In case you are tired of re-watching Breakfast at Tiffany’s (and Mickey Rooney’s extremely racist performance), here’s a great list of movies to rent to celebrate this holiday of love.
1. Love & Basketball (2000)
Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps play two LA neighbors who grow up together, fall in love, and then grow apart as they pursue professional basketball careers. The story is told in four quarters (like a basketball game), and takes place over the course of almost twenty years, which makes their love story seem much more epic than your average romance (it’s also an interesting look at what the world was like for a female basketball player before the WNBA). Writer and director Gina Prince-Bythewood developed the script at the Sundance Labs, and it really shows. There’s some great scenes, and Lathan is amazing to watch in this. Even though it’s mostly a romantic movie, it also focuses a lot on the relationships the main characters have with their parents. Quincy lives in the shadow of his NBA father (Dennis Haysbert, fantastic as always) and Monica can’t get her mother (Alfre Woodard, also great) to take her basketball career seriously. The relationships and characters are all really well drawn. If I have one gripe (besides Tyra Banks acting in this), it’s that Epps’ character never really apologizes for being an immature jerk for a large chunk of the movie. But on the other hand, you still really want them to end up together.
2. Weekend (2011)
Set in the UK, Tom Cullen and Chris New play two gay men who try to navigate turning a Friday night hookup into something more, while New is secretly moving to America on Monday. First off, this movie is really, really good. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a more realistic look at the first stages of a relationship. Apparently much of the dialogue was improvised, and both actors are fantastic (it is obvious, though, that this wouldn’t have worked without New, who chews up every scene he’s in). There are a lot of great discussions in this about the rampant heteronormativity in society. New’s character Glen debates with Cullen’s Russell throughout the movie about how comfortable Russell is in his own skin. Glen thinks the fact that Russell only has straight friends is naive, and that they wouldn’t want him around if he wasn’t so reserved (which also forces you, the straight audience member, to think about why this is the first gay romance you’ve watched other than the extremely famous Brokeback Mountain). Somehow, this film pulls off some really powerful moments and “romance movie” beats without falling into bad cliche. I can’t recommend this enough. on Netflix!
3. Top Five (2014)
Chris Rock writes, directs and stars in this as a comedian trying to become a serious actor who is shadowed for a day by a reporter (Rosario Dawson) doing an in-depth article on his life. The title comes from a recurring debate Rock has with different characters throughout the movie: name your top five favorite rappers ever (stay after the credits and you get to hear Jerry Seinfeld give his in a strip club). This movie obviously has several hilarious moments, but it’s surprisingly at its best when Rock isn’t trying to be funny. Taking a cue from Louis C.K., Rock let’s the conversations between him and Dawson flow naturally, their chemistry is great, and he easily does the best acting I’ve ever seen him do. And he’s not afraid to let things get serious, as the conversation continually goes to alcoholism and being afraid that he’s only funny if he’s drunk or high. There are a ton of cameos in this, and there are several big set-piece jokes that don’t quite land. But the characters are really well rounded (even Gabrielle Union’s reality star character ends up having a lot more depth than you expect) and most of the movie feels like Chris Rock’s version of Woody Allen, which is really fun to watch (also, not that you asked, but here’s my top five: Jay Z, Biggie, Kanye, Lil Wayne and Eminem).
4. San Junipero (2016)
Since each episode of Black Mirror is essentially its own movie, I’m putting this on the list (and since half the fun of watching this show is the slow burn of figuring out what each episode is really about, I’m gonna try to avoid spoilers). Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Mackenzie Davis play two women who fall in love in a California beach town in 1987. At first the setting feels straight out of The Lost Boys, the 87 movie about vampires, to the point where you start to wonder if that’s going to somehow be the twist. And then you start to think that both women are perhaps time travelers, before the actual premise is revealed (it’s fantastic). Creator Charlie Brooker said he wanted to change the expectations for what it meant to be an episode of his normally extremely dark, “be careful what you wish for” show. And he ended up with what is arguably his best episode (and one of the best science fiction ideas out there). Brooker also admitted the main characters were originally a straight couple, but he realized making them both women gave it extra resonance, since same-sex marriage wasn’t legal in 1987 (to put this in sobering perspective, these characters would have had to wait 21 more years to hit a four month window where it was legal in their California town for them to get married, and if they missed that, another five years until the ban was finally overturned in 2013). Simply put, this is one of the best love stories I’ve ever seen, accomplishing more than most movies in half the time, and it will make you cry. If you haven’t watched it, get on it.
