36 Best Romantic Movies On Netflix 2021 - Top Romance Films Streaming Now

9/5/21, 2:04 AM 36 Best Romantic Movies on Netflix 2021 - Top Romance Films Streaming Now
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The Best Romantic Movies on Netflix That Will

Make You Feel Like Love Isn't Dead
Put the spark back in movie night with one of Netflix's most romantic offerings.
_By
Justin Kirkland and Adrienne Westenfeld
Jun 14, 2021
COURTESY
Everyone loves a love story, whether you're ready to admit that or not. No matter how
we get to the ending—be it happy or sad—the most human types of stories are the
ones where we open our hearts up and give a piece of it to another person. And, no,
maybe you don't want to go to a theater and let people see you crying your eyes out
because Hollywood has captured the story of a 20th century biracial couple who paved
the way for couples like them who simply want to be married (oh, I think we just told
on ourselves). So instead, do it from the comfort of your house: your couch, your
tears, your prerogative, dammit.
Netflix has a whole library to choose from, from historical romances to romantic
comedies to everything in between. If you’re looking to sob into some tissues, or
maybe just to chuckle about all the hijinks it takes to get two people down the aisle,
then have we got a list for you.
https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/g25474065/best-romantic-movies-on-netflix/ 1/31
Expect romance of all varieties from this list: star-crossed, forbidden, historical, and so
on. We're talking a range from sexy heists to strait-laced dramas to teenage romances
set in the first blush of young love. If you’re coupled up, these movies will make you
grateful you’re off the market, and if you’re looking for love, they’ll remind you that
real love is out there in abundance. Settle in with some wine, some chocolate, some
oysters—whatever aphrodisiacs you like—and press play to be swept off your feet.
Memoirs of a Geisha
Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) Official Trailer 1 - Ziyi Zha…
Zha…
In this visually stunning period drama, a fisherman's daughter becomes the most
sought-after geisha in Kyoto, only for her life to be threatened by rivalries, World War
II, and a modernizing world that lacks a place for ancient traditions. Underscoring it
all is a sweeping forbidden romance, played out over decades, with a transcendent
conclusion.
WATCH NOW
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society | O…

O…
Lily James stars in this elegant period romance as Juliet Ashton, a writer who forms a
life-changing bond with a group of islanders when she writes about the book club they
formed during the occupation of Guernsey during World War II. Juliet has been
exchanging letters with Dawsey Adams, a member of the club, but when they meet in
person, sparks fly, forcing her to reconsider her engagement.
WATCH NOW
Twilight
Twilight - Final Trailer
Are we trolling you with this one? A little bit. But hear us out: when Twilight hit
Netflix this summer, even hard-hearted viewers were stoked about walking down
tween memory lane. The story of Bella Swan's tortured romance with teen vampire
Edward Cullen was a cultural phenomenon that made vampires cool again and
launched the careers of two movie stars (Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson). If you
call yourself culturally literate and you haven't seen Twilight, it 's downright incumbent
on you to watch it.
Watch Now
Dance of the Forty One
Dance of the 41 | Official Trailer | Netflix
Based on the true story of an explosive Mexican scandal, this tragic romance
dramatizes the events leading up to the Dance of the Forty One, a lavish 1901 party
attended by gay men and raided by police. Though the government was eager to bury
the incident, as the party's attendees were members of society's upper crust, the press
was determined to break the story, as the incumbent president of Mexico's son-in-law
was in attendance. Ornate and erotic, Dance of the Forty One locates the human story
within this important chapter of Mexico's queer history.
WATCH NOW
Nights in Rodanthe
Nights In Rodanthe Trailer - (2008) Nicholas Sparks Movie HD
Chances are, your mom has loved Richard Gere for years—Nights in Rodanthe might
be the reason. Gere reunites with Diane Lane for their third on-screen pairing in this
tender Nicholas Sparks romance about second chances. Lane plays Adrienne Willis, a
troubled woman swept into a North Carolina beach town to watch over her friend's
inn, where the only guest is gruff Dr. Paul Flanner (Gere). When a hurricane
approaches the coast, sparks fly.
WATCH NOW
Holding the Man

