Love n’ stuff: What to watch this month for all the flirty feels
I’ve always been a happily ever after kind of girl (weird for a cynic, I know).
I saw Beauty and the Beast as a child and that was it for me, folks. Down bad for life. So naturally, I love the month of the love. It’s the perfect time to lean into all the girly feels of your beribboned coquette dreams. All I want to do in February is consume every single love story I can possibly find — new ones, old ones, I’ll take them all. And if it’s cheesy? Even better! Reality has no business here, thank you.
If you’re feelin’ the same sorta way, may we suggest…
~ Kelly’s Picks ~
Passport to Paris
Watch on: Prime
There is nothing like watching a film you were obsessed with in your youth. The nostalgia! The feels! Realizing you still know every line! There are some truly iconic cinema moments in Passport to Paris (perhaps the best Mary Kate & Ashley movie?! fight me) — ordering fish instead of a drink (it’s “boisson” not “poisson”), the McDonalds taste test with Henri, making the boys pass the twin test.
Plus, this movie is serious style inspiration. It dropped in 1999, which means absolutely everything they are wearing is trendy right now. So into their leather coat/bright crossbody satchels look.
If you like this try: The Lizzie McGuire Movie, Aquamarine
Rye Lane
Watch on: Hulu
Never once in this film did I know what was going to happen next, and I love that about it. It’s shot in a really unique way (fish eye lens, anyone? also very cool scenes of flashbacks shot like a play, on stage) and while I don’t condone a meet cute in a public bathroom (for obvious reasons), I still adore this movie because THE CHEMISTRY. Oh, the chemistry. It’s effortless, it’s intoxicating. It’s the way you wish you could talk to a handsome man you just met. Friendly, flirty, a little weird and so, so charming.
If you like this try: Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
Marry My Husband
Watch on: Prime
When I tell you this kdrama has me absolutely kicking my feet and giggling. It’s giving angles, it’s giving slow-mo, it’s giving BUTTERFLIES. It’s based on a Webtoon, so you know the plot is straight up bonkers, but I’m here for every second.
This is one of those times where I went in not thinking the male lead was all that great, and now I’m on episode ten and I would hurl myself in front of a bus for him. The way a kdrama will simply give you everything you’ve ever wanted: she’s tripping and falling into his arms, they both get a makeover?!, he’s been in love with her forever, they’re raising a stray cat together and she doesn’t realize… You know, the classic beats! Also there is time travel. What can I say? You’re welcome!
If you like this try: Business Proposal
The Buccaneers
Watch on: Apple TV+
Listen, is this show good? Hmm. Does the pacing and plot make any sort of sense? Hmmmmmm. BUT, it’s absolutely friggin’ gorgeous. Apple spared no expense on this and I have to respect that hustle. The vistas are stunning. The chemistry is palpable. The plot is… nevermind. Kissing!
If you like this try: Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette
Heartstopper
Watch on: Netflix
If you want to watch something that will make your heart absolutely GLOW, this is it. Nick and Charlie’s hands barely brushed and I was blushing and screaming at my TV (“you love each other, kiss already!”). If that doesn’t convince you, Olivia Coleman also makes an appearance. Everything you could ever need!
I would also highly recommend the books by Alice Oseman for the most adorable, kick your feet content you’ll ever find.
If you like this try: Sex Education
Austenland
Watch on: Max
If you’ve ever obsessed over a fictional man, this movie is for you babe. Our heroine, Jane, is really (like, really really) crushing on Mr. Darcy (relatable!) and goes to an “Austen Experience” type situation where you get to dress up in period clothing and listen to a hot actor guy say things like “adieu!” and “what marvelous boiled potatoes”. Aka: my ideal vacation. Jane is the most realistic portrayal of a fan girl I have ever seen, and I would defend her with my life. If you need more incentive, this also stars the iconique Jennifer Coolidge and also that one guy from Flight of the Conchords.
If you like this try: the 2005 Pride & Prejudice, obviously. Double feature, anyone?
Plus One
Watch on: Netflix
THIS MOVIE IS PERFECT. I love it so much I could write a dissertation on it, but I’ll spare you and just say the way these two fall in love is so true to life it makes my chest burn. I don’t normally go for the whole Friends to Lovers trope, but this is a single-handed crusade to change my mind. The banter is so natural, so effortless, that you feel like you’re listening in to a real conversation (they are also just snarky, sad idiots and there’s nothing I relate to more).
