Romantic Movie Reviews

Reminiscent of WHEN HARRY MET SALLY, A LOT LIKE LOVE is a modern take on the possibilities of chance encounters with love. En route from Los Angeles to New York City, Oliver Martin (Ashton Kutcher) and Emily Friehl (Amanda Peet) didn’t expect to have a one night stand, least of all 35,000 feet in the air. And, despite Oliver’s sincere attempts afterwards to get to know the mysterious, albeit brooding beauty, Emily won’t have any of it.

The cast includes: Amanda Peet,
Ashton Kutcher.

Directed by: Nigel Cole.
Written by: Colin Patrick Lynch.

Set in Africa, during WW II, when the Rev. Samuel Sayer suddenly passes away, steam boat “captain,” Charlie Allnut, finds himself transporting Sayer’s sister, Rose, back to civilization. In the meantime, however, the two will tackle their antithetical personalities, and, of course, the Germans, in this classic blockbuster Romance.

The cast includes: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley.

Directed by: John Huston.
Written by: C.S. Forester (novel “The African Queen”), James Agee and John Huston (screen adaptation).

In Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of the 1920 novel by Edith Wharton, romance between an upper-class gentleman and an outcast lady is doomed by 19th century New York society. Shortly after his engagement to the conventional and lackluster May Welland (Winona Ryder), Newland Archer (Daniel Day-Lewis) reconnects with May’s disreputable cousin Ellen Olenska (Michelle Pfeiffer). As the head of a socially elite family, Archer initially uses his status to try to revive Ellen’s reputation, but soon he finds himself drawn ever more strongly to Ellen’s disregard for the codes of New York manners.

The cast includes: Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Winona Ryder, Geraldine Chaplin, Mary Beth Hurt, Jonathan Pryce.

Directed by: Martin Scorsese.
Edith Wharton (novel), Jay Cocks and Martin Scorsese (screenplay).

AMERICAN DREAMER is the romantic comedy that tells of a frustrated house wife whose part time writing career and obsession with the Rebecca Ryan murder mystery novels has landed her an all expense paid trip to Paris where, for the first time, Cathy Palmer learns what love is all about.

The cast includes: JoBeth Williams, Tom Conti, Giancarlo Giannini.

Directed by: Rick Rosenthal.
Written by: Ann Biderman (story), David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf.

In AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN Richard Gere plays Zack Mayo, an aloof, taciturn loner who aspires to be a navy pilot. Once he’s arrived at training camp for his 13-week officer’s course, Mayo soon crosses paths with abrasive, no-nonsense drill sergeant Emil Foley (Louis Gossett Jr.). Mayo – or “Mayonnaise,” as Foley mockingly dubs him – is an outstanding cadet, but too self-involved. Foley rides him without mercy, sensing that the young man could be prime officer material. Zack’s affair with working girl Paula Pokrifi (Debra Winger) is similarly damaged by Foley’s unwillingness to give of himself. Only after a tragedy involving Mayo’s best friend Sid Worsley (David Keith) does Zack come out of his shell and mature into manhood.

The cast includes:
Richard Gere, Debra Winger, Robert Loggia, Louis Gossett Jr., David Caruso.

Directed by: Taylor Hackford.
Written by: Douglas Day Stewart.

Alvy Singer is a neurotic. He is also a comedian and the boyfriend of the equally eccentric Annie Hall. After a sudden break-up, Singer undergoes a “stream of consciousness” that recapitulates the trials and tribulations of his relationship with Annie in an attempt to deduce “what went wrong”. This wacky, off-beat comedy features animation, montage, personal testimony and other quirky oddities appropriate to a Allen film.

The cast includes: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Carol Kane, Paul Simon, Shelley Duvall, Colleen Dewhurst, Christopher Walken.

Directed by: Woody Allen.
Written by: Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman.