Holding The Man Official Trailer (2015) - Ryan Corr, Cr…
Cr…
Based on a memoir by activist Timothy Conigrave, Holding the Man is the story of
Conigrave's romance with his longtime partner John, beginning during their schoolboy
days in Melbourne and ending tragically during the AIDS crisis. Movingly tracing the
couple's fight to love freely in a bigoted world, the film follows their sweeping love
story with honesty and tenderness.
WATCH NOW
The Time Traveler's Wife
Adapted from the bestselling novel by Audrey Niffenegger, this romance centers on
Henry (Eric Bana), a librarian with a rare genetic disorder causing him to drift
uncontrollably through time, and Clare (Rachel McAdams), the love of his life. As
Henry’s disorder throws roadblocks into their shared life at every turn, the film
constructs a passionate study of love and time’s intersection.
WATCH NOW
Brokeback Mountain
Whether you’ve seen Ang Lee’s tragic romance a thousand times or you completely
missed the phenomenon back in 2005, Brokeback Mountain never gets old. Based on a
gritty short story by Annie Proulx, the film stars Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as
two cowboys in the conservative American West, who carry out a furtive affair over
decades. Epic and heartbreaking, Brokeback Mountain explores the psychic toll taken
by a world where lovers can’t live authentically.
WATCH NOW
Rebecca
Netflix’s remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca can’t hold a candle to the original’s
spookiness, but what it can do is offer steamier romance. Daphne Du Maurier’s eerie
psychological thriller about a woman driven mad by her new husband’s late wife is
faithfully rendered here, with the dial on the twisted romance turned all the way up.
WATCH NOW
Crazy Stupid Love
Crazy Stupid Love is like three rom coms in one. There's a bit of a divorce comedy,
paired with a coming of age story that will make your toes curl from embarrassment,
and of course, a prequel to La La Land that has all the charm your heart could handle.
And Ryan Gosling naked in a locker room. It's a thing.
WATCH NOW
Legally Blonde
It's less of a rom com and more of a com(e get your degree and leave your loser
boyfriend in the past). Reese Witherspoon stars in the comedy staple about a
prototypical dumb blonde who is anything but when she throws her California life out
the window for a law degree at Harvard. While it may start with her chasing a man, it
ends with her realizing her own potential to be a legal powerhouse.
WATCH NOW
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
It's easy to forget that Eurovision is a bit of a romantic comedy. Starring Rachel
McAdams and Will Ferrell as Icelandic singers who have hopes of becoming famous via
the infamous Eurovision Song Contest, the story is a slow burn about two people
realizing that the greatest victory is finding the love that's been next to them the whole
time.
It's also a PSA to not cross elves. Watch. You'll understand.
WATCH NOW
Effie Gray
In this historical romance based on a true story, Dakota Fanning stars in the titular role
as a young woman struggling to build a marriage with her much-older husband, an
influential writer disinterested in any of the emotional or physical intimacies of
marriage. Effie Gray depicts its leading lady’s psychological despair as her marriage
deteriorates, culminating in a passionate affair with a painter and the eventual
annulment of her marriage.
WATCH NOW
My Week With Marilyn
When Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne) lands a gig as a production assistant on The
Prince and the Showgirl, he quickly falls under the spell of newly-married megastar
Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams), who is plagued by self-doubt, but eager to gain
respectability and prestige. During a pause in production, Colin spirits an exhausted
Marilyn away to the English countryside, where he sees the nervous, insecure, and
often goofy woman behind the Hollywood facade. My Week With Marilyn is a tender
tribute to a misunderstood icon.
WATCH NOW
Someone Great
Gina Rodriguez stars in this charming romantic comedy as Jenny, a music journalist
bracing for a new beginning on the West Coast after a devastating break-up with her
longtime boyfriend Nate (Lakeith Stanfield). Jenny’s last night out in New York with
her best friends leads to some startling realizations about the love story she’s
mythologized, making for a bittersweet story about heartbreak and self-love.
WATCH NOW
Moonlight
