When you’re single, there’s no day more lonely than Valentine’s Day. With candy hearts and bouquets of flowers being loudly shoved in your face, we often seem to forget that there’s more to love than just romance. Placing romance on a pedestal often leads to unrealistic expectations about relationships and causes many people to define themselves in relation to their significant other. While Valentine's Day can be a great day to celebrate romantic love, we often seem to miss the importance of friendships, families, hobbies, and more. Of course we know romantic love isn't the only kind of love, but with Valentine's Day coming up, we should do better to remember it.
From platonic love to familial love, here are five movies about non–romantic affection to get you through this Valentine’s Day:
Someone Great
While the plot of this movie revolves around music journalist Jenny (Gina Rodriguez) getting over her ex, the heart of Someone Great lies in the friendship between Jenny, Erin (DeWanda Wise), and Blair (Brittany Snow). Despite each character going through their own share of romantic issues, the platonic love that holds these three women together is what makes Someone Great so touching.
Lady Bird
Lady Bird is a heartfelt coming–of–age movie that centers on the often strained relationship between Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (Saorise Ronan) and her mother, Marion (Laurie Metcalf). Universally acclaimed and beautifully shot, Lady Bird will make you want to call your parents on Valentine’s Day.
Soul
Driven by an unlikely friendship between two polar opposites, Soul is an unflinchingly realistic exploration of passion and a family–friendly movie that will cause you to reevaluate what it means to love and exist. A glorious representation of purely loving life, this Pixar movie will definitely make you shed a few tears.
Booksmart
Booksmart tells a story about two friends (Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever) who feel like they wasted their high school experience by following the rules and studying all day. During the movie, they set to make the most of their last days of high school, showing a touching friendship held together by fierce platonic love.
The Farewell
The Farewell is a poignant film about saying goodbye to loved ones for the last time. With an emphasis on deception and clashes between American and Chinese culture, this movie will surely leave you in tears over the highs and lows of familial love.
