One Day, the adaptation of David Nicholls' best-selling novel, is bringing serious Valentine's Day vibes to this week's Netflix charts – in complete contrast to the chart-topper, which has Sofia Vergara in the distinctly un-romantic Griselda. One Day is in at number three, just below The Tourist, rocketing into the top three in its first week of streamng with 5.3 million views and 35,200,000 viewing hours.
Although One Day was set over the course of a different day, St Swithin's Day on the 15 July, it's a great Valentine's watch. It's the tale of a relationship where the odds are stacked against our protagonists but where you'll be rooting for them to get together. Empire Magazine said that “One Day has found gold in its leading duo, whose chemistry feels timeless and captivating”. The show is “an outstanding showcase of talent”.
That said, 14 episodes is a lot – so if you're looking for some alternative viewing this Valentine's Day, we have some shorter but no less romantic selections. Here are five romcoms we think you'll love.
Silver Linings Playbook
I'll admit, the pitch doesn't sound too promising: our romantic lead is fresh out of a mental institution, living with his parents and trying to rebuild bridges with his ex-wife. It's hardly chocolates, strawberries and champagne. But! That's why this romcom will surprise and delight you. It's “hugely enjoyable,” says The Guardian. It's “perched on a razor's edge between comedy and psychological drama” and the two leads, played by Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, are wonderful.
Entergalactic
This genre-busting Netflix movie doesn't really have much of a plot, and it's not exactly traditional film-making. It's not a character study, and it's not really an action movie either. According to RogerEbert.com this animated show is more a collection of vibes, and it's a collection that somehow works really well. Kid Cudi and Jessica Williams are our romcom leads in this experimental and hugely entertaining epic that's a kind of multi-sensory musical and to the best of my knowledge, the only romcom that's been compared to Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. As the Ebert.com review put it: “As an art piece, Entergalactic is evocative, beautiful, and smart. I can picture it playing at parties for decades to come. Just don’t approach it as a TV show.”
Alex Strangelove
Queer romcoms are rare. Good queer romcoms, rarer still. So hurrah for Alex Strangelove, in which high school pals Alex and Claire start dating and make plans to have sex before the arrival of an extremely hot guy, Elliott, makes Alex start to wonder if he's really that straight – and if he isn't, what does that mean for Claire? It's not perfect – The Guardian rightly says that it's a little too conservative in places – but its heart is in the right place and there are some really beautiful moments, as well as some typically teenage gross-out humor. And perhaps that's what makes this film notable: it's first and foremost a teen movie made with mass appeal.
Tramps
Not to be confused with Tramps!, which is a documentary about 1980s pop kids, Tramps is a romcom where Callum Turner and Grace Van Patten independently agree to handle the exchange of a mysterious bag. Neither stranger knows what's in the case, and when they accidentally lose it they have to work together to try and get it back. Will the strangers who seem to have nothing in common but a suitcase find something more? You can probably guess. As RogerEbert.com says, it has a “La La Land-level nostalgia” for 70s NYC-set movies that'll either charm your socks off or annoy you immensely, but if you're in the former camp you'll enjoy a sweet and innocent romcom of the kind they really don't tend to make any more.
May December
According to Vulture, Todd Haynes' 2023 movie is “a booby trap of a movie… It makes you feel one thing, and then makes you wonder if you should be feeling something entirely different instead. Alfred Hitchcock used to talk about being able to play the audience like a piano, hitting each key to get a specific emotional response; Haynes plays us like an accordion”.
The film is set in Savannah, Georgia, where Natalie Portman is visiting TV star Julianne Moore and her husband, Charles Melton. Portman's character Elizabeth is set to play Moore in the film of her life, and her trip to find out all about that life means raking over an old and torrid affair that won't necessarily show anybody in a good light. It's part dark comedy, part romcom, part drama about long-buried secrets… the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive but given that many have said that the film can also be a disturbing and unnerving watch it might not be ideal if you and your loved one are still in the first impress-each-other stages of your relationship: not everybody's going to love this one.
