It's true— nobody does romance better than those on the big screen. Fans' affinity towards grand romantic gestures never ceases to stop, and everyone adores turning to Hollywood for those perfectly over-the-top scenes that are sure to give singletons everywhere completely unrealistic expectations about love.
Does it matter that they're sometimes completely non-logical? Absolutely not, as these common rom-com tropes will always get girls' hearts beating faster and bring on the tears, which start welling up during the ultimate, big climactic moments. From running into one other's arms in the rain, chasing one another throughout an entire city, to even finding one's soulmate in the middle of a giant crowd, the protagonists always come through, and fans are right there with them cheering them on.
With Valentine's Day coming up in February, this gives every partnered up (or singleton!) person ample time to get into the proper romantic spirit of the day, and even perhaps run into some ideas of how to woo the one who has their heart.
Who's to say it always has to be the guy chasing after the girl? This list of 20 of the most romantic gestures includes some old favorites right down to some recent gems, with both guys and gals pining after the ones they love.
20 'Say Anything': The Iconic Boombox Scene
When deadbeat Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) falls for beautiful valedictorian Diane Court (Ione Skye), sparks fly. Of course, nothing can ever stay perfect, and after some turmoil, the couple hits a rough patch, causing her to break up with him.
They're both in pain and they're both hurting, so Lloyd goes and does what is to become the pinnacle of grand romantic movie gestures—he hoists a boombox over his head and plays Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" outside of Diane's window.
Their special song hits all the feels, and the audience can't help but swoon—even if this could be borderline annoying in real life.
19 'Love Actually': The Cue Card Moment
Many people look back at this movie moment and consider it slightly creepy if it was to happen in real life. Thankfully, in the Hollywood world, it comes across as completely romantic. A film that follows the lives of eight different couples during the holiday season touches upon the beautiful Julia (Keira Knightley), who has always assumed her husband's best friend Mark (Andrew Lincoln) dislikes her because he never really says much around her. One evening, he shows up at her front door pretending he's a caroler and has cue cards, explaining to her how he truly feels towards her. Our hearts pine as he doesn't want much else since he loves his friend so much—he just wants closure in regards to Julia.
18 'The Notebook': Pretty Much Everything Noah Did For Allie
Oh, The Notebook. The movie that's bound to leave us sobbing by the end is littered with romantic gestures given to us by the way of Noah (Ryan Gosling).
He woos the beautiful Allie (Rachel McAdams) one summer in the late 1930s and continues to pine after her years after they've tragically parted due to their different social statuses.
From his initial courtship, writing her 365 love letters (with no response), and even building her the house of her dreams long after they've parted, it's safe to say that we all would adore finding our own Noah, whose lifelong devotion to the one he loves is beyond admirable.
17 '10 Things I Hate About You': Patrick Serenading Kat
An adaptation of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, 10 Things I Hate About You is definitely up there as one of the most intelligent teenage comedies of its time. After spending a good chunk of the film bickering, scowling, and resisting clear physical chemistry, Patrick (Heath Ledger) decides to sweep Cat (Julia Stiles) off her feet by stealing a microphone from the school radio and singing Frankie Valli's "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" on the school football pitch, even getting the school band to provide instrumental help. She's completely smitten and can't help but giggle, especially after the security guard starts chasing Patrick off the field.
16 'Never Been Kissed': Waiting For Her Love In The Middle Of A Field
It's not always the guy who has to go through a big romantic gesture in a movie—girls can, too. Never Been Kissed sees journalist Josie (Drew Barrymore) going undercover at a local high school, posing as a teenage student. She falls for her English teacher, Sam (Michael Vartan), yet knows nothing can happen because she's still undercover as his student, technically. After she's revealed, the school feels tricked—as does Sam.
To make it up to him, Josie announces she'll be standing in the middle of a baseball field waiting for her first kiss (she never had one back in high school).
Of course, she waits until the last second, and right as she feels utterly crushed, Sam comes out—causing the entire town to cheer them on.
15 'The Wedding Singer': The In-Flight Song And Proposal
Being serenaded by Billy Idol? Sign us up! Robbie (Adam Sandler) and Julia (Drew Barrymore) are two people who are engaged to their respective partners. Robbie is a charismatic wedding singer, while Julia is a waitress at the events. As the duo gets to know each other it becomes clear they've chosen the wrong partners. How does one remedy this and profess their love for their true flame? With a plane filled with passengers, of course. Expressing his true feelings for Julia, Robbie serenades her on the plane with the help of the flight attendants, singing a song about how he wants to "grow old" with her, with the help of Billy Idol, who happened to be sitting in first class, too.
