Date Night movie

Best For Film has just seen the horrible results of a recent survey of 3,000 not-so-romantic Brits. The survey showed that fewer people are going on dates due to long working hours, financial belt-tightening and general romantic apathy. Oh no! Here are some UK dating statistics more disturbing than any horror film, even The Human Centipede.

45% of Brits blame work for a lack of romance
64% of couples can’t afford to splash out on date nights
1/10 Brits only go on dates for birthdays or anniversaries

Long-term relationships suffer the most with 45% of those surveyed revealing their relationship had lost its spark and a whopping 71% admitting that dating took more of a backseat the longer they had been together. Dating is also a source of tension between couples with one in five arguing over what to do and where to go.

Women were revealed as the biggest instigator of date nights, with 61% admitting they took the lead in organising them, whilst men went against type, admitting they would rather spend their Friday nights with their partner than out with the lads.

When Harry Met Sally

Attitudes to dating remain fairly traditional with two thirds stating that chivalrous acts such as holding doors open for women is an important trait in a man. Of those surveyed, 67% also agreed that the man should pay for the first date whilst 74% of male respondents described themselves as chivalrous.

Well, all of this is just awful news. Except for the chivalry and the ‘man enjoys company of his girlfriend’ bit. But it’s awful on the date front. Perhaps films are partially to blame? For one thing, so many great films are out there that established couple are happy to curl up and watch a film than go out and have a mini-adventure. Another problem with films is that so few of them actually feature dates. Yes, they might be suitable films to watch if you’re going out on a date, but they don’t actually FEATURE them. If movies don’t feature more perfect dates, how on earth is the yoof of today meant to learn how to do it?

With this in mind, and also because the movie Date Night is now out on DVD, Best For Film have come up with top 10 date movies to inspire you to go out and not watch a movie after all. How chivalrous of us. In which case… fancy a date?

1. Scott Pilgrim

The nerd gets the girl. As a date premise goes this one’s an epic epic of epicness! While not romantic, Scott Pilgrim vs The World is about romancing – and what could there possibly be a more romantic gesture than defeating your loved one’s seven evil exes? Loads of action for the guys and loads of derring-do for the girls.

Top date moment: The date that Scott Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers go on is superbly indie. It basically involves walking through a park and shooting the breeze. That’s a romantic thing to do, and a date idea to pop on your list. Cheap AND gets the girl – plus with that whole conversation thing going on, you get to find out if you actually like each other.

Date idea: 7/10

2. Date Night

Date Night movie

Essentially, Date Night is a romantic comedy of errors. Phil and Claire Foster have been married for far too long and decide to rekindle the flame by going on an official date, in a restaurant and everything. Mistaken identity leads to a whole heap of trouble as Phil and Claire worm their way into the fully-booked restaurant by stealing another couple’s reservations. Date Night is now available to buy on DVD and Blu-Ray.

Top date tip: Going on an official date when you’re already in a relationship is a very clever idea. For one thing, you might get laid. For another thing, the lack of TV / children / unpaid bills means you’re forced to actually talk to each other. You will probably find the company marvellously entertaining, and will be surprised that you still have something to say. There is also the small but exciting chance that some gangsters will force you to do bad stuff for them, for real money. In which case the date will pay for itself. Bonus!

Date idea: 8/10

3. Pretty In Pink

Pretty in Pink

Nothing, but nothing compares with the ultimate anti-date, when wrong-side-of-the-tracks Andie stitches her own wacky eighties prom dress and goes to the prom not with rich posh kid Blaine but with her uber-cool childhood sweetheart and best friend Duckie. Duckie works in a downtown record store and dressed two tone. They don’t kiss, but they do turn the whole prom night fiasco on its head – and stay true to themselves. Film fact: The film’s title relates to the original ending intended for the film, when Andie gets so sick of all the fashion Nazis at her school that she turns up to the prom entirely naked. Up yours, social convention!

Top date moment: Andie and Duckie blow everyone away when they turn up to the prom in crazy shoes and crazy home-made dresses. Nobody else thinks they’re cool – but they are. Oh, they are.

Top date tip: In terms of top dates in films, this one teaches us it’s better to go on a date with someone you like than a nice bit of eye-candy. Top tip!

Date idea: 9/10

4. The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid stars Ariel, a mermaid who’s in love with a landlubbing prince. At the cost of her lovely voice, she gets a witch to magic her fishy tail into a pair of legs that are really painful to walk on. Thus, she can go on a date with Prince Eric.

Top date moment: Ariel is on an official date. She is stuck in a boat with Prince Eric. It’s awesome, except she’s on a deadline to convince him to fall in love with her and can’t talk because she’s a mute. Cue loads of fishy friends to rescue the date with an amazing song and dance number!

