Watch With Us has something to admit: we’re hopeless romantics, and Valentine’s Day is one of our favorite holidays.
You can bet that on the day of love, we’ll be tucking in with a romance movie marathon to feel all the feels.
Netflix has a lot of terrific options for some elite Valentine’s Day viewing — from tragic romances to classic rom-coms, there’s something to satisfy the palate of every kind of lover.
This week, we recommend five of the best Netflix movies to watch on Valentine’s Day. Our picks include Nora Ephron‘s You’ve Got Mail, the Bollywood tragicomedy Om Shanti Om and more.
‘You’ve Got Mail’ (1998)
She’s a struggling small business bookseller, he’s the owner of corporate chainstore Foxbooks, and little do they know they’ve accidentally fallen in love with each other. Despite being bitter business rivals, Kathleen (Meg Ryan) and Joe (Tom Hanks) link up in an AOL chatroom and develop a romantic but anonymous rapport through a series of emails. However, Joe gets a shock when he realizes he’s in love with the enemy. Joe is then forced to reconcile his distaste for a woman he’s nevertheless fallen for.
You’ve Got Mail is one of the best American rom-coms of all time, from the rom-com master herself, Nora Ephron, and starring the timeless chemistry between Hanks and Ryan. If you’re looking for a slow-burn romantic film that blends warmth, charm and just the perfect amount of humor, you can’t go wrong by streaming You’ve Got Mail.
‘Titanic’ (1997)
Penniless artist Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) gambles his way into two tickets aboard the brand new, unsinkable ocean liner the Titanic. While aboard, he meets aristocratic Rose DeWitt Butaker (Kate Winslet), betrothed to the snobbish heir to Pittsburgh steel fortune Cal Hockley (Billy Zane). Lonely and unhappy, Rose strikes up a friendship with Jack that turns into something more. But just as soon as they realize their passion for one another, the Titanic strikes an iceberg, causing punctures along the starboard side and commencing the desperate struggle for survival of every passenger on board.
Fun fact: Titanic was particularly successful at the time in India because of how similar the film was to a popular Bollywood epic. Titanic truly does have everything: romance, drama, comedy, action, disaster and song and dance, plus the unparalleled CGI spectacle brought to us by the great James Cameron. You might pass on Titanic because it’s so ubiquitous (and so memed), but it only takes one watch to realize why it took over pop culture — it’s simply incredible.
‘Hit Man’ (2023)
Ordinary college professor Gary Johnson (Glen Powell) moonlights helping the local police department carry out sting operations, going undercover to bring down criminals. But when the usual cop who goes undercover as hitmen is suspended, Gary takes it upon himself to fill his shoes, becoming extremely successful at catching people trying to solicit murder-for-hire schemes. But when a beautiful suspect (Adria Arjona) “hires” him to get rid of her abusive husband, Gary finds himself breaking protocol to protect her.
Sexy, romantic, thrilling and funny, Hit Man is a rom-com hybrid that cements Powell’s status as leading man material. While Hit Man manages to double as a fascinating exploration of human identity and our ability to change ourselves, it’s also fun, exciting and a real crowd-pleaser. Plus, the film makes a meal out of the titillating chemistry between Powell and Arjona.
‘Om Shanti Om’ (2007)
In 1970s Bollywood, film extra Om “Omi” Kapoor (Shah Rukh Khan) has big dreams of becoming a movie star, while also being madly in love with A-lister Shantipriya (Deepika Padukone). But when Shanti’s deceptive fiancé leaves her to perish in a fire, Omi’s attempt to save her ends with them both being killed. Thirty years later, Omi has been reincarnated as the big celebrity and actor he always wanted to be, but when he has flashbacks to his past life, he vows to seek revenge on the man who killed him and his love.
If you’ve never seen a Bollywood movie before, Om Shanti Om is both a great place to start and also just objectively one of the most beautiful tragic romances of all time. You will never look at American blockbusters the same way again when you realize just how lavish, meticulous and creative they can be. Starring two of the most attractive actors ever (Khan and Padukone), Om Shanti Om also features impressive dance numbers with songs you can’t stop listening to.
‘Bones and All’ (2022)
Burdened with an insatiable bloodlust, 18-year-old Maren Yearly (Taylor Russell) is abandoned by her father and forced to roam the American backroads alone, where she meets disenfranchised drifter Lee (Timothée Chalamet). Suffering from the same cannibalistic condition, the two outcasts form a strong bond as they embark on a 3,000-mile odyssey across the country, meeting others like them along the way. But the pasts that they’re both running from come to catch up with them eventually.
Bones and All is a passionate horror romance for the ages; poetic, patient and gorgeously rendered. Based on the novel of the same name by Camille DeAngelis, director Luca Guadagnino crafts a deeply tender coming-of-age tale that evokes comparison to Terence Malick‘s Badlands. The unique blend of horror, romance and road-trip film creates a unique experience enhanced by the raw authenticity of Russell and Chalamet’s performances.
