Whether your current romantic status is good, bad, or #itscomplicated, it’s hard not to get some Valentine’s Day feels as Hallmark movies roll out with syrupy sentimentality.
If you want to soak up the sap—or roll your eyes at amorous scenarios—just call us Cupid as we present you with five Valentine’s Day movies and tasty dishes to munch on that capture the spirit of each flick.
1.) Love Blossoms | Hallmark Movies Now | Romantic Comedy
Set in scenic Belgium, this rom-com starts with a famous perfumer dying before he finishes creating the third scent in a fragrance trilogy. His daughter Violet—of course a perfumer would name his daughter Violet—swoops in to help. Left with no scientific formula and only a tiny vial of the perfume to assist her, she sets out to recreate the scent and keep the supply chain running smoothly.
Romance creeps in when Violet hires an inexperienced botanist to help her find the recipe’s elusive scent. Is it stating the obvious to say the two have a little . . . chemistry?
The perfect food: Charcuterie board
As the movie couple sniffs out the unique scent to complete their perfume’s chemical compound, you can chomp away on a plate of aromatic snacks. Think sesame seed brittle, pungent sausage slices, nose-curling cheeses, candied cranberries, and spicy baked chickpeas. Mix it up!
2.) Valentine in the Vineyard | Hallmark Movies Now | Romantic comedy
Valentine in the Vineyard is the third installment in Hallmark’s In the Vineyard series. Brendan Perry stars as Nate, a chef who returns to his hometown to oversee the grape crop at the local winery. His fiance, Frankie Baldwin (Rachel Leigh Cook) is a winemaker trying to find success beyond her family’s wine business.
In this chapter of their story, the engaged couple finds turmoil when business challenges cause them to put their wedding on hold.
The perfect food: Pasta.
Cook up a heap of angel hair pasta, slather it with a spicy marinara, chop up some basil bits, sprinkle some heady parmesan cheese, and wind those noodles around your fork as you watch the chaos unfold. A bowl of pasta and winery scenes might also inspire you to grab the corkscrew and pop open a bottle of your favorite wine. We recommend a Merlot or a Cabernet Sauvignon.
3.) The Lost Valentine | Hallmark Movies Now | Drama, romance
This intergenerational romantic drama comes straight from the Hallmark Hall of Fame Collection. It stars the recently departed Betty White as Caroline Thomas, a woman who has spent 60 years returning to the train station where she said goodbye to her husband in 1944 as he went off to war.
Caroline’s husband was declared MIA, so she makes the trip annually in hopes that he will return to her. Her grandson tells the story to the TV station manager, who assigns a reporter named Susan Allison (Jennifer Love Hewitt) to tell her story. Susan is having her own romantic troubles, so she enters the scenario on the cynical side. Bonding over Caroline’s story, the two go through heart-healing bonding that keeps Kleenex in business.
The perfect food: Chunky ice cream
You could just eat your tears with this heartstring-tugger, but you’d for sure be hungry in half an hour. Go with ice cream. Pull out pints of the richest, goopiest flavors loaded with all the nuts, pretzels, chocolate chunks, peppermints, or whatever add-ins you love, and let the creamy sweetness drown your sorrow.
4.) Once Upon a Winter’s Date | Hallmark Movies Now | Romance, romantic comedy
Who hasn’t had a day they’d like to do over? In Once Upon a Winter’s Date, the main character, Kat, gets that chance. An overworked big-city executive, Kat is busy, tired, and single. She finds dating a bit challenging, and her frustration only grows bigger after going on the worst Valentine’s Day date of her life. The kind where it’s so cringe-y and awkward that the guy excuses himself to go to the bathroom and never returns.
Swearing off dating, Kat heads on her walk home. The night’s not a total wash; she bumps into a spellcaster who places a magical spell on her. When she wakes up the next morning, she realizes it’s Valentine’s Day all over again. Under this mysterious magician’s spell, she gains a new perspective on romance.
The perfect food: Chinese takeout.
Watching people wandering around the New York City streets calls to mind how easy Gotham makes it to grab a delicious dish on the go while you’re hoofing it to your next destination. Movies with magic and spells also make a fortune cookie extra appealing. Maybe you’ll get a do-over, too. Okay, you won’t, but enjoy your flavorful entree.
5.) Be My Valentine | Hallmark Movies Now | Drama, romance
Billy Baldwin stars as Dan, the recently widowed small-town fire chief who is now the lone caretaker of his preteen son Tyler. Every small town has a hoppin’ flower shop—especially in Hallmark-ville—and in this movie, that holds true. Kate is the proprietor here and meets Dan when a small fire happens at her business.
The two make smokey eyes at one another—a blend of attraction and the recently extinguished flames—and start dating. Things go smoothly until both of their lives get complicated. While Dan is busy navigating fatherhood as a solo parent, Kate’s ex-boyfriend shows up hoping to win her back, throwing this budding romance off course.
The perfect food: Barbecue
As you watch the fire guy and flower girl’s romance start to sizzle, throw a slab of something over the smoky coals or crank up the knob on your propane grill and watch things heat up. From juicy burgers to seasoned tofu or spicy vegetables, feast on these seared delectables as you find out the fate of Dan and Kate.
Methodology
Our movie experts spent more than a dozen hours selecting and comparing holiday films and viewing them on the Hallmark Now app. They read through dozens of reviews and compared data and statistics from movie sites to determine a selection of movies that best fit the bill for the Valentine’s Day holiday. Using both an iPhone and an Amazon Fire tablet, the team tested the devices to ensure that viewers can expect quality pictures.
We also tested Hallmark Movies Now’s ease of use on different laptop and desktop computers. To learn more about our methods, check out our How We Rank page.
