February 14, 2025

WIFF’S WEEKEND WATCH LIST — 2/14

Check out our recommendations of what to watch this weekend.

if you want a classic romance

love affair

Vincent Georgie: They don’t make them like they used to. This film is a real throwback and perfectly tailored for a beautiful celebration of love and romance.

Synopsis: Engaged ladies’ man Michel Marnet (Charles Boyer) encounters spoken-for singer Terry McKay (Irene Dunne) aboard a transatlantic cruise, where sparks fly and a romance ensues. Once they reach New York, Michel and Terry agree to go back to their significant others, then meet atop the Empire State Building in six months, when both are free to pursue their affair. Though a tragic accident forestalls their reunion, Terry and Michel still hold out hope for a chance to rekindle their true love.

Available on Apple TV, The Criterion Channel, and PLEX.

if you want something uplifting

shall we dance?

Vincent Georgie: This one will have you smiling and up on your feet. A romantic, touching, and joyous romance. Starring Koji Yakusho, most recently seen in the very popular Perfect Days at WIFF 2023.

Synopsis: Successful middle-aged accountant Shohei Sugiyama (Koji Yakusho) has a loving wife (Hideko Hara) and a beautiful daughter, but for some reason feels unfulfilled with his life. One night, while riding his commuter train home, Sugiyama spies a beautiful woman, Mai Kishikawa (Tamiyo Kusakari), dancing in a window. Entranced by her beauty, Sugiyama tracks the woman to her dance studio and signs up for ballroom dance lessons in hopes of reinvigorating his mundane existence.

if you love your gay bff

the object of my affection

Vincent Georgie: At their most appealing, stars Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd have chemistry and charm to spare in this film. They cement the very special bond between straight women and gay men. A film about romance and friendship, in equal measure.

Synopsis: New York City social worker Nina Borowski (Jennifer Aniston) invites her gay friend, George (Paul Rudd), to move into her apartment after he breaks up with his longtime lover, Robert (Tim Daly). Meanwhile, Nina gets pregnant and decides to keep the baby — but end her relationship with the child’s father, boyfriend Vince (John Pankow). As Nina and George live and raise the baby together, the two grow close — and Nina realizes she’s beginning to fall in love with her friend.

Available on Apple TV, Disney+, YouTube, and Amazon Prime.

DOUBLE FEATURE

young love

Vincent Georgie: This Valentine’s Day Weekend, take in two tender, innocent, and smile-inducing stories of first love.

paradise

This extraordinary film is the touching story of the lost love between a young married couple and how a visiting youngster rekindles that love one memorable summer.

Available on Apple TV, YouTube and Amazon Prime.

my girl

Tomboy Vada Sultenfuss (Anna Chlumsky) has good reason to be morbid: her mother died giving birth to her, and her father (Dan Aykroyd) operates a funeral service out of their home. The other kids think she’s a freak, and it certainly doesn’t help that her best friend, Thomas J. Sennett (Macaulay Culkin), is a boy. To make matters worse, Vada is desperately in love with her English teacher, Mr. Bixler (Griffin Dunne). What’s an 11-year-old girl to do?