Another classic screwball comedy from the 1930s. Jerry and Lucy Warriner are about to finalize a divorce which includes a custody case over the rights to their dog! But before matters are set in stone each decides to ruin all prospects for the other’s chances of remarriage. Though Jerry is intent on remarrying to socialite Molly Lamont, and Lucy to oil-mogul Daniel Lesson, each tries to outdo and undo the other which results in hilarious and rather compromising scenarios.

The cast includes: Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy.

Directed by: Leo McCarey.
Written by: Viña Delmar (screenplay) and Arthur Richman (play)

We’ve all seen it before: attractive but single mom, Daphne Wilder (Diane Keaton), rears three beautiful daughters alone; daughters grow up accomplished; daughters fall in love; daughters get married, save for, of course, the youngest. The youngest, Milly (Mandy Moore) is busy living the parallel life of her mother, 25 years her junior, and clueless doing it. Unaware of the life of constant misery she’s about to commit to, Daphne decides to intervene, involving herself in Milly’s love life at every painstaking moment.

The cast includes: Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore, Gabriel Macht.

Directed by: Michael Lehmann.
Written by: Karen Leigh Hopkins, Jessie Nelson.

In 1795, Jane Austen is a feisty 20-year-old emerging writer who dreams of doing what was then almost unthinkable – marrying for love. While her parents are eyeing Mr. Wisley, nephew to the rich local aristocrat Lady Gresham, Jane encounters the roguish Tom Lefroy, provoking much flying of sparks and sharp repartee between the two. Lefroy’s intellect and arrogance arouse her ire – and then knock her head over heels. Now, the couple, whose dalliance flies in the face of social convention, must face an awful dilemma. If they marry, they will pay a very high price – in terms of family, friends and fortune. Is it worth it?

The cast includes: Anne Hathaway, James McAvoy, James Cromwell, and Maggie Smith.

Directed by: Julian Jarrold.
Written by: Jane Austen (letters), Kevin Hood and Sarah Williams (written by).

“Before Sunrise” director Richard Linklater has created a special dating movie. A French grad student, Celine (Julie Delpy), and an American boy, Jesse (Ethan Hawke), meet on a Budapest-Vienna train. What starts with a chance encounter goes throughout the night into the early morning, turning into a 14 hour date.

The cast includes: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy.

Directed by: Richard Linklater.
Written by: Richard Linklater, Kim Krizan.

Set in 1931, when a young Spanish soldier decides to desert the army, he winds up arrested by local police officials. Soon enough he is released, and befriended by a lonely local village man, Manolo. Problems arise, however, when Manolo’s four beautiful daughters come to visit their papa, provoking a complicated love tryst that has the soldier confused over which daughter he most loves, since, it seems, he can’t help but love them all.

The cast includes: Fernando Fernan Gomez, Jorge Sanz, Penelope Cruz

Directed by: Fernando Trueba.
Written by: Rafael Azcona (screenplay and story), Jose Luis Garcia Sanchez and Fernando Trueba (story)

In this beloved classic, American expatriate Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) plays world-weary host to gamblers, thieves and other habitués at “Rick’s Cafe Americain” nightclub in Morocco during World War II… He thinks he’s seen it all ? but he never thought the woman who broke his heart, Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) would walk through his door again. She hopes Rick can help her and her fugitive husband (Paul Henreid) elude the Nazis and escape to America. Casablanca is chock-a-block with memorable movie quotes, including: “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”; “Play it, Sam. Play ‘As Time Goes By.'”; “Round up the usual suspects.”; “We’ll always have Paris.”; and “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.”

The cast includes: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre.

Directed by: Michael Curtiz.
Written by: Julius J. and Philip G. Epstein (screenplay), Howard Koch (screenplay), and Murray Burnett and Joan Alison (play).

When Gray Wheeler (Jennifer Garner) discovers her fiance, Grady, has died while partaking in some death-defying act or another on his bachelor trip, she awakens from the shock to find her world, and his three best friends, in shambles. Together, Gray, Dennis (Sam Jaeger), and Sam (Kevin Smith), prepare for the funeral. With the wedding now a distant dream, Gray settles into the comfort of her fiancé’s friends, sleeping in friendly quarters while mending fresh wounds.

