As 2017 comes to an end and you prepare to say hello to 2018, you may not have your sights set on a raucous party to ring in the new year. Fortunately, there’s no shortage of heart-warming holiday film fare to watch while you count the hours down until midnight. And don’t worry — since we know what a dreaded time-eater just trying to pick a movie can be, we compiled a list of lovely romantic films you can watch on New Year’s Eve. We’d hate for you to waste any of your final minutes of 2017 scrolling through an endless queue!
So hunker down at home, have a bottle of bubbly nearby, and set the tone for the new year by ringing it in with love.
Roxanne (1987)
Available on iTunes, Amazon Video, and Netflix DVD
Leap Year (2010)
When Anna Brady (Amy Adams) doesn’t receive her dream proposal from her cardiologist boyfriend of four years, she decides to take matters into her own hands. Acting on an Irish legend that says a man must accept a woman’s proposal on Leap Year, she travels to Dublin to intercept him. However, fate has other plans when cranky local bar owner Declan (Matthew Goode) becomes her unofficial tour guide.
Available on iTunes, Amazon Video, and Netflix
Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
C’mon, it’s a true classic! You couldn’t possibly have a list of romantic movies and not include the tender story of recent widower Sam Baldwin (Tom Hanks) and the shenanigans that ensue when his 8-year-old son Jonah tries to play matchmaker. While Jonah’s pick to heal his dad’s broken heart is a woman named Annie, she lives across the country in New York. But where great love — and apparently great insomnia — is, there can be great miracles.
Available on iTunes, Amazon Video, and Netflix DVD
Lady and the Tramp (1955)
Yes, it’s an animated movie. In our defense, we still contend it is one of the greatest love stories ever told. How could you not swoon when pampered pooch Lady falls for the scrappy mutt Tramp, and they eat spaghetti noodles in sweet synchronicity? A nostalgic choice, this tale set in a small turn-of-the-century town will fill your heart with the warm and fuzzies.
Available on Amazon DVD and Netflix DVD
Before Sunrise (1995)
Chemistry is a funny thing and, as evidenced by the attraction between American tourist Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and French student Celine (Julie Delpy), it can be spun entirely out of the words two people exchange. Such is how a chance meeting on a westbound train out of Budapest convinced Jesse and Celine to spend his last night abroad wandering Vienna together and offering each other bits and pieces of their souls through slivers of conversation.
Available on iTunes, Amazon Video, and Netflix DVD
The Sound of Music (1965)
The hills are alive with the sound of . . . our obsession with this beloved Julie Andrews film. Whether your significant other is a fan of musicals or not, no one is impervious to Andrews’ charm as a young nanny named Maria who lands a gig taking care of Captain Von Trapp’s seven mischievous children. As time passes and her affection for the kids and their father grows, it’s clear that love is in the air — along with Andrew’s ethereal voice, of course.
Available on iTunes, Amazon Video, and Netflix DVD
While You Were Sleeping (1995)
As far as tales of unrequited love go, Lucy the Chicago train ticket-puncher rivals the best (or should we say worst?) of them. Every day, she pines over an oblivious commuter named Peter until, one day, the unexpected happens — he falls onto the rails, and she saves his life. When he slips into a coma and a family member overhears her crying at the hospital, they begin to put two-and-two together. The only problem? Peter’s brother Jack is convinced something doesn’t add up.
Available on iTunes, Amazon Video, and Netflix
The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
If you’re a fan of the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan rom-com You’ve Got Mail, you owe it to yourself to watch its inspiration: this 1940 film! In the original, the story centers around “Matuschek’s” gift shop in Budapest. One of the employees, Alfred Kralik, has fallen head over heels in love with a woman that he’s never even met — their entire correspondence has taken place through the post. Things get even more complicated when Kralik’s boss, Mr. Matuschek himself, hires a new saleswoman for the store.
Available on iTunes, Amazon Video, and Netflix DVD
Up (2009)
It doesn’t matter how old (or young) you are — if watching the 2009 animated film Up doesn’t tug on your heartstrings, well, you might not have any, friend. This touching tale belongs to 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen, who decides to “float” his house to a place called Paradise Falls using hundreds of balloons. Hilarity follows, thanks to a few unlikely stowaways, but the takeaway of this timeless film is a touching message of abiding love.
Available on iTunes, Amazon Video, and Netflix DVD
Pride & Prejudice (2005)
Based on the Jane Austen novel of the same name, this modern adaptation features Keira Knightley as the spirited Elizabeth Bennett — a woman who refuses to marry simply because it is what is expected of her. However, sparks soon fly when a wealthy bachelor named Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfayen) enters the picture. But seeing as he believes his birth is superior to Elizabeth’s, the odds seem stacked against a lasting connection.
Available on iTunes, Amazon Video, and Netflix DVD
Kate & Leopold (2001)
Meg Ryan, Hugh Jackman, New York City, and time travel . . . what more could you possibly want from a film? Leopold (Jackman) is an English duke who inadvertently gets dragged from New York circa 1876 to modern New York by the time-traveling ex-boyfriend of Kate (Ryan). When Kate — a New Yorker through-and-through — learns the truth, she is naturally skeptical. Will she take a leap of faith into the past for the sake of her future?
Available on iTunes, Amazon Video, and Netflix
The Princess Bride (1987)
It’s quite possible there’s no better way to ring in the new year than by watching this classic tale of love and adventure unfold onscreen. You’ll be taken back to a time when a man must cross Fire Swamps filled with Rodents of Unusual Size, fend off exotic swordsmen and their gigantic sidekicks, and escape scheming kidnappers in order to rescue his one true love — the beautiful Buttercup — from being forced into a loveless marriage with the odious Prince Humperdinck.
Available on iTunes, Amazon Video, and Netflix
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