There is this scene where they are in a pool (it’s a wedding and everyone jumps in) and they’re talking about their parents, and divorce, and love (and they have a truly stunning hug in the water that I would do unspeakable things to receive) and suddenly they look up and realize everyone else left the pool ages ago, they were just that wrapped up in each other. It’s like, inject this scene directly into my veins plz.
If you like this try: Palm Springs
Soundtrack #1
Watch on: Disney+
If you like romance and you’re not watching kdramas, what are you even doing? Nobody does it better.
Another friends to lovers?! Who am I becoming. This is absolutely ideal to watch in the wintertime as they are all bundled up and everything is very snowy and charming and cute. But the star of the show here: some truly incredible pining. If you like a man that is so thoroughly down bad he wouldn’t even look at another woman, this is your series. Also it’s only four episodes, so the focus is solely on the ~ romance ~ and you can binge it in a perfect day. (Plus, Park Hyung-sik. If you know, you know).
If you like this try: Love, Rosie. Friends to lovers! More pining!
The Bold Type
Watch on: Hulu
This show is doing A LOT. It gets into everything: orgasm inequality, dating someone you work with, gun control, sex clubs, deportation, pegging!! Like when I said everything, I meant everythingggg. And it somehow does this while also feeling like an easy background watch with sparkling nights out and dressing up and all the classic NYC show beats. So naturally, I’m obsessed with it.
If you like this try: Younger
~ Alexia’s Picks ~
Paul Mescal on Chicken Shop Date
Watch on: Youtube
Oh, Paul Mescal. This man has been everything to me since the fateful night in 2020 that I feverishly binged Normal People until five in the morning. He’s one of my celeb crushes who isn’t always top of mind (he’s kind of a lowkey king, which makes him *that* much more irresistible) but when I see a new piece of content, I fall even deeper in love.
This episode of Chicken Shop Date has the entire world in a chokehold, and it’s both affirming and threatening that the rest of the population is so in love with this man. The part where he giggles boyishly while taking her photo… oh, to be Amelia Dimoldenberg.
If you like this, try: the Jonas Brothers episode
Sleepless in Seattle
Watch on: Peacock, Prime Video
I know this isn’t everyone’s first pick when leafing through the Nora Ephron / Meg Ryan catalog. For me, this movie is so cozy in a quiet and sweet way. The love story isn’t dramatic and nothing major *really* happens until the last few scenes of the movie, but it’s the perfect “cozy up in bed with a pint of ice cream” watch — alone, or with galentines.
If you like this, try: When Harry Met Sally
Never Have I Ever
Watch on: Netflix
An extremely unserious and somehow addicting watch. My sister and I binged every episode together, so my memory of this show may be rose-colored. But hey, it’s funny, light, and gives you all the ~high school crush~ feels. The perfect recipe for a night in!
If you like this, try: The Mindy Project
Howl’s Moving Castle
Watch on: Max
If you ever ask me what my favorite movie is and I don’t say Howl’s Moving Castle, just know that I’m lying. This is, in my opinion, one of the most perfect movies in existence. I don’t even really have a reason for it other than the fact that everything is amazing — the voice acting (Christian Bale crooning “You’re being so obedient”? I’m dead), the visuals, the plot, the dialogue. I weep heaving sobs whenever I watch it because it’s just *that* kind of comfort movie for me. Watch this to satiate your feminine urge to fall madly in love with an animated wizard with gorgeous hair.
If you like this, try: Castle in the Sky
Love on the Spectrum
Watch on: Netflix
There has never been a show so wonderfully joyful. Season 2 only came out last month, and I absolutely devoured every episode in a day’s time. It will give you butterflies, tears, and laughs — and it may cause your heart to grow three sizes too big.
If you like this, try: Love on the Spectrum Australia
All My Life
Watch on: Peacock
I watched this for free on a Southwest flight and cried so hard that I literally had to pause it and pull myself together so the flight attendant wouldn’t come check on me. Beware, because this one is actually based on a true story (and even has the real couple’s photos at the end of the movie, in case you hadn’t cried enough tears yet). I will never be able to hear Oasis’s “Don’t Look Back In Anger” without losing my mind.
If you like this, try: Me Before You
Hey, Kelly here. Welcome to The Landline. Dial in for gentle deep dives into anything and everything I'm obsessing over at the moment (mostly sane, always silly). Grab your Diet Coke, wind that phone cord around your finger, and let's get to it.