What is love, really? Well, bell hooks wrote a book about it, but if you’re still confused, maybe peruse the vast selection of romantic films available on Netflix. I’m only sort of joking; some of the movies on this list, like Entergalactic and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, really do offer wisdom about what love, in its purest expressions, can be. Others are more about enjoying a silly little fantasy and having fun poking plot holes. Whether you’re looking for something that will also make you laugh or cry, or that barely resembles relationships between actual human people, we’ve got you covered there, too. Enjoy!
1. The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (1995)
This sweet story follows a pair of high-schoolers, Randy and Evie, who fall in love after Evie stops at the gas station where Randy works with car problems. They communicate via locker notes and Walt Whitman poetry; they lie in the grass and trade headphones; they hesitantly hold hands in a diner. It’s funny, it’s tender, and nothing horrific happens to anyone. It may be the best lesbian romance film ever made.
2. Dumplin’ (2018)
Based on the 2015 young-adult novel, this movie has one of the best romantic plotlines I’ve seen in a Netflix original; the stakes get high when Willdowdean Dickson decides to enter a beauty pageant run by her former beauty queen mother (Jennifer Aniston). Dickson also forges a connection with the resident high-school hunk, who you might expect to fall for one of her bullies instead.
3. The Incredible Jessica James (2017)
This Netflix original is excellent if you’re craving a classic story about a jaded woman in the city who gets a chance to rethink love. Jessica Williams (formerly of The Daily Show) plays a burned-out New York City playwright who ends up falling for a divorced app designer (Chris O’Dowd) she meets on a blind date.
4. Entergalactic (2022)
Starring Kid Cudi as the voice of Jabari, a comic-book artist, this animated film — also co-written and co–executive produced by the rapper and featuring several original songs written for the film — is as visually beautiful as it is emotionally stirring. Jessica Williams voices Jabari’s love interest, his neighbor Meadow, and as the previous film on this list makes clear, Williams is born to play a romantic heroine. Even though it’s animated, the way love and life are depicted in this movie feels uniquely honest and real. If you want to well up with tears of joy, Entergalactic is a great choice.
5. Mother of the Bride (2024)
If you’re looking for well-written, high-quality cinema, this is not the film for you. If you are nostalgic for the days when Brooke Shields and/or Miranda Cosgrove could be found on many screens across the U.S. and you enjoy pointing out plot holes and giggling at corny lines, maybe give it a chance. If nothing else, it offers a juicy premise: The titular mother of the bride (Shields) comes to her daughter’s (Cosgrove) destination wedding, only to learn that the father of the groom is her ex from college who broke her heart. We love an enemies-to-lovers arc!
6. Always Be My Maybe (2019)
Ah, the resilience of young love. Ali Wong and Randall Park star in this recent Netflix original flick about an unhappily engaged celebrity chef. When she moves home to start a new restaurant, an old grade-school fling shows up at her door, and she is forced to reflect on what she actually wants.
7. Sixteen Candles (1984)
I don’t need to convince you that Sixteen Candles, starring Molly Ringwald and directed by John Hughes, is one of the great romantic comedies to ever hit U.S. cinemas; I just need to tell you it’s on Netflix now. You’re welcome.
8. The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society (2018)
Period romantic dramas are perfect for a cozy night in with your boo, and this film offers just that. A London writer learns of a secret book club formed during the Nazi occupation of Guernsey island, and falls for a club member while visiting on assignment.
9. To All the Boys I Loved Before (2018)
Want to feel steeped in that feeling of a teen crush? Look no further than this lovely movie starring Lana Condor and Noah Centineo. Daydreamer Lara Jean is given a rude awakening when the secret love letters she’s written her crushes throughout childhood are mysteriously sent via snail mail to the boys in question. Peter Kavinsky and Lara Jean end up striking up a deal that works out for them in more ways than one.
