Single or taken, let’s not try to pretend we don’t enjoy the many perks of Valentine’s Day. Despite the Hallmark holiday’s poor reputation, there are candy hearts, chocolate, people handing out roses in front of the EMU and an excuse to curl up with a sweetheart, friend or cat and indulge in a romantic movie. Besides “The Notebook,” (which somehow manages to fall under both categories) here are the best and worst flicks for your Valentine’s Day:
Best
10 Things I Hate About You: Any movie that begins with Barenaked Ladies’ “One Week” is automatically a winner in my book. This 1999 classic comedy is a throwback to Heath Ledger’s golden years, the pangs of high school and oddly enough, the genius romance of Shakespeare. What better way to celebrate? Not to mention, Ledger’s “I Love You Baby” performance may just be the greatest romantic gesture of all time.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: This non-linear exploration of love, loss and memory begins when Joel (Jim Carrey) meets the eccentric Clementine (Kate Winslet), who nonchalantly changes her hair color every two scenes. Things get complicated when Joel decides he wants to erase Clementine from his memory by way of new technology. This twisted love story is a delightful, yet a more obscure pick that pairs perfectly with the dreary Eugene weather and a cold Valentine’s Day beer.
The Princess Bride: While Wesley’s devotion to Buttercup is utterly swoon inducing, this classic is undeniably one of the most quotable movies ever made. There’s something for everyone: fights, poison, creatures, wit, torture and a cheesy instrumental soundtrack that plays when Buttercup talks about how much she loves Wesley.
Worst
Titanic: An overplayed classic, this film features the tale of Rose and Jack, another pair of star-crossed lovers. With a running time of 195 minutes, this tragedy may commandeer the happier Valentine’s Day celebration you might have planned. And spoiler alert: The end’s a tear-jerker. Not to mention, there was totally enough room on Rose’s raft for Jack, but nobody needs to see that on V-Day.
Valentine’s Day: Here’s an idea: Get 20 stars together and give Taylor Swift a huge teddy bear. Maybe people won’t realize they’re watching an awful movie. This quick-cutting, jumble of pink and red, proposals, flowers, breakups and phone sex operators is a hot mess of clichés, only realistic in that it reiterates the bad reputation Valentine’s Day already has. Not to mention, this film was a winner at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards, which honors the worst filmmaking of the year.
The Vow: Nick Sparks does it again. Rachel McAdams is in a car accident and loses her memory of ever knowing or being married to an uncharacteristically hip Channing Tatum. Seems like an okay premise, but throughout the film, Rachel McAdams gets increasingly more unlikeable and by the end, you just want Channing Tatum to start breakdancing or do a striptease.