Before February is over… let’s talk about my favorite romance movies

I love Hallmark. I love coffee (photo edited by AAA)

Since it’s still February when I post this, I’m writing about my favorite romantic movies. I hope that, even if you don’t like these movies, or you don’t watch Hallmark, you’d read on and see what I have to say.

As I had mentioned before, I do watch Hallmark movies. I also said that I watch superheroes, cartoons, sports, and wrestling. I recently have been “banned” from the living room during wrestling showings, thanks to a comment I made. “Moms” are not supposed to make those comments. I’ve been relieved of watching some superheroes movies, because I dared say that I love one of the actors. “Moms are not supposed to say they love guys in the movies”. Noted (I’ll try).

So, even when my kids don’t understand this, I’m not “one of the guys”. I watch shows with them, but I enjoy watching Hallmark movies as my entertainment. Hallmark has a trademark of family, cozy, romantic comedies “rom-coms”. There are a lot of people who criticize this because the story puts a couple together, they meet and, of course, fall in love. Then, they come across a problem that threatens to separate them, but, 15 minutes before the movie is over, everything gets resolved. They are together and so much in love.

I’ve been struggling trying to find myself. When life turns out to be too stressful, I think we need some sort of escape to entertain us from how the problems affect us. Many times, while I try to accommodate what my kids want, I tend to put what I want to the side. I feel like “Cinderella” left behind, not invited to the ball. I feel like Elsa from Frozen “conceal, don’t feel, don’t let them know”. So I have become a “Grinch”. But I am trying to find my way back to being okay with having feelings.

Let me go ahead and clarify that I’m mentioning Disney, Hallmark, and movies from other production companies. I’m just a fan. I have no rights or access to any production or merchandise. None. But if you are interested, you may visit their websites www.Disney.com, and www.hallmarkchannel.com. I actually visit the Disney page quite often, and I check the Hallmark Channel page every day! (I am a #HallmarkNerd!).

Since I started watching Hallmark movies, I’ve started watching other romantic movies, reminiscing of all the movies I used to watch and enjoy. I do avoid sad stories, because I don’t want to cry on purpose. I want to enjoy a happy ending. Although, I’ve been crying even with the Disney movies that are not supposed to make you cry. I end up getting too emotional.

Motivated by the recent Countdown to Valentine’s theme by the Hallmark Channel, and by the Hallmarkies Podcast team to make our lists of top favorites, I’ve decided to try and pick some favorites. If I can make up my mind, because I HAVE TOO MANY FAVORITE MOVIES!

Since I can’t just pick 5, I’ll divide my lists in 2: top romantic Hallmark, and top romantic non-Hallmark. I thought of adding top romantic Disney. Yes, Disney. But I’ll leave Disney to be discussed on another occasion. Because I love so many Disney movies, I’d have another difficult time trying to pick my favorites. And no, I have not watched all Disney movies.

I’ll start with my top Hallmark romantic movies (my list is constantly changing, so I’m writing as I think of them):

5- Love Blossoms – The story of Violet and Dec, they work together, and she must decide to take charge of her Dad’s perfume business;
4- Cooking with Love – The story of producer Kelly, struggling to get her work recognized, and chef Stephen, who did notice her and was able to work with her;
3- How to Fall in Love- Harold and Annie, when Harold “hires” Annie to be his “date” coach, she discovers the real Harold;
2- Very Very Valentine – Helen and Henry, how Henry loved Helen so much, he was trying to help her find the guy of her dreams.

Will Kemp & Lacey Chabert,
photo courtesy of Hallmark Channel

My top pick, my number 1- Love, Chocolate and Romance with Lacey Chabert and Will Kemp. This movie just aired, but I love it. I love all Lacey’s movies. Will and Lacey worked really well together as Emma and Luc. Emma’s journey takes her to Belgium to discover her love for chocolate, and romance with Luc.

And I have a special mention of a movie, that is not a Valentine theme, but for me is very romantic: The Sweeter Side of Life – The story of Desiree and Benny. She has to start from zero, find a way to believe in herself, and in the process she found love, or love found her.

For my non-Hallmark list, I also had difficulty making my selection. There are plenty of romantic movies I enjoy watching: Pretty Woman, Never Been Kissed, Hope Floats, Love Actually, among others. Many times, if I like the actors, like Tom Hanks, I’d watch their movies, although I haven’t really watched all of Tom Hanks’ movies. I’m on it.

I selected the following as my top romantic favorites:

5- Serendipity (2001) – the journey of Jonathan and Sarah, on how they found each other once again, is it by chance or destiny;
4- Notting Hill (1999) – the story of book store owner Will and Hollywood actress Anna. I love this movie because of Hugh Grant. I love Julia Roberts, but I didn’t like her in this movie, of course, until the end;
3- The Lake House (2006) – with Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves. I love a bunch of Sandra Bullock’s movies. Kate and Alex write letters to each other. Of course they fall in love. Yes, at the end they do meet in person;
2- The Princess Bride (1987) – I ask people if they know who Robin Wright Penn is, to see if they know about this movie. Westley goes on a quest to find his one true love, Princess Buttercup. And during this quest, he finds quite an amazing sort of people who help him.

I have a tie for number 1- You’ve Got Mail, and Sleepless in Seattle: Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, both Nora Ephron’s films. Two different ones but, for me, similar movies. In Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Annie, who is a reporter, hears Sam’s story on the radio and wants to know more about him. He lives in Seattle, she lives in Maryland. They finally meet at the end.

In You’ve Got Mail (1998), they know each other in a chat room, but when they arrange to meet in person, he realized she is the woman his big company will “destroy”. He decides to be friends with her, without revealing that he is the same friend from the chat room. They also finally meet at the end.

And before I close this topic, I have to mention there are 3 movies I have a love/hate relationship with. I hate that I love these movies, I have issues with them. Let me explain:

Titanic: I loved the story, by I hated that he died. I was having some personal issues at the time, so I hated all the buzz the movie was getting.
City of Angels, with Meg Ryan and Nicolas Cage: He was an angel who fell in love with her. He requested to be allowed to be human, to be with her. He ends up alone. I expected them to be together.
51 First Dates: Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore (loved them in The Wedding Singer). She has short term memory problems, so she can only remember events from the past. He took her out on a date every day, to do different things each time. My issue with this movie is that, at the end he has to make a video for her so she can remember that they are married and have a child, before starting her day. That made me very emotional, because she couldn’t remember when she was pregnant. Being pregnant with both my kids was emotional for me.

So I am a hopeless romantic after all. I keep my TV on Hallmark channel. I like to know that my movie couple will end up together. They will work through any problem, and stay in love, no matter how ridiculous it sounds. And I’ve started writing a love story, so I have to watch all these movies. Maybe I can find a way to rescue all of those good feelings you get when you are in love.