“When the moon hits your eye like a big-a pizza pie, that’s amore.” — Dean Martin
Happy Valentines day!
Love comes in all shapes and sizes and to each his own. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I put together a sampling of 25 movies and what they can teach us about life and love. Even if you’re not a fan of Valentine’s Day, enjoy the quotes and perhaps see things in a new light. Sometimes just the right words, are like an old song, sung new.
Here they are:
- As Good as it Gets – Love can bring out your best. Melvin: “You make me want to be a better man.”
- Be My Valentine Charlie Brown – Just because you don’t get a Valentine, doesn’t mean you aren’t lovable.
- Casablanca. Kiss like you mean it. Ilsa: “Kiss me. Kiss me as if it were the last time.
It’s the kind of thing you want to hold on to forever.” - Casper: Don’t let go. Casper: “If I tell you I love you, can I keep you forever?”
- Cinderella. It’s what dreams are made of. Cinderella: “A dream is a wish your heart makes when you’re fast asleep. In dreams you will lose your heartaches. Whatever you wish for, you keep. Have faith in your dreams, and someday, your rainbow will come smiling through. No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true.”
- Dan in Real Life. Love is an ability. Marty: “Love is not a feeling, Mr. Burns. It’s an ability.”
- Don Juan DeMarco. The answer is love. Don Juan: “There are only four questions of value in life, Don Octavio. What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for, and what is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same: only love.”
- Ghost. Sometimes you need to hear it. Sam: “Ditto.”
- It’s a Wonderful Life. We’ll do anything to impress the one we love. George: “What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey. That’s a pretty good idea. I’ll give you the moon, Mary.”
- Memoirs of a Geisha. Love is a bond. Nobu: “We are tied to each other. I know you feel it too.”
- My Girl – Butterflies and fuzzy feelings are what first kisses are about. Loss hurts.
- P.S. I Love You – Cherish the time you have together. It’s part of the journey. Gerry: “If you can promise me anything, promise me that whenever you’re sad, or unsure, or you lose complete faith, that you’ll try to see yourself through my eyes. Thank you for the honor of being my wife. I’m a man with no regrets. How lucky am I. You made my life, Holly. But I’m just one chapter in yours. There’ll be more. I promise. So here it comes, the big one. Don’t be afraid to fall in love again. Watch out for that signal, when life as you know it ends. P.S. I will always love you”
- Romeo and Juliet – Puppy love makes you say the darnedest things. Romeo: “See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand! O that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek!”
- Runnaway Bride – Sometimes it’s a bumpy ride. But it’s worth it. Maggie: “I guarantee there’ll be tough times. I guarantee that at some point, one or both of us is going to want get out. But I also guarantee… that if I don’t ask you to be mine, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life. Because I know in my heart… you’re the only one for me.”
- Shrek – Love comes in all shapes and sizes. Stay true to you.
- Sleepless in Seattle. Sometimes, it’s like a snowflake just for you. Sam: “Well, how long is your program? Well, it was a million tiny little things that, when you added them all up, they meant we were supposed to be together… and I knew it. I knew it the very first time I touched her. It was like coming home… only to no home I’d ever known… I was just taking her hand to help her out of a car and I knew. It was like… magic.”
- The Bridges of Madison County. You know it when you feel it. Robert Kinkaid: “This kind of certainty comes but once in a lifetime.”
- The Crow. Remember them. Sarah: “If the people we love are stolen from us, the way to have them live on is to never stop loving them. Buildings burn, people die, but real love is forever.”
- The Notebook – If you’ve ever really loved, you know what it’s like to really live. Noah: “I am nothing special; just a common man with common thoughts, and I’ve led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten. But in one respect I have succeeded as gloriously as anyone who’s ever lived: I’ve loved another with all my heart and soul; and to me, this has always been enough.”
- The Princess Bride – Nothing beats true love. Miracle Max says, “Sonny, true love is the greatest thing, in the world-except for a nice MLT – mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomato is ripe.”
- The Way We Were – Remember how it felt when it wasn’t complicated. Hold on to that. Katie: “Wouldn’t it be lovely if we were old? We’d have survived all this. Everything thing would be easy and uncomplicated; the way it was when we were young.”
- The Wizard of Oz. Love isn’t meant to be practical. Wizard of Oz: “As for you, my galvanized friend, you want a heart. You don’t know how lucky you are not to have one. Hearts will never be practical until they can be made unbreakable.”
- Titanic. Endings can be bitter sweet. Jack: “Winning that ticket, Rose, was the best thing that ever happened to me… it brought me to you. And I’m thankful for that, Rose. I’m thankful. You must do me this honor. Promise me you’ll survive. That you won’t give up, no matter what happens, no matter how hopeless. Promise me now, Rose, and never let go of that promise.”
- Wedding Crashers – Love more. You’ve got more capacity than you might think you do. John: “You know how they say we only use 10 percent of our brains? I think we only use 10 percent of our hearts.”
- When Harry Met Sally. Sometimes love is like a new lease on life. Harry: “I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”
What movies wrinkled your brain when it comes to love?
Dia Thabet on Lessons in Life