Lisa Frankenstein’s Funny Valentine — Plus Five Other Beloved Romances

In Lisa Frankenstein, directed by Zelda Williams and written by Diablo Cody, Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton) is a self-conscious teen who finds a chance for love when an electrical storm awakens a 19th-century corpse (Cole Sprouse). While they may be from different worlds—and centuries—the star-crossed lovers find a common bond and purpose.

“This Victorian man who never really got a chance to live his life is literally rebuilding himself and his body by helping Lisa rebuild her self-esteem and sense of self,” says Carlo Gugino—who plays Lisa’s controlling stepmother—in an exclusive Focus Features interview, adding, “They are both becoming whole.”

In honor of Lisa’s death-defying, comical romance, we are showcasing other charming love stories for Valentine's Day, from lovers trying to erase the memory of the other to couples hooking up as the world ends.

Get your tickets for Lisa Frankenstein, now playing in theaters!

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

The fact that Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind begins on February 14 is no accident. As Joel (Jim Carrey) boards a train to Montauk, cursing the very concept of Valentine’s Day, his great true love, Clementine (Kate Winslet), is just a few seats ahead of him. In this Möbius-strip romance, the two have actually already met two years before but have erased each other from their memories—or, at least, they've tried to. The utterly inventive, comic romance is, for The Huffington Post, “truly the love story of our time,” and Bustle picked it as “the perfect V-Day film.”

Watch Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on Apple TV or Amazon.

The Kids Are All Right

Lisa Cholodenko’s The Kids Are All Right is a comedy that gets to the heart of the love necessary for keeping a family together. Nic (Annette Bening) and Jules (Julianne Moore) are a couple with two children (Josh Hutcherson and Mia Wasikowska), a lovely home, and a seemingly perfect life—that, is until the kids contact their sperm-donor dad (Mark Ruffalo) and everything goes awry. Despite such difficulties, the tightly wound Nic and the happy-go-lucky Jules find a funny way through it. “No matter what kind of family you have,” Cholodenko told US Weekly, “we all go through the human comedy.” For Nic and Jules, the ups and downs of being parents and partners is, according to the Los Angeles Times, “fierce, funny, smart, and overflowing with love.”

Watch The Kids Are All Right on Apple TV or Amazon.

Greenberg

In Noah Baumbach’s Greenberg, Ben Stiller plays the title character, a grumpy Brooklyn carpenter who moves to LA to house-sit for his brother. Into his dark shadow walks Florence (Greta Gerwig), his brother’s sunny assistant who finds a bit of joy in every experience. As opposites, the two create humor and romance as they negotiate LA traffic and try to save a sick German Shepherd. “Stiller plays a man who has closed himself off from his emotions, while Gerwig radiates a heartbreaking openness,” writes the A.V. Club. But their funny romance proves deeply touching. “Like a lot of human relationships Greenberg is complicated, infuriating, good-hearted, funny, often painful, and well worth the effort,” Empire writes.

Watch Greenberg on Apple TV or Amazon.

Spoiler Alert

Based on Michael Ausiello’s best-selling memoir, Michael Showalter’s film Spoiler Alert chronicles the sometimes heartbreaking, mostly humorous relationship between Michael (Jim Parsons) and his husband Kit (Ben Aldridge). AP News writes, “There is little that ostensibly links these two—not their jobs, not their family circumstances, certainly not Michael’s obsession with the Smurfs…. But chemistry works in mysterious ways.” Navigating with empathy both the romance and rocky moments of a long-term relationship, Spoiler Alert provides, according to We Live Entertainment, “an honest, heartbreaking, and hilarious movie adaptation.”

Watch Spoiler Alert on Apple TV or Amazon.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

In Lorene Scafaria’s Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, two oddballs—Dodge (Steve Carell) and Penny (Keira Knightley)—find comfort in each other as a giant asteroid hurtles toward Earth. Chosen by CBR as one of “the most romantic sci-fi movies to watch this Valentine's Day,” the film mixes tender moments with scenes of hilarious lunacy as those around them (played by Patton Oswalt, Connie Britton, Rob Corddry, Gillian Jacobs, and Melanie Lynskey) go a little bit crazy. Scafaria tells The Film Stage , “...you find these moments of humor in the darkest hour.” And in the last moments, the film finds the full richness of life. As NPR notes, “Like the romance it portrays, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is brief, sweet, funny and sad.”

Watch Seeking a Friend for the End of the World on Apple TV or Amazon.