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We all know it – life is hard. Sometimes everyday life just gets too much, and you don’t know where your head is at all. In such times it is always good that there are movies with which you can forget your worries for a few hours. Here are the 30 best romance movies on Netflix that will make you believe in magic again. By the way, the order does not represent a ranking but is simply meant to serve as a bulleted list. After all, everyone has different opinions and tastes. Have fun!
1. The Last Letter from Your Lover (2021)
It is a story set in the present and the past. It follows Ellie Haworth (Felicity Jones), an ambitious journalist who discovers a collection of secret love letters dating back to 1965 and is determined to unravel the mystery of the forbidden affair at stake. As she uncovers the story of Jennifer Stirling (Shailene Woodley), the wife of a wealthy industrialist, and Anthony O’Hare, the financial journalist assigned to cover him, Ellie’s own love story begins to unfold – with the help of an earnest and endearing archivist who helps her track down more letters.
This tender story, told over decades, shows that even time is no barrier to true love.
2. Set it up (2018)
Harper and Charlie are both personal assistants in New York and have to suffer a lot under their bosses. Every day they are only busy reading every wish from the eyes of their superiors, Kirsten and Rick. So they devise a plan: if they can fix up their obnoxious bosses, they’ll finally have some free time, and their lives will be a lot more pleasant. Harper and Charlie put their plan into action. But does everything really work out as planned, or does this action have bad consequences?
3. P.S. I love you (2007)
Gerry and Holly Kennedy’s life is not always easy, but their mutual love always connects them. It is all the more tragic for Holly when her husband dies of a brain tumor. In order for Gerry’s connection to Holly to last after his death, he leaves his wife twelve letters with different tasks to help her get back into life. The letters lead Holly, among other things, to Ireland, where she met her husband at that time. There, however, not only memories but also new acquaintances are waiting for her.
4. The Kissing Booth (2018)
Elle Evans and Lee Flynn have been best friends since birth. However, to keep it that way, the two agree on rules to protect their friendship. One of them says that you are not allowed to date each other’s relatives. This goes well until Elle kisses Lee’s brother Noah at a kissing booth. Of course, her best friend isn’t thrilled about this since Elle has violated the rules they established together. Elle spends more and more time with Noah, and the two even confess their love for each other. But what effect does this have on Lee and Elle’s friendship, and does their relationship with Noah stand a chance?
5. Friends with Benefits (2011)
Jamie is a headhunter from New York and places the art director Dylan in a magazine. But the boss lives in Los Angeles, so Jamie has to convince him to move to New York so he can get the job. Their plan works, and the two become more and more friends. However, Jamie and Dylan aren’t quite over their past relationships yet, so they don’t want feelings to get in the way of their relationship. That’s why they decide to be just friends with certain benefits. So they have sex, but otherwise are nothing more than friends. Will this plan work, or will the two develop feelings for each other after all?
6. Marriage Story (2019)
Marriage Story was one of four original Netflix films nominated for the 2020 Golden Globes and is another thought-provoking, deeply moving work about real life from acclaimed director Noah Baumbach. Baumbach delivers perhaps his most profound work yet with Marriage Story.
Starring Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver as a couple who genuinely love each other but can’t make their marriage work, Marriage Story is one of the most honest and complex analyses of love and marriage you’ll ever see. “Marriage is hard” is a truism we hear all the time, but this movie takes that statement to the extreme.
7. Always Be My Maybe (2019)
After a childhood romance, childhood friends Sasha (Ali Wong) and Marcus (Randall Park) go their separate ways. Sasha grows up to be a celebrity chef engaged to a successful businessman, while Marcus stays in San Francisco to help with his father’s air conditioning installation company. When Sasha’s boyfriend keeps postponing the wedding, she breaks up with him and moves back to San Francisco, where fate reunites her with Marcus. The two meet again, and Marcus’ old feelings for Sasha flare up, but he has to deal with his feelings of inadequacy and with her new boyfriend, Keanu Reeves (playing himself).
Always Be My Maybe doesn’t reinvent the romantic comedy formula, but it’s executed well. All the actors involved give it their all (especially Reeves, who is delightfully over-the-top).
8. The Notebook (2004)
Allie is an old woman in a nursing home with Alzheimer’s disease. An 84-year-old man comes to her and reads her a story: Teenagers Allie and Noah meet during summer vacation and spend the best time of their lives together. Her parents separate them and the letters Noah writes to Allie every day never reach her. Later, Noah fights in World War II and just can’t forget Allie. However, the latter is already engaged to another man.
