Karen Quach | February 14, 2018
The 35 Best Chick Flicks and Rom Coms
Chick flicks. Rom coms. Classic love stories. Through the ages, romantic movies have come and gone. But some have stayed in our hearts long after the credits faded to black. Whether a cinematic classic or a modern relationship flick, romantic movies can make for a cozy Valentine’s night in. (Or any other night when you want to laugh, cry, and fall in love with your favorite movie all over again.)
Check out our top 35 picks for the best chick flicks and most memorable rom coms. No matter what movie you’ve fallen in love with before now, you’ll find new unforgettable flicks here:
Warm and Fuzzy Feel-Good Films:
If you want a pick-me-up after a long week, choose one of our memorable Feel-Good Films.
Ever After: A Cinderella Story. (1998)
A beautiful reimagined fairy tale with Drew Barrymore showing audiences that a princess can save herself.
Memorable For: Leonardo Da Vinci’s wings.
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime.
While You Were Sleeping. (1995)
The classic fall-for-the-guy-you-didn’t-see-coming story. Who happens to be the brother.
Memorable For: The wildly talented Sandra Bullock and for being a quality Christmas romance movie.
Where to Watch: Netflix.
You’ve Got Mail. (1998)
A story of competitors turned lovers via an outdated dial-up internet connection and AOL.
Memorable For: That screechy dial-up noise and Meg Ryan looking good in anything.
Where to Watch: Netflix (DVD only), rent with Amazon Prime, or watch on YouTube.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding. (2002)
This feel-good film tells the story of a woman coming to terms with who she is and what she wants from life. With a lot of Greek stuff.
Memorable For: Windex. And relatable characters.
Where to Watch: Netflix (DVD only), rent with Amazon Prime, rent with YouTube.
Kate & Leopold. (2001)
What’s better than love and time travel with a little butter substitute mixed in?
Memorable For: Meg Ryan falling down a lot. And elevators.
Where to Watch: Free with Hulu subscription or with Netflix (DVD only)
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. (2003)
Two egomaniacs. Two interfering bets. Hilarity ensues as they try to forge a fake relationship.
Memorable For: Krall the Warrior King and really big diamonds.
Where to Watch: Netflix
Sweet Home Alabama. (2002)
After 7 years, a southern girl, turned New York socialite, returns to her hometown to confront her estranged “redneck” husband, in hopes of obtaining the divorce she needs to marry her new rich and shiny fiance.
Memorable For: Reese Witherspoon with a Southern accent. Awesome Civil War Reenactment.
Where to Watch: Free with Hulu subscription.
Hitch. (2005)
The date doctor might be out of answers when he falls for a woman who turns him upside down.
Memorable For: The good ol’ guy getting the dream girl. Will Smith with a bad shellfish reaction.
Where to Watch: Netflix
Bridget Jones Diary. (2001)
The classic choose between the truly awful hot guy who seems dreamy, or the secretly dreamy hot guy who seems awful.
Memorable For: The “It’s Raining Men” fight scene and the playboy bunny luncheon outfit.
Where to Watch: Netflix
Break Your Heart and Cry Yourself to Sleep Cinema:
Anna Karenina. (2012)
Russian politics and societal obligations swirling around a passionate affair that ruins lives.
Memorable For: A modern theatrical rendition of a Tolstoy classic. Award-winning costume design.
Where to Watch: Netflix subscription or rent from Redbox.
Titanic. (1997)
Fate brings together a repressed aristocrat and a lucky winner of a ticket on board the ill-fated Titanic on her debut voyage.
Memorable For: Celion Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” and the ongoing “Could two people have fit on the floating door?” debate.
Where to Watch: Amazon Video, YouTube, or Google Play.
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Ewan McGregor plays the part of a writer who falls in love with a courtesan. What could possibly go wrong?
Memorable For: A soundtrack you can’t get out of your head. Baz Luhrman’s amazing use of color.
Where to Watch: STARZ subscription, or rent from Amazon Video or YouTube.
Me Before You. (2016)
Two unlikely friends forge a relationship in the midst of the heartthrob’s medically complicated life.
Memorable For: a heartbreak ending. And bumblebee knee-highs.
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime subscription or a Hulu subscription.
P.S. I Love You. (2007)
After the death of her husband, a young widow learns to heal with the help of a series of letters he wrote her.
Memorable For: Showing the complexity of grief and a nomination for the Teen Choice Award for Best Chick Flick.
Where to Watch: Amazon Video or YouTube Movies.
A Walk to Remember. (2002)
A cool kid in need of an attitude adjustment and the preacher’s sheltered daughter. Nicholas Sparks breaks hearts (again) with this high school love story.
Memorable For: Mandy Moore’s MTV Movie Award for Breakthrough Female Performance.
Where to Watch: Free with Amazon Prime membership, or with Netflix (DVD only).
The Best Rom Coms from the Last Ten Years:
If you’re not feeling the classics, try a memorable flick from the last decade.
About Time. (2013)
At 21, the protagonist discovers from his father that he can travel back in time and does so over and over in order to get the girl.
Memorable For: A father and son relationship that wins the movie.
Where to Watch: Amazon Video, YouTube, or Redbox.
(500) Days of Summer. (2009)
A hopeless romantic falls for a girl who doesn’t believe true love exists.
Memorable For: “You Make My Dreams” dance scene and giving us hope that love isn’t just once in a lifetime.
