Choosing the Right Date Night Movie

What movie you choose for your date night can make or break your evening. So many couples have ruined the night by choosing the wrong movie, one that turned off either or both partner. So we made a list based on couples in our counseling practice. This list has been (and is constantly) being revised! They are all readily available DVD’s. All the movies on this list have passed the “Man and Woman Test.” That means both partners rated them as being “positive foreplay” for good feelings and a strong sense of connection that led to warmth and a desire to be intimate.

It doesn’t mean we guarantee you will love every movie on the list, but this list has gotten consistently good reviews. Couples have expressed great gratitude for this list! In order for a movie to make the Best Date Night Movie list, at least 100 men and women have to agree that it was a good date night movie. That is, it didn’t turn off the woman or the man, and led to a desire to be closer after watching them.

The Best Date Night Movie

Everyone has their own tastes, and if you know your partner loves French films from the 50’s by all means focus on those films. The best date night movie is one that you both will love. If you know both you and your partner like horror, or action, then these films would be a good choice. But many people don’t have a list of “pre-approved” movies, and will make a bad spontaneous choice based on a DVD cover or title, and take it home and ruin an evening because one or the other partner had a bad reaction, or were bored enough to fall asleep.

You and your partner can use this list to create a “pre-approved” selection. Then you don’t have to wonder which will be the best date night movie, because you have already agreed which titles you both would like to see. It takes the guess work out, it takes the negative mystery out, and it increases the happiness of both partners. The best date night movie is one that makes you both feel good!

Many women can be completely turned off by a “Prick Flick” that is totally testosterone driven, is filled with explosions, treats women as sexual objects, or, features graphic sex with perfect looking women that can sink her self-esteem. If a woman is feeling bad about her own sexual attractiveness, because she has compared herself to the hot starlet on screen, she is not going to be in the mood for love! Or if you choose a “Chick Flick” that is totally sappy, silly, weepy, your man might go for a big snooze, and so much for your plans for a romantic night together.

The Art of Choosing The Perfect Date Night Movie Movies that hit a middle road between these two extremes – of gender entertainment – and appeal to intelligence, character stories, dramas that validate the connection between men and women will be the best lead-in for putting both partners in the mood for love. Choose the right date night movie or DVD and you will be setting yourself up for an intimate and loving connection after the credits roll!

Our List – The 100 Best Date Night Movies of All Time

This list of just over 100 best date night movies of all time has been tested with hundreds of couples. We are always interested in hearing your reactions, or if you have a movie you think should be included in our list please let us know. To make it easy, we had to ignore wonderfully obscure films, and chose movies that are readily available on DVD. There are many great foreign films, but since not everyone likes those, we are focusing on American movies. The list is in alphabetical, not rating order.

Below the main list is a second list of favorite older, or black and white films. Some of the films are serious in tone, so if you are looking for lighter films, make sure to read the blurbs to see if you are picking one that is right for you. Often a serious, thoughtful character film will encourage both couples to feel like bonding, and appreciate each other’s good qualities, so don’t avoid films just because they have a more dramatic or serious tone.

Some couples like to talk about the film afterwards, but this varies with the individual. If your partner is not “chatty” about the film, it doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t want to connect with you. It may just mean the film is reaching them at a deeper emotional or sensual level. So it is good to understand your partner’s desire for conversation, or quieter introversion. Respecting each of your styles by meeting in the middle is a good strategy.

We hope you enjoy our list of Best Date Night Movies, and hope they lead to many nights of splendid love, affection and connection!

Intelligent Date Night Movies

(Organized Alphabetically)

1. 500 Days of Summer
2. A Beautiful Mind
3. After Sunrise
4. Alfie
5. Almost Famous 
6. Amadeus
7. American Beauty
8. American Graffiti
9. Amelie
10. Apollo 13
11. Arthur
12. As Good As It Gets
13. Before Sunset
14. Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice
15. Bull Durham
16. The Big Chill
17. Biloxi Blues
18. Body Heat
19. The Breakfast Club
20. Broadcast News
21. Brokeback Mountain
22. Catch Me If You Can
23. Chariots of Fire
24. Chocolate
25. Cinderella Man
26. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
27. Days of Heaven
28. Dirty Dancing
29. Driving Miss Daisy
30. Educating Rita
31. Election
32. Erin Brockovich
33. E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
34. A Few Good Men
35. Flashdance
36. Forest Gump
37. The Girl in the Café
38. Ghost
39. Gone with the Wind
40. The Graduate
41. Grapes of Wrath
42. (The) Green Mile
43. Ground Hog Day
44. Harold and Maude
45. Heaven Can Wait
46. Henry and June
47. High Fidelity
48. Igby Goes Down
49. It’s Complicated
50. Jerry McGuire
51. Knocked Up
52. La Femme Nikita
53. Leon the Professional
54. Les Laisons Dangereuses
55. Little Miss Sunshine
56. Lolita
57. The Messenger
58. Million Dollar Baby
59. Moulin Rouge
60. My Best Friend’s Wedding
61. Nine and a Half Weeks
62. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
63. Personal Velocity
64. Phone Booth
65. The Piano
66. Proof
67. (The) Princess Bride
68. The Quiz Show
69. Raising Arizona
70. Risky Business
71. Rabbit Proof Fence
72. A Room With A View
73. Saturday Night Fever
74. Say Anything
75. Shakespeare in Love
76. Shall We Dance (Japanese Version)
77. Shawshank Redemption
78. Sixth Sense
79. Sleepless in Seattle
80. Stand By Me
81. A Star is Born
82. Strictly Ballroom
83. Talk to Her
84. The Opposite of Sex
85. To Kill a Mockingbird
86. Thelma and Louise
87. Tootsie
88. Top Gun
90. Up
91. Up in the Air
92. Usual Suspects
93. The Visitor
94. The Way We Were
95. West Side Story
96. Whale Rider
97. When Harry Met Sally
98. White Palace
99. Witness
100. The Wizard of Oz
101. Working Girl
102. Young Victoria
103. Y Tu Mama Tambien
104. The King's Speech

Classic Romance & Screwball Comedies

Adams Rib
Bringing Up Baby
From Here to Eternity
His Gal Friday
It Happened One Night
Ninotchka 
My Man Godfrey
Shop Around the Corner
The Awful Truth
The Philadelphia Story
Trouble in Paradise

Foreign

An Affair of Love
The Lemon Tree

Please let us know if you have a date night movie to add to this list! Use the contact form below!

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