Love is in the air as February rolls around with the assorted chocolate hearts, Cupid statues, and red roses at every turn. Valentine’s day is the perfect time to celebrate connections between loved ones and spend a day together. The greatest love stories of all time are debated constantly since on-screen portrayals of endearment can come off as cheesy or poor. Students have this to say on their favorite romance movies or shows and what makes them legendary.
Student Teagan Gatley takes a traditional route with a twist with her pick of the best romance: Romeo and Juliet, but in its play form. She says, “It’s both a tragedy and a comedy, and it’s about pure love in a cruel world never ending well.”
Freshman Hanna Sterner has two picks for her favorite romances including West Side Story and That Thing You Do! Although not based around the backstage crush of drummer Guy Patterson and his girlfriend Faye, That Thing You Do! highlights love’s relationship with fame. West Side Story is a 1960’s re-telling of Romeo and Juliet by using two rival gangs in New York to represent the racism immigrants faced. Tony and Maria stand as a shining reminder that love has no color.
Alexis Velazquez says in her book, 1988’s Heathers takes the cake. She states, “It shows how love can drive somebody crazy, as it shows what love can truly do to somebody, since love is always pretty and perfect. It’s explosive.”
Finally, my picks for the best romances are The Notebook, The Great Gatsby, and Moulin Rouge. Each express such a different lens of affection. The Notebook staring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams made me sob like I never have before over a love story, the level of yearning portrayed through these three films are gut-wretching.
To find out more about romance movies visit: https://www.imdb.com/list/ls000090281/
