The hype and expectations that come with Valentine’s Day (14 February) often make it a contentious day to say the least. If you’re loved up, there’s the immense pressure of what to do for, or gift, your significant other; and if you’re single, there’s the 24-hour reminder, and a couple of weeks leading up to the day, that you are in fact single.
If the thought of a day or night in with romantic made-for-TV movies playing on repeat or one soppy love song after the next playing on the radio makes you jaded, then stop right there, this doesn’t have to be you.
“While there are many rom coms that celebrate the joys of being one half of a couple, there are just as many out there to remind us that it can be boring, clichéd, and on the rarer of occasions, dangerous,” says senior marketing manager for high-end television brand SKYWORTH, Bridget Meyer.
So, kick back solo with some bubbles, mounds of snacks and ask your TV to whisk you away (because you can with SKYWORTH’s AI and Android TVs) into the world of anti-Valentine’s Day movies. You’ll find there’s loads to celebrate about not being attached to another person.
Here’s the top 10 from Meyer’s watch list:
1 Someone Great
There’s some romance in this, but ultimately, it’s about the friendships that get you through life’s toughest moments.
2 Get Out
Jordan Peele’s 2017 horror film will remind you that sometimes it’s okay not to get too invested in a relationship – because your partner could turn out to be a honey trap for a body-stealing operation.
3 A Streetcar Named Desire
Take it from Blanche DuBois: Romance isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. This is perfect for when you’re craving drama but just can’t handle another cut-and-dried love story.
4 Closer
Remember this movie in which Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman, and Clive Owen compete for how miserable in love they can be? If you don’t, Valentine’s Day is a great time to revisit the dysfunction.
5 The First Wives Club
For something a little more fun, try the classic ’90s film starring the unbeatable trifecta of Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton, and Bette Midler, who play wives suddenly put out to pasture by their midlife-crisis-having husbands.
6 The Family Stone
By the end of this movie, you will want to never have to meet a set of in-laws again, and you will also understand that The Family Stone is actually a horror.
7 The War of the Roses
Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner star in this ’80s dark comedy about a divorce. Think Roald Dahl’s The Twits, only updated for wealthy people who make each other’s lives a living hell.
8 Gone Girl
Exploring human beings at their absolute worst, and how sometimes maybe entering into a partnership isn’t always the best idea.
9 Fatal Attraction
The predecessor of other romance-gone-wrong thrillers like Gone Girl, Fatal Attraction pushes the psycho-female stereotype to the extreme.
10 Kill Bill
It starts with a wedding dress and ends with about 40 murders, so you know that Quentin Tarantino’s grindhouse favourite means business when it comes to how love can turn harmful and destructive.