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The best romantic movies on Netflix (January 2022)

Stardust and Twilight
Stardust and Twilight. Pic credit: Paramount/Summit

When date night rolls around, Netflix has its subscribers covered when it comes to romantic movies.

The mix of movies is excellent, with a little something for everyone. Those who want a straight romance have some great options, and those who like some comedy in their love stories will find a lot to love as well.

There are also eclectic movies for those who aren’t that into love stories.

From movies that add sports like football to sci-fi and time travel movies, there is a perfect option for any romantic night in front of the TV.

Here is a look at the best romantic movies on Netflix as of this month.

Updated in January 2022: Every month, Netflix makes major changes to its platform, removing several movies and adding numerous new ones to replace them.

Luckily, we are here every month to check the lists and update them by removing movies that have left the streaming service and replacing them with other options.

The Wedding Singer (1998)

Adam Sandler in The Wedding Singer
Adam Sandler in The Wedding Singer. Pic credit: New Line Cinema

One of Adam Sandler’s most beloved movies hit in 1998 with The Wedding Singer.

In this movie, Sandler was able to bring one of his better Saturday Night Live schticks, his singing weird songs, to the big screen as the wedding singer of the title.

The Wedding Singer also gave Sandler a chance to show he was more than a frat boy movie actor by putting him in a rom-com with Drew Barrymore as the romantic interest.

Sandler and Barrymore teamed up more in the future, but this was still Sandler’s best rom-com of his career.

Runaway Bride (1999)

Runaway Bride
Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in Runaway Bride. Pic credit: Paramount

Runaway Bride re-pairs up the successful romantic movie combination of Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, the actors who set everyone’s hearts in motion in Pretty Woman.

In this movie, Roberts plays Maggie, a woman who has had several unsuccessful relationships as she ran away at the last minute, leaving them waiting at the altar.

Since most of the moments were filmed, she has become famous as the Runaway Bride.

Gere is a news columnist named Ike who writes an article about her full of inaccuracies because the man he interviewed was one of her exes. When he gets a chance to redeem himself, he meets her to write an article to restore his reputation.

However, he falls in love with her just as she prepares to walk the aisle again with another man.

As Good As It Gets (1997)

Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets
Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets. Pic credit: Sony

Jack Nicholson starred in the James L. Brooks romantic comedy As Good As It Gets in 1997.

This was a rare comedy for Nicholson, but it was a dry and smart comedy with Nicholson, who starred as an obsessive-compulsive novelist.

He is also misanthropic and homophobic and has to deal with the single mother (Helen Hunt) of a chronically ill son, and a gay artist (Greg Kinnear).

Nicholson and Hunt both won acting Oscars for the movie.

The Holiday (2006)

Jude Law and Cameron Diaz in The Holiday
Jude Law and Cameron Diaz in The Holiday. Pic credit: Sony

The Holiday was a Christmas movie that had two women, one from the U.S. and the other from the U.K., who have a home exchange to get away from the heartbreak in their lives.

Kater Winslet’s Iris lives in London and is a society columnist whose boyfriend cheated on her. Cameron Diaz is Amanda, a movie trailer producer whose boyfriend cheated on her.

When the two switch homes for the holidays, they end up finding new loves. For Amanda, it is Iris’s brother (Jude Law), and for Iris, it is a father (Jack Black) whose girlfriend has cheated on him.

First Knight (1995)

First Knight
First Knight. Pic credit: Sony

A King Arthur drama arrived in 1995 and it was a romantic drama.

The movie starred Sean Connery as King Arthur, Richard Gere as Lancelot, and Julia Ormond as Guinevere.

The story has King Arthur ready to settle down to rule his kingdom and he wants to find his bride. That is Guinevere, but the problem is that Arthur’s greatest warrior of the Round Table, Lancelot, also loves her.

The movie has an interesting ending where the love story wins out in the end.

All the Bright Places (2020)

All the Bright Places
Justice Smith and Elle Fanning in All the Bright Places. Pic credit: Netflix

All the Bright Places was a 2017 Netflix movie about death and its effects on teenagers.

Violet (Elle Fanning) is struggling to get past her sister’s death and is almost suicidal due to survivor’s guilt. Theodore (Justice Smith) has bipolar disorder and finds Violet standing on the edge of a bridge.

When he learns this was the bridge where her sister died in a car accident, he tries everything he can to get her to focus on other things, mostly a school project he partners with her on.

However, as he helps her recover from her pain, his disorder starts to overwhelm him, and Violet realizes she might not be able to help him the way he did her.

My Girl (1991)

My Girl's first kiss
My Girl’s first kiss. Pic credit: Columbia

Fans know Macaulay Culkin from the Christmas movie Home Alone, but he was in another movie that might be the best one he starred in as a child actor.

This was My Girl in 1991.

In this movie, Culkin starred as Thomas, and he became best friends with a young girl named Vada, played by Anna Chlumsky.

Vada is a young girl who is a hypochondriac and believes she was responsible for her mother’s death because her mom died days after giving birth to her. Her father (Dan Akyroyd) does not understand her and avoids her as a response.