Where to Watch: HBO GO subscription or Netflix (DVD only).
The Big Sick. (2017)
A modern romance about the intricacies of family, culture, and stand-up comedy–all complicated by a life-threatening illness.
Memorable For: A modern, real-life storyline.
Where to Watch: Free with Amazon Prime subscription
Classic Romantic Movies:
Whether you just like old movies or want to look like a true cinephile, try one of these movies that is sure to stay with you.
The Princess Bride. (1987)
Girl and boy fall in love. Girl and boy are separated. A story of how they are reunited.
Memorable For: “Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” and “As you wish.”
Where to Watch: Netflix (DVD only) or rent from Amazon Video.
The Notebook. (2004)
When you love like Noah and Allie, love will always bring you back to each other.
Memorable For: “I read to her and she remembers.” and the kissing in the torrential rain scene.
Where to Watch: Amazon Video or Google Play.
Pretty Woman. (1990)
Sometimes you find love where you least expect it.
Memorable For: “Big mistake! Huge!” and Julia Roberts in many, many lovely outfits.
Where to Watch: Amazon Video, Google Play, or YouTube.
Dirty Dancing. (1987)
Summer love and learning “dirty dancing” with Patrick Swayze.
Memorable For: “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.” and the “I Had the Time of My Life” dance sequence.
Where to Watch: Free with an Amazon Prime subscription or Netflix–DVD only.
Pride and Prejudice. (2005)
In Jane Austen’s most popular work, characters Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy find they couldn’t be more different or more alike.
Memorable For: Award-winning soundtrack, performance from Keira Knightley, and costume design.
Where to Watch: Google Play.
An Affair to Remember. (1957)
Two would-be lovers but heads against fate in hopes of being together and continually fail to do so.
Memorable For: A frustrating lack of communication and Cary Grant looking dapper.
Where to Watch: Amazon Video, Google Play, or YouTube.
When Harry Met Sally. (1989)
Two friends learn the ins and outs of love over the course of 10 years.
Memorable for: The Diner Scene. And for showing viewers the raw authenticity of real-life relationships.
Where to Watch: Netflix (DVD only) or rent from Amazon Video or YouTube.
Female Friendship Flicks:
Friend love matters, too, as seen in these memorable flicks about the importance of gal pals.
Mean Girls. (2004)
When Cady moves from Africa where she’s been homeschooled for the last 16 years, she’s quickly integrated into the popular girl cliche and stumbles her way through the jungle of high school.
Memorable For: “On Wednesdays we wear pink.” and the getting hit by a bus scene.
Where to Watch: Video, Google Play, YouTube, or iTunes.
Legally Blonde. (2001)
When the “love of her life” dumps her for not being “serious” enough, Elle Woods applies to law school and starts shaking things up at Harvard.
Memorable For: Any scene with Jennifer Coolidge and showing the world that stereotypes mean nothing.
Where to Watch: Free with STARZ subscription or rent from Amazon Video or Google Play.
Bridesmaids. (2011)
When your best friend is getting married, as her maid of honor, you do whatever she asks of you. Even while dealing with your own messy affairs of the heart.
Memorable For: Food poisoning in a bridal shop and showing audiences that it’s possible to become friends with unlikely people.
Where to Watch: Amazon Video, PlayStation Video, or YouTube.
Miss Congeniality. (2000)
An FBI agent must go undercover to crack a case involving the beauty pageant world–excuse me, scholarship program. A classic frumpy to fabulous transformation tale.
Memorable For: Sandra Bullock being awesome. Teaching women everywhere how to defend themselves from unwanted advances (and how to hide doughnuts in one’s evening gown).
Where to Watch: Netflix (DVD only) or rent from Amazon Video.
Clueless. (1995)
Cher Horowitz thinks she’s a matchmaker. But she doesn’t see the match that’s right in front of her.
Memorable For: Alicia Silverstone’s Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture Award performance.
Where to Watch: Free with STARZ subscription or rent from Amazon Video.
Our Personal Picks:
Just like you, we have our personal favorites for most memorable romantic movies.
Australia. (2008)
Layered plotlines of love, war, and social issues on the Australian outback.
Memorable For: Nicole Kidman. Hugh Jackman. And a heart-wrenching rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
Where to Watch: Free with an HBO GO subscription or available on Netflix (DVD only).
Notting Hill. (1999)
The lives of a movie star and a book seller keep intersecting in Notting Hill, England.
Memorable For: “I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.”
Where to Watch: Amazon Video, YouTube, Google Play, and iTunes.
The Light Between Oceans. (2016)
A story of love, grief, family, and the thin line between right and wrong.
Memorable For: Golden Trailer Award for Best Romance and Academy Award winning performances. Amazing soundtrack.
Where to Watch: SHOWTIME subscription or rent from Amazon Prime or Google Play.
Casablanca. (1942)
Two estranged lovers serendipitously reunite in occupied Morocco during WWII.
Memorable For:
“Here’s looking at you kid.”
“Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.”
“I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
And cinematography so beautiful it hurts.
Where to Watch: Amazon Video, Google Play, YouTube, and iTunes.
The Holiday. (2006)
This Teen Choice Award winner lets you believe that love can be found on vacation.
Memorable For: Dreamy Jude Law and an amazingly adorable old man.
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime, Netflix (DVD only), Google Play, or YouTube.
