We all know movie couples aren't real. Even when co-stars start dating in real life, they don't have the same relationship as their onscreen counterparts. But that doesn't stop fans from falling in love with the love they see on the big screen. Whether it's because they think two characters are meant to be together, or they wish their own love lives were that romantic and exciting, fans tend to idolize their favorite couples as if they're real people.
Chemistry between characters is what makes a movie memorable. When we're watching a movie, we want to believe that those two characters could really be in love, not that their just pretending to be because it's their job. Here are 15 movie couples that are so in love they've become examples of what real love should be like.
* Warning, Spoilers *
15 Anastasia & Christian - 50 Shades of Grey
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The story of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey took to the world by storm when Fifty Shades of Grey was first published. Despite the amateur writing and sometimes ridiculous plot line, the series sold millions of copies. It was the sex scenes that caught reader's attention, and they couldn't wait to see the characters on the big screen. Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson took on the roles, and while their performances brought in mixed reviews, the story of the damaged billionaire and innocent virgin is clearly one that audiences love.
14 Jerry & Dorothy - Jerry Maguire
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Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) is one of those guys who neglects his relationships in favor of his career. He has a demanding job as a sports agent, and he's in the middle of a rough transition from a secure job at a top agency, to starting his own agency. Dorothy (Renee Zellweger) loves him, and wants to stand by him, but it seems at first like they got married for financial reasons, not because they're in love. She decides to leave him because he's too distant, but in the end he comes back to her and proclaims his love for her, and her son Ray. The line "You had me at hello" is an iconic portrayal of love at first sight, and Jerry and Dorothy find a way to make it work, even when it's hard.
13 Ennis & Jack - Brokeback Mountain
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Jack and Ennis, played by Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger are two cowboys in the 1960's who unexpectedly fall in love during a summer of sheep herding. Despite their feelings for each other, they both return home at the end of summer and marry women. But Jack can't forget about Ennis, and he visits him four years later, which is when they both realize they're still in love. Jack wants them to be together, but Ennis is afraid of being openly homosexual. It isn't until Jack is killed that Ennis realizes how much he really did love him. Their tragic love story shows how difficult it was, and still sometimes is, for two men to be together because of the judgment of others.
12 Bella & Edward - Twilight
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The young adult genre hasn't been the same ever since Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series was made into a multi-million dollar film franchise. The forbidden love between a vampire (Edward, played by Robert Pattinson) and a human (Bella, played by Kristen Stewart) captured the hearts of teenagers everywhere. Even though a human and vampire never should have been together, and Edward had to suppress all his most basic instincts to make it work, they figured out a way. The franchise grossed over $3.3 billion and brought Pattinson and Stewart more fame than they ever could have imagined.
11 Sally & Harry - When Harry Met Sally
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When Harry Met Sally's Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) have fundamentally different views on the relationship between men and women. Harry insists that "men and women can't be friends because the sex part always gets in the way" while Sally says of course men and women can be friends without the sex. They decide they can't be friends and part ways, only to run into each other five years later, and then again five years after that. Despite their different views on sex and relationships, they end up friends, which leads to them falling in love. A classic example of friendship turning into true love.
10 Isla & Rick - Casablanca
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Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman star in Casablanca as Rick and Isla, former lovers who were torn apart by circumstances. She's married to someone else, and he can't forget about her. In the end, love doesn't conquer all and they can't be together, but they'll always have the memories of their short time together, and that has to be enough. Quotes like "Of all the gun joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine" and "Here's looking at you kid" make the film, and the couple, a classic.
9 Carrie & Big - Sex and the City
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Sex and the City's Carrie Bradshaw and Big started their rocky relationship in the very first episode of the HBO series. No matter how many other guys Carrie dated, slept with, and loved, she kept finding herself drawn to Big, even after he married someone else. In the first movie, they were finally getting married, until Big got cold feet and broke Carrie's heart yet again. But they found their way back to each other, and ended up together by the end of the movie. In the second movie, they're still going strong, but experiencing another rough patch, just like most couples do at some point. But they've been through too much together, and they know they're meant to be, no matter how hard they have to work for it at times.
