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The first animated film ever nominated for Best Picture, Beauty and the Beast exemplifies the foundations of true love in a stirring adventure based upon the classic fairytale.  Beauty and the Beast is Disney storytelling at its best and the story explores the depths of unconditional love. 

Though Angela Lansbury's voice is easy to identify, it is the late Jerry Orbach's (Law & Order) rendition of the love-sick candlestick Pierre that steals the show. All of the characters are memorable and the computer-generated graphics are a treat for the eyes.  Beauty and the Beast is a love story ageless and divine.

Lonesome Dove
(mini-series)

This is a great rainy/snowy day, let's cuddle on the couch flick.

Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones head this tremendous epic that depicts the last of the romantics in a wild west saga. Together they drive a herd of cattle 2500 miles from Texas to Montana and viewers are treated to the intimacy and adventure of their lives.  Intertwined is the love story concerning a young prostitute and an older woman Duvall's character never got over.  Other characters enter the scenes in sub-plots a an abandoned husband searches for his wife who has left to chase the man she never got over. Her story ends on in the badlands where she pays for her infidelity with her life.

Lonesome Dove has everything that makes a romance great and it elegantly, yet rustically explores the relationships that give life its spice and meaning. 
 

"You make me want to be a better man."

Similar to Jerry MaGuire, As Good as it Gets is the story about a man who finally grows up, albeit in his fifties due to his love of a woman.  Helen Hunt plays a struggling waitress and single mother of an asthmatic son, dealing with crisis and tough decisions as she plows forward with her life, one medical bill at a time.

The script is witty, funny and at times heart-wrenching.  What we like about this movie is its illustration of the give and take within a relationship as it builds and ultimately becomes real.  Too often people believe love Just Happens.  As Good as it Gets demonstrates love doesn't just happen but evolves one day at a time.

If you like this film, you'll also love Nicholson in 'Something's Gotta Give ' with Diane Keeton. 

100 minutes

Edward Scissorhands is a modern day Beauty and the Beast which borrows some ideas from Frankenstein. What we like about this movie is its focus on the uniqueness in each person and how even the most unlikely can enhance the life of another. 

Edward Scissorhands bypasses the negatives and creates positives from adversity. Through the story, compassion unfolds bringing to light the gift of love through the acceptance of even the most daunting differences.  Edward Scissorhands is a love story for anyone who has thought he or she wasn't good enough and later discovered how exceptional he or she really is through the eyes of love.

The African Queen

Meet the Bickerson's circa Bogart and Hepburn 1952. 

The African Queen is an unlikely romantic adventure set during World War I that illustrates the old adage, opposites attract.  When Bogart and Hepburn meet, sparks fly, just not the romantic type as both liberally display their mutual disdain for each other.  Fate has different plans though and through the course of dodging German war ships and mosquitoes, the two fall in love and ultimately marry each other as the hangman's noose slips over each lover's neck.  But don't worry, there is a happy ending and love does survive.  But you'll have to see the movie to figure out just how and why

Who doesn't love a great Cinderella story?  Ever After takes the old version, ditches the fairy godmother and throws in a little twenty-first century female empowerment into the mix to create a delightfully vicious and at time poignant version of this steadfast romantic classic.

Drew Barrymore shows her family legacy playing her part as Cinderella to a T.  Anjelica Huston takes the part of the evil stepmother and makes you believe she is the only person who should ever play it. Ever After is funny, charming and a feast for the eyes, the perfect appetizer to an evening of home-cooked romance. 

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1997: PG13 
Starring:
Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Bill Paxton, Gloria Stuart, Frances Fisher, Bernard Hill, Jonathan Hyde, David Warner  
Director:
James Cameron
 

194 minutes
11 Academy Awards including best picture and director
 

IWhen this movie premiered in December 1997 I was fortunate to be dating a film and sound editor who insisted the only place to see this film was Grumman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, after all, it had the best sound system. He was right and like most of the population, I was blown away.

The romance in this story is sweet but predictable, and at times down right annoying. However, the special effects and the first 20-minutes of the film showing the real Titanic are what make this film exceptional and one that will be cherished for generations to come. 

In search of the truth a disillusioned movie mogul decides to experience life from the perspective of the other half and hobo his way across country...followed by his complete entourage in a fully equipped RV.  Roughing it and reality do have their limits!  Along the way he meets the seductive Veronica Lake and together they explore America with a satirical twist.

Director Preston Sturges is known for his romantic comedies and Sullivan's Travels is one of his best.  This film combines the best of drama with the sharpness of pointed dry whit. 
 

No longer the shark, the film follows his recovery and the rebuilding of his marriage as he and his wife rediscover their love for each other.  Past indiscretions nearly destroy the renewed romance when they bubble to the surface, but in the end, love and family prevail.

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True Lies is one of those films that just gets better and better each time you see it.  Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a CIA agent, but his wife (Jamie Lee Curtis) thinks he's just the average boring Joe.  Enter the opportunistic slimy car salesman who pretends to be a secret agent and suddenly Schwarzenegger's delicious jealous streak becomes apparent.  He becomes obsessed with his wife's new infatuation and in the course of teaching her a lesson, suddenly draws her into his secret agent world.

This action packed adventure comedy will have you and your lover rolling off the couch and cheering the couple both at the same time.  If you're looking for an unusual romantic movie, True Lies fits the bill and makes for a fun frantic evening.
 

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