Shortly after Thomas and Vada share their first kiss, tragedy strikes and it changes everyone’s lives forever.

Twilight (2008)

Edward and Bella in Twilight
Edward and Bella in Twilight. Pic credit: Summit Entertainment

In 2008, Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight made its way to the big screens with Robert Pattinson as Edward and Kristen Stewart as Bella.

The movie is a romantic horror story about a teenage girl who falls in love with a vampire. However, as she tries to resolve her feelings about a man who considers himself a monster, she finds her life in danger when evil vampires roll into town and set their eyes on her.

The movie also stars Taylor Lautner as Jacob, but his role does not grow until the next film when he reveals he is a werewolf. The first movie is not part of the massive love triangle, instead, focusing on the love story and horror.

It is also the only Twilight movie with a female director.

Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper from Silver Linings Playbook
Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper from Silver Linings Playbook. Pic credit: The Weinstein Company

Silver Linings Playbook stars Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence as a pair of damaged individuals who find each other.

Cooper is a man recently released from a mental asylum, following an incident where he severely injured a man he caught cheating on his wife. He moves back home with his parents, both of which deal with their own issues.

He soon meets a widowed woman who has an unnamed disorder, but one that makes it almost impossible for her to maintain relationships with others.

These two broken people end up helping each other find what they were missing.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018)

To All the Boys I've Loved Before
Lana Condor in To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Pic credit: Netflix

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is a Netflix produced teen romantic comedy that hit the streaming service in 2018.

The film is based on the novel by Jenny Han, released in 2014, and was a huge success for Netflix. The film has a high school junior named Lara Jean, who writes letters to all the boys she felt passion for.

She then locks the letters in her closet.

When her sister finds the letters, she mails them to all the boys, which throws her life into turmoil.

There has already been one sequel with another on the way.

Stardust (2007)

Stardust
Claire Danes and Charlie Cox on Stardust. Pic credit: Paramount Pictures

A fantasy romantic tale hit in 2007 and remains one of the best fairy tale films in movies.

Based on the Neil Gaiman novel and directed by Matthew Vaughn (The Kingsman), this tells the story of a fallen star and the young man who sets out to find it.

Charlie Cox (Daredevil) plays a young man who promises the woman he loves he will retrieve a fallen star to prove his love. However, when he finds the star, it is Claire Danes, and he realizes what true love really is.

At the same time, he must protect her from a witch (Michelle Pfeiffer) who wants to use the star to maintain her own youth.

Always Be My Maybe (2019)

ALWAYS BE MY MAYBE
Randall Park and Ali Wong in Always Be My Maybe. Pic credit: Netflix

Released in 2019, Always Be My Maybe was a Netflix original romantic comedy movie starring Ali Wong and Randall Park.

Park and Ali received credit as two of the writers in this story of childhood friends Sasha and Marcus, who grew apart when they had sex.

The movie jumps to 16 years later when Sasha is a celebrity chef while Marcus still lives with his dad and plays in an unsigned band that plays in his neighborhood.

The two then reconnect, and while Marcus likes Sasha, she has just started dating Keanu Reeves — who plays himself.

The Kissing Booth (2018)

The Kissing Booth
The cast of The Kissing Booth. Pic credit: Netflix

The Kissing Booth is a Netflix original teen romantic comedy film based on the novel by Beth Reekles.

Released in 2018, The Kissing Booth stars Joey King as Elle, a late-blooming teenager who ends up in a relationship with a bad boy senior named Noah (Jacob Elordi). This puts her lifelong friendship with Noah’s younger brother in danger.

In a pleasant surprise, ’80s teen romance icon Molly Ringwald co-stars.

Critics destroyed the movie, but Netflix subscribers loved it and made it a monster success. A sequel will hit Netflix in July 2020.

About Time (2013)

About Time
Domhnall Gleeson and Rachel McAdams in About Time. Pic credit: Universal Pictures

About Time is the most unusual romance film on Netflix, as it is a romantic sci-fi drama.

When he turns 21, Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) learns from his dad that he can time travel, and it is a family ability. While his dad tells him not to use it to get money or fame, Tim decides to find love.

However, as with any time travel story, Tim realizes that things he does in the past can change things, including things he did last time he traveled back in time.

He meets a woman named Mary (Rachel McAdams), and as the two develop a relationship, Tim realizes what is more important in life and relationships.

Howard’s End (1992)

Howard's End
Anthony Hopkins and Vanessa Redgrave in Howard’s End. Pic credit: Sony

For those looking for a prestigious romantic drama, Howard’s End is available on Netflix.

This is a Merchant-Ivory production from 1992, based on the novel by E.M. Forster (A Room with a View).

This is a historical romance taking place in turn-of-the-century England and is a love story between widower Henry Wilcox (Anthony Hopkins) and Margaret Schlegel (Emma Thompson).

Howard’s End picked up nine Oscar nominations, winning three, including Best Actress for Emma Thompson.

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