In this Best Picture winner directed by Barry Jenkins, we meet an unforgettable young
man named Chiron, who grew up Black, poor, and queer in a rough Miami
neighborhood. Chiron’s tumultuous journey to manhood is underpinned by a slow-
burning romance with a classmate, who comes back into his adult life years later in a
sweeping story of love and longing.
WATCH NOW
Howards End
James Ivory’s sweeping adaptation of E.M. Forster’s inimitable classic novel stars
Helena Bonham Carter as Helen Schlegel, a spirited young intellectual rebuffed by
Paul Wilcox, the scion of a wealthy family. Helen’s sister Margaret (Emma Thompson)
grows close to Paul’s ailing mother, who bequeaths the family home to Margaret upon
her death, but the will soon disappears—until Margaret falls for her late friend’s
widower (Anthony Hopkins). Romantic, passionate, and teeming with remarkable
performances, Howards End is a sumptuous investigation of class, privilege, and
gender.
WATCH NOW
Mystic Pizza
Listen. Julia Roberts is queen of rom coms. There is simply no other competition. And
we have Mystic Pizza to thank for that. Based off a real pizzeria in Mystic, Connecticut,
the film follows three teenage girls whose lives take all types of turns in pursuit of
growing up, getting out, and finding love.
WATCH NOW
Runaway Bride
To echo all the sentiments above, it's Julia. You can't go wrong. But a decade or so
after Mystic Pizza, she became Maggie Carpenter: a woman who is lucky enough in
love... just not so lucky that she's able to seal the deal with a marriage. After a big city
reporter outs her story for his salacious column, he gets fired and sets out to officially
meet the woman who has evaded not one, two, or three proposals... but four.
WATCH NOW
50 First Dates
What if the woman of your dreams was kind and beautiful and funny... but forgot who
you were every morning that she woke up. Yikes. Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler
star in this romantic comedy about a couple who experience just that. But don't think
it's serious. This is 2000s Sandler, after all.
WATCH NOW
About Time
Get it—it's a movie about time, but it's also about time. Ok, we'll let the joke tell itself.
Domhall Gleeson and Rachel McAdams star in this time travel romance about a man
who discovers men in his family can travel through time. He attempts to go back to
solidify the relationship with a woman he loves, but he soon finds out... love is not
something to be toyed with.
WATCH NOW
Always Be My Maybe
Hey. No shame. Everyone has a hometown fling that crosses your mind every once in a
while, but the issue in Always Be My Maybe is that the fling is rekindled 15 years after
high school. Ali Wong and Randall Park star in the charming film that explores if two
people, from now-seemingly different worlds, can actually reignite a flame that's been
burning on the low for over a decade.
WATCH NOW
The Love Birds
Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani are a perfect duo in the accidental crime movie, The Love
Birds. After a couple on the town for the night end up in a precarious, if not super
dangerous, position, they must work together to stay alive and clear their names for a
murder they didn't commit.
WATCH NOW
Killers
Katherine Heigl and Ashton Kutcher front this comedy about a couple who seem
plenty fine with the somewhat mundane married life they've carved out for
themselves. That is, until she finds out he was a hitman in a past life. Details like that
do tend to throw a wrench into an otherwise healthy relationship.
WATCH NOW
Bonnie & Clyde
You know what? You say Bonnie and Clyde is a heist movie about real life criminals,
and yes. You're right. But there's also some twisted-ass romance in there, too. Faye
Dunaway and Warren Betty are stunning in Bonnie & Clyde, which also happens to be
one of the best films of the 20th century.
WATCH NOW
Loving
Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga play the Loving couple—a real duo who reckoned with
America's antiquated notion of who should be allowed to marry whom. The interracial
marriage they pursued in 1958 paved the way for interracial couples to come.
WATCH NOW
The Prom
Originally a Broadway musical, The Prom tells the story of a lesbian girl who is not
allowed to attend prom with her girlfriend because we're still in a time, somehow,
where this is a debate. That story catches the attention of Broadway stars who head to
her small town to upend everything the townspeople believe, but they end up shifting
