My Top 10 Most Romantic Film Moments
And One of MY Most Romantic IRL Moments
I’d harbored the secret for years. Since I was 10.
Fast forward to our sophomore year in high school. I had finally worked up the courage to ask him to a dance.
I had confided my secret crush to just one friend (we’ll call her “Sarah”).
I saw her in the hallway as we rushed to different classrooms.
Me: “Sarah, I need to tell you something.” (I was going to tell her my plan to ask HIM to the dance.)
Sarah: “Okay. I need to tell you something, too. I’ll come find you after next period.”
During that class period, I nervously but determinedly walked up to my crush and invited him to the dance.
Him: “Oh, my goodness. I would totally have gone with you. But I just asked Sarah to go with me. If I didn’t already have a date, I would have loved to have gone with you.”
If I had been able to talk to Sarah earlier that day, my whole world might have changed. But I didn’t get to her until it was too late.
He and Sarah did go to the dance. And proceeded to date for awhile. A semester maybe? I can’t recall the specifics.
I still have to laugh.
For those who have been following my dating debacles, my dismal luck in romance waaaay precedes Match/OKC/Bumble!
That’s not the end. In true Bonnie fashion, our story is a winding tale.
But first! As promised, in honor of Valentine’s Day, here are my top ten most romantic moments in film.
I explore “romance” in a broad way — the pure, the sexy, the traditional, and the contemporary.
I intentionally cast the net wide, leaving off some obvious and worthy picks like Room With a View, Casablanca, When Harry Met Sally, and An Affair to Remember.
This list feels very Bonnie — it’s unlikely any other person would have come up with these exact ten selections. And I like that!
For those without a Valentine once again (like yours truly), for those who j’adore love and romance, and maybe especially for those who like their love tinged with outcasts, the quirky, the sultry, the rough-around-the-edges, and the beautiful — this list is for all of you!
Michelle Pfeiffer (aka Susie Diamond) singing “More Than You Know” in The Fabulous Baker Boys.
There was a lot of focus on her provocative “Makin’ Whoopee” performance, but I find this subtle, unhurried tune far sexier.
Hubble reflecting on his “Katie” years as the best years of his life. This scene and the sentiments are heartbreaking yet incredibly romantic.
If someone described his time with me as the best time of his life (even if we didn’t end up together), I would be very moved. Wouldn’t any of us?
Gilbert’s pleading “please say yes” to Anne.
Jonathan Crombie nailed the delivery on those three words. That combination of desire and vulnerability might be my personal all-time sexiest three words uttered on screen.
Duh! Wesley and Buttercup. Falling in love to the strains of Mark Knopfler’s guitar and against the backdrop of verdant land.
Robin Wright and Cary Elwes are two of the most beautiful humans to have ever lived. Perfectly cast.
Yes, yes. I’m sure everyone guessed that Jane Austen would make an appearance, but I imagine you were expecting Darcy.
No, I’m a Captain Wentworth girl!
Maybe it’s the old geezer in me, but the steady, cast-aside Anne being given a second chance warms my heart every time.
I get the Colin Firth love, but Ciaran Hinds is super dreamy! Swoon!
I like to deliver the unexpected, too. Marty may lack a traditional, over-the-top romance, but he sure brings a grounded, scrappy, true kind of love that I’m a sucker for.
If you’ve overlooked this Oscar winning movie, you’re missing out. Marty might be the biggest underdog ever and, darn, if we aren’t all rooting for him!
Ahhhh…Amelie! This quirky love story doesn’t only celebrate Amelie and her mysterious guy. It’s for all the characters and for all of us!
Did you guess THIS was my Parisian pick from my main story photo?
Sometimes the guy doesn’t get the girl. I think that fact makes Roman Holiday all the more romantic.
For me there are two scenes in this film that really get me.
One I’ve featured here: Princess Ann taking in the moment just prior to turning away from Joe Bradley forever. With Bradley stoically and calmly accepting that separation.
But I must mention the reason why THIS ending is so impactful to me. There is a brief exchange with her staff when Ann returns from her escapade.
She states: “Were I not completely aware of my duty to my family and my country, I would not have come tonight.”
And the kicker: “Or indeed ever again.”
The way she delivers those four words. With deep regret and a very clear resignation.
There can be no doubt that she’s fallen in love with Joe and very possibly would have stayed with him forever under different circumstances.
To give up ones own desires for a higher calling? Powerful, unselfish, and tragic.
The entire final scene of Before Sunset, especially Julie Delpy’s “Baby…you…are…gonna…miss…that…plane” as Nina Simone plays and Ethan Hawke breaks into a wide grin.
C’mon. Every Gen-Xer’s got a favorite John Hughes couple, amiright?
Watts and Keith 4ever!
For the curious: Have I ever had a kiss like this?
Well, in a garage wearing a red fingerless glove? Not so much.
In a different setting, though?
I find myself smiling because damn straight I have!
As I mentioned above, it’s a rather epic story. I tend to have a lot of those (where I never ultimately get the guy), but the stories themselves tend to have a long arc.
Here’s the abridged version of OUR story:
Yes, I had a crush on him from the day I met him when we were 10 years old.
I still remember that day. It was at a neighbor’s house. I came over to swim and there he was.
Scrawny, adorable, and confident.
I wouldn’t see him for many years since we didn’t attend the same elementary/middle school.
I recognized him my first week of high school.
We had some crazy near misses in high school, but never dated (or even hugged that I can recall).
More near misses, some serious flirting during our college days. But he attended a school in another state, so we only bumped into each other occasionally when he was in town over a break.
We finally went on a date over Christmas our junior year of college.
It was…bad.
He wrote me this preposterous letter afterward proclaiming I’d make some lucky guy a great wife someday.
I was livid! How dare he!
And that was that.
I really didn’t think about him much after the bad date and receiving that stupid letter.
Until I ran into him at the mall just weeks before I graduated from UT with my Masters degree.
I had a beau (who I was about to dump once I graduated), but I agreed to join this one-time crush for dinner and a movie.
It was magic!
Neither of us attempted to make a move. (I was grateful since I technically had a boyfriend.)
But as we parted, he nonchalantly suggested I stop through Pensacola on my way back home from Austin to Tallahassee after graduation in 3 weeks.
On a cold mid-December morning I broke up with my beau (we really weren’t that serious since it was my last semester), finished packing up my car, and drove 11 hours to his temporary home in Pensacola.
We went out, laughing and meeting some of his friends. It was a night of silliness and flirtations.
He gave me his bedroom while he took the couch. I came downstairs in my pj’s and sat down next to him to visit for a bit till I was tired.
We chatted quietly.
Eventually he leaned over and kissed me.
For once in my life I landed on the perfect thing to say in response:
“I’ve waited for you to do that for over a decade.”
I shyly grinned as I added:
“It was worth the wait.”
We dated very seriously for over a year, but ultimately parted ways.
We remain friends all these year later.
And I’m still friends with Sarah, too!
Here’s hoping you’ve had a Watts, a Keith, and/or a kiss like that!
And please share it with me if you want!
Happy Valentine’s Day, y’all!
Bonnie was off the dating market from 1998 (when she met her now ex-husband) till early 2014. She has been online dating on-and-off for almost 5 years. She has gone out on at least 100 first dates, interacted with over 1000 guys, and reviewed at least 10000 profiles. If there was a Masters in Online Dating, Bonnie’s earned it. This means: (1) That Bonnie is a failure at dating AND (2) She’s accumulated a lot of experiences and knowledge about the dating landscape for middle-aged chicks in Austin.
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