8 Westley & Buttercup - The Princess Bride
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The Princess Bride is one of those classic fairy tales that people can watch over and over partly because of Buttercup (Robin Wright) and Westley's (Cary Elwes) love story. He works on her farm, and they fall in love, but he has to leave to seek his fortune so they can get married. While he's gone, she promises to marry someone else, all the while he's fighting to return to her. Buttercup is kidnapped, and Westley, disguised as a pirate, rescues her. They have to fight through certain death and forces that don't want them to be together, but with the help of some friends, they end up together in the end. Westley's habit of saying "as you wish" portrays that he would do anything for Buttercup because of his love for her.
7 Molly & Sam - Ghost
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There's no love like the love that extends beyond the grave. After Patrick Swayze's character Sam is killed in a mugging, he remains on earth as a ghost to watch over his girlfriend Molly (Demi Moore), and figure out the truth behind his murder. But the most memorable scene is early on in the film when Sam sits down behind Molly while she's working on a clay pot at her pottery wheel. "Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Brothers is playing, and it isn't long before they forget the pot and focus on each other. The scene has been called one of the most romantic of all time since it portrays just how in love the characters are, making his death even more heartbreaking.
6 Romeo & Juliet - Romeo + Juliet
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Romeo and Juliet are the poster couple for forbidden love. Born to two families on opposite sides of a generations long feud, they were never supposed to be together. But they were so in love that they'd rather die than be kept apart. The 1996 Baz Luhrmann version starring Claire Danes and Leonardo Dicaprio as the star crossed lovers brought the Shakespearean classic into modern times, and made Romeo and Juliet not just for English class, but for watching at slumber parties, and on first dates too. It might end in tragedy, but their love is still iconic.
5 Jack & Rose - Titanic
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We all know that the passengers of the Titanic are doomed, which is what makes Jack and Rose's love story even more heartbreaking. We watch them meet, and fall in love over the course of a few days, and then have to fight for not only their own lives, but each others. Of course we hope they'll both survive, which makes Jack's death (and sacrifice for Rose) even worse. Rose is forced to live on without him, and she's the only one who even knew he was on the ship and died out there in the ocean. The movie made Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet household names, and no one will ever forget the line "draw me like one of your French girls".
4 Vivian & Edward - Pretty Woman
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Edward (Richard Gere) is a rich businessman and Vivian (Julia Roberts) is a prostitute, which was a new dynamic when Pretty Woman came out in 1990. He hires her to be his companion for the week and showers her in money and gifts, and she realizes she's in love with him. The unlikely pair help each other see that money isn't the most important thing in life, and just like that the businessman falls in love with a prostitute. Their whirlwind romance is like a fairy tale and the moral of the story that status and money has nothing to do with love.
3 Danny & Sandy - Grease
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Olivia Newton John's Sandy and John Travolta's Danny are the quintessential unlikely high school couple in Grease. They met during the summer, away from the peer pressure of their friends and their reputations, and just happen to end up at the same school the next year. Danny is the cool bad boy, and Sandy is the innocent good girl, and even though they don't have much in common, they're drawn to each other. In the end, Sandy shows Danny that they can overcome their differences, and be perfect together with the iconic last act song-- "You're The One That I Want".
2 Scarlett & Rhett - Gone With the Wind
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Although the love story of Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) and Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) in Gone With the Wind is full of drama, abuse, and lots of rejection, they are still one of those onscreen couples that everyone remembers, for better or for worse. Scarlett is in love with someone else for the majority of their relationship, and it isn't until Rhett decides to leave her that she finally realizes it was him she should have wanted all along. It's a classic case of not knowing what you have until it's gone.
1 Allie & Noah - The Notebook
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Not only did one-time perfect real-life couple Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling meet on the set of The Notebook, but their chemistry instantly made the movie a romantic classic for girls everywhere to aspire to. No couple has ever been meant to be quite like Allie and Noah, and their kiss in the rain went on to win Best Kiss at the MTV Movie Awards, which Rachel and Ryan re-enacted for all their fans. They may have broken up in real life, but Allie and Noah will always be together, even in the afterlife.
Sources: IMDB.com, MarieClaire.com, IGN.com
