For Valentine’s Day, we’ve asked guest blogger Heather, who you might remember from such posts as this one, to discuss some of her favorite on-screen couples.
While I am not a huge fan of romantic movies, I am a huge fan of couples. Being one half of a couple, I may be a bit biased, but I find the way people in a loving romantic relationship relate to each other and function as both individuals and as two halves of a whole to be as interesting and complicated as any mystery or thriller. Here are a few of my favorite on-screen (large and small) couples.
Danny Zuko & Sandy Olssen
Grease
This was my very first OTP (one true pairing, for those not in the fandom know). Cheesy and clichéd though the “good girl falls for bad boy” story may be, Sandy and Danny go together like rama lama lama ke diga de dinga dong.
Buttercup & Wesley
The Princess Bride
Sure, it’s Wesley’s “As you wish” that many people think of as the most romantic part of what is arguably one of the most romantic couples ever, but I’ve always been moved by Buttercup’s utter certainty that “My Wesley will come for me.” Not to mention the kiss that beat the top five kisses as the most passionate and most pure since the invention of the kiss.
Wash & Zoe
Serenity/Firefly
Sci-Fi super couple (We can fight about whether they or Chriton & Ayren are more deserving some other time) seem a bit of a mismatch at first. To quote Wash, “Not everybody gets me and Zoe at first.” But to get them is to love them, so hie thee to your Queue and load up on the coolest couple from here to Ita Moon.
Nick & Nora Charles
The Thin Man
The banter! The gin! Anyone who has ever met my husband and I would testify there’s a bit of Nick and Nora in us. From the opening scene, when Nora arrives at a club to learn Nick is on his sixth martini and tells the waiter she’ll need him to “line up five more so I can catch up,” to reacting to a raucous party by telling her husband “Oh Nicky, I love you because you know such lovely people!”, Nick and Nora’s laid back devotion to one another is my favorite aspect of their relationship and my own.
Coach Eric & Tami Taylor
Friday Night Lights
If Nick and Nora are the stylized version of a marriage, Coach and Tami are a more down-to-earth, realistic version. Supportive and caring, but not without conflict, this is one of the best representations of coupledom on any screen, big or small. Each moment between them rings perfectly true to anyone in a long-term relationship. Anyone who has ever tried to carry on an *ahem* discussion with their partner in public, knows exactly what Eric means when he begs Tami, “Do not whisper yell at me! Do not whisper yell at me, please!”
Scarlett O’ Hara & Rhett Butler
Gone With the Wind
I will be honest with you, this is not one of my favorite couples, but when I mentioned writing this guest blog, my husband said I absolutely had to include Rhett and Scarlett, and because he and I are my very favorite couple, I did.
Jamal & Latika
Slumdog Millionaire
In what was for the most part a wonderful but depressing movie, the love story between Jamal and Latika was the thread of hope that carried me through when it felt too much to bear. Their relationship is one of those “meant to be” romances that we all want to believe exist, and that belief can often carry us through rough times.
Every single couple in Love, Actually
Every. Single. One. No other movie comes close to depicting as many different facets of “love.” If asked to pick a favorite, I’d say the puppy love/first crush, or perhaps Colin Firth’s language challenged romance, or the musician/record producer bromance… or….
Other favorites:
Rick Blaine & Ilsa Lund
Casablanca
Ricky & Lucy Ricardo
I Love Lucy
Shrek & Fiona
Shrek
Noah Calhoun & Allie Hamilton
The Notebook
Cliff & Claire Huxtable
The Cosby Show
Vote on your own favorite on-screen couple by taking our Valentine’s Day poll.