their own perspective in the process.
WATCH NOW
A Secret Love
Why not throw a documentary into the mix? A Secret Love is a precious film about two
women who had a decades-long romance that they kept secret. Years later, they came
out to everyone in their lives, though coming out in the later chapters of your life
comes with its own set of crosses to bear.
WATCH NOW
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
UNIVERSAL PICTURES
This irreverent and energetic movie stars Michael Cera as a slacker musician who hits
the romantic jackpot when he meets his new girlfriend Ramona Flowers—but must
defeat her seven evil exes in manic, video game-inspired fashion.
WATCH NOW
Set It Up
NETFLIX
Two corporate assistants (Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell) are tired of their domineering
bosses (Lucy Liu and Taye Diggs), so they scheme to hook them up in order to lighten
their workload (and, naturally, also happen to fall for each other, too).
WATCH NOW
She's Gotta Have It
ISLAND PICTURES
Spike Lee's first feature film is an indie black-and-white romantic comedy starring
Tracy Camilla Johns as a young woman in Brooklyn who juggles three potential
boyfriends.
WATCH NOW
The Incredible Jessica James
NETFLIX
2 Dope Queens' Jessica Williams proves her leading lady status as a struggling New
York playwright who, following a breakup, bounces back by dating a recently single
older guy (played by Chris Dowd).
WATCH NOW
The Kissing Booth
NETFLIX
Elle Evans (Joey King) might not be the most popular girl in school, but her social
status definitely rises when she volunteers to run the kissing booth at the school
carnival—a scheme to lock lips with her crush, who just happens to be her best friend's
brother.
WATCH NOW
The Theory of Everything
This is based on the love story of the late Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) and his
first wife, Jane Hawking (Felicity Jones).
WATCH NOW
To All the Boys I've Loved Before
NETFLIX
Lara Jean Covey is your typical lovelorn teenage girl, drafting love letters to her
former crushes for her eyes only. But when the letters wind up being mailed to the
former objects of her affection, her life is thrown into chaos as the boys confront her
about her former feelings.
WATCH NOW
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp) has a lot on his plate. He has to care for his younger
brother, Arnie (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his mother; his father died by suicide when
Gilbert was young. On top of that, he has an affair with a married woman named Betty
(Mary Steenburgen). When that ends, he builds a romance with a young woman
named Becky (Juliette Lewis) who brings happiness to Gilbert’s challenging life.
WATCH NOW
Justin Kirkland
Justin Kirkland is a writer for Esquire, where he focuses on entertainment, television, and pop culture.
Adrienne Westenfeld
Assistant Editor
Adrienne Westenfeld is a writer and editor at Esquire, where she covers books and culture.
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9/5/21, 2:04 AM 36 Best Romantic Movies on Netflix 2021 - Top Romance Films Streaming Now

The Best Romantic Movies on Netflix That Will

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society | O…

Dance of the Forty One

Dance of the 41 | Official Trailer | Netflix

Holding the Man

The Time Traveler's Wife

Crazy Stupid Love

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga

It's also a PSA to not cross elves. Watch. You'll understand.

My Week With Marilyn

The Love Birds

Bonnie & Clyde

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

She's Gotta Have It

The Incredible Jessica James

The Kissing Booth

The Theory of Everything

To All the Boys I've Loved Before

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape

_best of 2020 guide

The Best TV Series of 2020 The Best Albums of 2020

The Best Songs of 2020 The Best Cookbooks (and Cocktail

Best of 2020 Guide

27 Rom-Coms on Netflix That Will Make You Swoon

10 Great Teen Movies to Stream on Netflix

The 15 Best Action Movies to Stream on Netflix

Newsletter Digital Editions

About Us Media Kit

Press Room Contact Us

Community Guidelines Advertise Online

Customer Service Subscribe

Other Hearst Subscriptions Give a Gift

Events & Promotions Giveaways

Hearst Men's and

©2021 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Privacy Notice/Notice at Collection

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

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