From romantic comedies to sweeping (and sensual) dramas to tender films that will absolutely break your heart, in the way only we romantics love, Netflix has a wide selection of romance movies. There’s a lot to sift through, so we’ve made the queue a little easier for you. Here are some of the best romance movies on Netflix streaming this spring.
What are the best romance movies on Netflix?
There are plenty of romance movies that are simply fun to watch (27 Dresses, Leap Year, Sweet Home Alabama, P.S. I Love You, The Holiday). But let’s be honest for a moment — romance films don’t always get the kindest treatment from critics. Not that most of us are here solely (if at all) for critically acclaimed love stories, but some of us might be looking for something with a bit more weight to the story than the Fifty Shades franchise. For the record, that movie series is also available to stream on Netflix. For our list, we’ve opted for films that satisfy our romantic cravings and hold their own with critics and audiences alike.
Ghost (1990)
Rip our hearts out, why don’t you?! Ghost is a romance that has firmly cemented itself as an all-time weep-fest classic, living in that painful, beautiful, irresistible intersection between love and grief. But don’t let this sum up the film’s exact tone or story. It’s also incredibly successful as a tragicomedy in the hands of director Jerry Zucker, who clearly knows what he’s doing.
From a script by Bruce Joel Rubin, Ghost follows Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze), a banker who is murdered during a mugging but remains on Earth as a ghost. Unable to move on, but also unable to interact with the living world, he discovers that his death was not random and tries to protect his artist girlfriend, Molly (Demi Moore), from the danger he left behind. With the help of a charlatan psychic (Whoopi Goldberg) who can, quite surprisingly, actually hear him, Sam works to uncover the truth and communicate with Molly. If you think this sounds more like a supernatural crime movie than a romance, you’re not exactly wrong – there’s a lot more to this film than a sad story, though. It’s brilliantly done, weaving together multiple cinematic forms to make one heck of a film. Still, keep the tissues close at hand.
Sabrina (1995)
Directed by Sydney Pollack, Sabrina stars Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond in this glossy adaptation of Billy Wilder’s 1954 classic. The plot is a bit ludicrous, but romance often is, so no shade from us. We follow Sabrina, the young daughter of a chauffeur for the wealthy Larrabee family, who has long harboured a crush on David Larrabee (Greg Kinnear), the easygoing playboy perpetually falling in and out of love. He’s never really noticed her (which was frankly, for the best) until Sabrina returns from Paris older, sharper, and newly self-possessed after time working at Vogue. Suddenly, David is very interested, despite being engaged to Elizabeth Tyson, an intelligent doctor and the daughter of a powerful business family.
But there’s more than one Larrabee son. Enter Linus (Ford), the workaholic older brother, steps in when he worries David’s engagement might unravel — and with it, a very important business deal. This damage-control maneuver evolves into a series of romantic near-misses and quiet moments that draw Linus and Sabrina into each other’s orbit. And well, you can guess the rest. Better yet, just watch it play out. Does it hold up to the original starring Audrey Hepburn and William Holden? Not quite. But it’s still a very good time.
Pride and Prejudice (2005)
When we think of Keira Knightley, we often think of the many gorgeous period films she’s graced over the course of her career. Matthew Macfadyen is different, partly because contemporary audiences see him primarily as the wild card Tom Wambsgans in HBO’s Succession. Even when fans of both Pride and Prejudice and Succession make the connection between the two roles, it’s a jaw-dropping moment. For yes, years before the goofy, bombastic Tom, Macfadyen was the epitome of broody, serious, romantic yearning. (Bridgerton, take notes.) Even Macfadyen has stated he felt “miscast” — but he absolutely nails the role and is a performance of Mr. Darcy that will go down in history.
Directed by Joe Wright in his directorial debut and adapted from Jane Austen’s 1813 novel of the same name, this film casts Knightley as the spirited Elizabeth, one of the five Bennett daughters, whose heart beats to its own drum. Unexpectedly, she catches the eye of Mr. Darcy, a wealthy landowner who seems to loathe both Elizabeth and her family. Lizzie believes Mr. Darcy is the last man she could ever be called upon to marry, but their lives become more and more entwined, and soon she realizes she might have feelings for him, too.
Mamma Mia! (2008)
Why is a movie such a good time to watch!? It’s one that too many have given an eye roll to, but it’s just delightfully absurd, romantic, and silly. And fans go wild for this film, and its sequel, and yes, the upcoming installment. Part of the movie musical reboot of the naughties, alongside musicals like, Chicago (2002), Phantom of the Opera (2004) dreamgirls (2007), the film adaptation of the 1999 jukebox musical Mamma Mia! came boogie-ing on in with a star studded cast including Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfield, Stellan Skarsgård, Colin Firth, and Christine Baranski. As far as the plot goes, it’s ridiculously silly as a setup. Donna, a hotelier on the Greek islands, is planning her daughter Sophie’s wedding. Unbeknownst to her, Sophie invites three of her mother’s former lovers, one of whom she assumes might be her father.
There’s a lot of good that can be said about this film. Expect plenty of cheese, fantastic choreography, of course, plenty of ABBA. But if you’re a fan of musicals, you’ll also love the callbacks to other musicals, like a nod to West Side Story’s “I Feel Pretty”, this time featuring a group of middle-aged women who are still convincing their friend to get up, get dressed, and get ready to rock and roll, all set to ” Dancing Queen “. As much as the romance is heavy with this film between Sophie and her groom, Sky, and Donna and a romance from the past, it’s really a celebration of mother and daughter.
Lady Chatterley’s Lover (2022)
This is a film that feels electrifying in its intensity. It could easily crumble under the weight of its own self-awareness, but Emma Corrin (The Crown) and Jack O’Connell (Sinners), in the leading roles, absolutely ground every ounce of the film’s hyper-romance in stark realism. Based on D.H. Lawrence’s once-banned novel, Director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre doesn’t shy away from the sensual — consider it either a fair warning or a fair invitation, depending on the temperature you like your romance films.
At its most straightforward, the film follows Constance (Corrin), an upper-class woman who marries Sir Clifford Chatterley (Matthew Duckett), the scion of a noble family, just before the outbreak of World War I. Though she begins in love, the marriage barely has time to take shape before Clifford is whisked off to war. He returns injured, disabled, and impotent, and this newfound challenge creates a growing distance between them. Clifford, clinging to the power of his wealth and title as compensation for what he has lost, becomes increasingly detached, both emotionally and physically.
In a shockingly pragmatic move, Clifford suggests that Constance take a discreet lover in hopes of producing an heir. Enter the gamekeeper Oliver Melliors (O’Connell), handsome, yes, but more importantly, present. The relationship soon unravels everything Constance believes about class, intimacy, love, and herself. So, yes, it’s steamy, but there’s far more going on here than a simple love story.
How we picked the best romance movies on Netflix
While the platform has plenty to offer across the romance genre — whether you’re trying to keep your faith in love alive or just in the mood for a good cry, have it your way — we opted for films that are generally well-loved by both fans and critics.