1. WALL-E (2008)
It’s one of the most critically acclaimed films of 2008 and yes, believe it or not, this amazing motion picture by the brilliant minds at Pixar is also one of the year’s sweetest love stories. Set years in the future, at a time when man has abandoned Earth because it is overrun with corporate clutter, WALL-E is a garbage-collecting robot whose only companion on the planet is a pet cockroach. WALL-E is lonely and yearns for someone to love; someone whose hand he can hold just like in the scene he repeatedly watches from Hello Dolly! courtesy of an old videotape he found in the trash. His love appears to arrive in the form of Eve, a sleek, sexy robot sent to planet Earth on a reconnaissance mission—the moment WALL-E claps eyes on her it’s love at first sight. Their budding romance opens the door to adventure, heartbreak, tears and triumph. This film is a lock in for the Best Animated Feature Film category at this year’s Academy Awards—we think a best picture nom would also have been warranted. We’re simply smitten with WALL-E.
2. Casablanca (1942)
This classic topped the American Film Institute’s “100 Greatest Love Stories of All Time” and took home the Oscar for Best Picture. Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman star as Rick Blaine and Isla Lund, two former lovers who are reunited in Casablanca where Isla’s husband is on the run from the Nazis. The two lovers still have an electric and magnetic attraction between them and when the two of them are alone, the story of what ultimately went wrong is revealed in a passionate exchange. Rick is ultimately torn between rekindling the romance with his former lover, or saving her life. Bogie and Bergman are incredible together in this film—that’s why they’re still two of the brightest stars the silver screen has ever seen.
3. Dirty Dancing (1987)
If you’re anything like us, you’ve probably seen this one 1,000 times, but somehow it never gets old. The year 1963 marks the summer of love for Johnny (Patrick Swayze), the in-house dance hottie at Kellerman’s resort, and guest Baby (Jennifer Grey). Baby and Johnny’s relationship quickly evolves from first-time dance partners to bedfellows and there’s no steamier moment than when the two get their grind on one rainy afternoon in Johnny’s cabin. Is it getting hot in here, or is it just us?
4. The English Patient (1996)
The delicious Ralph Fiennes stars in this Oscar Best Picture winner as the once beautiful Count Laszlo de Almásy, a man we meet at the beginning of the film whose burned beyond recognition in a plane crash and who’s story we are told in flashbacks. Set before and during World War II, one of the major plots of the film focuses on the passionate and tragic romance between Almásy and the married Katherine Clifton (Kristen Scott Thomas). Fiennes and Scott Thomas have some of the most scorching and sexy love scenes in the recent history of film. We guarantee this film will ignite your passions and your emotions—it’s hot and seriously intense.
5. Say Anything (1989)
A late ’80s classic, John Cusack stars as Lloyd Dobler, a high school senior seriously infatuated with the beautiful and super-brainy Diane Court (Ione Skye). The two, who travel in very different social circles, forge a romance, but it becomes complicated by Diane’s father who gets himself into legal trouble turning Diane’s life upside down. Lloyd waits for her, and in one of the film’s most iconic and romantic scenes, stands outside her bedroom window holding a ghetto blaster above his head playing their song, Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes.” This movie moment can also take credit for making Gabriel’s song a hugely popular first dance request.
