When You Want Your Heart to Skip a Beat

 When You Want Your Heart to Skip a Beat 

With no ill will for the best romantic comedies out there — rom-coms certainly have their place — when you're looking for the yearning, the swooning, the highs and the lows of an all-time great romance, rom-coms don't always scratch the itch. And yet while you can find romantic comedies everywhere — Netflix is even making franchises of them, like The Kissing Booth, Tall Girl and To All the Boys I've Loved Before — if you're more of a fan of those pure, straight-ahead romances, you might have to look a little harder.

These are the best romantic movies to watch in 2023. They run the gamut, from old classics that have famous scenes quoted over and over again ("I'm the king of the world!") to newer favorites that might still be flying under-the radar (catch up with Past Lives if you haven't). Some bring in elements of other genres — including, yes, humor — but the romance has to be the main focus of the story. And we can't promise that you won't need your tissues for a few of these. Grab your sweetheart, cuddle up real close and get ready to have your heart flutter.