2025 is moving at a quick pace, and February is already here. Of course, that means the arrival of Valentine’s Day, either the most romantic day of the year or the most manufactured one. No matter which camp you’re in, February is undeniably the month of love and romance, meaning you’re bound to be in the mood for either a sweet rom-com or the opposite of that sooner or later.
If you’ve seen all the popular options and are looking for more under-the-radar options, look no further than the three options on this list. These movies are underappreciated by mainstream audiences. However, they are perfect options to celebrate Valentine’s Day. They’re funny, romantic, and even a little subversive. What’s not to love about them?
Plus One (2019)
Jack Quaid and Maya Erskine star in the sweet, predictable, but ultimately effective 2019 rom-com Plus One. The film centers on two longtime friends, Ben (Quaid) and Alice (Erskine), who agree to be each other’s plus-ones at the numerous weddings they have to attend. However, they will soon realize they might mean more to each other than they previously believed.
Plus One doesn’t really reinvent the rom-com formula. On the contrary, it sticks the landing, following the many familiar beats and tropes fans have come to expect from the genre. However, that’s exactly where its greatest strengths lie. Plus One is a pretty perfect romantic comedy that will satisfy those looking for a film to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Quaid and Erskine have excellent chemistry, and the screenplay brings out the best of their performing strengths.
Plus One is available to stream on The Roku Channel.
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022)
One of the best Hulu original movies, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande is the all-too-rare sex romantic dramedy for adults. Two-time Oscar winner Emma Thompson delivers one of her most vulnerable performances as Susan, a middle-aged woman who hires a sex worker, Leo Grande (Daryl McCormack), to explore pleasurable sex for the first time in her life.
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande thrives on the strength of Thompson and McCormack’s performances. The actors have true chemistry together, allowing for an intimate and insightful exploration of intimacy, sexuality, and the true meaning of pleasure. The film is as sharp as it’s tender, inviting a frank and refreshingly direct discussion to prove that self-discovery stories never go out of style, especially when told with such wit, grace, and empathy.
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande is available to stream on Hulu.
Down with Love (2003)
Two-time Oscar winner Renée Zellweger and the somehow never-nominated Ewan McGregor star in Peyton Reed’s criminally underrated 2003 rom-com Down with Love. A pastiche and homage to ’60s no-sex comedies, especially those starring Rock Hudson and Doris Day, Down with Love follows Catcher Block (McGregor), a renowned womanizer who pretends to be someone else to seduce Barbara Novak (Zellweger), a staunch feminist and best-selling author.
Funny, charming, occasionally biting, and deliciously subversive, Down with Love is a truly one-of-a-kind movie, at least in terms of modern rom-coms. Sure, it is wholly indebted to the movies it both parodies and celebrates, but it comes with a unique and distinct modern touch, a “wink, wink” to the audience. Zellweger and McGregor are great together, as are supporting players Sarah Paulson and David Hyde Pierce. Plus, the fashion is to die.
Down with Love is available to stream on Amazon.