The two meet again and fall in love once more, which is why Allie ultimately decides to go with Noah. Back in the present at the nursing home, it becomes clear that the woman with Alzheimer’s and the man reading her the story is Allie and Noah from the book. Noah doesn’t want to give up on his wife, so he reads her love story to her every day. However, Allie can’t remember anything and sees Noah as a strange man.
9. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2021)
Lara Jean Song Covey is 16 years old, rather unremarkable in high school, and has a very good relationship with her older sister Margot and little sister Kitty. Margot is going to Scotland to attend university, so she breaks up with her boyfriend, Josh Sanderson, who lives next door. Lara Jean owns a hatbox in which she keeps all the love letters to the 5 boys she once loved. Among other things, a letter to Josh is found there. Her little sister Kitty finds the box and sends all the letters in it. Lara Jean is very embarrassed by this Josh.
At school, they are approached by Peter Kavinsky, who has also received a letter. He’s flattered but can’t return the feelings. Lara Jean clears up the whole situation, and the two make a plan: Peter and she pretend to be a couple so that Peter can win back his girlfriend Genevieve and Lara Jean can keep Josh at a distance. However, over time they develop real feelings for each other and are nastily exposed by Genevieve, who is jealous of Lara Jean.
10. Dirty Dancing (1987)
Frances Houseman (“Baby”) is 17 years old and spending the vacations with her sister and parents at a resort. There she meets dance instructor Johnny Castle, whom she gets close to at night’s party. His dance partner, Penny Johnson, becomes unintentionally pregnant and is dropped for an important dance performance because of the abortion. Baby steps in to replace Penny and trains hard with Johnny over the next few days. The gig goes well, and the two begin a relationship that ultimately costs Johnny his job. Frances’ parents don’t welcome this relationship either.
11. Isi & Ossi (2020)
Isi comes from a rich billionaire family from Heidelberg, Germany. Ossi lives in Mannheim, has been boxing since childhood, and is currently focusing on his professional career. The two meet and hope to use each other to their own advantage. Isi is desperate to go to New York to train as a chef, so she pretends to be with Ossi so that her parents will pay for her training. Ossi, however, only uses Isi to get money for his first professional fight. Emotional chaos ensues, and their values begin to change.
12. Someone Great (2019)
Somewhere between a love story and a wild night-out comedy, Someone Great is one of the better Netflix love stories in recent memory. It centers on a young woman (Gina Rodriguez) who spends one last crazy night with her best friends before leaving town. Oh, and she just got dumped by her boyfriend, who she had been with for seven years.
LaKeith Stanfield plays said friend in charming top form, and the chemistry between the two is stunning, making you feel invested in their love even though you know it’s over. There’s plenty of raunchy entertainment in this film, but the dynamic between Rodriguez and Stanfield gives the film its heart and magic.
13. All the Bright Places (2020)
Violet Markey is a cheerleader, beautiful, and totally popular. Despite having many friends and perfect life, she decides to commit suicide because the death of her sister Eleanor hits her hard, and she thinks she will never get over it. Shortly before her suicide attempt, she meets Theodor Finch. The latter is an outsider and is considered a freak by his peers, which is why he suffers from depression and suicidal thoughts.
Theodor also receives no support from his family, which is why he almost decides to kill himself. He meets Violet, and the two commit directly to a school project together because of their similar fates. This takes the couple through different places in Indiana, where they fall in love with each other. Violet gradually regains her courage to face life while Theodor’s health deteriorates.
14. Ibiza (2018)
In the Netflix movie Ibiza, Harper (Gillian Jacobs) is sent to Spain for a business meeting. Of course, she brings her two best friends, Nikki (Vanessa Bayer) and Leah (Phoebe Robinson), to have fun together. Harper meets a famous DJ, Leo (Richard Madden), and her friends persuade her to throw all caution – and her meeting – overboard and fly to Ibiza to find this man. This is different from the usual love stories but still conventional. Ibiza will tug at your funny bone but not too hard on your emotions, featuring a trio of hysterical ladies.
15. Call Me by Your Name (2017)
The film is set in 1983 and centers on 17-year-old Elio, who spends the summer with his parents in a villa in Italy. There he is only busy reading and lazing around, but Elio is already mature for his age and would like to experience something. An American student named Oliver comes to the villa for six weeks to help Elio’s father with his research. Despite their age difference, Oliver and Elio are on the same wavelength, and you can see their attraction. After the men have both had meaningless affairs with village girls, they succumb to their feelings and finally get closer to each other.
16. When We First Met (2018)
Noah and Avery spent a perfect first date together, which couldn’t have gone better. But as fate sometimes plays out, Noah ends up becoming nothing more than Avery’s best friend. He wonders how this could have happened and then gets the opportunity of a lifetime. With a magical photo booth, he can travel back in time and relive the night with Avery over and over again. Will he manages to do everything right and become Avery’s partner?
