The 25 best romantic movies on Netflix

Always Be My Maybe (2019)

Two old childhood friends reconnect in Always Be My Maybe, starring Ali Wong and Randall Park. As teens, the pair considered a romantic relationship, but it didn't work out. As adults, she's become a famous chef while he's still stuck in a small-time band and working for his dad's business.

Now, they'll have to try and see if love is their destiny once again while facing her fame and his insecurities. The movie also features plenty of quirky moments, including Keanu Reeves playing an odd version of himself as a love interest for Wong's character. And, as an added bonus, there's also Wong's amazing wardrobe. —Lia Beck

Where to watch Always Be My Maybe: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Nahnatchka Khan

Cast: Ali Wong, Randall Park, Keanu Reeves, Daniel Dae Kim, James Saito, Michelle Buteau, Vivian Bang

Before Sunset (2004)

Richard Linklater uses time in a way that few directors ever have, and his Before trilogy is no exception. The three films (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight), star Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, and were released in 1995, 2004, and 2013, respectively. They track Jesse (Hawke) and Celine (Delpy) at different points in their relationship, starting with their first meeting on a train.

Before Sunset picks up nine years after Sunrise, as Jesse and Celine become reacquainted with each other in Paris during a chance encounter on Jesse’s book tour. Authentic, beautifully acted and written, and capable of making you rethink your philosophies on love and relationships, the entire Before trilogy is worth watching, but Sunset is especially excellent. —Ilana Gordon

Where to watch Before Sunset: Netflix

EW grade: N/A (read the review)

Director: Richard Linklater

Cast: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy

Blue Jay (2017)

Twenty years after breaking up, former high-school sweethearts Jim (Mark Duplass, who also wrote the script) and Amanda (Sarah Paulson) bump into each other in their California hometown and end up spending the day — and night — together. As they update each other on what's transpired in their lives in the years since they last spoke, Jim and Amanda reminisce together about the people they used to be while attempting to understand the people they have become.

A slice of life film that offers a glimpse into the optimism of youthful infatuation, and the bitter realities of aging, living, and loving, Blue Jay's simple story is still meaty enough for its two leads to dig their performative talons into. One of the best performances of Paulson's career, according to an EW writer, she is "effortlessly shifting from broken to brazen and everything in between." Blue Jay may be shot in black and white, the overall narrative is anything but. —I.G.

Where to watch Blue Jay: Netflix

EW grade: A– (read the review)

Director: Alex Lehmann

Cast: Mark Duplass, Sarah Paulson

Call Me by Your Name (2017)

There's no better place for a sexual awakening than northern Italy in the summer. Set in 1983, Call Me by Your Name tells the story of Elio (Timothée Chalamet in his breakout performance), a 17-year-old whose life is upended after his academic father's new grad student, Oliver (Armie Hammer), arrives to stay with the family. Sparks fly between the bookish Elio and the worldly Oliver, and in spite of their differences, a relationship forms between the two.

A romantic coming-of-age drama, Call Me by Your Name is based on André Aciman’s novel from 2007, and meditates on themes of growing up, coming to terms with one's sexuality, and the depths of feeling found in young love. Nominated for four Oscars, with James Ivory taking home the trophy for Best Adapted Screenplay, Call Me by Your Name is a remarkable love story told with tenderness, respect, and nostalgia. —I.G.

Where to watch Call Me by Your Name: Netflix

EW grade: A– (read the review)

Director: Luca Guadagnino

Cast: Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar, Esther Garrel, Victoire Du Bois

Carol (2015)

Mad Men lovers will find a similar aesthetic in Carol, a queer romance set against the backdrop of the repressive 1950s. From the moment New Jersey housewife Carol (Cate Blanchett) meets aspiring photographer Therese (Rooney Mara) while Christmas shopping at a New York City department store, it's obvious a connection has been forged. Eager to escape the difficulties presented by the men in their lives, the women find solace in each other, their relationship sparking and burning as brightly as the tips of their cigarettes.

Lovingly directed by Todd Haynes who explores issues of class and sexuality with the lightest of touches, EW's critic writes that Carol has "taken what was once a taboo love story and has allowed it to speak to us with a directness and clarity that would have been hard to imagine more than six decades ago." —I.G.

Where to watch Carol: Netflix

EW grade: A– (read the review)

Director: Todd Haynes

Cast: Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Kyle Chandler, Jake Lacy

Duck Butter (2018)

Love gets fast-tracked in Duck Butter, a 2018 independent film co-written by and starring Alia Shawkat. Struggling with the local dating scene, actress Naima (Shawkat) and artist Sergio (Laia Costa) meet at a bar and decide to accelerate their relationship by spending 24 hours together and having sex once an hour. But the more time Naima and Sergio spend together, the more they find their quickly-established intimacy tested by new friends and loved ones.