Top date tip: If your date looks like it’s going to super suck like a really sucking thing, like a tentacle, probably, just do the smart thing and phone a friend.

Date idea: 5/10

5. When Harry met Sally

When Harry Met Sally

Harry and Sally spend a couple of decades realising they fancy the pants off each other and should probably give things a go.

Top date moment: ‘That’ scene. You know, the one where Harry’s convinced he must be awesome at sex because he doesn’t believe women can fake an orgasm – so Sally shows him how it’s done.

Top date tip: The moral of this story? Possibly that if you engage your date with challenging repartee you might get to see their ‘O’ face.

Date idea: 6/10

6. Pulp Fiction

Mia Wallace is a gangster’s moll. Vincent Vega is a bodyguard. There is absolutely no way they could go on a date and survive the wrath of Mia’s husband. So when Vincent acts as Mia’s bodyguard and she forces him to go to a fifties-themed restaurant and take her dancing? It’s not a date. But it sooooooooooooooooo is.

Top date moment: John Travolta (Vincent) gets out all his old smooth Night Fever moves as he and Mia make slinky cat eyes at each other and win a dance competition. Every boy wanted to be Vincent. Every girl wanted to be Mia. No date (okay, non-date) has ever been as smooth before or since.

Top date tip: Introduce a note of danger, like a vengeful mafia husband/boss. Also, be a fantastic dancer and too damn slinky for your shirt. Super-important date tip: Do whatever the lady wants. It’s her call.

Date idea: 9/10

7. The Lady and the Tramp

The Lady and the Tramp

The sweet romance of a pampered uptown cocker spaniel (The Lady) and a streetwise downtown mongrel(The Tramp). It’s hard to believe this Disney animation was first made in 1955.

Top date moment: An alleyway is turned into an intimate and romantic Italian restaurant as Lady and Tramp eat al fresco. Nibbling on the same long strand of spaghetti, they share a bashful… kiss.

Top date tip: Being poverty-stricken is no excuse for not going on a date. You can always share a starter.

Date idea: 10/10

8. Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day movie

Self-centred Phil Connors (Bill Murray) gets stuck in Punxsutawney and is forced to re-live February 2 (Groundhog Day) again and again until he learns to be a nice person. His reward – after first embracing the dark side of kidnapping sports mascots, attempting suicide and being generally messy – comes when he learns to pay attention to someone other than himself, in this case, Rita (Andie MacDowell). Phil Connors uses his borrowed time to learn what makes Rita tick, improve himself as a person and be a town hero. Finally, on the day Phil and Rita share an evening dance so romantically successful it results in a shared bed, Phil wakes up on February 3 – and a better man than the one he was on February 1.

Top date moment: The evening dance that Phil shares Rita is top-notch. When the love finally becomes mutual you sigh deeply with happiness – partly because Phil has really earned it, and partly simply because Phil is Bill Murray.

Top date tip: Be Bill Murray.

Date idea: 7/10

9. 50 First dates

50 First Dates

Womanising Henry Roth (Adam Sandler) hits it off with amnesiac art teacher Lucy Whitmore (Drew Barrymore) in a cafe. They arrange to go on a proper date the following day. The catch? Lucy can’t remember anything from the day before, ever, because she’s an amnesiac. Through love and persuasion and self-betterment (and through leaving an awful lot of explanatory post-it-notes round the house), Henry goes on about a million first dates with the woman of his dreams, and gets to the point where they settle down and have children. Although poor Lucy needs to read her post-it-notes every morning to find out who her husband and family are. An interesting movie, this – somewhere between saccharine and bittersweet.

Top date moment: Henry and Lucy’s second date. It’s quite poignant and almost painful, actually.

Top date tip: Remember their name. It helps.

Date idea: 5/10

10. Heartbreaker

Heartbreaker movie

In this lovely, sophisticated and heartfelt comedy, Alex is a professional heartbreaker. The perfect men, he splits up relationships for a fee, though he abides by a code of honour and will only split up a relationship where the woman is unhappy, even if she doesn’t know it. He’s called in by a suspicious father to split up the relationship between strong businesswoman Juliette and her english fiance. Obviously, Alex and Juliette fall in love and take a long time doing it. A simply marvellous film.

Top date moment: Alex takes Juliette on the best date in the world ever. He finds out what she likes and makes the whole date like that. He even learns the famous Dirty Dancing moves so they can replay the best bit in the movie in a deserted restaurant.

Top date tip: Find out what your date likes, and do that. Just do it really, really well. Also, it’s probably better if you don’t date for a dare or for a fee. Awkward.

Date idea: 6/10

Obviously, there are countless other top date movies out there. Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, Hitch, Valentine’s Day, 40 Days and 40 Nights… We just picked the top 10 date movies that tickled our fancy.

The question is, what are your top date movies? Or is it a genre you despise? Let us know either way.