Cinematic moments that scream ‘love,’ now streaming
When it comes to Valentine's Day, most people limit their romantic gestures to nice gifts, dinners and flowers. Sure, you could hire a company like the Heart Bandits to stage a flash mob for you, but the average couple usually avoids such spectacle. Thankfully, movies don't hold back. Check out these unforgettable scenes where protagonists went all out to declare their love.
‘Say Anything …’ (1989)
When it comes to grand gestures of love in film, the conversation always starts with the most iconic scene from writer Cameron Crowe's “Say Anything.” Aimless high school slacker Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) falls for rich valedictorian Diane Court (Ione Skye), though her father (John Mahoney) doesn't approve. The relationship progresses haltingly until her father convinces her to send Lloyd away.
Undeterred, Lloyd shows up outside her house with a boombox playing their song, “In Your Eyes,” by Peter Gabriel. The gesture moves Diane to step away from her father's control, including helping the IRS with an investigation into his embezzlement.
The scene has become so archetypal that it's been repeated or parodied in everything from “Deadpool 2” to “Orange Is the New Black” to the WWE. Gabriel himself sometimes incorporates a boombox onstage for performances as an homage to the iconic scene.
Watch it: Streaming on Prime Video.
‘Red, White, & Royal Blue’ (2023)
Flying across the ocean to demand the object of your affection make a decision about your relationship isn't over-the-top for a romantic film. It's more like Third Act 101. However, the stakes are considerably higher in “Red, White, and Royal Blue” because the lovers in question are the son of the sitting U.S. president and the second heir to the British throne.
Bound by politics and tradition on both sides, American Alex (Taylor Zakhar Perez) and Brit Henry (Nicholas Galitzine) know the odds are against them. Once their personal emails are hacked and leaked to the public,
it looks like there is no hope. However, the two make a public appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to an adoring crowd in a scene that is as daring as it is touching.
Watching it: Streaming on Prime Video.
‘The Abyss’ (1989)
Director James Cameron’s “The Abyss” is probably not on lists for cinematic romance, but it contains one of the greatest “I love you” moments in all of movie history. Virgil “Bud” Brigman (Ed Harris) and Dr. Lindsey Brigman (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) are an estranged couple thrown together when a U.S. submarine hits an unidentified object and sinks deep into the Caribbean Sea.
The two face a benign alien intelligence and a race to recover a nuclear warhead, all the while rediscovering their feelings for each other. When Bud volunteers to dive deeper than any human before, thanks to a liquid-oxygen system to disarm the warhead, he is trapped and unable to return. Lindsey demands he try, but Bud uses a slow text system to comfort her and send a final loving message, calling her “wife.”
It’s astounding how well this film holds up, as shown in the recent remaster and theatrical rerelease.
Watch it: Streaming on Prime Video.
‘Warm Bodies’ (2013)
A rare zom-rom-com, “Warm Bodies” follows the budding relationship between a zombie and a living woman. They meet in a typical movie firefight between humans and the undead, but R (Nicholas Hoult) is instantly smitten with Julie (Teresa Palmer), even when she throws a knife that lodges in his heart.
As his fellow zombies sniff her out, R camouflages her scent by smearing her with his blood, whispering the word “safe.” There are plenty of stories about love surviving death, but overcoming the undead bloodlust of the zombie for a girl he just met is really above and beyond.
Watch it: Streaming on Peacock.
‘But I’m a Cheerleader’ (1999)
Now a hit musical, director Jamie Babbit’s original film is one of the best examples of 1990s queer cinema.
When star cheerleader Megan (Natasha Lyonne) gets accused of being gay, she is sent to a Christian conversion camp. There, she ironically falls in love with a girl for the first time with a fellow camper, Grawith ham (Clea DuVall).
The two struggle against an oppressive system, with Graham ultimately caving to pressure to go through
the camp’s activities. Undeterred, Megan crashes the camp’s graduation ceremony with a sweet, custom cheer routine to tell Graham they are fated to be together. It’s corny, but also the perfect way for a cheerleader to say “I love you.”
Watch it: Streaming on Apple TV+.