…
- Your significant other: Brooklyn (2015)
I saw Brooklyn last year and let me tell you, I’ve never “awwww’d” as much during one movie as I did in this one. Saoirse Ronan plays Ellis, a young woman travelling from a small village in Ireland, to New York in search of a better life and opportunity during the 1950s. In New York, she meets Tony (Emory Cohen) at a dance hall. The moment that the camera first meets Tony, scanning Ellis from across the room with a smile that can grow The Grinch’s heart two sizes too big, I knew that I wasn’t leaving the theater without a dry eye and warm heart (and a clean shirt, as it was at this point in the night that I dropped my taco on my white t-shirt).
Other Suggestions: Notting Hill (1999), About Time (2015), An American in Paris (1951)
- Your friends: Troop Beverly Hills (1989)
There are many movies that I will fight and root for, Troop Beverly Hills is one of them. Shelley Long plays Phyllis Neffler, a Beverly Hills housewife, who becomes the troop leader of her daughter’s Wilderness Girls’ troop. Phyllis teaches her daughter, the other wilderness girls and everyone who had doubted her that being different will always do you better in the long run than conforming to other people’s ideas of what you should be. This movie has heart, girl power, comedy and the best song about cookies that I have ever heard.
Other Suggestions: Heavyweights (1995), Daisies (1966), The First Wives Club (1996)
- Your Parents: 20th Century Women (2016)
Mike Mills wants you to appreciate your parents. Coming off of Beginners, he released 20th Century Women, which is about the life of Dorothea Fields, played expertly by Annette Bening, and the women she surrounded herself with to help her navigate life in 1979 Santa Barbara. Mills also shows Dorothea trying to raise her son Jamie, in a new era of America. This film is Mills’ love letter to his mother, giving appreciation to how hard it is for a single mother to raise and understand her teenage son. Watching this movie will make anyone want to call their parents (and then listen to Talking Heads’ “The Big Country” over and over again).
Other Suggestions: Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), Life Animated (2016), Lion (2016)
Now, I understand some people don’t like Valentine’s Day and may not want to watch any movie about love, romance, etc., so do not fret! I have some suggestions for you too!
- What to watch for people who don’t want to watch something about love on Valentine’s Day: In The Loop (2009)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VDc7-YH1LA
From the creator of Veep, Armando Iannucci’s film shows the behind the scenes action of government offices in the United States and the United Kingdom when the two countries are deciding whether to go to war in the Middle East, or not. In The Loop is a cleverly written comedy that seems almost too real to be true. The best performance comes from the vulgar Peter Capaldi. This film is equal parts ridiculous and relevant. There is no doubt you will be using Capalidi’s catchphrases in your daily speak after watching this.
Other Suggestions: Picnic at Hanging Rock (1972), What Ever Happened to Baby Jane (1962), Hot Fuzz (2007)
