Spoilers Ahead

Social Media Editor Megan Austin created a list of her favorite movies to watch on Valentine’s Day.

Stargirl 

This love story is nothing like the cliches. There is no football player that falls in love with a cheerleader; in Stargirl, it is a formerly homeschooled girl new to the high school scene and a boy who has lived in the background for much of his life. The two characters share calm communication, a key to healthy relationships which I rarely see in movies. The girl, Stargirl, teaches the boy, Leo, kindness, and individuality throughout their relationship. They also have similar family histories, as both of them have single parents which helps them relate more. This story is quite unique from the typical high school romance and for those book lovers, this movie is an adaptation of the book Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. 

Love, Simon

This is not a typical coming-of-age love story. Love, Simon is about a teenage boy, Simon, who is secretly gay. He makes an email address and finds another closeted gay boy with an alias. They email back and forth, but eventually, his secret gets discovered by Martin, a disliked side character. Martin uses this to blackmail him, so Simon lies to his friends to keep his secret. This doesn’t end well for him when Martin ultimately outs him. He makes up with his friends and discovers who his unknown pen pal was when he learned to accept himself. 

Lady and the Tramp – live-action

This live-action movie is not one to miss. Released in 2019, this remake of the classic Lady and the Tramp Disney movie is a quality dog movie. The intense high-speed chases when the worker from the Dog Pound shows up and the famous spaghetti scene make this movie so special. It is interesting to see the plot develop as the Tramp shows Lady what it is like being a street dog and how their relationship strengthens through hardship.  

10 Things I Hate About You

This 1999 movie is a classic. It is the ultimate 1990s love story. Picture this: two sisters that are not allowed to date until they graduate. The younger sister, Bianca, protests this and their dad eventually changes the rule to allow Bianca to date once her sister, Kat, has a boyfriend. The new kid in town, Cameron, has a huge crush on Bianca and cons the school jock, Joey, into paying someone to date Kat. They find Patrick, after many refusals Kat agrees to go on a date. She falls for him, but finds out he was being paid the whole time. The trick is that Patrick fell for Kat as well. Patrick goes out of his way to fix things with Kat and they do makeup at last. The movie ends happily with Bianca finally dating Cameron and Kat dating Patrick. 

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

Starring Noah Centineo and Lana Condor, this movie is a wonderfully made coming-of-age love story. The trilogy series originated as books, but became a Netflix series in 2018. It covers all of the important plot points covered in the book and has a thrilling love story. Unlike many cliche love stories, it covers loss of a parent and divorce, and remarrying after divorce as well. The main characters, Lara Jean and Peter, have known each other since childhood, but love develops through unlikely events.