Top 10 Romantic Movie Lines That Ruined Our Expectations

Bridget Jones is a tremendously relatable character because she’s, to put it mildly, an absolute mess. Her relationship with Mark Darcy gets off on the wrong foot, probably because she puts hers in her mouth so frequently - though he allows his own preconceptions to get in the way as well (the movie is based on “Pride and Prejudice” after all!). Still, Mark lets Bridget know that he likes her, for all her faults, just as she is. Sadly, real life rarely works out so well. It takes a lot of searching to find someone who can love you for your quirks, and they’re probably not going to look like Colin Firth.

This classic of cinema has some of the most romantic lines of all time, and while we were tempted to discuss “we’ll always have Paris,” or “here’s looking at you, kid,” we went with this one instead. In Paris as the Nazis are invading, Ilsa, being struck with how uncertain her future with Rick is, tells him she loves him and asks him to kiss her “as if it were the last time.” Real love is far less likely to have as many opportunities for these kind of “last chance” romantic lines, and while kissing someone like it’s the last time might lead to a good kiss, it could just as easily lead to a desperate and unsatisfying one.

We can hear your eyes rolling. After young lovers Oliver and Jenny have an argument about Oliver making amends with his father and he snaps at her, Jenny runs off. When Oliver returns home to find her waiting on the porch, he apologizes, to which she replies that “love means never having to say you’re sorry.” As anyone who has been in love or even in a relationship will tell you, apologies are absolutely essential! Being in love doesn’t equate to instant forgiveness, and anyone who tells you otherwise has probably never been in love or is in a toxic relationship.

Another famously influential romance film, “Dirty Dancing” follows Frances “Baby” Houseman and Johnny Castle as they fall in love through intimate dancing. But their lives aren’t all sexy dance sequences. Baby is forced to admit to her father that she used money she got from him to help a friend get a botched abortion. Johnny tells Baby that he admires her for telling him this, but she exclaims that she was scared of that and almost everything else - and most of all that she won’t feel the way she does when she’s with him during the rest of her whole life. As romantic as the sentiment is, real love isn’t usually composed of grand, dramatic declarations like this.

Severus Snape may be a professor at Hogwarts and a spy in the dark lord Voldemort’s organization, but he’s still needlessly cruel to his students, particularly Harry Potter. However, in the final “Harry Potter” movie, we learn why Snape hates Harry so much – he loved Harry’s mother and hated that his father ended up with her instead of him. While the revelation that Snape has carried a torch for Lily Potter for so long is touching, it still doesn’t excuse what a jerk he’s been to her son; even if he has protected and helped him behind the scenes. The lesson here is that love doesn’t automatically redeem someone.

This iconic romantic comedy sees Harry and Sally dance around one another for years, becoming friends, in spite of some initial animosity. An apparent one night stand causes some distance between them, but on New Year’s Eve, Harry arrives at a party Sally is attending to declare all the things he loves about her. He tells her that it’s not just the occasion, but that he wants to spend the rest of his life with her - and he wants the rest of his life to start as soon as possible. Not everyone is going to propose or declare their love in such a romantic or clever way. Of course we want what Harry and Sally are having, but life and love don’t take such specific orders. [“I’ll have what she’s having!”]

The title character is a passionate sports agent who decides to start his own agency after being fired. He brings along Dorothy, whom he eventually marries. Sadly, the two of them separate, and when Jerry realizes his professional success feels hollow, he returns home to win Dorothy back. Upon arrival, he delivers an emotional speech about how important she is to him, telling her that she “completes” him - to which she replies that he had her at “hello.” As iconic and romantic as both these lines are, when it comes to real love, they aren’t the best words to follow. Looking to someone else to complete your life can lead to unhealthy dependence while accepting someone’s apology before they’ve even made it is rarely a good idea.

This film based on the real tragically fated ship follows the romance that blooms between working class Jack and upper class Rose. Their love is as doomed as The Titanic though, as they are forced into the freezing water. As romantic as the “you jump, I jump” line is, we’re going with a moment a little later. When Rose believes they’re going to die, Jack encourages her to survive no matter what; urging her to never let go of the promise she makes to live. Rose replies that she’ll never let go, though it’s clear that she also means her love for him. “Titanic” depicts an extraordinary love in extraordinary circumstances. In reality, not everyone can find someone that they’ll love long after they’re gone.

“10 Things I Hate About You” takes its title from this moment, which is considerably more than a single line. Kat Stratford is an independent teenager who falls for Patrick Verona, who, despite initially being paid to date her, also falls for her. Although Kat finding out about this leads to heartbreak, she does tell him she still loves him in the form of the titular poem. However, in real life, people rarely declare their love in verse anymore – it’s just not in vogue, and poetry is harder than it seems. And secondly, if you screw up as badly as Patrick does, you probably can’t expect the person you’ve hurt to write romantic poetry about you.

Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

“It’s Gonna Be Really Hard.”
“The Notebook” (2004)

“I Wish I Knew How to Quit You.”
“Brokeback Mountain” (2005)

“Ditto.”
“Ghost” (1990)

“Did My Heart Love Till Now?”
“Romeo and Juliet” (1936-)

“I’d Rather Die Tomorrow Than Live a Hundred Years Without Knowing You.”
“Pocahontas” (1995)

This 2005 adaptation of Jane Austen’s famous novel is a fairly good translation of the book to the screen, but it does add some things, including this romantic line. Although both Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet struggle to overcome their preconceptions about each other, Elizabeth takes a little longer to see Darcy for who he is. When he approaches her near her family’s home near the movie’s end, after she has a confrontation with his aunt, Darcy makes a beautiful speech, in which he reaffirms his love for her (thrice over) and tells her that he never wants to be apart from her. This…is just so romantic, but it’s sadly also an example of something that’s very unlikely to be said to you by someone you love.