by Jessie Carter

Having been born in 1985, my birth split the decade right in half. In the last 28 years, there have been some beautiful, beautifully tragic, and beautifully cheesy romance movies. I bring to you a list of my favorite romantic movies from my lifetime to date. Ill leave you to guess which movie* I saw in the theatre five times.

Titanic (1997): Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio), a poor boy with nothing but the air in his lungs and a few blank sheets of paper, meets Rose (Kate Winslet), an upper-class woman who feels like she is standing in the middle of a crowded room screaming at the top of her lungs, and no one even looks up. Much to the dismay of Roses entourage, the two gallivant around the boat and plan their future together. But because you took eighth grade history, you know that the boat is going to sink so you have three hours to figure out which half of the Winslet-DiCaprio super duo will perish. The movie is chock full of cheesy moments and PG13-style nudity. And who isnt a fan of that?

 

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004): Remember the last time your boyfriend broke up with you and you immediately screamed to your friends that you wished you could forget the bastard forever? Welcome to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, in a nut shell. After their relationship deteriorates, Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet) erases Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) from her memory. Joel responds by doing the exact same thing but from deep within his brain, he tries desperately to hold on to his memories of the relationship. Charlie Kauffmans script addresses our ability to forget and in turn gives us one of our favorite romantic films.



Brokeback Mountain (2005): Its just your average boy meets boy love story set against the vast beauty of nature. Adapted from Annie Proulxs short story, the movie is a modern day Romeo and Juliet. The plot centers around two cowboys (Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal) who meet and fall in love while sheepherding. The two men battle their emotions as well as the social norms of the early 1960s while spending most of their lives apart. Before pressing play, you know the two can never be together but you cant help but root for them along the way.

 

Edward Scissorhands (1990): Edward (Johnny Depp) is in the unfortunate position of being able to hurt everyone he loves simply by touching them with his cold metal scissor hands. What chance does a character like that have for love? Well, one sassy Avon saleswoman (Dianne Wiest) sees through the steel and takes Edward in. At his new home, Edward puts his clippers to good use by cutting hair, trimming bushes, and sculpting snowstorms for his new foster sister, Kim (Winona Ryder). Eventually, Edward and Kim fall in love. But their relationship is soon thwarted by a fit of domestic violence at the hands of Kims jealous boyfriend and one well-deserved murder. Edward is banished to a lonesome life in his decrepit mansion. He continues making snow from ice sculptures for the rest of Kims life and presumably only sees the person who delivers all that ice.  Though Kim and Edward are unable to share their lives, they are able to share the ultimate human emotion: love.



Bull Durham (1988):Do you love baseball? Do you love love? If you answered yes to these questions (and of course you did because youre an American) then have I got the movie for you. Bull Durham combines the best elements of comedy and romance. Spend two hours with minor league journeyman Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) as he teaches the dim pitcher Nuke LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) the ins and outs of the game all while wooing LaLooshs girlfriend, Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon). Crash may not believe in quantum physics when it comes to matters of the heart but he does believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last for three days. Both Nuke and Crash battle their own demons with the game while fighting for Annies affections.



Back To The Future (1985): Though it may seem a bit unconventional, Back to the Future is arguable one of the greatest love stories today. And, no, Im not talking about Marty McFly and his girlfriend (played by two different actresses). Im talking about Doc Brown and his love affair with time travel. On November 5th, 1955, Dr. Emmet Lathrop Brown envisioned the flux capacitor after hitting his head in his bathroom. Doc spent the following thirty years cultivating the tools for time travel. Doc loves the space-time continuum so much he puts his DeLorean, his best friend, and the fate of the universe up against some Libyan terrorists and an unhealthy dose of radiation. Though Doc Brown eventually admits that his beloved time travel machine is a disaster, he never fully abandons his one true love: time travel.

*Titanic. Of course the answer is Titanic.