It’s officially fall, so you know what that means–we’re in cuffing season, the time when you might want someone to boo up with during the holidays and colder months.
If you’re in the mood to fall in love, check out these 16 films.
1. Love Jones
Poetry brings the artistic Darius Lovehall (Larenz Tate) and Nina Mosley (together) in the 1997 romantic drama Love Jones. But things get more complicated for the two of them as their relationship progresses. The film was billed as “a hip When Harry Met Sally” and it definitely earns that title with how beloved the film has become as time goes by. But unlike When Harry Met Sally, the film’s ending is much more sobering.
2. Just Wright
Queen Latifah stars in 2010’s Just Wright as Leslie Wright, an unassuming physical therapist who never gets the guy, compared to her flashy god-sister (Paula Patton). But her luck changes when she has to rehabilitate basketball player Scott McKnight (Common). It’s a love story that proves that beauty doesn’t depends more on what’s in your heart.
3. About Last Night
In this 2014 remake of the 1986 original, Michael Ealy, Joy Bryant, Kevin Hart and Regina Hall star as two sets of couples who go through the ups and downs of romance and breakups. This film showcases every actor’s ability for drama, particularly Hart, who actually gives a moving performance.
4. Booty Call
In the 1997 comedy Booty Call, Jamie Foxx and Tommy Davidson play Bunz and Rushon, two friends who go on a double date with Bunz’ girlfriend Nikki (Tamala Jones) and Nikki’s friend Lysterine (Vivica A. Fox). When the night proves to be a night Bunz and Rushon might get some action, they rush around the city to try to find condoms before the women change their minds.
5. Deliver Us From Eva
In this 2003 retelling of William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, Eva Dandridge’s (Gabrielle Union) frustrated sisters set Eva up with playboy Ray Adams (LL Cool J) in order to keep her out of their hair. Even though Ray initially starts dating Eva because Eva’s sisters are paying him off, he truly starts falling for her and she falls for him. Of course, she’s bound to find out. Can their relationship survive his betrayal?
6. How Stella Got Her Groove Back
In the 1997 film How Stella Got Her Groove Back, stock broker Stella Payne (Angela Bassett) is a divorcee who is convinced by her friend Delilah (Whoopi Goldberg) to join her on an island vacation. Little does she know that love is right around the corner in the form of Winston Shakespeare (Taye Diggs). While their relationship seems simple in paradise, it becomes much more difficult back in reality, when Stella wonders if she and a man 20 years her junior can actually work.
7. Brown Sugar
Rick Famiyuma’s 2002 film Brown Sugar puts music at the center of the romance. Dre Ellis (Taye Diggs) works in the A&R division of Millenium Records and his childhood friend Sidney Shaw (Sanaa Lathan) is the new editor-in-chief of XXL magazine. Their careers become even more in tandem when they start their own record label together, complicating things between Dre’s wife Reese (Nicole Ari Parker) and Sidney’s boyfriend Kelby (Boris Kodjoe). It’s only when things get messy that Dre and Sidney realize that perhaps their friendship is more than just platonic.
8. Hitch
Will Smith’s 2005 film Hitch finds him as Alex “Hitch” Hitchens, a dating consultant who helps his male clients get the ladies of their dreams. But when he comes in contact with gossip columnist Sara (Eva Mendes), he realizes that his own tactics backfire. It takes a scandal and some tough conversations before Hitch learns that the best way to attract women is to be himself.
9. Mississippi Masala
True Denzel Washington fans know about one of his lesser talked-about films, 1991’s Mississippi Masala. Washington plays Demetrius Williams, a Mississippi man who falls in love with Meena (Sarita Choudhury), whose family settled in Mississippi after fleeing Uganda. It’s a rare film that highlights a non-white interracial relationship. Also, since the film covers how Meena’s family treat Meena and Demetrius’ relationship, it’s a film that showcases how anti-Blackness can fester and blind people to life’s happiness.
10. Stud Life
British transgender director Campbell X debuted their first film Stud Life in 2012. The film stars T’Nia Miller as JJ, a stud lesbian who lives with her gay best friend Seb (Kyle Treslove). JJ is put in the hot seat once she falls in love with Elle (Robyn Kerr), and she’s forced to choose between her best friend or the love of her life.
11. Moonlight
Barry Jenkins’ 2016 Oscar-winning film Moonlight follows the life of Chiron (played as an adult by Trevante Rhodes) and his decades-long love for his best friend Kevin (played as an adult by André Holland). The two diverge paths in their teenage years, with Chiron taking to a life of crime and Kevin becoming a father. But when the two reconnect, emotions come back to the surface.
12. The Bodyguard
Whitney Houston’s most signature film role from 1992 features her playing pop star Rachel Marron, who has been targeted by a stalker. Enter Frank Farmer (Kevin Costner), a former Secret Service agent who has developed a career as a respected bodyguard. Initially, the two don’t like each other, but the more they spend time together (and the closer to death they get), they more they begin to develop feelings for each other. The entire film is a time capsule of Houston’s iconic career at the time, but probably the only thing more iconic than Houston’s cover of “I Will Always Love You” is Houston’s character stopping her plane so she could run and give Costner a long, romantic kiss.
13. Think Like a Man
Steve Harvey’s bestselling book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man might be controversial with some because of its patriarchal, condescending rules for women looking for a relationship. But its 2012 film adaptation starring Taraji P. Henson, Michael Ealy, Romany Malco, Terrence J, Meagan Good, Regina Hall, Gabrielle Union, La La Anthony and Kevin Hart is an admittedly fun take on the romantic comedy genre. The women in the film follow Harvey’s rules to try to find the man of their dreams. But it becomes a combination of Harvey’s book and the women’s own smarts that help them find love. Even if you hate Harvey’s book, you can probably still appreciate Ealy doing what he does best–wooing women onscreen and in the audience. There’s a reason he’s still viewed as one of the sexiest men in Hollywood.
14. Boomerang
In the Reginald Hudlin-directed 1992 film Boomerang, Eddie Murphy plays Marcus, a playboy ad executive who thinks he’s got the game figured out when it comes to women. But his new boss Jacqueline (Robin Givens) throws him for a loop by playing the game on him. Meanwhile, he develops a friendship with Jacqueline’s meek artistic director Angela (Halle Berry), but when that friendship turns to love, Marcus has to learn about how to be a true boyfriend and not a player.
15. Love & Basketball
Gina Prince-Bythewood made her directorial debut with her 2000 film, Love & Basketball. Starring Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan, the film focuses on two lifelong friends who have aspirations to play professional basketball. As they climb their way up the career ladder and deal with life’s challenges, their connection deepens–until hard choices break them apart. It all comes down to one game of basketball.
16. Poetic Justice
Janet Jackson and Tupac Shakur star in John Singleton’s 1993 classic about life and loss in Los Angeles. Justice (Jackson) and Lucky (Shakur) are both people who have lost the loves of their lives either to gun violence or drugs. A dramatic roadtrip to Oakland helps Lucky and Justice realize they have feelings for each other, but a traumatic incident breaks them apart. With all this trauma, can love still prevail?
Which film are you going to have on your Netflix and Chill queue?