Sometimes a three-hanky love story isn’t going to cut it for a certain type of romantic. Those would be the quirky ones, the ones who aren’t swayed by two good-looking leads and a soaring score, followed by a kiss and a dashing off into happily ever after.
Sometimes a little bit of quirky is just the thing, and fortunately there are plenty of bizarre and unexpected love stories to add a bit of spice and chaos to the mix.
Here are a list of a few of the more peculiar love stories for a bit of Feb. 14 (or any day) anarchy.
- Harold and Maude: For the mother — or perhaps grandmother — of all romantic black comedies, look no further than this 1971 cult classic. Bud Cort’s Harold is obsessed with death, staging fake suicides and pretending to off himself in front of the young ladies his mother sets him up with. The morbid Harold then finds a new zest for life after meeting feisty 79-year-old Maude at a funeral — a hobby they both share. The two form an unlikely relationship — yes, that kind of relationship — and Harold comes to realize that life is worth living.
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: This 2004 movie stars Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey. They both play against type, with Winslet as the wild Clementine and Carrey as straight-laced Joel. One day, Joel is told never to make contact with Clementine again, as she’s had all memories of their relationship erased post-breakup. Joel, devastated, decides to have the same procedure done. About halfway in, however, he realizes he still wants memories of Clementine, and the film gets trippy (courtesy of director Michel Gondry’s wild style) as he tries to rescue and hide them in in his subconscious.
- White Palace: This 1990 film stars Susan Sarandon and James Spader; at the core is the unlikely relationship between a working-class waitress and a young yuppie widower. It’s based on the Glenn Savan novel of the same name — with some significant changes — and the film was tagged as “the story of a younger man and a bolder woman.” That’s about right. Pair the lusty, hard-drinking Sarandon against the prim and fussy Spader and it’s an electric, odd, sexy and unforgettable pairing.
- Bridesmaids: Yes, this 2011 film is a comedy — at times obscenely funny — but there’s a sweet love story in there, too. Kristen Wiig’s Annie is fooling around with Jon Hamm’s sleaze-bag when it’s convenient for him, but she does meet cute with cop Nathan Rhodes (played by Chris O’Dowd). He’s clearly smitten with her and they have an easy, fun repartee and enjoy some humorous flirting. To keep it from being too sweet, you do get comic relief from the wedding-planning drama as Annie’s best friend (Maya Rudolph) prepares to tie the knot, including that now-classic food-poisoning gross-out at the dress shop.
- Lost in Translation: This 2003 movie is hardly a love story, though there is a tenderness at the core of it. Bill Murray plays an aging movie star who heads to Tokyo to shoot whiskey ads. While there he meets Scarlett Johansson, a lonely young wife who’s adrift in the bustling city while her husband works. Murray and Johansson click and find a closeness neither has in their everyday lives as they explore Tokyo together. It’s no story of infidelity or sex, but rather about two lost souls finding something they probably forgot they were missing.
- Wristcutters: A Love Story: This black comedy-romance, released in 2006, gets under way after Patrick Fugit’s Zia commits suicide. He then finds himself in a strange place that looks eerily like Zia’s former reality, but more drab and dimmed, and populated with suicides. There he meets a Russian musician, Eugene, played by Shea Whigham, and they go looking for Zia’s ex, who apparently also committed suicide. Along the way they meet Mikal (Shannyn Sossamon), who is looking for the people in charge, to see if she can be sent back to earth. Plenty happens along the way, but at the core is the budding love between Zia and Mikal.
All titles are available on Amazon.com.
