Valentine's Day rom-coms to watch on 14 February
From Nora Ephron's classic Sleepless in Seattle to last year's breakthrough success Rye Lane

Pretty Woman
The only reason this "Cinderella story for sex workers" works, said Caroline Madden on Slashfilm.com, is because of Julia Roberts' "enchanting performance", for which she earned an Oscar nomination. The 1990 movie could have tipped into "misogynistic stereotype" but Roberts gives the character of Vivian "many dimensions". It is no "nuanced exploration of sex work" but is worth watching for Roberts' "star-making performance alone".
Rye Lane
This "hugely enjoyable romp", which unfolds against the unusually sunny backdrop of south London, follows a day-long flirtation that brings to mind Richard Linklater's "Before" films, said Mark Kermode in The Observer. "Rye Lane", which was the toast of Sundance last year, feels genuinely new. It "doesn't demand two A-listers shoulder the entire job of summoning chemistry from a dead-eyed script", said Clarisse Loughrey in The Independent. Instead, two relative newcomers star, bringing to life characters "shipwrecked by post-breakup shame".
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sleepless in Seattle
This 30-year-old love story is remarkable in that its lovers share a mere two minutes of screen time. Instead, Annie (Meg Ryan) and Sam (Tom Hanks) fall in love with the idea of each other after seven-year-old Jonah calls up a late-night radio show and asks the host to help his widowed father, Sam, find love. When they finally meet atop the Empire State Building in a spine-tingling scene, director and writer Nora Ephron reminds us all that "when you know, you know".
Groundhog Day
When TV weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) has the worst day of his life as he covers the Groundhog Day festivities in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, things can only get better. Except they don't, as when he wakes up, he has to relive the same day over and over. As Phil rights his wrongs and evolves as a character, so does his romance with Rita (Andie MacDowell). This modern fable, made in 1993, gives us the chance to wonder what we'd do differently in love if given the chance.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Princess Bride
If you were an Eighties child, then the phrase "As you wish" will be certain to get your heart racing, thanks to "The Princess Bride". The chemistry is palpable between "the reluctant damsel" Buttercup (Robin Wright) and "farmboy-turned-pirate" Westley (Cary Elwes). Rob Reiner's classic 1987 rom-com delivers "high fantasy, wry comedy, kick-ass swordfights, canny political commentary and, of course, sigh-inducing true love. (Or rather, twue wuv)," said Jenna Scherer in Rolling Stone Australia.
Romeo + Juliet
This Baz Luhrmann 1996 adaptation of the Bard's most famous play follows the Montagues and Capulets' war, set here in Mexico City, and is a "dizzying assemblage of fast cutting and mad camera swirls", said Stephanie Zacharek in Time. The scene where Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes first spy each other through the aquarium is mesmerising. And when Danes realises all is lost, hers is "one of the most naked instances of ugly-crying in the movies", said Zacharek. This is a film "of pure feeling, a flame burning fast and clean".
The Big Sick
A medically induced coma isn't normally the stuff around which a rom-com revolves but this 2017 movie garnered the writers a best original screenplay Oscar nomination. Based on the real-life romance between star Kumail Nanjiani and his wife Emily V. Gordon, it starts off as a New York love story like any other until Emily (Zoe Kazan) becomes seriously ill. While she is comatose, Kumail tries to gain the trust of his in-laws (Holly Hunter and Ray Romano), while dealing with his own family who want him to have an arranged marriage.
Sign up to The Week's Arts & Life newsletter for reviews and recommendations.
-
September 13 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include court-approved racial profiling and America's moral compass
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashion
In the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Kim Jong Un’s triumph: the rise and rise of North Korea’s dictator
In the Spotlight North Korean leader has strengthened ties with Russia and China, and recently revealed his ‘respected child’ to the world
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashion
In the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Video games to curl up with this fall, including Ghost of Yotei and LEGO Party
The Week Recommends Several highly anticipated video games are coming this fall
-
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale – a ‘comfort’ watch for fans
The Week Recommends The final film of the franchise gives viewers a chance to say goodbye
-
The Paper: new show, same 'warmth and goofiness'
The Week Recommends This spin-off of the American version of The Office is ‘comfortingly and wearyingly familiar’
-
Rachel Jones: Gated Canyons – ‘riotously colourful’ works from an ‘exhilarating’ painter
The Week Recommends The 34-year-old is the first artist to take over Dulwich Picture Gallery’s main space
-
Born With Teeth: ‘mischievously provocative’ play starring Ncuti Gatwa
The Week Recommends ‘Sprightly’ production from Liz Duffy Adams imagines the relationship between Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe
-
10 upcoming albums to stream during spooky season
The Week Recommends As fall arrives, check out new albums from Taylor Swift, Jeff Tweedy, the Lemonheads and more
-
Art review: Lorna Simpson: Source Notes
Feature Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, through Nov. 2