This year, just in time for Valentine’s Day, director Michael Sucsya’s film The Vow hits the theaters. If you’ve seen the trailer you know it’s going to be one of those tug at your heartstrings, sappy love stories that you won’t want to like but will most likely cry like a baby at the ending. But why wait until the film’s release on February 10th when you can track down any one of these movies and watch some of the most romantic endings in Hollywood history? (Note: In case it isn’t obvious by the title, this article is extremely spoiler-heavy and covers films made between 1957 and 2004: you have been warned.)
The Notebook – 2004: All you need to know about the film is that Allie and Noah (aka: Duke) have been passionately in love for over 60 years and Allie wrote their life story in a notebook and gave it to Noah to read to her when her dementia took over so he could bring her back to him. You see how much they loved each other over the years, and then you see that Allie doesn’t even remember Noah, let alone love him. Until she does, because his reading the story brings back the memories! But then she loses them again, and they are separated. At the end of the film, he sneaks into her hospital room in the middle of the night and she knows who he is. They’ve decided that their love can make anything possible, even for eternity, so he crawls into bed with her, holds her hand, and says, “I’ll be seeing you,” as they fall asleep for the last time. Even the nurse who finds them dead in the hospital bed has tears in her eyes, so if you can’t muster a sob or two, you have ice water in your veins.
An Affair to Remember – 1957: After a wildly romantic affair on a cruise (the film was aptly named) Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr are going to be together forever as soon as they end the relationships they’re currently in and then meet at the top of the Empire State Building. Unfortunately, she gets hit by a car and paralyzed before they meet, and he thinks she’s stood him up. Embarrassed about being unable to walk, she never contacts him again and is bitter because she doesn’t show up; he doesn’t try to find out why. But she can’t hide and he sees her one day and then tracks her down. Rita Wilson famously recounts the meeting in Sleepless in Seattle but she doesn’t touch how truly romantic it is when Cary Grant goes into the bedroom and sees that painting and realizes that Deborah Kerr isn’t getting off the couch because she can’t. It’s heartbreaking and thrilling because they’ve wasted so much time. He tells her he wished it happened to him and in tears she tells him if he can paint, she can walk, blurting out, “Anything can happen, don’t you think?” Millions of women wished they had stood in front of that car if it meant having Cary Grant wipe away their tears while saying, “Yes, darling. Yes, yes, yes!” and then kissing them.
My Best Friend’s Wedding – 1997: Not the stereotypical romantic ending but let’s put one in here for the single folks. You expect this film to be about how terrible it is to be pushing 30 and single, which is why Julia Roberts’ character loses her mind and does everything she can to break up Cameron Diaz and Dermot Mulroney. Supposedly, the studio got many complaints about the film not having a happy ending for Julia Roberts, but the fact is it DID give her a happy ending. It also gave her a more realistic and romantic (in a platonic way) ending. Rupert Everett became the man for a while after his turn as Roberts’ real best friend George. George pretends to be engaged to her, listens to every hair-brained scheme she devises, and even though he doesn’t agree with what she’s trying to do, in the end he shows up to make sure she isn’t alone after watching the happy couple go off on their honeymoon and to tell her she’s not alone. George’s monologue to end the film was a splash of cold water on the faces of all those who thought Julia Roberts’ character Julianne should have been rewarded with a husband after all her machinations but it stands as a tribute to single people everywhere.
The Wedding Singer – 1998: Even though she’s engaged to someone else, you know through the entire film that Drew Barrymore is going to end up with Adam Sandler. So the issue isn’t even when will they get together as much as it is HOW will they finally get together. The answer is on an airplane heading to Las Vegas with Billy Idol as Adam Sandler’s wingman taking care of the fiancé while Sandler sings I Wanna Grow Old With You to a crying Drew Barrymore. The sentiment is sappy but hits the right tone and the song became a staple at weddings for years after.
Rocky – 1976: So much of this film is iconic, especially in relation to boxing, that the romance between Rocky and Adrian is often glossed over. The final scene, where Rocky is bloody and beaten but still standing, when all he wants is to see Adrian while Adrian is making her way through the crowd, you don’t care that he didn’t win and it isn’t just because he proved he belonged in the ring with Apollo. You don’t care because you know, regardless of how the fight ended, Adrian loves him anyway. Made before sequels were automatically assumed, we didn’t have to see what happens next because we knew all Rocky really wanted was to be with Adrian.