While the Sergio character was originally written for a man, the decision to cast a woman instead adds another layer of specificity and nuance. Heavier on the toilet humor than you might expect, Duck Butter is worth a watch for its excellent acting and killer roster of supporting players. —I.G.

Where to watch Duck Butter: Netflix

Director: Miguel Arteta

Cast: Alia Shawkat, Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass, Mae Whitman, Hong Chau, Kate Berlant, Kumail Nanjiani

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

When Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was first released, EW’s critic at the time wrote that the film “may be the first movie I’ve seen that bends your brain and breaks your heart at the same time.” Joel (Jim Carrey) meets a stranger named Clementine (Kate Winslet) — only she’s not a stranger. She’s his ex-girlfriend, and she chose to undergo a surgery to have her memories of Joel — and their relationship — clinically expunged from her brain. Realizing what she’s done, Joel decides to do the same.

Their relationship is showcased through a series of memories that are being erased, and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman cleverly explores the lengths to which people will go to get rid of their pain, even if it means taking the pleasure with it. Beautifully acted, constructed, and with a whimsical streak of sci-fi woven in, there’s nothing else quite like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. —I.G.  

Where to watch Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: Netflix

EW grade: N/A (read the review)

Director: Michel Gondry

Cast: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, Tom Wilkinson

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)

If the Puritans knew that coming to America would later disqualify them from competing in the Eurovision Song Contest, they might have had second thoughts about leaving England. As it is, the closest Americans will get to participating in Eurovision is by turning on Will Ferrell's 2020 parody of the annual competition. Lovingly crafted and full of legitimately good songs — including the always requested "Jaja Ding Dong" — Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is a silly story about a maligned musical duo (Ferrell and Rachel McAdams) who are selected to represent Iceland at the competition after a tragedy befalls the country.

McAdams is particularly delightful as the nightingale-voiced Sigrit who commits to helping her bandmate (not brother) achieve his dream of competing in the Eurovision Song Contest. If you’re looking for a musical romp populated by whales and gnomes, this is the film for you.  —I.G.

Where to watch Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga: Netflix

EW grade: B– (read the review)

Director: David Dobkin

Cast: Will Ferrell, Rachel McAdams, Dan Stevens, Graham Norton, Demi Lovato, Pierce Brosnan

The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society (2018)

Fans of period romances will fall head over heels for the Netflix original The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society. The 2018 film stars Lily James as a writer who gets to know the residents of Guernsey, an island that had recently been under German occupation during World War II. As for the romantic aspect, the lead character is torn between two men: her American fiancé (Glen Powell) and a new man from Guernsey (Michiel Huisman). EW's review of Mike Newell's film calls it "as snug and sweet and congenitally British as a tea cozy." —L.B.

Where to watch The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Mike Newell

Cast: Lily James, Michael Huisman, Glen Powell, Jessica Brown Findlay

The Half of It (2020)

Securing Tribeca's Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature, Alice Wu's queer revision of Cyrano de Bergerac introduces viewers to Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis), a booksmart outcast whose writing skills become a lucrative business with her peers as customers. When she starts drafting love letters for himbo jock Paul Munsky (Daniel Diemer, a.k.a. Will Poulter's doppelgänger) to popular girl Aster Flores (Alexxis Lemire) — whom Ellie secretly harbors feelings for — the unlikely pair forge a connection far more profound than any high school crush.

Through atmospheric camerawork, whip-smart dialogue, and a sea of film references for cinephiles to bathe in, The Half of It spins a coming-of-age love story that bleeds wisdom beyond its years. —James Mercadante

Where to watch The Half of It: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Alice Wu

Cast: Leah Lewis, Daniel Diemer, Alexxis Lemire, Enrique Murciano, Wolfgang Novogratz, Catherine Curtin, Becky Ann Baker, Collin Chou

The Incredible Jessica James (2017)

Jessica Williams took the world by storm when she became the youngest correspondent on The Daily Show. And after leaving the program in 2016, Williams honed in on film — starting by taking on the roles of Executive Producer and lead actor in the rom-com The Incredible Jessica James. The role of Jessica James was created especially for Williams by writer-director Jim Strouse, and the character is perfectly customized to flaunt her many comedic and performative strengths.

In the film, Jessica is an aspiring playwright and employee at a children's theater workshop who just broke up with her boyfriend (LaKeith Stanfield). After her friend Tasha (Noël Wells) sets her up on a date with Boone (Chris O'Dowd), Jessica must decide if their romance is worth pursuing, and what she wants her love life and work life to look like going forward. —I.G.