5. Appropriate Behavior (2014)
Desiree Akhavan writes, directs and stars as an Iranian-American bisexual woman trying to get over her ex-girlfriend (Rebecca Henderson). While this is mostly following Akhavan and her misadventures in rebound dating, I’m counting it as a romance because half of the movie is flashbacks of their relationship, from their first kiss to their break up. Akhavan is extremely funny and good in this, to the point where you know it’s only a matter of time until she’s a household name like Lena Dunham (Dunham liked this movie so much that she cast her in season 4 of Girls). One of the main knocks on that show is how white it is, and Dunham’s unimpressive response has essentially been to not get mad at her for writing what she knows. Akhavan has said this movie isn’t exactly autobiographical, but she drew heavily from her own life. And you quickly see how everything in this feels so much more authentic than the heightened scenes in Girls. The relationship she has with her Iranian family (not feeling she can tell them she’s bisexual), the arguments she gets in with her ex, and an unglamorous threesome are all handled with the same level of finesse. Give this woman her own show.
6. Brown Sugar (2002)
Sanaa Lathan and Taye Diggs play two lifelong friends (turned lovers) who share a love of hip hop. Lathan works as the editor in chief of XXL magazine, and Diggs is trying to start his own record label. I had heard a lot of good things about this movie, but I don’t think it has aged very well. It suffers from some of the worst tropes in the genre (guy growing up with female friend who longs for him but he never sees her as a romantic interest, and our characters being spared hard life decisions because they are conveniently cheated on by their current spouse). It also heavily borrows from other rom-coms; the opening testimonials from real-life hip hop artists like Common and Talib Kweli about when they first fell in love with the music feels very much like the couples being interviewed in When Harry Met Sally, and the whole plot is essentially a music version of Jerry Maguire (unfortunately Mos Def can’t really match the vital energy Cuba Gooding Jr. brought as our male lead’s only client). There is a painfully long New Year’s Eve scene where everyone has to act fake drunk, and a cringe-worthy character who is an Eminem parody. But there definitely is some good here, and it’s mostly Lathan, who is fantastic as always. She narrates her articles to us throughout the movie, with lines like “so what’s the difference between rap and hip hop? It’s simple. It’s like saying you love somebody and being in love with somebody. Rap is only a word.” A rom-com that is also a love letter to hip hop is a great, original idea. But I don’t think it ended up separating itself from the middle of the pack.
7. Boys Don’t Cry (1999)
Based on a true story, Hillary Swank plays Brandon Teena, a trans man who moves to a small town in Nebraska to start a new life. He quickly falls in love with Lana, a local woman (Chloë Sevigny), and plans to marry her, before being raped and murdered by two men who find out he is biologically female. When writer and director Kimberly Peirce set out to make the film, she wanted it to be much more of a romance than a biopic. And while the horrific ending hangs over the whole movie, the relationship between Brandon and Lana is what shines through. The second half of this film is extremely hard to watch, but there is one beautiful scene towards the end. after Brandon tells Lana he was born a woman, she tells him it doesn’t matter, that she still loves him and wants to leave town together. It’s a powerful moment. They have one final night together, and we are allowed to briefly imagine the happy ending they deserve as much as anyone else. While it may feel like we’ve come a long way in the 18 years since this movie, there is still plenty of rampant transphobia, as evidenced by the ridiculous bathroom bill debate. Trans love stories are extremely rare in mainstream cinema, and I think those two problems go hand in hand. The unfortunate reality is that most cisgender people don’t care about the trans community because they don’t know anyone in it. shows like Transparent and Orange is the New Black are important steps (as will be the eventual shift from labeling male actors “brave” for taking trans roles). But we can do much better.
