How to Date Like You're in the Movies - The Blog

I don’t look to movies for dating advice. I have never woken up to Peter Gabriel blasting through my bedroom window. Nor has anyone cajoled me into dating them by hanging, one-armed, from a Ferris wheel. Nor have I been wooed by a desperate suitor belting Can’t Take My Eyes off You in time with the school marching band. My high school didn’t even have a marching band.

While romcoms provide a distorted take on courtship (if you’re reading this and really want to impress me, then go for Option Three), they do well to raise the bar for date night. We all embrace our weekday coffee dates and dinner/movie combos, but it pays to get creative once in awhile.

Real life—and love—are better with a catchy soundtrack. Here are seven memorable movie clips to inspire this week’s dates:

10 Things I Hate About You

Pick a fight with your romantic interest. If the local paintball circuit is beyond pedal boat range, then consider using snow, mud or pillows.

Listen to Fascinating New Thing by Semisonic.

Moonrise Kingdom

Sam and Suzy prove that you don’t need the lift to make it look good. Dance together like nobody’s watching. It doesn’t matter where—your living room works—just so long as you let your guard down.

Listen to Le temps de l’amour by Françoise Hardy.

Happy Gilmore

If you’re like Happy and have weak ankles, don’t worry. Your date won’t mind if you grab his/her hand on your next ice skating encounter.

Listen to Endless Love performed by Diana Ross and Lionel Ritchie.

500 Days of Summer

Spend an afternoon playing house. We challenge you to be more adorable than Summer and Tom.

Listen to There Goes the Fear by Doves.

Rent

Not into Ikea? Think thrifty and environmentally friendly, instead. Skip and sing like this Tom and his Angel while you peruse the local flea market, a garage sale or vintage clothing store.

Listen to I’ll Cover You performed by Jesse L. Martin and Wilson Jermaine Heredia.

It’s Complicated