Where to watch The Incredible Jessica James: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Jim Strouse

Cast: Jessica Williams, LaKeith Stanfield, Noël Wells, Chris O'Dowd

Lady Chatterley's Lover (2022)

If Fifty Shades of Grey and Bridgerton welcomed a child, its name would be Lady Chatterley's Lover. Enduring decades of bans for its salacious content, D.H. Lawrence's 1928 avant-garde novel gets a fresh adaptation under the heedful eye of Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, who deftly explores the depths of female desire. In this soft-core romance about emotional and bodily fulfillment, an unhappily married aristocrat (Emma Corrin) defies gender roles by acting on her own urges — starting a clandestine affair with the gamekeeper (Jack O'Connell) of her husband's (Matthew Duckett) estate.

While EW's critic observes a lack of dramatic conflict in the film, they highlight that "what's left is just an unabashedly heady romance, rich in pretty costumes — when they're wearing them — and lush, lusty atmosphere." —J.M.

Where to watch Lady Chatterley's Lover: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre

Cast: Emma Corrin, Jack O'Connell, Matthew Duckett, Faye Marsay, Ella Hunt, Anthony Brophy

Love at First Sight (2023)

The year 2022 saw the rise (and slight meme-ification) of The White Lotus star Haley Lu Richardson, thus paving the way for her lead role in this 2023 adaptation of Jennifer E. Smith's best-selling novel, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight. Here, Richardson's quirky charm is on full display as Hadley Sullivan, a 20-year-old American who spends her seven-hour flight from New York to London engrossed in banter with her charismatic British seatmate, Oliver (Ben Hardy). (Alexa, play "London Boy" by Taylor Swift.) Once the strangers part ways upon landing, fate works its magic.

Without venturing into cringe territory, Love at First Sight pulls off a time-worn, formulaic trope by simply embracing its sweetness — thanks to Richardson and Hardy's onscreen magnetism, a carefully curated indie soundtrack, and Jameela Jamil's intimate narrations — leaving you plotting your next trip in hopes of an airport meet-cute. —J.M.

Where to watch Love at First Sight: Netflix

Director: Vanessa Caswill

Cast: Haley Lu Richardson, Ben Hardy, Jameela Jamil, Rob Delaney, Sally Phillips, Dexter Fletcher

The Lovebirds (2020)

After four years of dating, Jibran (Kumail Nanjiani) and Leilani (Issa Rae) are prepared to call it quits — until the couple finds themselves involved in a murder that requires them to put their break up aside and go on the run. Too concerned about racial profiling to involve the police, Jibran and Leilani must hunt down the identity of the man who was murdered so they can find out who killed him and clear their own names.

Directed by Michael Showalter (Wet Hot American Summer), The Lovebirds is a romantic evening gone wrong in the style of films like 2010's Date Night and 2018's Game Night. Boasting a high ratio of jokes per minute and a pair of lead actors who know how to wield their witticisms like machetes, Nanjiani and Rae's on screen bickering and loving needling will have you rooting for their relationship, even as it's falling apart. —I.G.

Where to watch The Lovebirds: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Michael Showalter

Cast: Kumail Nanjiani, Issa Rae, Anna Camp, Paul Sparks

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)

When Mr. & Mrs. Smith premiered in 2005, it was preceded by its reputation. Five months earlier, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston announced their separation after seven years of marriage, which was allegedly initiated after Pitt met and fell in love with his co-star, Angelina Jolie, during production on Mr. & Mrs. Smith. The celebrity buzz was more than enough to coax audiences into theaters, and once they got there, they were greeted by a film that was half action movie, half therapy session. 

The story follows an unhappy couple (Pitt and Jolie), both of whom are undercover assassins working for competing companies — and both of whom have received an assignment to kill the other. Screenwriter Simon Kinberg was inspired by the five-step process employed in couples counseling, a template he used to help ground the Smiths' otherwise exceptional lives into something far more relatable. —I.G.

Where to watch Mr. & Mrs. Smith: Netflix

EW grade: N/A (read the review)

Director: Doug Liman

Cast: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Adam Brody, Kerry Washington

No Hard Feelings (2023)

Jennifer Lawrence is such an accomplished dramatic actress, it’s easy to forget her first big career break came on the TBS sitcom The Bill Engvall Show. But her comedic chops are rock solid, and she gets to show them off in the 2023 raunch-com No Hard Feelings. Lawrence plays Maddie, a struggling thirtysomething who agrees to seduce a wealthy couple’s introverted 19-year-old in exchange for a car.