14 'How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days': The Motorcycle Chase
Ben (Matthew McConaughey) is a big shot advertising exec who fancies himself as a ladies' man. He wants to win a big campaign so he bets that he can make any woman fall in love with him in 10 days. Andie (Kate Hudson) covers a "How To" article in Manhattan and is assigned an article on "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days."
Shortly after the scene has been set, the duo meets at a bar, and the rest is history.
When Andie decides she's leaving Manhattan to become a "real" journalist, Ben decides to hop on his motorcycle and chase her cab across the Brooklyn Bridge, screaming at her that he wants to talk to her.
13 'When Harry Met Sally': The Marathon-Worthy Run
Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) are the best of friends in this late '80s classic. They've been friends for years and that's all they are, as they've agreed that if they take their relationship to the next level, it'll ruin their friendship. Of course, they can't deny their feelings for one another—especially Harry—so when he realizes just before midnight on New Year's Eve that he's madly in love with Sally, he runs across New York City to find her at a random party and declare his love for her. After a stress-inducing mad dash, he finds her and tells her exactly how he feels right as the clock strikes midnight.
12 'Jerry Maguire' And The Most Quotable Line In Rom-Com History
This late '90s gem yields one of the most quote movie moments in history. One day, Jerry (Tom Cruise) has an epiphany, realizing that his fulfillment in life won't come from money, yet from the love he has for his estranged wife, Dorothy (Renée Zellweger).
Marching into her living room filled with Dorothy's sister's support group, he utters the now-famous line, "You complete me."
If that isn't enough, Dorothy cuts him off and responds with, "You had me at hello." Of course, the audience goes wild and we're all left feeling so full and satisfied as the duo finally embraces.
11 'Pretty Woman': Edward Getting Over His Fear Of Heights For Vivian
Extremely wealthy and suave Edward (Richard Gere) is so focused on his work, he doesn't have time to meet a proper woman of his high social standing. After deciding he needs someone to accompany him to all the social gatherings he has to attend, he runs into Vivian (Julia Roberts), a beautiful girl he met by chance. Edward decides to hire her for a week, turning her into a stunning Cinderella, and is taken aback by personality and grace. After their deal is over, he pulls up in his limo and scales her fire escape in an attempt to whisk her away—even after mentioning how extremely afraid of heights he is.
10 'Lost In Translation': The Romantic Whisper At The End
Perhaps it's not really a rom-com, but Sofia Coppola's early 2000s delight, Lost in Translation, is beautiful to watch. A fading movie star, Bob (Bill Murray) meets Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) in Tokyo at a hotel they're both staying at. They both have their own lives and their own partners, respectively, yet they can't help but feel a connection during their brief stay in Japan together.
At the end of the movie, Bob stops his cab as he's leaving Tokyo to run after Charlotte early one morning in the streets and embraces her, whispering something to her.
The most poignant part about this exchange is that we'll never know what he said—keeping their romance just as private as they intended.
9 'Easy A': The Ultimate Homage To John Hughes Movies
An adorable, more recent gem on this list is Easy A, a clear homage to all of the classic John Hughes teenage rom-coms of the 1980s. The movie's final scene is the pièce de résistance, as Todd (Penn Badgley) blasts Simple Mind's "Don't You Forget About Me" all while sitting on top of a lawnmower outside of Olive (Emma Stone)'s window. She obviously can't resist a good Hughes mashup of Breakfast Club and Say Anything so she runs down to join them as they ride the lawnmower adorably together. It's a little bit corny but so heartwarming for any movie fanatic.
8 'Blue Valentine': The Endearing Tap Dancing Scene
One of the more sad movies on this list, Blue Valentine sees Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams) married together after a life filled with hardships—even though they're both relatively young.
One scene sees them setting aside all their troubles as Dean picks up his ukulele and very awkwardly strums and belts out the lyrics to The Mills Brother's "You Always Hurt the One You Love" while Cindy very adorably tap dances by his side.
Even though you know their relationship won't work out, it's slightly heartbreaking, yet you can't help but swoon and pine for the duo during such a fleeting moment.