10. 13 Going on 30 (2004)
This is Jennifer Garner at her most delightful. Imagine you’re 13 years old, wishing more than anything that you could just grow up already, and suddenly your wish is granted and you’re a 30, flirty, and thriving fashion-magazine editor. It’s one of the most-loved movies of the early 2000s, so I didn’t really need to explain the plot to you, but just in case this is all news to you, you should also know it stars a charming, perfectly rumpled Mark Ruffalo. Enjoy!
11. The Perfect Find (2023)
Somehow in all the age-gap-relationship discourse, we missed this movie starring Gabrielle Union as a magazine editor who, while recovering from a bad breakup, falls for a videographer (Keith Powers) who’s hot, is much younger than her, and happens to be her boss’s son. Of course it’s corny and has a few overly cringey moments, but most of the performances are grounded and believable, and the chemistry between Union and Powers is palpable. It makes for a surprisingly fun time.
12. Been So Long (2018)
In this musical film, Michaela Coel (of Chewing Gum fame) plays a single mother living in London’s Camden Town who falls in love with a handsome stranger and struggles with her readiness to love again.
13. I Lost My Body (2019)
Magical realism lends a sense of mystery to this romantic Oscar-nominated film. From the writer of Amelie, this animated film follows a man who falls in love and a severed hand making its way through Paris.
14. Carol (2015)
Set in the 1950s, this lesbian love story between a married woman (Cate Blanchett) and a shopgirl and photographer (Rooney Mara) is not exactly a feel-good romance; it’s more of a cry-into-your-popcorn situation. Still, its depiction of yearning is top-notch, and its critical acclaim is well-earned.
15. The Half of It (2020)
It’s a sweet twist on an old trope: Popular guy befriends loser girl because he requires her intelligence to get the girl he actually wants — but instead of falling in love with Paul (Daniel Diemer), the jock she’s working for, our heroine Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis) falls for Aster (Alexxis Lemire), the girl she’s been hired to write love letters for. It’s a cute high-school love story that, yes, relies a little too heavily on the cliché, but it ultimately hits all the notes it needs to for a satisfying watch.
16. Maid in Manhattan (2002)
This is the most early-2000s move of all time in truly every sense: It stars J.Lo and Ralph Fiennes; their characters, Marisa Ventura and Christopher Marshall, respectively, are a maid and a Republican state senate candidate; and Stanley Tucci is in it. And while it is certainly of its time in every respect, it is also an ultimately sweet romance and a pretty good time.
17. Sierra Burgess Is a Loser (2018)
This movie has many problems, ranging from its misguided perspective on consent to its incredibly dramatized depiction of high-school politics. But it’s buoyed by solid performances from its two romantic leads: Shannon Purser, who plays the protagonist, Sierra Burgess, and Noah Centineo, who brought over his swoon-worthy, emotionally intelligent jock charm from the To All the Boys films to play popular football player Jamey. The two of them work well enough that it’s worth a watch.
18. Notting Hill (1999)
This hall-of-fame treasure from the golden age of romantic comedies stars Julia Roberts as Anna, a movie star, and Hugh Grant as bookshop owner William. It takes several meet-cutes for these two cuties to work it out, but as I’m sure you can imagine, they ultimately do — and in picturesque ’90s London, at that!
19. Crossroads (2002)
The plot and performances may be average, but this early Shonda Rhimes screenplay was Britney Spears’s only foray into acting, features Zoe Saldaña and Taryn Manning, and is a perfectly fine time. Three childhood best friends reunite for a road trip to California, and Lucy, played by Spears, falls in love with the guy driving them, Ben (Anson Mount). It’s worth watching to experience a bit of early-aughts history.
20. Phantom Thread (2017)
This Paul Thomas Anderson film about a dark, co-dependent relationship between a dress designer (Daniel Day-Lewis) and a waitress turned muse (Vicky Krieps) may not be a feel-good love story, but it will certainly get you thinking about what love really is.
21. Middle of Nowhere (2012)
Written and directed by Ava DuVernay, this is a film that tests the limits of love, illustrating both the strength it can endow us with and the misjudgments it can inspire.