The premise is simple but the execution is designed to let Lawrence play in ways we haven’t seen since Silver Linings Playbook. From taking throat punches to brawling naked, the Oscar winner manages to balance the physical comedy of the film while still centering the story’s emotional heart. As EW’s critic writes, No Hard Feelings is “a reminder that Lawrence is one Hollywood's best (and funniest) leads.” —I.G.

Where to watch No Hard Feelings: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Gene Stupnitsky

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman, Laura Benanti, Natalie Morales, Matthew Broderick

The Notebook (2004)

Based on Nicholas Sparks’ best-selling romance novel, The Notebook is a period drama on a personal mission to make you cry. Allie (Rachel McAdams) and Noah (Ryan Gosling) meet as young people in the 1940s and fall in love. The audience learns the story of how their relationship unfolds from Duke (James Garner), an older man who relays the tale in the present to a nursing home resident (Gena Rowlands).

Set before, during, and after World War II, The Notebook is a story about the life circumstances that pull people in relationships apart — and the choices that push them back together. A period romance led by actors whose chemistry sizzles regardless what decade they’re in, you don’t have to be going through a breakup to enjoy The Notebook, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. —I.G.

Where to watch The Notebook: Netflix

EW grade: N/A (read the review)

Director: Nick Cassavetes

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, James Garner, Gena Rowlands, James Marsden, Kevin Connolly, Sam Shepard, Joan Allen

Our Souls at Night (2017)

Some partnerships just keep getting better with age, and the onscreen relationship between Robert Redford and Jane Fonda — now in its fourth iteration — is one of those unions. In the Netflix original movie Our Souls at Night, Redford and Fonda play longtime neighbors and widowers Louis and Addie, who find comfort in spending their nights together as platonic friends. Aware that their unorthodox relationship and sleeping arrangement is eliciting side eyes from the town and their adult children, the pair must eventually choose between their growing emotional dependence on each other and the needs of their respective families.

With a cast of only seven actors, the strength of Our Souls at Night lies mainly in the steady hands of its two leads, who make falling in love look just as appealing as they did half a century ago in Barefoot In The Park. —I.G.

Where to watch Our Souls at Night: Netflix

Director: Ritesh Batra

Cast: Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Judy Greer, Matthias Schoenaerts, Bruce Dern, Iain Armitage

Phantom Thread (2017)

There are lots of lighthearted romantic movies on Netflix, but if you're looking for something much, much darker, there's Phantom Thread. The Paul Thomas Anderson movie stars Daniel Day-Lewis as a fashion designer who finds a muse and partner in a waitress (Vicky Krieps) during the 1950s. The couple's relationship is rocky to say the least, and some poisonous mushrooms play a hefty role in the film's tension.

"What's true with Daniel is that you're always in front of someone very awake, so you have to be awake," Krieps tells EW about working with Day-Lewis in what is purportedly his final role. "You couldn't go and do something not really knowing what you're doing or being half thinking about your lunch. It wouldn't work because you'd just crash against the wall." —L.B.

Where to watch Phantom Thread: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Kreips, Lesley Manville

Plus One (2019)

Fed up with being single during wedding season, two Millennial college pals Ben (Jack Quaid) and Alice (Maya Erskine) agree to be each other's platonic plus ones at every event. Winning Tribeca's Narrative Audience Award in 2019, Plus One is a lighthearted buddy-comedy that blossoms into a richly nuanced friends-to-lovers romance, showcasing two fully realized characters who share universal anxieties of being alone and societal expectations to settle down.

Erskine summed up the film to EW, saying: "At its core, it’s a movie about friendship [and] she’s able to be her ugliest self. She’s able to fart, curse, and show every facet of herself and still be looked at as a beautiful woman, and to me, that’s what sets it aside from other romantic comedies." —J.M.

Where to watch Plus One: Netflix

Directors: Jeff Chan, Andrew Rhymer

Cast: Maya Erskine, Jack Quaid, Beck Bennett, Rosalind Chao, Perrey Reeves, Ed Begley Jr.

Set It Up (2018)

If you found Glen Powell to be perfect boyfriend material in Anyone but You (2023), wait until you see him paired with the dynamic Zoey Deutch in Set It Up. When two stress-ridden assistants from adjoining companies, Harper (Deutch) and Charlie (Powell), conspire to set up their Type-A bosses (Taye Diggs, Lucy Liu) in hopes of freeing themselves from the nonstop office grind, it sparks an enemies-to-lovers fling between the two matchmakers that's as satisfying as a sublime slice of pizza. Set It Up ranks among Netflix's finest rom-coms, injecting the genre's familiar elements with an extra dose of heart — all fueled by the palpable chemistry between Powell and Deutch. —J.M.

