The most romantic movies on Netflix right now

Up to this point, Glen Powell’s specialty has been elevating generic romcoms into charming trifles through his nice-guy charisma. At last, he’s given something he can really bite into. In this Richard Linklater-directed crime comedy, he plays a college professor moonlighting as a fake hitman for the police who starts an ill-advised affair with a gorgeous mark (Adria Arjona). He and Arjona have steamy chemistry, and the scenes involving Powell busting perps in various disguises are gut-busting.

Ali Wong and Randall Park absolutely are brilliant in this Netflix Original romantic comedy about two childhood friends who lose touch after a teenage fling turns sour, only to be reunited in adulthood. It might sound like familiar romcom territory, and it is, but it’s done so well and in such a relaxed manner that you don’t mind any retreading. Also, keep your eyes peeled for a show-stealing cameo from Keanu Reeves.

Modern retellings of Cyrano de Bergerac are so common it’s hardly a selling point anymore but writer-director Alice Wu deserves credit for giving an old tale a queer spin, not to mention putting a first-generation Chinese-American teen at its center. Beyond those plot twists, Wu’s adaptation - about a lonely high schooler helping a jock woo his crush, only to start crushing on the same girl - is unusually smart and funny. And while it turns out, in the end, to be a story of self-acceptance rather than finding validation in another person, there’s romance in that idea as well.

A triangulation of romantic drama, supernatural horror and sociopolitical critique, Senegalese director Mati Diop’s astounding debut has an entrancing quality unlike any film you’ve likely experienced before. It makes sense, given that the movie concerns itself with a village in Senegal possessed by the souls of exploited workers, and the women left behind to deal with their earthly business. 

Spike Lee formally announced his arrival with this low-budget, script-flipping rom-com. Nola Darling (Tracy Camilla Johns) is a young Brooklyn woman enjoying casual sex with three men, each desperate to convince her to get serious. Aside from a misguided rape scene that Lee has retroactively disavowed, it’s an incisive reversal of typical gender roles, and its presentation of African-American romantic relationships was revolutionary at the time. 

Sweet, silly and sentimental, this Richard Curtis-penned urban fairy tale is one of the defining texts of the romantic comedy genre. Penned by Richard Curtis, it depicts the unlikely affair between a movie star (Julia Roberts) and an awkward bookshop owner, played by Hugh Grant at his stuttering, floppy-haired best. If you love romcoms, you already love Notting Hill. And if you hate romcoms, you probably still sorta love it despite yourself.

Adapted from the 1952 Patricia Highsmith novel ‘The Price of Salt’, Todd Haynes’s lush melodrama is powered by a pair of phenomenal performances by Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara as two women in midcentury New York struggling to repress their feelings for each other following the former’s divorce. Like most of Haynes’ films, it’s emotionally complex and subtly moving – and gorgeous to look at.

Finally, a Chris Rock-directed movie with the verve of a Chris Rock standup set. Rock, effectively playing himself, is a comic turned filmmaker hoping to change his reputation with a serious new project. Rosario Dawson is a journalist assigned to profile him. Can you guess what happens? Probably. But Rock is looser than he’s ever been onscreen, and Dawson is an excellent sparring partner. It’s basically Before Sunrise for hip-hop heads and comedy nerds.

Netflix’s efforts to revive the romantic comedy has yielded mixed results, but this teen romcom is definitely one of its stronger attempts. While it plays up to some tropes – awkward but attractive girl and school’s hottest jock pretend to date only for the pair to fall desperately in love – the central premise feels unique and relatable. The casting is also ace: Lana Condor is excellent as protagonist Lara Jean, while Noah Centineo ticks all the teen heartthrob boxes. The film was a big enough hit to spawn a trilogy, with PS: I Still Love You and this year's Always and Forever ready to queue up for a binge.

In this humble black-and-white two-hander, Sarah Paulson and Mark Duplass are former high school sweethearts reuniting and reminiscing in their small hometown 20 years on. That’s it, really, but the two stars exude such an easy, natural rapport that it feels like spending a day reconnecting with your own teenage besties – a believability that makes the revelations of the climax hit all that much harder.

A pair of overworked assistants plot to hook up their tightly-wound bosses in hopes of getting them off their respective asses… but could they be the ones that end up falling in love? A fairly generic romcom premise is uplifted by a serious charm offensive from Glen Powell and Zoey Deutch as the scheming employees. One of Netflix’s hidden gems, it’s a pleasure you don’t have to feel guilty for enjoying.

There isn’t much to this low-key gem aside from the chemistry between the two leads, but Jessica Williams and Chris O’Dowd exude a lot of chemistry. Each plays a recent dumpee who are still not over their respective past relationship, yet end up on a blind date together and forge a strong connection over their shared heartbreak. It’s really that simple, and that’s all it really needs to be a total winner. 

It features perhaps the single most offensive Asian caricature to appear onscreen since, like, the 1940s, but if you’re able to cringe through the Long Duk Dong scenes, John Hughes’s directorial debut is still a major moment for teen movies, romcoms and really the whole vibe of 1980s cinema in general. It introduced the world to Molly Ringwald’s signature prissy-yet-sympathetic charisma, established Anthony Michael Hall as the era’s best lovelorn nerd, and showcased Hughes’ particular blend of smarts and sweetness before it came to define the decade.  

A formulaic but well-executed romcom, this Netflix Original stars Jane the Virgin’s Gina Rodriguez as a music journalist moving cross-country to take a ‘dream job’ at Rolling Stone, prompting her longtime boyfriend (LaKeith Stanfield) to break up with her. Devastated, she and her friends plan one last big night out before sending her off.  

Yep, it’s Glen Powell again, this time playing opposite Sydney Sweeney as lovers turned enemies turned enemies pretending to be lovers while attending the same destination wedding in Australia, because reasons. While not the best use of his talents, those dimples work magic once more, taking a basic romcom formulation – albeit one with loose Shakespeare allusions – and advancing it up several notches of watchability. Shout out to Sweeney, too, who shows more sass and silliness than previously afforded.