This Friday (March 30, 2018) sees the release of Midnight Sun; the latest young adult romantic drama with leads Bella Thorne and Patrick Schwarzenegger embarking on a summer of romance and finding their first love. Katie (Thorne) is a young musician who has been sheltered at home since childhood because of her life-threatening sensitivity to sunlight. Her world comes to life at night when she’s allowed to venture outside and play her guitar. One night, she’s noticed by her long-time crush, Charlie (Schwarzenegger), and together they have a magical, life-changing summer.
Bella Thorne and Patrick Schwarzenegger in Midnight Sun
Romantics that we are, we’re celebrating Midnight Sun’s release by getting a little nostalgic and looking back at some of the best First Love Movies we’ve seen throughout the years!
5. The Notebook
This is a love story that’ll have even the biggest cynic in tears. Noah (Ryan Gosling) and Allie’s (Rachel McAdams) love was a great one that showed everybody around the world, if you’re meant to be together, you’ll always find your way back to one another. First love can be a forever love.
4. Dirty Dancing
The 1987 romantic drama starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey still gets our hearts racing! Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman (Grey) meets a boy from the wrong side of the tracks while at a summer resort with her parents. The resort’s dance instructor, Johnny Castle (Swayze), catches Baby’s eye after their first dance lesson and she quickly becomes a regular dance student. Together, they fall in love through their shared love of dance, and appreciation of one another.
3. Grease
What makes a film about first love even better? Doing one through song and dance! Grease still gives us chills with the experience of first love through great musical numbers, as Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) and Danny (John Travolta) turn their summer romance into a high school love affair. It showcases the best and worst parts of first love in high school with dances, football games, and graduation.
2. Juno
It’s not always the fairytale romance when it comes to first love and it certainly wasn’t all sunshine and roses for Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) when she finds out she’s pregnant after sleeping with her best friend. It’s witty and sentimental, giving a taste of reality to the rom-com genre.
1. Pretty In Pink
John Hughes was a master at capturing the high school experience and Pretty In Pink was no exception. Andie is an outcast who comes from a somewhat poor background at a school filled with rich kids. Her life changes when her rich snobby crush Blane asks her on a date, but their romance seems doomed when his narrow-minded friends disapprove. Even Andie’s best friend Duckie isn’t a fan of their blossoming romance. Forced to decide if her first love is worth the constant teasing she receives, Andie learns some big life lessons through her experience.