The calendar claims that Valentine’s Day is less than two weeks away, but given the never-ending pandemic, I wouldn’t be that surprised if someone told me St. Patrick’s Day was this weekend or Christmas was next month.
In any case, the calendar says it’s time to celebrate Valentine’s Day, so we’re going to celebrate that.
During the pandemic, I’ve greatly appreciated the good “fun” movies that have come out, as my tolerance for slow-burn seriousness has vanished. “Palm Springs” was a perfect pandemic movie when it debuted on Hulu in July. Now, over six months later, with COVID-19 still raging, it’s still a perfect pandemic movie.
With this in mind, I’ve compiled 11 movies with something I’m calling a “Valentine’s vibe.” For the most part, this just means rom-coms. But I’ve expanded the list slightly to include movies that incorporate some drama, too ― rom-dram-coms, if you will.
A few of these movies are on slightly obscure streaming services (basically just referring to Cinemax), but you can also rent or buy those movies on other digital services such as Amazon Prime.
Watch these with a partner or watch these alone, just make sure not to watch them in-person with friends ― we all want this pandemic to end, as meet-cutes may become extinct otherwise.
Hopefully, the rom-dram-coms will distract you from reality for at least a couple of hours.
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Premise: A Brooklyn couple decide to unplug, turn off their phones and spend some time in a cabin upstate. They get bored until they find a mysterious fluff creature at the cabin and turn on their phones to discover there’s been a fluff alien invasion of earth.
Where to watch: Hulu
Debut date: Oct. 2, 2020
Runtime: 1 hour, 33 minutes
Premise: This is loosely based on Jane Austen’s 1815 novel of the same name. The story focuses on a wealthy young woman in Regency-era England as she meddles in love lives and finds love herself.
Anya Taylor-Joy earned a 2021 Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy for her starring role.
Where to watch: HBO Max
Debut date: Feb. 21, 2020
Runtime: 2 hours, 4 minutes
Premise: A Catholic school girl at a Midwestern high school in 2000 explores the concept of sexual desire while her schooling strictly forbids any inquiry into that. She goes on a religious retreat to a campground to focus on God, but the plan backfires.
Where to watch: Netflix
Debut date: July 24, 2020
Runtime: 1 hour, 18 minutes
Premise: A struggling English musician wakes up one day to discover The Beatles never existed, even though he knows all the songs by heart. He plays the songs as his own and becomes the biggest musician in the world, all while trying to maintain a friendship with his childhood best friend.
Where to watch: Cinemax (or buy on Amazon Prime)
Debut date: June 28, 2019
Runtime: 1 hour, 56 minutes
Premise: Two childhood sweethearts have a falling out and don’t speak to each other for over a decade. When they run into each other as adults, they reconsider a relationship.
Where to watch: Netflix
Debut date: May 31, 2019
Runtime: 1 hour, 41 minutes
Premise: A music journalist goes through a bad breakup and leans on her close friends for support. They have a wild bender in New York City.
Where to watch: Netflix
Debut date: April 19, 2019
Runtime: 1 hour, 32 minutes
Premise: Two longtime friends who have reached the age of endless wedding invitations decide to invite each other as their recurring plus ones. Friends start asking why they aren’t together, and they begin wondering the same thing.
Where to watch: Hulu
Debut date: June 14, 2019
Runtime: 1 hour, 38 minutes
Premise: An irreverent, fearless journalist runs into a famous politician, and they realize she was his babysitter as a kid. Although he has spent his life partying and she has focused on moving up the career ladder, they hit it off and become an unexpected couple.
Where to watch: Cinemax (or rent on Amazon Prime)
Debut date: May 3, 2019
Runtime: 2 hours, 5 minutes
Premise: A couple has decided to break up, but then they get tangled in a murder mystery and have to go on the run from the police. In trying to solve the crime and prove their innocence together, the couple realizes they still have feelings for each other.
Where to watch: Netflix
Debut date: May 22, 2020
Runtime: 1 hour, 26 minutes
Premise: This is a Christmas movie, but what is time anymore so ― a woman plans to spend Christmas with her girlfriend and wants to propose on the trip. But the girlfriend reveals she hasn’t come out to her conservative parents yet and asks if they can pretend just to be roommates.
Where to watch: Hulu
Debut date: Nov. 25, 2020
Runtime: 1 hour, 42 minutes
Premise: A man is trapped in a time loop that forces him to experience the same day as a guest at a wedding over and over again. After countless iterations of this, he accidentally brings a woman at the party into the time loop so they’re stuck together.
“Palm Springs” earned a 2021 Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy. Andy Samberg earned a nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy for his starring role.
Where to watch: Hulu
Debut date: July 10, 2020
Runtime: 1 hour, 30 minutes