The cast includes: Jennifer Garner, Timothy Olyphant, Kevin Smith, Juliette Lewis.

Written and Directed by: Susannah Grant.

Set in contemporary Paris, Regina is intent on divorcing her husband after her return from vacation in Switzerland. Still, the last think Regina expects is for him to wind up dead: murdered nonetheless. Informed by CIA agent Hamilton Bartholomew that her husband was one of several convicts suspected of stealing money from the U.S. government during WWII, and coincidentally the government wants it back, Regina comes up empty handed both in cash and testimony. Likewise her husband’s former “partners in crime” start to show up and showing interest in Regina, and likely her money, which begins to compromise Regina’s safety: its one great big charade with Charles’ former accomplice Peter at the helm of the “treasure hunt.”

The cast includes: Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, James Coburn, George Kennedy.

Directed by: Stanley Donen.
Written by: Peter Stone (screenplay and story) and Marc Behm (story).

A Civil War confederate soldier, Inman, is seriously wounded in battle and heads home to North Carolina to his pre-war sweetheart, Ada. Meanwhile, in his absence, Ada – with the help of a young drifter – desperately tries to hold onto the farm of her deceased father. Inman’s long journey home takes him through the crumbling confederacy, as he meets people from all walks of life who both aid and hinder him in his mission.

The cast includes: Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweger, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Portman, Giovanni Ribisi, Donald Sutherland, Cillian Murphy.

Directed by: Anthony Minghella.
Written by: Charles Frazier (book), and Anthony Minghella (screenplay).

French author Francois Choderlos de Laclos’ 1782 novel Les Liasons Dangeureuses is the basis for this Academy Award-winning period drama directed by Stephen Frears. The plot focuses on an ugly wager between the beautiful but heartless Marquise de Merteuil (Glenn Close) and her misogynistic ex-lover, the Vicomte de Valmont (John Malkovich). The Marquise challenges Valmont to seduce the virginal Cecile de Volanges (Uma Thurman) before the girl can be wed. Valmont responds with an even tougher counter-challenge: That he can bed the very moral and very married Madame de Tourvel (Michelle Pfeiffer).

The cast includes: Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, Swoosie Kurtz, Keanu Reeves, and Uma Thurman.

Directed by: Stephen Frears.
Written by: Christopher Hampton (play and screenplay), and Choderlos de Laclos (novel “Les liaisons dangereuses”).

While spending her summer at a resort with her family, Baby meets Johnny Castle: dance instructor by day/dirty dancer by night. When Castle’s dancing partner undergoes an abortion, Baby steps in her place, (behind her father’s back), learning the routine and falling for Johnny along the way. As the end of summer nears, Baby and Castle are forced to reflect on their intentions, and the opinion of Baby’s father.

The cast includes: Jennifer Grey, Patrick Swayze, Jerry Orbach, Jack Weston.

Directed by: Emile Ardolino.
Written by: Eleanor Bergstein.

Set during the historic Russian Bolshevik Revolution, DOCTOR ZHIVAGO follows the trials and tribulations of its eponymous lead character as he marries and raises a family, only to have his life tragically disrupted by WW I and then the Russian Revolution. As Dr. Zhivago’s freedom and life are taken away, struggles to survive and live an honorable and fulfilling life.

The cast includes: Omar Sharif,
Julie Christie, Geraldine Chaplin, Tom Courtenay, Alec Guinness, Ralph Richardson, Rod Steiger, and Klaus Kinski.

Directed by: David Lean.
Written by: Boris Pasternak (novel), and Robert Bolt (screenplay).

An adaptation of Jane Austen’s same-named novel, the film features Emma Woodhouse, a young and congenial beauty who helps herself to playing the role of cupid to family and friends. Still, despite her penchant for match-making she is, nonetheless, quite bad at it; constantly attempting to unite couples that are completely wrong for one another.

The cast includes: Gwyneth Paltrow, Greta Scacchi, Sophie Thompson,
Jeremy Northam, Toni Collette.

Directed by: Douglas McGrath.
Written by: Jane Austen (novel), Douglas McGrath (screenplay).

In a field hospital in Italy, a nurse named Hana (Juliette Binoche), cares for a pilot (Ralph Fiennes) known simply as “the English Patient” because of his accent, who has been horribly burned in a plane wreck and has no identification and cannot remember his name. When the hospital is evacuated, Hana sees that the patient can’t be moved far due to his condition, so the two are left in a monastery to be picked up later. In time, Hana pieces together his story from the fragments of his memories and learns that he’s actually Count Laszlo Almasy, of Hungarian nobility – an explorer working with a group mapping uncharted territory in North Africa.

The cast includes: Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Colin Firth.

Directed by: Anthony Minghella.
Written by: Michael Ondaatje (novel), and Anthony Minghella (screenplay).

Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry bring you one of the most unique love stories of all time. “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” tells of the plight of one man, Joel Barish, after the love of his life, the quirky Clementine, impulsively has him erased from her memory. Disarmed, Joel decides to then erase Clementine from his memory.

The cast includes: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Elijah Wood, Mark Ruffalo, Kirsten Dunst, Tom Wilkinson.

Directed by: Michel Gondry.
Written by: Charlie Kaufman… (story and screenplay), Michel Gondry and Pierre Bismuth (story).

A modern day, “realistic” adaptation of “Cinderella”, when Danielle’s father suddenly dies, her stepmother takes her in as the new servant. Accordingly, there are the two stepsisters, though the word “evil” is only applicable to one, whereas the other sister is quite agreeable. All the same Danielle grows up a content, independent woman who is quite prepared to handle a sudden change of fate when Prince Henry decides to make his way into her life.

The cast includes: Drew Barrymore, Anjelica Huston, Dougray Scott.

Directed by: Andy Tennant.
Written by: Susannah Grant, Andy Tenant, and Rick Parks (screenplay).

Daniel McCormick (Mel Gibson) volunteers for a scientific experiment that puts him in a state of ageless suspended animation in FOREVER YOUNG. In 1939, McCormick is a test pilot who’s brave in his test flights but lacks the nerve to ask his girlfriend Helen (Isabel Glasser) to marry him, even though he loves her. When Helen is hit by a truck and falls into a coma, Daniel is devastated. He approaches his best friend, Harry (George Wendt), a scientific researcher working with the military, who’s been experimenting with cryogenic suspension; Daniel asks Harry to have him frozen for a year rather than go through the ordeal of waiting to see if Helen lives or dies. But then one year turns into 50 in this romantic sci-fi tale.

The cast includes: Mel Gibson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Elijah Wood, George Wendt, Walton Goggins.

Directed by: Steve Miner.
Written by: J.J. Abrams.

A timeless fantasy about the power of love. Walking back to their apartment one night, Sam and Molly are mugged, leaving Sam murdered in a dark alley. Unable to fully leave Molly, especially now that she is in grave danger, Sam is trapped as ghost between this world and the next. With the help of an eclectic medium, Oda Mae Brown, Sam tries to communicate with Molly…

The cast includes: Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Goldwyn.

Directed by: Jerry Zucker.
Written by: Bruce Joel Rubin.

Director Victor Fleming’s 1939 epic telling of Margaret Mitchell’s classic Civil War novel features Vivien Leigh as self-centered, willful Scarlett O’Hara – the indomitable Southern Belle who meets her match in the person of dashing rogue Rhett Butler (Clark Gable), even as she pines for unattainable Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard). Mistress of the legendary Georgia cotton plantation Tara in 1861, Scarlett watches helplessly as her beloved home and life come to ruin along with the rest of the Confederacy at the hands of Sherman and the Union. She vows to build it back, bigger and better than before, even if it costs her the love of her life and all personal happiness.

The cast includes: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, Thomas Mitchell, Hattie McDaniel, Ward Bond, Butterfly McQueen, and Evelyn Keyes.

Directed by: Victor Fleming.
Written by: Margaret Mitchell (novel) and Sidney Howard (screenplay).