Love is in the air, and on your local big screen this Valentine’s Day.
The lover’s holiday is around the corner, and if you’re searching for date night ideas, why not go with a classic? Catching a flick gives couples an opportunity to get a little closer in a dark and cozy environment and bond through shared emotions, from laughter to tears, followed by a debrief on the way back to the car.
Not all movie choices make the best date-night material, though. Choosing a romantic film, especially for the holiday, might be a great option. This year, movie fans can catch an exciting new release based on a literary classic, a sports romance, a love story set against a World War II backdrop, and a few others that blend romance and comedy, as well as horror.
Here are seven films to watch in Southern California theaters this Valentine’s Day.
“Wuthering Heights”
Perhaps this year’s most highly anticipated cinematic experience is “Wuthering Heights,” a sexy adaptation of Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel. The film stars Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, alongside Hong Chau, Shazad Latif, Alison Oliver, Martin Clunes, and Ewan Mitchell in supporting roles. Those who know the literary classic cover to cover should know this is a loose interpretation from director Emerald Fennell, whose previous films include “Saltburn” and “Promising Young Woman.” Whether you’re a skeptical Brontë superfan, or you couldn’t look away from the obvious chemistry between Robbie and Elordi, or you heard that Charli XCX is behind the film’s soundtrack, this film will give you plenty to discuss, and maybe even swoon over.
When: Beginning Thursday, Feb. 12.
Where: In theaters nationwide.
Admission: Varies by theater.
Love and Basketball
If you and your honey also have a shared passion for basketball, you’ll want to check out the iconic sports drama “Love and Basketball,” produced by Spike Lee and written/directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. The plot centers on Monica (Sanaa Lathan) and Quincy (Omar Epps), two childhood friends who both aspire to be professional basketball players. Over the years, the two begin to fall for each other, but their separate paths to basketball stardom threaten to put their future together in limbo.
When: 8:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13.
Where: Rooftop Cinema, 888 S Olive Street, 4th Floor, Los Angeles.
Admission: $31-$45 rooftopcinemaclub.com.
Casablanca
When it comes to classic movies, “Casablanca” ranks third on the American Film Institute’s list of America’s greatest movies, and it also offers an angsty romance that’s perfect for Valentine’s Day. The black-and-white tearjerker centers on Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), who owns a nightclub in Vichy-controlled Casablanca, frequented by refugees desperate to escape German domination during the beginning of World War II. Despite the ongoing human suffering, Rick remains uninvolved in the war raging across Europe and North Africa. That all changes when Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) walks through the front door of Rick’s nightclub, forcing him to choose between a life with the woman he loves or helping her husband, a Czechoslovak resistance leader, escape from the Vichy-controlled city of Casablanca to continue his fight against the Nazis.
When: 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14.
Where: Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica.
Admission: $12-$17 at americancinematheque.com.
Play it Again, Sam
“Casablanca” is so classic that it inspired the romantic comedy “Play it Again, Sam.” The 1972 film, titled after one of the most iconic lines in “Casablanca,” follows neurotic film critic Allan Felix (Woody Allen), who is obsessed with the film. He attempts to move past a depressive state after his wife leaves him by dating again with the help of a married couple, Dick (Tony Roberts) and Linda (Diane Keaton), and his idealized “Casablanca” idol, Humphrey Bogart. However, his fragile personality ensures that every attempt backfires, and his romantic life reaches a catastrophic level when he develops feelings for Linda.
When: 11:59 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13 and 11:59 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14.
Where: Vista Theater, 4473 Sunset Drive, Los Angeles.
Admission: $13 at vistatheaterhollywood.com.
All That Heaven Allows
Before “Harold and Maude” brought their May-December romance to the big screen, there was the 1955 melodrama “All That Heaven Allows.” The plot follows an upper-class widow, Cary Scott (Jane Wyman), who falls for a much younger, down-to-earth, handsome gardener-landscaper, Ron Kirby (Rock Hudson). The romance draws ire from her children and criticism from her country club peers. The film challenges social conventions around age-gap relationships by featuring a woman as the older partner, at a time when such relationships were discouraged, despite men historically having age gap relationships normalized. “All That Heaven Allows” has plenty of romance to make the case that true love is paramount.
When: 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 14 and Sunday, Feb. 15.
Where: Vista Theater, 4473 Sunset Drive, Los Angeles.
Admission: $11 at vistatheaterhollywood.com.
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
Sometimes romance films are full of predictable (and dated) tropes, but we love them anyway. “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” follows advice columnist Andie Anderson (Kate Hudson), who pitches an article to her editor, Lana (Bebe Neuwirth), highlighting common ways women scare off their male suitors early in a relationship. The plan is to test her theory on an unsuspecting man in increasingly cringey ways. Her plans quickly take a turn when ad man Ben Berry (Matthew McConaughey) enters her life after making a bet that his romantic prowess can make any woman fall in love with him within 10 days. This film is a classic recipe for disaster and (perhaps love) when these two opposing forces come together.
When: 11:05 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15.
Where: Rooftop Cinema, 888 S Olive Street, 4th Floor, Los Angeles.
Admission: $31-$45 rooftopcinemaclub.com.
I <3 Horror Triple Feature
If you and your partner have a shared love for horror, The Frida Cinema is showing a triple feature this Valentine’s Day to keep your blood pumping. The indie theater will open the show with the more romantic flick “Lisa Frankenstein,” which centers on a misunderstood teenager (Kathryn Newton) who reanimates a Victorian corpse (Cole Sprouse), leading to a murderous journey together in search of love, happiness, and a few missing body parts. The second “Ginger Snaps” follows two outcast sisters, Ginger (Katharine Isabelle) and Brigitte (Emily Perkins), in a small suburban town of Bailey Downs. When Ginger gets her first period, she is attacked by a deadly werewolf, leaving them both to deal with the fallout. The film has been read as a queer romantic story, often alluding to trans and LGBTQ+ themes. “Scream 4” wraps up the triple feature, and although it isn’t a romance per se, the slasher lover in your life will appreciate it for its iconic place in the Ghostface saga.
When: 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15.
Where: Frida Cinema, 305 East 4th St. #100, Santa Ana.
Admission: $21 at thefridacinema.org.