7 'Stealing Beauty': The Discovery Of The Origins Of A Hidden Love Letter
In this beautiful homage to summers and young love, Lucy travels to Italy after her mother passes away to spend time with those closest to her family and in search for the boy who wrote her a love letter so many years ago after she met him for the first time. As she meets so many colorful characters and wins the hearts of many different men, she discovers it wasn't who she thought it was who wrote her the letter four years ago. It turns out, it was his best friend, who has secretly loved Lucy for so many years. The reveal is incredibly romantic, and we fall so hard—just like Lucy.
6 '500 Days Of Summer': The Ikea Date
A movie that declares at the beginning it isn't a love story with a happy ending can definitely have you scratching your head on how it'll have a romantic moment hidden in it but it turns out—it does.
500 Days of Summer sees Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) fall for Summer (Zooey Deschanel), a girl who has declared she doesn't believe in true love.
As she whisks him away and they start dating they spend an afternoon together charmingly acting out their fantasy home life on a trip to Ikea, adorably visiting all the different areas and picking furniture in absolute bliss.
5 'You've Got Mail': The Climactic Emotional Reveal
In a time before online dating was the norm, two bookstore rivals, Kathleen (Meg Ryan) and Joe (Tom Hanks), who can't stand each other in person start chatting online and completely fall for one another. As time goes on the duo finally end up meeting in Riverside Park while "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" plays perfectly in the background. We as the audience get flushed with emotion as Kathleen wipes away her tears when discovering who her online pen pal really is. As she says, "I wanted it to be you," Joe embraces her and calls her by her online name, whispering, "Don't cry, Shopgirl. Don't cry."
4 'Groundhog Day': Good Things Happen To Those Who Loosen Up
A rom-com for all of those who dislike cheesy rom-coms, Groundhog Day sees grumpy protagonist Phil (Bill Murray) as a weatherman off to cover the ritual of a groundhog looking for its shadow. Negative by nature, he gets caught in a time loop where he's stuck re-living his previous 24 hours over and over again.
During this time he falls for his producer, Rita (Andie MacDowell) yet as he's still stuck in repetition, nothing can happen.
As time goes on, he learns to be kind and generous, getting to know the whole town and in turn learning to woo Rita not through cunning ways but through charm. As he finally starts having fun with her, our hearts melt along with Phil's.
3 'Bridget Jones's Diary': The Evening Run On A Cold Winter Night
One of the funniest rom-coms that has us feeling for the protagonist throughout features Renée Zellweger as the awkward Bridget Jones, navigating her love life between two men, one the womanizing businessman, Daniel (Hugh Grant) and the utterly endearing Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). As she works to decide which man she likes more, she details her thoughts in her diary, which Mark happens to come across one day. When she finds out he's read the less-than-kind parts of her diary written about him, she runs after him in the middle of a snowy night to declare her love for him, finally coming to a conclusion of who she wants to be with.
2 'Sleepless In Seattle': Sam And Annie Finally Meeting In The End
Queen of '90s rom-coms Meg Ryan is back again and dominating our list with another entry, Sleepless in Seattle. She plays Annie, a Baltimore-based journalist who tunes into a talk show to hear Sam talk about the love of his life, his wife who passed away.
As he paints a picture of how he lost the woman of his dreams, countless women fall in love with him solely from his story and write him letters—Annie included.
Sam doesn't believe in meeting a woman this way, but his son, Jonah, takes the lead and is particularly captivated by Annie's words. He drags his dad to the top of the Empire State Building where he's due to meet Annie, and as the elevator door opens, they simply know they're meant to be together.
1 'Sweet Home Alabama': The Exclusive Tiffany's Date
Jewelry fans everywhere fell head over heels during this memorable scene from Sweet Home Alabama. Who can forget when New York socialite and fashion designer Melanie (Reese Witherspoon) gets the proposal every girl dreams of? The absolutely dreamy Andrew (Patrick Dempsey) surprises her by taking her to an after-hours Tiffany's—where she gets to choose her own wedding ring.
More recently, Reese had an adorable surprise. According to ET Online, she popped into the famous jewelry store back in 2015 and had the staff surprise her by reenacting the enviable rom-com moment. Taken aback, Reese quickly took to social media with the caption, "#Pinchme."
Source: ET Online
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