The Best (and My Favorite) Underrated Clean Romance Movies
If there’s anything I love in this entertainment world, it’s a good, clean, butterflies-in-your-stomach romance. So, I’ve curated a list of my favorite (and I honestly think the best) underrated clean romance movies. Ironically, these are all from my childhood 😅, so I definitely could be a little biased 😂. Check out the whole list of underrated clean romance movies below!
The Prince and Me (2004)
The Prince and Me is an easy pick for clean romance movies with a ton of fun. I feel like most of my movies on this list are underrated because they’re over two decades old 😂, but oh well. The basic premise of this movie is that a prince is undercover going to college because he wants to live a normal life and meets this girl, and they fall in love (of course). Julia Stiles leads as Paige (which, this actress is another reason why it’s one of my favorites), and then Luke Mably is her counterpart as the prince.
Ella Enchanted (2004)
UGH, if you don’t know what Ella Enchanted is, you seriously need to go watch it right now. Not only does it have Anne Hathaway as our main character, but you also get Hugh Dancy as a very charming prince. This movie basically follows Ella (Anne Hathaway) as she tries to break the curse that a fairy bestowed on her at birth. Ella must remain obedient, so if someone asks her to do something, she has to do it. Along the way, she meets Prince Charmont, who she believes is just like his uncle (a horrible ruler). They eventually fall in love on the journey and it’s so sweet and fun and just amazing all the way around.
A Cinderella Story (2004)
Guys, A Cinderella Story probably is a classic, but I can’t leave it off this list because the romance is TOP TIER. High school girl with no popularity goes to a masked masquerade and meets her prince charming? Obviously a winner. Chad Michael Murray and Hilary Duff have a TON of chemistry in this movie and the emotional scenes? They raise the bar for this sweet, clean, romance movie.
Aquamarine (2006)
So, this movie technically isn’t a straight up romance either. Aquamarine is more of a friendship story, but the romance that is in it is still SO good. I love that you have a girl (Sara Paxton) (who is a mermaid when she gets wet) come to shore to find love to prove her father wrong. She meets Hailey (JoJo) and Claire (Emma Roberts) who promise to help her fall in love before her father makes her return to sea. The only problem? She wants Raymond (Jake McDorman), the guy who everyone, including Claire and Hailey, has a crush on. What ensues is hilarious, fun, and so heartwarming.
Penelope (2006)
I’m not gonna lie, this is probably one of my favorite ones on this list. Penelope follows a young girl (Christina Ricci) who was cursed with a pig snout. She must find someone to accept her for the curse to be broken. She meets Johnny (James McAvoy) who changes her perspective on things. She makes the decision to run away from home, experience the world, and find out what it truly means to live. She finds love along the way, but it’s just not quite the love she expected. Beautiful, inspiring, and so so good, I’d probably recommend this movie to anyone I met.
Warm Bodies (2013)
The only one on this list that isn’t two decades old (just one!), Warm Bodies basically follows this zombie as he falls in love with a human girl after eating the brains of her boyfriend (and therefore, getting his memories of her). Funny, heartwarming (for the audience and the zombies), and a unique take on the zombie apocalypse. With leads like Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer, this movie is more than you’d expect from a romance-based zombie movie.
Raise Your Voice (2004)
Alright, if you were growing up in the early 2000s, then you know that Hilary Duff was everywhere. Raise Your Voice may be cheesy at times (and definitely has some cringe-worthy moments), but the romance in it? Well, it captured my young heart. In this movie, Hilary Duff plays a young girl who has a beautiful singing voice that has gotten her a spot at this prestigious summer school for music. The problem? She refuses to go because her brother just died and she can’t find it in herself to sing anymore. When her mother and aunt force her to go, she meets people just like her, but the boy that she meets may just help her to find her voice.
August Rush (2007)
Okayyyy, so this one technically isn’t a romance, but the small part that romance has to play in this movie has literally stuck with me ever since I watched it. August Rush follows a young orphan, Evan (Freddie Highmore), as he tries to find where he belongs. Music speaks to him and you learn in the movie that it’s because of his musically gifted parents who never wanted to give him up in the first place. The emotions? So freaking high. The romance? I really truly don’t know how they packed that much chemistry into two or three scenes between Johnathan Rhys Meyers and Keri Russell.
