Valentine’s Day, for those of us who are single and alone, might be a tricky holiday to navigate. There are many people out there who embrace being single. They aren’t tied down to making plans, are free to explore with other single people, and simply enjoy the fact they don’t have to spend money on a significant other. The people falling into this category currently enjoy where they are in life and don’t let Valentine’s Day affect them one way or the other.
Then there are those of us who feel like the one thing they are missing out in life is a significant other. Valentine’s Day helps to reaffirm that belief, with an annual release of a new Nicholas Sparks movie hammering home the fact that true love is out there for everyone.
Falling into a category of feeling alone and perhaps depressed on Valentine’s Day, you decide you will barricade yourself in your apartment or house for the evening.
You’ve bought yourself a box of chocolates and bottle of wine, already knowing full well the chances are slim you won’t have any leftover wine for the following evening. If you’ve also added movie watching to your list of Valentine’s Day activities, save yourself from taking that final step in loneliness by watching the sappy love story or the tried and true romantic comedy.
Instead, take the time to watch one (or three) of these time-tested comedies to help turn that Valentine’s Day frown upside down.
Blazing Saddles
There are any number of Mel Brooks movies (or Gene Wilder movies, for that matter) that can be included on this list. From Young Frankenstein to Spaceballs, Brooks has been making audiences laugh for years.
This ultimate spoof of Westerns is the pinnacle of his achievements. Wilder is in top form, aided with great comedic performances by Madeline Kahn, Cleavon Little, and Harvey Korman. Not only are the laughs plentiful, but the social commentary within this film still resonates to this day.
Caddyshack
Bill Murray. Chevy Chase. Rodney Dangerfield. A dancing gopher. What more do you need to know?
Directed by Harold Ramis and written by Ramis and Brian Doyle-Murray, Caddyshack is centered around the eccentric members, staff, and associates of a local golf club. While technically a movie that centers around golf, one does not need to know the game of golf forward and backward to enjoy this movie. Released nearly 40 years ago, this film has the right amount of dirty and raunchy jokes to hopefully bring a smile to the lonely faces on Valentine’s Day.
The Jerk
The first starring role for Steve Martin provides the perfect opportunity to show off his many talents. Martin plays a character named Navin and any number of labels have been applied to the character over the years: idiotic, naive, simple. It doesn’t matter. It is part of the charm and comedy of this movie.
Most of all, it’s a movie about finding your rhythm. And on Valentine’s Day, if you’re alone or have a significant other, it’s all about rhythm.
Airplane!
Like Mel Brooks, Jim Abrahams and Jerry and David Zucker have been making audiences laugh for years. Airplane! also goes the spoof route and pulls off a mix of low-brow comedy, clever sight gags, and silly jokes that many modern day spoof films fail to capitalize on.
Airplane! is centered around a flight that goes awry when the pilots, much of the crew and passengers are all infected with food poisoning. There is only one man aboard that can fly the plane (Robert Hays), but he has deep personal issues that may prevent him from saving everyone aboard.
Plus, Leslie Nielsen is in the film, doing some of the best work in his career.
Old School
“Y-You’re crazy, man. You’re crazy. I like you, but you’re crazy.” Frank (Will Ferrell), Old School.
Those lines of dialogue perfectly describe the comedic values in this 2003 hit from Todd Phillips. Taglines for the film went as far as embracing this aspect, as one read, “Critics say Old School is dumb and pointless. We say, ‘WHO CARES?’”
Go forth and get a glimpse of what it would look like when three grown men start a fraternity. (Then, if you’re feeling really daring, go watch Jeremy Piven, who plays the Dean, play the opposite version of this character in PCU.)
Bridesmaids
Bridesmaids is less than five years old, but it is destined to become a classic. While Kristen Wiig’s character is in search of love as one of the through lines, the film should not be classified as a romantic comedy. The story is much more involved than that, generating jokes ranging from clever to juvenile to bottom-of-the-barrel gross out.
Most of all, it’s about friendship and the extremes one might go to in order to keep friendships. With friends like Maya Rudolph and Melissa McCarthy, I’d say Wiig is in some good company.
Plus, even if you’re feeling a little unfulfilled at the end of the film, there’s an inspirational song to give even the forlorn a bit of hope.
Private Benjamin
Before she was known as Kate Hudson’s mom, Goldie Hawn was cracking up audiences on a consistent basis in the 1970’s and 80’s.
In this film, Hawn plays a woman from the upper crust of society who decides on a whim to enter the United States Army. Though romance and lost loves are also a main thread to this film, the plot and comedy arise from Hawn’s character and her fish-out-of-water experience in learning to become independent for the first time in her life.
Will these movies change your life? Maybe, but most likely not. That's not their goal. Providing a laugh or two on what is the loneliest day of the year for some is what these films can do. And for some, a good, hearty chuckle is more than enough to lift the soul
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