Another Top 10 Meet Cutes in Movies

This late ‘90s reinterpretation of the classic Cinderella fairytale has got to be one of our favorite romantic comedies of all time, and features a hilarious meet cute. Set in 16th century France, “Ever After” stars Drew Barrymore as Danielle, a young woman whose father has passed away, who lives with her evil stepmother and stepsisters. One day, Danielle spots a man stealing her late father’s horse, and reacts aggressively, pelting him with apples as he tries to ride away. Soon after, she realizes he’s actually the prince, and the love story that ensues of course ends in happily ever after.

While there are many themes going on in this 1965 classic, at its heart, “The Sound of Music” is a love story. They may seem like an unlikely pair, especially when they first meet, but Captain von Trapp and Maria have gone down in history as one of the best film couples. Maria is hired to be the governess for Captain von Trapp’s children and, upon arriving at his sprawling home, she realizes that she’s in for quite an experience when she meets the stern man who has a special whistle for his kids. They may seem like polar opposites, but hey, we know what they say about those!

A meet cute is what kicked off this entire adorable Disney franchise. High schoolers Troy and Gabriella are both on break from school when they have a chance encounter at a ski lodge on New Year’s Eve. They inadvertently end up singing a duet together during a karaoke session, which results in the tune "Start of Something New." Of course, this won’t be the last they see of one another, because when school is back in session, they’re both attending East High School because Gabriella has just moved to town.

Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan may be best known for starring together in the romantic comedy “Sleepless in Seattle,” but they were at it again in 1998 when they co-starred in the more modern movie, “You've Got Mail.” They start out as internet pen pals, not realizing that they actually live in the same New York neighborhood. When they meet for the first time in real life, it’s at Kathleen’s book store, and the two don’t realize they’re meeting the person that they’ve been chatting with online. Things take a bad turn after that, but it’s a rom com, so you know there’s a happy ending!

We didn’t say all meet cutes had to be romantic! In the Christmas movie “The Holiday,” Kate Winslet’s character Iris switches homes with Cameron Diaz’s character, Amanda, and finds herself spending the holiday season in Los Angeles. One day when she’s driving around her new neighborhood, she spots an elderly man who seems lost. She offers him a lift home, and soon discovers that he’s a renowned Hollywood screenwriter. The reason this scene is so memorable is that he identifies their meeting as a “meet cute” and explains to her exactly what the term means.

You can definitely count on a Nicholas Sparks movie for a good meet cute. John is a soldier on leave surfing at the beach when he sees a group of young people on the pier. One of the girls accidentally drops her purse into the water and while her male companion takes the long way around to go get it, John jumps right in to retrieve it for her. It’s a bold and romantic gesture for someone he’s never met before, but of course this is just the beginning of their dramatic love story.

Spending 18 hours trapped in a car together is definitely a good way to get to know someone fast! Harry and Sally are college graduates who end up carpooling between Chicago and New York together in 1977. Harry is Sally’s friend’s boyfriend, and the two spend the entire drive talking about everything - including how Harry thinks men and women can’t be friends. They may not be best friends at the end of their journey, but over the years, as they keep meeting over and over again, Harry is proven right, at least in their case.

Not only is this one of the best movie meet cutes, but one of the best meet cutes in all of fiction. In the classic tale of “Pride and Prejudice,” Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet meet at a dance, and Darcy offends Elizabeth by making negative remarks about her. There have been countless interpretations of this scene, but the 2005 version starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen is our favorite. While this may be the furthest thing from love at first sight, it almost makes their romance all the more believable.

Not all meet cutes end with happily ever after. As Forrest Gump sits on a park bench reminiscing about his life, he recalls the moment he met his beloved Jenny. As he boarded the school bus and looked for a place to sit, she offered him a spot beside her when no one else would. He was touched when she seemed curious about his life, since according to him no one but his mother asked him questions. Their relationship may have been a troubled one fraught with tragedy, but we’ll always remember this adorable first meeting, and how they went together like peas and carrots.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Harry Sanborn & Erica Barry
“Something's Gotta Give” (2003)

Troy Dyer & Lelaina Pierce
“Reality Bites” (1994)

Amy Townsend & Aaron Conners
“Trainwreck” (2015)

Henry Roth & Lucy Whitmore
“50 First Dates” (2004)

Ellis Jones & Adaline Bowman
“The Age of Adaline” (2015)

Some meet cutes are definitely darker than others. In James Cameron’s 1997 epic “Titanic,” Rose feels trapped in the life she’s been handed and has nothing left to live for when she decides to throw herself off the edge of the ship into the frigid Atlantic below. Luckily, third class passenger Jack sees Rose at the right moment, convincing her to reconsider her choice. It’s definitely not your conventional cute “meet cute,” but it kicks off one of the best movie romances of the modern day.