Romance is present in every genre of movies, from drama to comedy to action, and you’ll find plenty of them on free streaming services. Here are the best movies about love and relationships that you can stream right now, for free and without a subscription.
Update, 3/16/23: We have verified that all our links are working and we are still confident that these are the best romantic movies currently streaming for free.
Flat
In Billy Wilder’s Academy Award-winning romantic comedy, hapless bachelor CC Baxter (Jack Lemmon) is so focused on advancing his career by facilitating his bosses’ illicit affairs that he neglects his love life. Baxter provides his apartment to the upper-level employees of his company, so that they can have a place to meet their mistresses.
Baxter himself takes a swing at one of those mistresses, elevator operator Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine), and they bond over their heartbreak and abuse, forming a sweet and honest relationship. Wilder takes his characters seriously while putting them together in sparkling, witty comedy.
Flat Streams free with ads on verifiAnd Pluto TVAnd Roku ChannelAnd TobyFree from local bookstores canopy.
Carol
Although it takes place during a more oppressive era, this 1950s drama about the relationship between two women is remarkably optimistic and sensitive. This isn’t to say that wealthy suburbanite Carol Aird (Cate Blanchett) and aspiring photographer Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara) don’t face serious hurdles to their potential romance, but rather that the story is about navigating those hurdles rather than being defeated by them.
Their adventures are shown in small, subtle gestures, which prove as powerful as any great romantic moment.
Carol Streams free with ads on CWAnd verifiAnd redboxAnd TobyAnd VoodooFree from local bookstores Hobla And canopy.
Related: The best romantic movies on Netflix in 2023
Beautiful crazy
Director John Stockwell takes an elegant approach to this layered romantic drama, about the relationship between a troubled rich girl (Kirsten Dunst) and a working-class boy (Jay Hernandez). Stockwell shows the lesser-known areas of Los Angeles, grounding the story on a sense of place. The characters subvert and overcome stereotypes, deepening their relationship more than superficial differences. It’s an underrated teen drama that combines great visuals with honest emotion.
Beautiful crazy Streams for free through local libraries at Hobla.
disobedience
Love transcends the strict norms of a strict religious society in Sebastien Lelio’s intense sensual drama. Rachel McAdams plays Este, a sheltered housewife in an orthodox Jewish community whose life is changed by the return of her free-spirited childhood friend Ronit (Rachel Weisz). The two women share a basic connection, and the worldly Ronit helps Esti see beyond the boundaries her husband has set for her. They are able to embrace their love without giving up their spirituality.
disobedience Streams for free through local libraries at Hobla And canopy.
Related: The best comedies on Amazon Prime Video of 2023
I’m Your Man
It seems like a silly concept: a nervous academy falls in love with the android companion she was supposed to audition for. But director Maria Schrader makes Me Your Man into an insightful and endearing love story, with Downton AbbeyDan Stevens was perfectly cast as the prototype of the perfect sweetheart.
Stevens and Maren Eggert have a warm relationship as a lone female researcher slowly opens herself up to the possibility of a true emotional connection with a machine. I’m Your Man He gently poses philosophical questions without losing sight of the personal dynamic between the main characters.
I’m Your Man Streams for free through local libraries at Hobla And canopy.
It happened one night
Decades of romantic comedies followed the model set by this Oscar winner, starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert as adversaries who fall in love during a road trip. The stars have great chemistry as a rebellious heiress and scheming messenger, and their reps are charged with sexual energy whether they’re squabbling or flirting.
issued prior to the enforcement of the Ethical Production Act, It happened one night It’s witty and scandalous, and as romantic now as it was in 1934.
It happened one night Streams free with ads on Toby.
Related: Top 10 action movies to stream for free in 2023
Plus one
It’s not hard to predict the outcome of the pact struck by old friends Ben (Jack Quaid) and Alice (Maya Erskine) at the start of the rom-com. Plus one. Faced with the prospect of attending the weddings of several friends and acquaintances, they agree to each have dates for each event—on a purely platonic level, of course.
Quaid and Erskine have excellent chemistry, and Plus one Funny and touching as it heads towards its obvious solution. The filmmakers treat the characters’ ambitions and family relationships as much as they do the romance.
Plus one Streams free with ads on Toby Free via local bookstores Hobla.
secretary
The dynamic between the main characters in secretary It’s certainly unconventional, but at its core the movie is about two people who each meet deep emotional needs. A demanding lawyer (James Spader) hires a meek woman (Maggie Gyllenhaal) as his secretary, and they discover a shared passion for kinky sexual scenarios in the course of their working relationship.
The film presents the BDSM relationship as loving and supportive, allowing these misunderstood people to finally be their true, authentic selves.
secretary Streams free with ads on verifiAnd PlexAnd Toby.
Related: The best streaming services of 2023
sliding doors
There are two Gwyneth Paltrows for the price of one in this alternate universe drama sliding doors. Paltrow’s character, London publicist Helen Kelly, either does or does not catch her boyfriend cheating on her at the start of the film, and the story follows both narrative threads.
Either way, it looks like she’s destined to end up with friendly businessman James (John Hannah). Both versions of Helen are sharp and energetic, and the film showcases her inner strength and romantic spirit, no matter what kind of situation she finds herself in.
sliding doors Streams free with ads on Voodoo Free via local bookstores Hobla.
13 going on the 30th
It might seem a little strange to watch a 13-year-old in the body of a 30-year-old fall in love with a 30-year-old comic, but it transforms her body. 13 going on the 30th Somehow it makes her charming and sweet. Jennifer Garner plays the teenage girl who wakes up as an adult after making a wish, and Mark Ruffalo plays the best friend who has always loved her.
Jenna learns lessons from Garner about maturity and self-esteem while also learning that the dumb guy next door is the one you should have been watching out for all along.
13 going on the 30th Streams for free through local libraries at Hobla.
