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19. Chungking Express
We've got to give Quentin Tarantino a little credit for bringing Wong Kar-Wai's third film to the States. And when Tarantino remarks, in his deeply '90s filmed intro to the DVD, that he cried the first time he saw it from the sheer filmic ebullience of the thing, we can't help but agree. Though its parallel stories of heartsick cops are both bittersweet, the picture is filled with a joyful vitality that will put you and your date in the good moods necessary for effective mating.
Best scene to make a move: When Faye Wong redecorates the apartment. — PS
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18. Almost Famous
This is easily one of the warmest films ever made, and it somehow manages that without a cloying minute. It's hilarious ("And you can tell Rolling Stone magazine that my last words were... I'm on drugs!"), but also poignant to an almost painful degree, a wounded and heartfelt reminiscence and a tribute to romantic youth. Look at it as a litmus test. If you get choked up (as we do, every damn time) when William runs through the airport waving at Penny's plane, and your date doesn't — or if it's the other way around, heaven forfend — it's simply not meant to be. Otherwise, you're all but guaranteed some post-movie snogging.
Best scene to make a move: When everyone sings "Tiny Dancer." — PS
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17. Dirty Dancing
No one puts Baby in the corner, but that's exactly where you and your date should be — in the darkest corner of the theater or couch. Because there is no hotter movie for any woman who's ever been a lonely teenager, or for any man who ever idolized Patrick Swayze (and I think there's something wrong with any man who didn't).
Best time to make a move: When they practice lifts in the water. — A. Calhoun
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16. Back to the Future
Why? Just 'cause. Because quasi-flirtatious relationship between Marty and Doc aside, you and your date will quickly fall into mutually relatable '80s nostalgia banter. Pop-culture references! The failsafe antidote to first-date discomfort. Remember that show Salute Your Shorts on Nickelodeon? Remember Til' Tuesday? Remember when we were young and life was simple and exciting instead of awkward and confusing like this first date? There are lots of '80s movies that could aid this collective mental regression, but somehow a movie about time travel seems most appropriate. That, and Lea Thompson's inappropriately sultry sexiness.
Best scene to make a move: Just as young George McFly is helping young Lorraine out of the Studebaker after knocking out young Biff. — WD
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15. The Jerk
Date not funny? Have more wine. Still not funny? Pop in The Jerk. There are many Steve Martin films that should be kept at hand in case of a boring-date emergency, but The Jerk uber alles, simply for the fact that it has basically no unfunny moments. I've dated people whom I didn't really like, using Blockbuster nights with movies like The Jerk to prop up an otherwise humorless relationship. In a pinch, this one is fast and effective.
Best scene to make a move: When Marie (Bernadette Peters) knocks out the biker chick who's pursuing Navin (Steve Martin). — WD
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14. The Apartment
This delightful Best Picture winner with Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, directed by Billy Wilder, is a classy choice if you're not sure where your date's tastes lie. Office underdog C.C. Baxter (Lemmon) has been strong-armed into letting four company managers use his apartment for their illicit romantic encounters, a fortuitous precedent if you, too, are in an apartment and hoping for an encounter. Baxter's neighbors think he's a womanizer; little do they know that he's a just a lonely guy who pines after an elevator operator, Miss Kubelik (MacLaine).
Best scene to make a move: After Baxter has received a promotion and Miss Kubelik has agreed to go out with him. Lean over for a kiss, then pull away and say, abashed-Baxter-like, "Sorry, I was just infected by Baxter's excitement." Then kiss again. — SH
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13. The Graduate
If you're dating a woman who's old enough to be your mother (perhaps she's a friend of your mom's?), don't rent The Graduate with her. It'll make her feel old and worried you're crushing on her daughter. But if you're dating someone roughly your age, definitely rent The Graduate. I know I'm in the minority in not fully understanding the sexual appeal of a young Dustin Hoffman, but Anne Bancroft — her I would hand-feed Centrum Silver tablets every morning in bed. Afterward, your date can throw on some Leggs and the two of you can act it out.
Best scene to make a move: Obvious: as Benjamin (Dustin Hoffman) asks Mrs. Robinson, "Are you trying to seduce me?"— WD
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12. Cinema Paradiso
Movies don't get much more bleedingly romantic than this sweetheart of an Italian film, in which a director recalls his childhood friendship with a movie theater's elderly projectionist. The end of the movie — a montage of classic cinema moments set to a stirring Ennio Morricone score — is such tearjerker the sequence should be sponsored by Kleenex.
Best scene to make a move: That brilliant, weepy movie montage. — S. Hepola
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11. Donnie Darko
Almost certainly the greatest time-travelling high school romance of all time (unless you prefer #16). Do not allow Donnie Darko 's current hipness, or Jake Gyllenhaal's overexposure, to blind you to the sexiness of this film. Detractors call Donnie the patron saint of sensitive emo types, but that does no justice to his sharp intelligence or capacity for destruction — both key elements of sexiness. Avoid the director's cut, which unforgivably swaps "The Killing Moon" out of the opening credits.
Scene to make your move: When "Love Will Tear Us Apart" comes on at the Halloween party. — PS
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10. Before Sunrise
It's like Slacker for hopeless romantics, starring two of the '90s premium hotties having the best date ever, over the course of ninety minutes in Vienna. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy's funny, smart, stream-of-consciousness conversation after they meet on a train makes us pine for that serendipitous moment — a date that springs not from personal ads or meat-market trolling or friends who mistakenly think you'd be perfect together, but from being in the right place at the right time. Linklater built a career on showing people having natural, meandering conversations, where awkward silences and pretentious posturing are banished; maybe his sensibilities will rub off on your date.
Best scene to make a move: When they fall asleep side by side in the park. — WD |