17. The Half of It (2020)
In recent years, Netflix has become a veritable treasure trove of romantic comedies, and “Only Half the Story” might just take the crown from “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.” Written and directed by Alice Wu, this film offers an update on the classic Cyrano de Bergerac – and not in the deeply disturbing way that “Sierra Burgess Is a Loser” did.
In Wu’s touching, beautifully filmed story, three teens searching for their identities and hungry for their first love are entangled in a messy, hungry love triangle that never feels cheap or exploitative. “Only Half the Story” is a stunning, self-aware teen romance that’s as bittersweet as real life, beautifully filmed, excellently paced, and with characters you can’t help but love.
18. Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)
Cal Weavers has a well-paying job, leads a happy marriage with his wife Emily, and has two wonderful children. His life seems very satisfying, but appearances are deceiving. It seems Emily isn’t really happy with marriage after all and spends a night with her co-worker for that reason. As a result, she opens up to Cal that she wants a divorce.
Cal is desperately unhappy and goes to a different bar every night with his worries. One night he meets womanizer Jacob Palmer, who tries to show him all the advantages of being single. But Cal really just wants to get back to his ex-wife…
19. Kiss & Cry
This film is a biopic of figure skater Carley Allison. She was actually leading a normal teenage life, but then everything changed. She is diagnosed with rare cancer that suddenly changes her life. However, her other hobby besides ice skating is singing, which gives her a lot of strength during this time.
20. Mamma Mia (2008)
This classic never goes out of fashion and is always worth watching. Sophie and Sky’s wedding is coming soon. Sophie finds her mother’s diary and discovers the names of three men in it who could be her father. She invites everyone in her mother’s name, Donna, and doesn’t tell her about it. Sophie hopes to find her father so he can walk her down the aisle. When the men arrive on the island, there’s a lot of turmoil and emotional chaos. The story is spiced up with songs by the popular band ABBA. Sophie finds her father and celebrates her perfect wedding.
21. Nappily Ever After (2018)
Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, Old Braids tells the story of Violet Jones, who seemingly has it all – the job, the boyfriend, the hair – until it all falls apart. She must realize that the life she imagined isn’t right for her. In a late-night nervous breakdown, Violet cuts off all her hair and loses more than just her locks in the process. When she goes on a date with a soulful hairdresser, she begins to understand what true happiness means to her. The Netflix original is a feel-good romance in which a woman figures out what matters most to her.
22. Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)
If you’re going to watch “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga,” don’t expect a touching and romantic film, but never underestimate the power of Rachel McAdams. The actress once again proves that she is one of her generation’s most underrated comedy actresses when she stars alongside Will Ferrell as a pair of Icelandic singers who dream of winning the Eurovision Song Contest. It’s hilarious at times, but the big surprises are the fabulously catchy original songs and the surprising tenderness in between the laughs that might leave you with a tear in your eye and warmth in your heart.
That’s not just because of the love story, but it’s a big part of it. Bonus: Dan Stevens, who delivers the most comedic performance of his career, which is also (you’re probably noticing the theme coming up again here) surprisingly touching.
23. The Incredible Jessica James
Admittedly, the story of “The Incredible Jessica James” is pretty typical. An aspiring playwright who’s just come off a bad breakup meets an unhappy divorcée in New York. And what happens then? Okay, you know what happens next. But what really makes this film special is lead actress Jessica Williams. Critics showered her with praise for this film, and rightfully so. Her charming and funny performance makes the movie dance. So if the over-the-top plot doesn’t bother you, click the play button on “The Incredible Jessica James” and watch Jessica Williams deliver a tour de force of charisma and comedy.
24. Irreplaceable You (2018)
“Irreplaceable” is the heartwarming, romantic story of Abbie and Sam, best friends since childhood, who are engaged and whose tranquil New York life comes crashing down when Abbie receives an unexpected diagnosis. With the prospect of an uncertain future, Abbie embarks on a touching and often humorous search for a new love interest to take care of Sam. Along the way, Abbie makes unlikely friends with Myron (Christopher Walken), Kate (Kate McKinnon), and Mitch (Steve Coogan), whose only commonality is that they focus on living while dying.
25. As Good as It Gets (1997)
26. Sex And The City 2 (2010)
27. Let It Snow (2019)
28. To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You (2020)
29. He’s Just Not That Into You (2009)
30. Clueless (1995)
And? Was there a movie for you too? If so, then immediately off to the sofa with a big bowl of popcorn! Have fun!
