Valentine’s Day is upon us, which means planning dinners, purchasing bouquets of roses, boxes of chocolate and humongous teddy bears. But for the hopeless romantics, it means sitting down and watching a good romantic comedy to ease away your loneliness, or making your significant other sit down and reluctantly watch with you, which I am definitely guilty of. But whatever the case may be, I believe that it is crucial to watch at least one romantic comedy this Valentine’s, so here is a list of my top five recommendations.

1. 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

Though it’s pretty basic, I have to admit, this movie is one of my all time favorite movies and one that I would probably watch on a monthly basis if I had time. It’s definitely your typical 2000s “coming of age movie”, f0llowing two sisters–Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) and Kat Stratford (Julia Stiles). Bianca, the youngest, isn’t allowed to date until her abrasive sister gets a boyfriend, so one of Bianca’s classmates who is interested in her, Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), asks the eccentric Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger) to go out with her sister, Kat. I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t seen it, but I will say the movie holds a special place in my heart, from the “spoiled brat'” character’s redemption, a prom-posal scene that lives rent-free in my head, and who could go wrong on a movie with Heath Ledger in it?

2. 13 Going on 30 (2004)

This movie is an absolute classic in my book, revolving around a teenage girl, Jenna Rink (Christa B. Allen), who wishes on her 13 birthday to become an adult. Sure enough, she wakes up in the body of her 30-year-old self (Jennifer Garner) but is faced with the challenges of adulthood as she goes and appoints her now grown childhood best friend (Mark Ruffalo) to help her navigate adult life. I  love the innocence of this movie, the realization that adult life isn’t all that it seems and that you shouldn’t ignore the people who care about you to fit the social norms.

3.  27 Dresses (2008) 

When I tell you I cried over this movie, I cried. It follows Jane Nichols (Katherine Heigl), who’s been a bridesmaid for 27 weddings but has never had her own, and struggles when her manipulative sister Tess (Malin Akerman) marries the her boss– the man she’s been in love with (Edward Burns). As she helps plan her sister’s wedding, she keeps running into a cynical news reporter, Kevin Doyle (James Marsden), who’s writing a story on Jane and her 27 dresses. As the story goes on, Kevin shows Jane how to be a lot more independent and to write her own future, not help plan others.  Watching Jane develop a sense of independence and not be walked all over really  hit home and the chemistry between Jane and Kevin was impeccable enough to bring me to tears. And I will admit, it was amusing to watch Kevin’s character as a journalist from a fellow journalist’s perspective.

4. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)

This movie follows Andie Anderson (Kate Hudson), a journalist who is writing a step-by-step on how to get rid of a guy in 10 days, but ends up butting heads with Ben Barry (Matthew McConaughey), an advertising executive who thinks that he can make a girl fall in love with him in 10 days. I watched this movie pretty recently, and I admit the things Andie does to get rid of Ben can be a little cringe at some points, but as someone who’s in a relationship I find it rather amusing to reflect on. And not to mention the fact that Carly Simon’s “You’re so Vain” will be stuck in your head for days (speaking from experience here).

5. Notting Hill (1999)

I felt like I had to include a classic in my last selection and that is ‘Notting Hill’ with Julia Roberts and the original rom-com heart throb, Hugh Grant. This movie is about a travel bookstore owner, William Thacker (Hugh Grant), who runs into a famous American actress at his shop, Anna Scott (Julia Roberts), and the on-and-off chemistry they have throughout the plot as Anna struggles keeping a relationship with William while trying to keep up her image and reputation as an actress. To me I do get a little annoyed by Anna’s back and forth behavior with Grant’s character–the whole “I love you but I can’t be with you” type of trope–but it didn’t stop me from tearing up at the more romantic moments between the two. I especially love William and watching his day-to-day life and his interactions with his friends that give him some character, and I feel I can personally relate to his awkward and sheepish personality around Anna. Also let’s not forget this movie is home to one of the most beloved lines in movie history–“I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her”.