Authors After Dark Spotlight: Jess Haines

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Please join me in welcoming author Jess Haines to kick off the first of For What It's Worth's Authors After Dark author spotlights.

I present to you the perfect Valentine's Day post! Go buy some chocolate (if your sweetie didn't already get you some today...BAD sweetie! BAD) & curl up for a romantic movie marathon with these great picks.

My Top Ten Romantic Movies

By Jess Haines

Hello there! Jess Haines here. I’m the author of the urban fantasy H&W Investigations series: HUNTED BY THE OTHERS , TAKEN BY THE OTHERS, and DECEIVED BY THE OTHERS. Karen was kind enough to invite me to come share my (at times, admittedly god-awful) taste in romantic movies with you in honor of Valentine’s Day. Most of them are romantic comedies, and far from considered the cinema “greats,” but―hey―I love ‘em anyway!

So, without further ado, here is my list of my top ten favorite romantic movies!

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10. Dangerous Beauty

A peasant girl in Venice falls in love with a nobleman who is obliged to wed another more to his station. He turns her down, letting her know that, despite ruining her reputation by spending so much time with her, he can never marry her. Her revenge? To become a courtesan and taunt him with her cleverness and sensual nature, and how desired she has become by the elite of Venice society. This is a wicked, sexy movie based on a real story (The Honest Courtesan).

9. Bed of Roses

Despite the stalker-y, Edward Cullen vibe given off by Christian Slater’s character in this movie, it’s really very sweet. Being given so many roses that you could literally fill a house with them is one of the most romantic gestures I’ve ever seen on film. It’s got drama, angst (angst-angst-angst), and is one of my favorite Slater films. You know, from before he went to jail and was caught with all those drugs. (Christian Slater Talks Addiction)

8. Just Friends

This romantic comedy stars Ryan Reynolds. I’m just going to admire the pretty for a moment.

Okay, I’m back. I love this movie. It’s silly, funny, and even though at times it has some cringe-worthy Something About Mary-vibes to it, it never fails to make me laugh. Plus, the friends-to-lovers trope has always given me warm fuzzies.

7. Win a Date With Tad Hamilton

Speaking of friends to lovers, I love―LOVE―this movie. That scene with Tad (Josh Duhamel) taking off his shirt and chopping firewood? *fans self* Also, this is the least annoying role I’ve ever seen Topher Grace in. I never would have thought of him as romantic lead material until I saw this movie. He plays the perfect geek suffering from unrequited love. It does a great job of balancing the serious stuff with the ridiculous in a great, heartfelt way.

Plus, the chopping firewood scene. RAWR. (Link to wood splitting scene)

Karen: I know I was supposed to drool over Josh in that scene - but I fell a little bit in love with Topher's character instead. What can I say, I like the geeks lol)

6. Roxanne

Like Topher Grace, you wouldn’t think actor/comedian Steve Martin―particularly wearing a huge, prosthetic nose―could be considered romance material, but he does a spectacular job of pulling it off here. This movie is funny, silly, and does a fantastic job at proving that looks aren’t everything.

5. Tucker and Dale vs. Evil

Okay. I know what it looks like―a raunchy horror, right? That’s what I thought when I first saw the cover and description, but it turns out this is actually a romance disguised as raunchy horror-comedy! It’s terrifically cheesy and funny. Best of all, it co-stars Alan Tudyk (aka, Wash from Firefly/Serenity). Not for the faint of heart, but if you’ve got a weird sense of humor and appreciation for silly cinema like I do, this is a great, must-see movie.

4. The Princess Bride

C’mon. You knew it was coming.

Karen: I believe I have watched this movie at least four times just in the past month. One of my all time favorites.

3. Don Juan De Marco

This is a romantic comedy starring Johnny Depp and Marlon Brando. Depp’s character believes he is the famous lover, Don Juan De Marco, and spends his time trying to prove it to his psychiatrist, Marlon Brando. Don Juan proves he is the world’s greatest lover by telling about his adventures, both in and out of the bedroom. Wackiness (and a ripple effect of sexiness) ensues.

2. Ever After

This movie gets me, every time, without fail. It’s interesting to see the Cinderella fairytale given a new twist, where you can see how this story might actually have happened and had a basis in actual historical events. Plus, it’s just plain awesome to witness Danielle (Drew Barrymore) get sick of her stepmother’s crap and grow an epic backbone.

1. While You Were Sleeping

Without a doubt, this is my favorite romantic movie. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve watched it. Lucy (Sandra Bullock) thinks she’s in love with Peter (Peter Gallagher). She sees him every day when he goes to work since she works the turnstiles at the train station. When he gets knocked unconscious, someone at the hospital calls her Peter’s fiancé, and it sticks―which is how she meets Peter’s brother, Jack (Bill Pullman) and actually falls in love.

It’s the most heartwarming and adorable movie I’ve ever seen, and I can’t recommend it highly enough to my friends of the feminine persuasion (dudes may want to give this one a pass).

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So that’s it! What do you think, ladies? What are some of your favorite romantic movies?

Visit me on the web:

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Thanks again for having me, Karen! And a very Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone!

Karen: Thanks Jess! I had SO much fun with this post. It made me nostalgic for some of my favorite movies (Don Juan De Marco, Ever After, The Princess Bride, Roxanne, While You Were Sleeping) and added a few new movies to my must see list ( Dangerous Beauty, Bed of Roses, Just Friends, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton and I must be weird but the one I'm most interested in is Tucker & Dale vs Evil)

Giveaway! Because it's Valentine's Day and I love you all - I'm giving giving away a copy of any one of Jess's books: Hunted by the Others, Taken by the Others or Deceived by the Others.


Leave your name and email or twitter handle so I can contact you in comments along with answering Jess's question: What are some of your favorite romantic movies?

International entries ok if your country is listed here

ENDS 2/20/2012 at 12:01am - winner announced 2/20


This giveaway has ended - winner is Missie B!