My Top Five Romantic Movies For Valentine’s Day

It's both Fri-YAY and Valentine's Day. I'm sure we'll feel the hustle and bustle in town today/tonight as couples wine and dine on this day of romance. Unfortunately for me, my fiance works in a restaurant so we we'll be celebrating together next week. I will be spending my Valentine's Day evening binge-watching romantic movies.

They truly don't make movies like they used to, especially romance movies. I came up with a list of my Top Five Romance Movies, and let me tell you, it was not easy. While I love the timeless ones like The Notebook and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, I didn't want to list the go-to movies. Check out my movie list (in no particular order) below:

1. SPLASH - Though Splash came about before The Little Mermaid and Pretty Woman, it's like a mixture of both movies. Splash stars Tom Hanks and Darryl Hannah, along with John Candy and Eugene Levy. It is the epitome of eighties romantic comedies and nostalgia.Basically, Tom Hanks is afraid of water because he nearly drowned after falling off a boat when he was young. He was saved by a mermaid (Darryl Hannah). Fast forward 20 years, and he falls off another boat and the mermaid rescues him again. This time, Hanks' character suffered a head injury, so he never saw the mermaid until she was in human form. They fall in love, he learns she is a mermaid, she gets kidnapped for science, he rescues her, and... I won't spoil the ending (in case you missed it).
2. DOWN TO YOU - I had a major crush on Freddie Prinze Jr. back in the day. This is by far his best teen/college romance movie. Julia Styles and FPJ star together as college lovers in this romantic comedy. It depicts their fast and fierce love - it's ups and downs, breaking up, making up, and the all the other Hollywood-typical drama of young love in 2000.
3. VALENTINE'S DAY - Ten years ago, Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner were in love. They also starred in the romantic comedy simply titled Valentine's Day. This movie was directed by Garry Marshall - you may remember him as the director of Pretty Woman and The Princess Diaries. Valentine's Day is star-studded with nearly all of the main actors from The Princess Diaries as well as with most of the major Hollywood heartthrobs and sweethearts of the time.If you have seen Valentine's Day, you know that this is far from a typical rom-com because it follows several different characters, telling their stories of love on February 14th. Though the stories all seem to be entirely individual, you find throughout the movie that the characters are all somehow linked.
4. JERSEY GIRL - This is a Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez movie. Now, hear me out because this is nothing like Gigli. J.Lo is hardly in the movie, but I had to mention it because I love her. Kevin Smith wrote and directed this movie, and it's not at all what you'd expect to see from the mastermind behind Dogma and Clerks. Be prepared to feel all the emotions when you see Jersey Girl. Ben Affleck plays a successful music promoter who lives in New York City with his beautiful wife (J.Lo) who's expecting a baby. Tragically, she passes away when the baby is born. Affleck's character realizes he must move home to New Jersey so he can care for his daughter. When his daughter is in school, he meets a girl who works in a video store (played by Liv Tyler) and they fall in love. You'll have to watch the movie for the rest.
5. LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS - Anne Hathaway sheds her good-girl image (and all of her clothes) in Love and Other Drugs. *Though, she might have done that first in Brokeback Mountain.* She plays a loner artist who's struggling with her Parkinson's diagnosis. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a Pfizer pharmaceutical rep, selling Viagra, whose first encounter with Hathaway's character is in the doctor's office. They fall in love, but the romance is anything but perfect.
   This dramedy will have you laughing, crying and blushing. VIEWER WARNING: I say "blushing" because there is a ton of nudity in this steamy flick.

What's your favorite Valentine's Day movie?