8. Love Jones (1997)
Larenz Tate and Nia Long star as an aspiring poet and photographer, respectively, who struggle to turn a one night stand into a relationship. Despite being VERY 90s, this movie is still pretty enjoyable. Tate is particularly great, playing a smooth but cocky womanizer who also loves spoken word poetry and jazz (moments after meeting Long’s character, he goes onstage and recites a love poem about her). Tate was the best part of the 1993 movie Menace II Society, as the volatile O-Dog, but he’s even better here. Writer and director Theodore Witcher actually made this in reaction to Hollywood seeming to only want all-black casts for movies about gang violence in the early 90s (the genre, which also included Boyz in the Hood, New Jack City, and Juice, was already being parodied by 1996 with the Wayans brothers’ Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood). There’s a lot to like here, including a great soundtrack (any movie that uses Duke Ellington’s In a Sentimental Mood during a montage is good). And although the main obstacle keeping our characters apart is their own immaturity, you still want them to make it work.
9. My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
Set in London, Gordon Warnecke and Daniel Day-Lewis play boyhood friends who reunite and, despite their differences, open a laundromat and attempt to resume their secret romance. Warnecke’s character, Omar, is feeling pressure to get married from his extended Pakistani family, while Day-Lewis’ Johnny is trying to put his street punk past behind him and start a legitimate life. This is the role that put DDL on Hollywood’s radar, and this movie also launched the career of director Stephen Frears (Dangerous Liasons, High Fidelity, The Queen and Philomena). The script was also nominated for an Oscar, but unfortunately this movie hasn’t aged very well. It was originally supposed to only air on television, and some of the editing is so low-quality it’s distracting (also the repetitive score that sounds like an actual washing machine isn’t helping). With its pedigree, I was expecting to be pretty blown away by this movie, but unfortunately it drags for long stretches (and also assumes you have a pretty good working knowledge of the social and political climate of 1980s London). DDL does do quite a bit with the little he has to work with, and you can’t take your eyes off him. Given that this is a movie about closeted gay men surrounded by bigoted friends and family, I completely expected it to end tragically; that either Omar would be pressured into an arranged marriage, or Johnny would be killed by his former street punk gang after they found out he was in love with a Pakistani man. But it was a pleasant surprise that that those scenes never came, and we are instead left with hope that they’ll stay together (the movie tries to end on a happy note, but it’s sad to think that they’ll have to still keep their love a secret).
10. Beyond the Lights (2014)
Written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love & Basketball), Gugu Mbatha-Raw plays Noni, a famous singer who tries to kill herself but is saved by Kaz, the cop guarding her hotel room (Nate Parker). The two quickly develop feelings for each other, and as Kaz is sucked into Noni’s celebrity life, both are advised to end the romance and focus on their careers (Kaz has political aspirations and Noni still needs to release her first album). While this movie does go a little off the rails at times, I loved every second of it. Mbatha-Raw gives an absolutely incredible performance in this, validating Prince-Bythewood’s decision to cast her instead of an actual pop star (the plot is somewhat reminiscent of The Bodyguard, which starred Whitney Houston even though she couldn’t act. This movie is a million times better, and also has a great soundtrack). It’s not a stretch to argue that Mbatha-Raw should have been nominated for an Oscar for this (this was the year that sparked the #oscarssowhite outcry, and when you look at the best actress category, there’s just no way Rosamund Pike deserved a nom for Gone Girl over her). Just like in Love & Basketball, both characters’ closest friends onscreen are their parents, and Minnie Driver gives a great performance as Noni’s intense stage mom. It’s also clear that Prince-Bythewood wanted to comment on the objectification and hyper-sexualization of women in the music industry. The chemistry between the leads is fantastic, but it’s hard to watch Parker without thinking about his well-documented rape allegation that seemed to single-handedly sink his recent movie Birth of a Nation (he also gave a troubling interview where he stated he would never play a gay character). I completely understand if you don’t want to watch this because he’s in it.
11. Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2013)
Directed by Abdellatif Kechiche, this three hour French love story stars Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux as two women who start a passionate relationship, but as time passes, realize they have less and less in common. While it is loosely based on a graphic novel, the movie often feels more like an improvised documentary, hinging largely on both women’s incredible performances (and it didn’t go unnoticed, for the first time at the Cannes Film Festival, the prestigious Palme d’Or award was given to not only the director, but also both actresses). There was heavy criticism of the film for its extremely graphic and gratuitous sex scenes, as well as the apparent horrible working conditions during production (While just “letting the camera run” probably resulted in some of the best scenes in this, large portions feel unnecessary and undisciplined. This movie had around 800 hours of raw footage; in comparison, the problematic filming of the massive war movie Apocalypse Now only had around 250). The acting of Exarchopoulos and Seydoux is easily worth the price of admission, but I do agree with a lot of the criticism; this is not by any means a perfect movie.
12. Tanna (2015)
Filmed entirely on location on the remote island of Tanna (near Fiji), local villagers Mungau Dain and Kapan Cook play two lovers who flee their village after Cook is promised to another village in a peacemaking arranged marriage. Australian documentary director Bentley Dean lived on the island with his family for seven months, casting only local members of a mountain village that lives completely without technology (they apparently had never seen a movie before acting in this). The tragic love story is based on true events, and the Yakel tribe helped write it with Dean. This often blurs the lines of documentary filmmaking, and the cinematography is incredible (there are several scenes in front of an active volcano). Australia has submitted it for best foreign language film in the upcoming Academy Awards, and it’s well deserved. A truly unique film, and even though the story is fairly simple, it’s powerful and definitely stays with you.
13. Japanese Story (2003)
Toni Collette plays an Australian geologist who is begrudgingly tasked with acting as a tour guide for a Japanese businessman (Gotaro Tsunashima) whose family has invested heavily in the local iron mines. After the two spend several days together alone in the desert, they develop a fleeting romance that is cut short by a shocking tragedy. While I didn’t love every decision this movie makes (or the painfully uncreative title), it is definitely unlike anything I’ve seen. Collette gives her usual great performance, and the cinematography is amazing, with much of it taking place in wide open deserts and massive mines. But sadly what stands out the most is how unique it is to have a Japanese man as the love interest. All of the photoshopped movie posters with the hashtag #starringjohncho brilliantly showcased how rare it is for any movie to have a leading Asian man, let alone a romantic film. And that’s to say nothing of the problem of whitewashing roles in general. The show Master of None had some great dialogue about this, and there’s definitely huge room for improvement.
14. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Directed by Ang Lee, Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal star as two cowboys who meet after taking a remote shepherding job, and over the course of the next two decades share a secret love affair. You don’t need me to tell you this film is amazing. This movie is easily the best tragic romance I’ve ever seen, and Ledger is absolutely incredible in this (it’s absurd that he didn’t win best actor, and even more ridiculous that Crash beat this out for best picture). To see how happy he is when he first sees Jack Twist again is movie magic. And the end scene will wreck you. My only problem with the film is how much it chooses to focus on the pain these men are causing the women in their lives (Even though it’s an amazing female supporting cast, this shouldn’t be their story. While I love Linda Cardelinni, her character is completely unnecessary, and except for her heartbreaking phone call with Ledger at the end, so is Anne Hathaway). Still, this movie was a big step in the right direction, and it’s easy to forget how homophobic the climate still was at the time in 2005. Mark Wahlberg felt comfortable enough to say he turned down the movie because he was “a little creeped out” by the sex scene, and even both stars refused to say that the characters were actually gay, claiming they were straight men who just fell in love with each other (even the marketing seemed to try to hide this was a gay love story, with the trailer never even showing them actually kiss, and the tag line “love is a force of nature”). If you somehow haven’t seen this, it’s a must watch.
And that’s it! Happy Valentine’s Day, everybody! Hope you enjoyed the list, and here’s to movies (and romantic movies in particular) telling more and more diverse stories. Let me know if I missed a movie that would have made your list. Thx for reading!
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