We've Convinced Ourselves These 18 Weird Things Are Actually Romantic Just Because They Happen In Movies

If someone tried to sing to me in public, I would simply run away.

I've always been a rom-com fiend — you name it, I've watched and loved it!

ABC

But there are definitely times when the warm, fuzzy feeling of a good rom-com has worn off, and you realise how ~weird~ some of their so-called "romantic" moments were.

ABC

1. For instance, turning up on someone's doorstep and professing your love to them via cards.

Universal Pictures

Love Actually is one of the best rom-coms around (in my humble opinion), and while I get the sentiment, there are lots of things about this scene that just don't make sense. Firstly, she's his best friend's wife! Secondly, who would ever believe anyone would stay at the door for that long if it were carol singers? Thirdly, what would happen if his friend had opened the door instead? Most of all, if someone ever showed up randomly with a bunch of cards to tell me they loved me, and then walked away to just go back to normal, it would be hard to pretend NOTHING had happened, tbh.

Watch the scene here:

Universal Pictures / Via youtube.com

2. Or climbing through someone's window and watching them sleep!

Summit Entertainment

I don't really know if I need to convince you that someone climbing through your window and staring at you while you sleep every night isn't romantic, it's just creepy. Nevertheless, Edward and Bella's love story will go down in teen-angst ridden history!

Watch the scene here:

Summit Entertainment / Via youtube.com

3. Singing to the person you like in a very public space in front of everyone they know.

Buena Vista Pictures / Via giphy.com

High school was embarrassing enough without someone making a grand gesture that involved dancing, singing, and the campus security — I'm red from the embarrassment just thinking about it!

Watch the scene here:

Buena Vista Pictures / Via youtube.com

4. Dashing through airport security to tell someone you love them.

Universal Pictures

This is arguably one of the best scenes from Love Actually, but in reality, if you somehow managed to run through airport security just to tell someone you love them, you'd be looking at flight delays and a prison sentence instead of a "kids will be kids" moment.

Watch the scene here:

Universal Pictures / Via youtube.com

5. Or even stopping a plane from taking off completely for love!

Universal Pictures

At the end of Liar Liar, Jim Carrey's character is faced with his son and his ex-wife leaving for a new life. So, like any rational human being, he decides to hijack an airport stair escalator on the runway and drive it alongside the moving plane. The ending? His ex-wife allows Jim Carrey's son to stay with him as he's clearly proven he's a safe and responsible father figure.

Watch the scene here:

Universal Pictures / Via youtube.com

6. Standing outside of someone's window and playing loud music on your boombox to get them back.

20th Century Fox

Now my parents, my neighbours, and anyone within a mile radius know that you broke my heart, and we all have to listen to your bad taste in music. Just send me a Spotify playlist next time.

Watch the scene here:

20th Century Fox / Via youtube.com

7. Persistently asking a perfect stranger out.

20th Century Fox / Via giphy.com

In 27 Dresses, James Marsden's character meets a woman once, finds the diary that she leaves in a taxi, and proceeds to write his name and number in every Saturday for the rest of the year until she agrees to go on a date with him. As charming as his smile was, being this persistent so early on is a huge red flag to me.

Watch the scene here:

20th Century Fox / Via youtube.com

8. Hanging off a ferris wheel to make someone go out with you even though they've already turned you down.

Warner Brothers

Speaking of red flags, The Notebook might contain the largest one of them all. Noah asks Allie to dance, she says no, so he decides to hang off a ferris wheel until she agrees to go out with him. It's not romantic, it's just coercion.

Watch the scene here:

Warner Brothers / Via youtube.com

9. Fighting someone for another person, physically and in public... Colin Firth and Hugh Grant, I'm looking at you!

Universal Pictures

Although it's a beloved and humorous scene, if two guys decided to have a brawl right outside my local restaurant, I'd definitely consider blocking them both out of sheer embarrassment.

Watch the scene here:

Universal Pictures / Via youtube.com

10. Throwing elaborate parties just to get the attention of a singular person.

Warner Bros. Pictures / Via giphy.com

I know it's not a rom-com per se, but it's certainly worth mentioning. Gatsby was so in love with Daisy that he decided to throw some of the biggest parties New York has ever seen. It's a pretty big gesture, but also kinda desperate... Sorry, Jay!

Watch the scene here:

Warner Bros. Pictures / Via youtube.com

11. Dating someone as a bet, and then falling in love with them once they've had their "makeover."

Miramax

It's a classic tale — jock makes a bet to turn a drab girl into the most popular girl in school before prom comes around. We're then forced to believe that after her makeover (aka, hair has been brushed and glasses have been taken off) she suddenly looks so completely different that he can't believe how beautiful she is. Romance level: 1/10.

Watch the scene here:

Miramax / Via youtube.com

12. Going from friends with benefits to lovers.

Sony Pictures Releasing

The friends with benefits to love pipeline may be common in movies, but in real life it can be a little more awkward and one-sided, so it's a no from me.

Watch the scene here:

Sony Pictures Releasing / Via youtube.com

13. Listing someone's attributes in a spur-of-the-moment kinda way.

Columbia Pictures / Via giphy.com

It can be sweet knowing that someone loves every little thing about you, but sometimes it feels a little bit like they're putting you under a microscope. Also, I can imagine feeling not so pleased with a guy commenting on my wrinkles.

Watch the scene here:

Columbia Pictures / Via youtube.com

14. Scaling the wall of your ex's house just to speak to them.

Disney

Okay, so High School Musical might not be a typical rom-com, but Troy and Gabriella's romance was a huge part of many of our childhoods. Younger me was ecstatic to see Troy trying to get Gabriella back, but please do not scale my house and appear in my bedroom — it's just not cool.

Watch the scene here:

Disney / Via youtube.com

15. Pretending to be involved with someone when you're not.

Netflix

To All The Boys I Loved Before captured some of the best tropes from older rom-coms, but this whole fake relationship trope just seems way too messy and leads to miscommunication too often for it to work in real life.

Watch the scene here:

Netflix / Via youtube.com

16. Interrupting a wedding and then leaving your partner at the alter for someone else.

Rank Film Distributors

Remember when Hugh Grant admitted to loving someone else just as he was about to wed his partner? He also got punched by his now ex-fiancée, just to add to the humiliation of it all. Not exactly the come on dreams are made of.

Watch the scene here:

Rank Film Distributors / Via youtube.com

17. Also, interrupting another person's wedding to profess your love for someone there.

20th Century Studios

Imagine it – you're excited for your wedding day and another couple completely steals the show by declaring their love for each other in front of all your guests. I think I'd have to ask to redo my entire wedding, tbh.

Watch the scene here:

20th Century Studios / Via youtube.com

18. And of course, kissing in the rain.

Lionsgate

Dear John makes kissing in the rain seem euphoric almost, but personally I can't think of anything worse than soggy clothes, frizzy hair, and the cold that comes after it. Honourable mentions also include A Cinderella Story and The Notebook which also try to tell us the same lie.

Watch the scene here:

Lionsgate / Via youtube.com

Are there any other rom-com moments that strike you as super weird or actually quite creepy? Let us know in the comments!