The holiday season is all about cosying up under a warm blanket, drinking a cup of hot chocolate and revisiting the most romantic Christmas movies ever. I have handpicked my favourite chick flicks and heartwarming tales for those dark winter nights. Here is a list with the 9 Most Romantic Christmas Movies to Watch This Season. Enjoy!
1) The Holiday (2006)
Written and directed by Nancy Meyers this heartfelt romantic comedy sets you up for the festive season. The Holiday (2006) is about two women from the opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean who swap houses for Christmas time. Amanda (Cameron Diaz) and Iris (Kate Winslet) both going through heartbreak decide to escape their lives at least for the holidays. The American Amanda meets Iris’s brother (Jude Law), while the British Iris spends considerable time with film composer Miles (Jack Black), befriends a ninety-year-old screenwriter Arthur (Eli Wallach) and learns all about meet-cutes. The main question is that can a house exchange lead to a change of heart and eventually a change in life too?
2) Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) has all the elements that romantic Christmas movies generally offer but in a twisted, dark and funny way. In this parody of film noir tropes, we follow the intertwined adventures of conman Harry Lockhart (Robert Downey Jr.), his childhood sweetheart Harmony Lane (Michelle Monaghan) and hard-boiled detective Perry van Shrike (Val Kilmer). Lockhart accidentally stumbles into a movie audition and gets the part while on the run from the cops. Landing in Hollywood, he comes across Harmony in a Santa Claus outfit, and they get caught up in a murderous conspiracy. Maybe it’s not your average Christmas story, but this tangled tale is full of surprises, dark humour and the indispensable romance that is so much needed at this time of the year.
3) Love Actually (2003)
I’m sure that most people watch Love Actually (2003) at least once a year during the Christmas holidays. I am no exception; I tend to catch a screening when I’m at home at my parent’s place and watch it together with my family. Love Actually (2003) follows the lives of eight couples dealing with their various issues just before Christmas in London. The intertwined stories explore the nature of love. All characters are desperately trying to connect on some level. The newly elected British prime minister (Hugh Grant) falls for a junior staffer (Martine McCutcheon), others contemplate cheating or try to get better after a break-up, and even kids find their significant others. Love Actually (2003) makes sure that by the end of each storyline everything turns out to be just fine.
4) The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Although The Shop Around the Corner (1940) is mostly known as the inspiration behind Nora Ephron’s 1998 film You’ve Got Mail; the original has many merits too. First of all, it is set in my beloved Budapest. In the second place, it is a classic American romantic comedy directed by Ernst Lubitsch. He was famous for his European sophistication and refined representations of complex emotions (the so-called Lubitsch Touch). Thirdly, it is starring Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart as two employees at a general store who can’t stand each other but are secretly falling in love as one another’s anonymous pen pal. Have I told you that it is hilarious? Well, I’m telling you now.
5) Serendipity (2001)
Serendipity (2001) has one of the greatest “meet cute” scenarios in film history. During some holiday shopping at a crowded store, Jonathan (John Cusack) and Sara (Kate Beckinsale) reach for the same pair of black cashmere gloves. The situation shows the audience that they are destined for each other. While Jonathan falls in love at first sight, Sara believes in destiny. She suggests putting his name and phone number on a $5 bill and hers on the front endpaper of a book. If each finds their way back to the other, they should be together. Does life work that way or is faith only tricking them? Watch the movie to find out!
6) Metropolitan (1990)
In Whit Stillman’s indie flick you get a behind-the-scenes look into the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite, but not the Gossip Girl way. These upper-class Manhattanites are passing through the gala debutante season when a radical student with a simpler background joins them and stirs their life up. If you are into philosophical ramblings on social mobility, playing bridge and discussing Fourier’s socialism, then this ensemble drama is for you. But don’t worry, there is a love story embedded in all of this nonsense.
7) Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)
I must admit Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001) is my go-to Christmas movie. I love it, know the script by heart and completely identify with Bridge who also happens to be the ultimate chick flick heroine. Where should I start? Maybe with the reindeer jumper, the awkward family gatherings or the constant resolutions. Bridget Jones has medicine for everything, even though it’s sometimes just vodka and Chaka Khan. Still, it works. Every single time. Watch it once again! This is what I call a work of art.
8) The Apartment (1960)
The Apartment (1960) doesn’t seem like a chick flick, at first sight, but Shirley MacLaine’s independent character and unforgettable performance kicks the movie into the big leagues. It is a good old-fashioned romantic comedy directed by Billy Wilder. A struggling insurance clerk Bud Baxter (Jack Lemmon) has discovered a quicker way to climb the corporate ladder. He lends out his apartment to some executives who use the place for extramarital affairs. Meanwhile, Baxter lays eyes on Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine) the smart elevator girl at work. Unfortunately, his boss is also interested in Ms Kubelik. Baxter must decide between the woman he loves and the advancement of his career.
9) Carol (2015)
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Source of Featured Image: Love Actually (2003)
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