It’s date night, but both of you are exhausted. All you want to do is cuddle up, order in, and turn on a good movie. The problem is you struggle on deciding what movie you both could tolerate, let alone enjoy. Some suggest taking turns choosing a movie, however it can be tough to enjoy an experience when you know your partner is in anguish.
We have compiled a list of 20 movie suggestions both of you could find entertaining, thought provoking, and even fodder for good conversation.
4 Tips for a Great At-Home Movie Night
Before you get to the movies, first read through this list of tips. These will help make sure you both enjoy the movie, and help the experience feel more date-like.
1) Choose Three
Instead of trying to agree on just one movie, choose three options. That way if one is a stinker you have a backup. If worst case scenario two are awful, then you have a back up to your back up.
2) Change the Environment
Instead of settling onto the couch where you both always perch, consider making a small change in the environment to put you both in a date like state of mind. Throw a couple of sleeping bags or blankets and pillows on the floor and enjoy a picnic style movie setting. Or, if you always watch movies in the living room, throw a pj party in the bedroom. No matter what you choose, think outside the box a bit and decide what twist you want to add to the experience.
3) The 15 Minute Rule
This means at 15 minutes into the movie you pause it and discuss with your partner whether the movie is interesting enough to continue for both of you. If not, move on to your next selection. That way no one feels tortured for two hours thinking the other person is interested.
4) Good Treats
To make any experience better, bring good food. If you both are feeling adventurous then try a new dessert. But, always have your favorite candy, cookies, popcorn, etc. as a backup.
20 Date Night Movies
Now that you’ve got the mood set and the sweet treats rolling, here is the list of movies to get you settled in for the night. Each movie has a few details such as the year it was made, leading actors, the IMDB (Internet Movie Data Base) rating out of 10 stars (10 being high), and the description from IMDB.
Check them out for yourself, pick three and get to watching.
1. Rear Window (1954), 8.5/10 stars, Grace Kelly and James Stewart
A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
2. Back to the Future (1985), 8.5/10 stars, Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd
A young man is accidentally sent thirty years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his friend, Dr. Emmet Brown, and must make sure his high-school-age parents unite in order to save his own existence.
3. Life is Beautiful (1997), 8.6/10 stars, Roberto Benigni and Nicolleta Braschi
When an open-minded Jewish librarian and his son become victims of the Holocaust, he uses a perfect mixture of will, humor and imagination to protect his son from the dangers around their camp.
4. American Beauty (1999), 8.4/10 stars, Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening
A sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter’s best friend.
5. Chocolate (2000), 7.3/10 stars, Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp
A woman and her daughter open a chocolate shop in a small French village that shakes up the rigid morality of the
community.
6. A Beautiful Mind (2001), 8.2/10 stars, Jennifer Connelly and Russell Crowe
After John Nash, a brilliant but asocial mathematician, accepts secret work in cryptography, his life takes a turn for the nightmarish.
7. Moulin Rouge (2001), 7.6/10 stars, Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor
A poet falls for a beautiful courtesan whom a jealous duke covets in this stylish musical, with music drawn from familiar 20th century sources.
8. Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), 7.3/10 stars, Ziyi Zhang and Ken Watanabe
Nitta Sayuri reveals how she transcended her fishing-village roots and became one of Japan’s most celebrated geisha.
9. An Unfinished Life (2005), 7.0/10 stars, Robert Redford, Morgan Freeman, Jennifer Lopez and Josh Lucas
Desperate to provide care for her daughter, down-on-her-luck Jean moves in with her father in-law from whom she is estranged. Through time, they learn to forgive each other and heal old wounds.
10. The Prestige (2006), 8.5/10 stars, Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale
Two stage magicians engage in competitive one-upmanship in an attempt to create the ultimate stage illusion.
11. P.S. I Love You (2007), 7.1/10 stars, Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler
A young widow discovers that her late husband has left her 10 messages intended to help ease her pain and start a new life.
12. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008), 7.1/10 stars, Amy Adams and Frances McDormand
Guinevere Pettigrew, a middle-aged London governess, finds herself unfairly dismissed from her job. An attempt to gain new employment catapults her into the glamorous world and dizzying social whirl of an American actress and singer, Delysia Lafosse.
13. Inception (2010), 8.8/10 stars, Leonardo DeCaprio , Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy and Ken Watanabee
A thief, who steals corporate secrets through use of dream-sharing technology, is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a CEO.
14. The King’s Speech (2010), 8.0/10 stars, Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, and Geoffrey Rush
The story of King George VI of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, his impromptu ascension to the throne and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch become worthy of it.
15. A Better LIfe (2011), 7.2/10 stars, Demian Bichir and Jose Julian
A gardener in East L.A. struggles to keep his son away from gangs and immigration agents while trying to give his son the opportunities he never had.
16. The Intouchables (2011), 8.6/10 stars, Francois Cluzet and Omar Sy
After he becomes a quadriplegic from a paragliding accident, an aristocrat hires a young man from the projects to be his caregiver.
17. Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011), 7.4/10 stars, Steve Carrell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone
A middle-aged husband’s life changes dramatically when his wife asks him for a divorce. He seeks to rediscover his manhood with the help of a newfound friend, Jacob, learning to pick up girls at bars.
18. A Separation (2011), 8.4/10 stars, Leila Hatami and Peyman Moaadi
A married couple are faced with a difficult decision – to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimer’s disease.
19. Silver Linings Playbook (2012), 7.8/10 stars, Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper
After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own.
20. The Imitation Game (2014), 8.1/10 stars, Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley
During World War II, mathematician Alan Turing tries to crack the enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians.