Top Romance Movie Couples

Like it or loathe it, Valentine’s Day is here to stay. For those who care, Valentine was a priest in ancient Rome who married couples secretly, thus breaking the law set by Claudius II. The emperor thought single men made better fighting soldiers, no worries about wives and kiddies at home. For his troubles and soft heart, Valentine was executed. (Or so the story goes. There are several old Christian saints with the name and all of them seemed to end up being martyred.) Since Valentine’s Day is on the 14th, I thought I’d pick the top 14 most romantic couples in cinema. A few of these cinematic couples are a given – who wouldn’t add Scarlett and Rhett to the list – others maybe not so and fresh for discovery by movie lovers. Despite the numbering, my list is not meant to be in ranking order. To me, these cinematic lovers are all “tops”. And what makes them so? Chemistry, my dear, chemistry. Hotter-than-a-blowtorch-chemistry combined with a great story. So, without further ado, I present the first seven of the silver screen’s most romantic movie couples. 1. Gone with the Wind (1939)If you’ve never heard of this movie or the book it’s based on, you must have been living on Mars for many, many years. Vivien Leigh plays the headstrong plantation heiress Scarlett O’Hara and Clark Gable the suave Rhett Butler, scalawag extraordinaire. They struggle and fight and love each other against the backdrop of the American Civil War and the Reconstruction. Trivia note: Author Margaret Mitchell’s original name for her heroine was Pansy, believe it or not. 2. Casablanca (1942)Ditto the bit about living on Mars. But even people who’ve never seen the movie can recognize its famous lines. Bitter gin joint owner Rick Blaine ((Humphrey Bogart) never expects to see again the woman who deserted him in Paris, just before it fell to the Nazis. Boy, is he wrong. Ilsa Lund (a luminous Ingrid Bergman) shows up one night with her (surprise!) husband, a Resistance leader who desperately needs the letters of transit that Rick has hidden. Sure, the story doesn’t make a lot of sense (what’s stopping the Germans from simply killing Victor Lazlo) but so what? A classic with some great supporting characters.3. The Big Easy (1987)Great soundtrack, great story, great couple. Detective Remy McSwain (Dennis Quade) is a slightly shady New Orleans cop who comes to the attention of straight-arrow DA Anne Osborne (Ellen Barkin). While Remy’s investigating gang murders, Anne is investigating him, for corruption. Naturally they both end up investigating other things together, including the murder mystery. Kudos to the scriptwriters for penning a most realistic (and still sizzling) love scene. 4. Barefoot in the Park (1967)A Neil Simon classic about the comic trials and tribulations of a newly married couple. Jane Fonda plays the impulsive free spirited Corie Bratter and Robert Redford her straightlaced up-and-coming young lawyer husband Paul. Mix in a nutty neighbour, Corie’s slightly uptight mother and an walk-up apartment with a large hole in the skylight. In the middle of February. Brrrrrrr. One of my favourite movies. 5. An Officer and A Gentleman (1982)This is basically an old-fashioned 1950’s type of story, with sex and rough language tossed in to update it for the 1980s. The only way out of a dead-end factory job for Paula Pokrifki (Debra Winger) and her friend is to snag one of the pilots-in-training at a nearby base. Richard Gere is the selfish student who learns how to love and think of others besides himself. Reportedly Winger and Gere didn’t get along too well but you can’t tell from their scenes together. The ending, with a handsome Gere in his uniform literally sweeping Winger off her feet and out of the factory is romance to die for. 6. Out of Sight (1998)An exciting and classy story about a U.S. marshal named Karen Sisco in pursuit of master bank robber Jack Foley. They meet during a prison escape which Karen tries to stop then just happen to share a cosy car trunk together. Not an auspicious start. While playing cat-and-mouse games with each other, they begin to fall in love. When the marshal is Jennifer Lopez and the crook is George Clooney, what do you expect? Thrillingly romantic with great supporting characters and a twist ending. Jennifer’s Lopez’s best movie for sure. 7. Brokeback Mountain (2005)A heartbreaker of a tale about two cowboys and the love that dare not speak its name. A lot of women were not turned off at the idea of Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal together “in that way”. Now that’s good acting by two very secure guys.