For many, Valentine’s Day is a day of love. Whether that be with friends, family, a significant other or even a pet, it is a day to show love to those you hold dearly in your heart.

There are many things that correspond with Valentine’s Day: from a nice, fancy dinner to chocolate and flowers. Movies are also a big part of the special holiday, specifically rom-coms.

Rom-coms are comedy movies that have a romantic twist to them. These movies touch the heart in ways that are unimaginable. Watching these movies is a common activity during a “Galentines” celebration.

I have watched plenty of rom-coms in my life, and I have a few specific favorites that hit the spot.

10 Things I Hate About You is a popular 1990s film inspired by Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. The movie revolves around two sisters, Kat and Bianca Stratford. Their father will not allow Bianca to date until Kat does, leading to frustration among the two sisters. Kat does not have any interest to date, leading Bianca to have to make a plan to have her friend ask Kat out. 

I really enjoy this movie because of the dramatic effect that it has. I liked how Kat eventually figured out that she was being “set up” to date this friend but eventually fell in love with him. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves rom-coms.

The Netflix original, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is a popular movie amongst teenagers. Released in 2018, this movie is based on shy highschooler Lara Jean. Her letters that she writes confessing the love of the boys she has had a crush on get sent out. This leads to tense romantic situations. This movie got very popular during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

I like this movie because of how modern it is. Writing love letters to your crushes is a universal experience for most young girls and it is something that most of us could relate to.

My absolute favorite rom-com that I have watched is How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. This movie is so well developed. Andie Anderson is an upcoming writer at a magazine company. Her article assignment is to write about how a woman can lose a guy in 10 days. She then goes to meet Benjamin Berry, an advertising executive who is trying to show his co-workers that he can make any woman fall in love with him in 10 days. Both go on to lead each other on without understanding their motives behind it. This leads to them actually falling in love with each other, despite the bets. 

I like this movie the most out of the others because it was such a nail-biter. You really did not know what was coming next, and it kept me engaged the entire time.

If you find yourself alone on Valentine’s Day or even just bored in general, movies are a good way to keep yourself busy. Binge watching movies and/or shows is one of my favorite activities when I find myself bored out of my mind. 

I love watching movies with my roommate as well, making a great activity for a girl’s night! Grab a nice snack, make a cozy drink, put on your coziest pair of pjs and relax! Nothing is better, even as a college student, than ending a stressful week with a relaxing movie night.

Rom-coms are such a good genre of movie if you are someone who loves to get their heartstrings tugged. There is just something about crying over one scene in the movie to laughing so hard that tears roll down your face the next. It is just such a versatile genre that can really be turned any possible way. There have not been two rom com movies that I have watched that have been the same as each other, and I think that is remarkable.

There are so many movies to choose from, so what are you waiting for?