Where to watch Set It Up: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Claire Scanlon

Cast: Zoey Deutch, Glen Powell, Lucy Liu, Taye Diggs, Joan Smalls, Meredith Hagner, Pete Davidson, Jon Rudnitsky, Tituss Burgess

She's Gotta Have It (1986)

Spike Lee’s first feature film as a writer and director, She’s Gotta Have It presents intertwining romances as lead character Nola Darling (Tracy Camilla Johns) decides which of the three men she’s dating (Lee, Tommy Redmond Hicks, John Canada Terrell) she wants to have a monogamous relationship with. Luxuriating in Lee’s creative sensibility and shot in crisp black and white, Nola’s journey towards picking a partner is funny, thought-provoking, and unique in every respect.

In a review of Netflix’s 2017 She’s Gotta Have It adaptation (also directed by Lee), EW’s critic describes the original movie, writing, “She’s Gotta Have It was Spike Lee’s first feature film, and few movies feel so joyfully first.” A dramedy that questions sexual, relationship, and gender norms of the time, She’s Gotta Have It is notable for its subject matter, aesthetic, and for launching Lee’s storied Hollywood career. —I.G.

Where to watch She’s Gotta Have It: Netflix

EW grade: B– (read the review)

Director: Spike Lee 

Cast: Tracy Camilla Johns, Spike Lee, Tommy Redmond Hicks, John Canada Terrell

Shortcomings (2023)

Regrettably overshadowed during its initial release by the Barbienheimer phenomenon, Randall Park's directorial debut is an underdog deserving of a spot on your Letterboxd watchlist. Adapted from the beloved graphic novel by The New Yorker's Adrian Tomine, Shortcomings trails the introspective journey of Asian American man-child/culture snob, Ben Tagawa (Justin H. Min), whose on-the-mends relationship with girlfriend Miko (Ally Maki) hits a temporary pause once she relocates from California to the Big Apple for an internship.

With the dubious counsel of his skirt-chasing best friend, Alice (Sherry Cola), Ben dives headfirst back into the dating pool and grapples with his own desires, which exposes his inclination toward Western standards of beauty. A film about accepting life's ebbs and flows, Shortcomings invites audiences to witness Park's burgeoning directorial talent while engaging in incisive social commentary, particularly on the complexities of race in relationships. —J.M.

Where to watch Shortcomings: Netflix

Director: Randall Park 

Cast: Justin H. Min, Sherry Cola, Ally Maki, Tavi Gevinson, Debby Ryan, Sonoya Mizuno, Jacob Batalon, Timothy Simons

Someone Great (2019)

Heartbreak just hits different in Netflix's Someone Great, a film about Jenny (Gina Rodriguez), a music journalist who goes through a breakup after accepting her dream job in San Francisco and learning her boyfriend (LaKeith Stanfield) doesn't want to come along. Emotionally buttressed by her best friends Erin (DeWanda Wise) and Blair (Brittany Snow), Jenny decides to make the most of her last night in New York City, and along the way encounters an eclectic supporting cast including Rosario Dawson, RuPaul, and SNL's Alex Moffat.

In addition to being a solid modern rom-com, Someone Great also has great significance in Swiftie lore: Taylor's 2014 song "Clean" off the 1989 album was one of the inspirations for the film's story, and Swift wrote Lover's "Death by a Thousand Cuts" after seeing the movie. Deeply relatable for anyone who's been blindsided or suffered a broken heart, Someone Great is about endings, beginnings, and finding the joy in both. —I.G.

Where to watch Someone Great: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson

Cast: Gina Rodriguez, DeWanda Wise, Brittany Snow, LaKeith Stanfield, Rosario Dawson, RuPaul, Alex Moffat

To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018)

Navigating high school is painful enough without all of your crushes finding out you like them — at the same time. A modern rom-com that EW's critic calls "breezy and charming," To All the Boys I've Loved Before follows Lara Jean Covey (Lana Condor) as her worst fears are realized when the love letters she never meant to send find their way to the boys who inspired them.

Cornered by love, Lara Jean negotiates a sham relationship with her former crush to throw off her current one, but when feelings start catching, Lara Jean must deal with the consequences of both her lies and the truths she's starting to realize. The first in a series of three films, which also include 2020's To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You and 2021's To All the Boys: Always and Forever, the original still hits the hardest. —I.G.

Where to watch To All the Boys I've Loved Before: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Susan Johnson

Cast: Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, Janel Parrish, Anna Cathcart, Andrew Bachelor, Trezzo Mahoro, Madeleine Arthur, Emilija Baranac, Israel Broussard, John Corbett