Who says men don't like romantic movies?
So maybe they don't like every romantic film that's ever been made — as opposed to some women. But they do like a few. And some men aren't afraid to say so.
If you're looking to rent a video on the hearts-and-flowers holiday — a video that both a man and a woman might enjoy — consider the following suggestions from local guys:
Chris Wagner, 17, Salt Lake City, says his favorite romantic movie is "Phantom of the Opera." He'll always remember it fondly because it is what he saw on his first date.
As for Trent Henry, 37, Salt Lake City, he likes "Notting Hill." Also, he says the only reason he refused to watch "Pride and Prejudice" with his wife, Latrice, was because he'd just finished listening to the book on tape. (She couldn't get their junior high-age son, Gabe, to watch "Pride and Prejudice" with her either. Gabe tried to get into the film but was creeped out by the part about cousins courting cousins.)
Josh Probert, 30, of Provo, also recommends "Notting Hill," for its "balance of humor, wit and meaning." He also enjoyed the relationship between Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson in "Spider-Man." And "Moulin Rouge" is romantic, he notes.
Jim Bickley, 63, South Jordan, recommends "Out of Africa." The vistas themselves are romantic, he says. "And it was odd. I was living at Dugway at the time that movie came out and there was a similarity between the sceneries."
While Scott Parkinson, 18, Salt Lake City, had a bit of trouble remembering the name of a good romance, he did eventually come up with the 2006 film "The Lake House." He likes the fantasy part of the plot. "People meeting, years apart."
Blair Green, 26, St. George, recommends, "Love Actually." He likes British comedies and he liked the way the plot jumps around before coming together at the end.
Roger Toll, 61, of Salt Lake City, says his favorite romantic film is one he saw three weeks ago at Sundance.
He calls "Away From Her" a beautiful Canadian "poem of a film." It stars Julie Christie, who is consciously pulling away from her husband of 44 years because she knows she has Alzheimer's. Of course this film hasn't made it to video yet, so as an alternative Toll suggests his second-favorite Julie Christie romance, "Dr. Zhivago."
Johnny Griffith, 24, of Salt Lake City, likes "The Notebook," taken from the novel by Nicholas Sparks.
Kerry Jackson, 42, Salt Lake City, recommends "The Birdcage," saying, "I'm a straight man, but it's that scene of the park bench where they (Robin Williams and Nathan Lane) sign their life contract. I know it's offbeat, but I thought it was incredibly romantic."
Ralph Fisher, 75, Park City, recommends "Little Miss Sunshine." It is not actually romantic, he points out. But it is one of the few movies they've seen in a long time that he and his wife Donna both enjoyed. Sometimes just agreeing on a movie can be romantic.
And finally, Jeff Parkin, 41, surveyed the rest of the male faculty of the Brigham Young University department of Theatre and Media Arts, most of whom are in their 40s and 50s, to come up with this list: "When Harry Met Sally. ... ," "You've Got Mail," "Sleepless in Seattle," "The Mirror Has Two Faces," "Snow Falling on Cedars," "An Affair to Remember," "Dr. Zhivago," "Shrek," "Groundhog Day," "Always," "Truly, Madly, Deeply," "An Ideal Husband," "Terms of Endearment," "What's Up Doc?" "The Sound of Music" and "Ghost."
E-mail: susan@desnews.com