The 20 Best Friends-To-Lovers Couples In Movies, Ranked

Summary

• Friends-to-lovers movies capture the heartwarming journey of platonic friends realizing they belong together romantically.
• Recent films in this genre feature diverse couples, breaking stereotypes and showcasing love stories in new and exciting ways.
• Chemistry between lead actors and fresh storytelling techniques make friends-turned-lovers films a beloved and timeless genre.

There are various different kinds of cinematic romance, but friends-to-lovers movies remain popular for a reason. Some of the most popular movie romances are those involving a friendship that develops into something more. The setup is simple: lifelong best friends one day realize they’re in love with each other. Often one friend is in love from the start but it’s unrequited, with the other coming to realize that the one they truly loved was right in front of them. From rom-coms to superhero stories, these friends-to-lovers movies strike a chord.

Friends-turned-lovers romances have always been favorites for audiences who enjoy the heartwarming feeling of watching a platonic relationship develop into something more. Best friends becoming lovers is one of the oldest romance movie tropes out there, and yet fans simply can’t get enough of it. In recent years, friends-to-lovers movies have become even more diverse, telling love stories centered on people of color and even same-sex couples. Not all fictional friends-turned-lovers are equal though, and some stand out more than others.

20 Single All The Way (2021)

Going Home For The Holidays Opens Up More More Than Presents

Single All The Way made history as Netflix’s first-ever same-sex Christmas movie. The story begins when Peter (Michael Urie) discovers his boyfriend is married right before he’s set to take him home for the holidays. Not wanting to show up alone, he convinces his best friend Nick (Philemon Chambers) to go with him. Their strictly platonic relationship is then more complicated as Nick starts noticing how great Peter is when he’s around his family.

The premise sounds like the kind of story seen in so many rom-coms and that is part of the appeal. However, Single All The Way distinguishes itself by putting an LGBT couple to be at the center of a very typical romance story, making it feel fresh and original. Peter and Nick have incredible chemistry together, so audiences find themselves genuinely rooting for them throughout (and they payoff when they do find eachother is all the more satisfying for it).

19 Plus One (2019)

Two College Buddies Develop Feelings Wingmaning At Weddings

Plus One is an underrated independent romantic comedy that was a major success at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2019 starring The Boys‘ Jack Quaid and Pen15‘s Maya Erskine. It follows best friends from college Ben King (Quaid) and Alice Mori (Erskine) who decide to endure a wild summer wedding season together by being each other’s plus-ones. Though they start as each other’s wingmen, Alice starts to recognize her feelings for Ben.

This is one of several great friends-to-lovers movies that also starts with the eventual couple trying to help one-another find other people

Plus One is clearly made by people who love rom-coms but want to avoid seeing the same clichés over and over. This results in one of the better takes on the genre in recent years with the two leads elevating it even further. This is one of several great friends-to-lovers movies that also starts with the eventual couple trying to help one-another find other people, proving that the spark of passion they find in the movie is entirely new.

18 Just Friends (2005)

An Awkward Teenager Grows Up To Become Ryan Reynolds

Just Friends helps define the meaning of being “friend-zoned.” Ryan Reynolds plays Chris Brander, an overweight high school student who is told he’s more friend material by his beautiful and popular best friend. 10 years later, a fit and attractive Chris returns to his hometown for Christmas hoping for another shot. Before Ryan Reynolds was Deadpool, he was frequently seen in rom-coms with this being perhaps his best.

Though Just Friends was a critical flop when it was released, the film has grown in popularity as a rewatchable Christmas movie. It also features a hilarious supporting performance from Anna Faris that alone makes it worthwhile. What also helps Just Friends stand out is how it flips the traditional “ugly duckling” story trope. Instead of a woman growing into herself and suddenly becoming the object of anothers desires, it’s an awkward teenaged boy.

17 The Duff (2015)

From A Horrifice Highschool Nickname Romance Blooms

The Duff follows Bianca (Mae Whitman) who learns she’s tagged as “The Duff,” the Designated Ugly Fat Friend in their high school. She makes a deal with her former friend and star athlete Wesley (Robbie Amell) to help change her social status. Of course, what with this being a friends-to-lovers movie, Wesley and Bianca soon develop genuine feelings for one another, and romance blooms.

While The Duff admittedly doesn’t reach the heights of some other modern high school classics like Mean Girls or Superbad, it does valiantly attempt to push back on the typical high school movies

While The Duff admittedly doesn’t reach the heights of some other modern high school classics like Mean Girls or Superbad, it does valiantly attempt to push back on the typical high school movies in the same way and ends up feeling like something more honest than what is usually seen in the genre. What The Duff also has going for it is a genuine sense of justice and triumph, since Bianca’s situation as “The Duff” sounds genuinely horrendous, so she more than deserves finding someone like Wesley.

16 When We First Met (2018)

Time Travel Gives A Pining Friend A Second Shot

The 2018 rom-com When We First Met proves that friends-to-lovers movies don’t always have to be grounded and straightforward, and that the rom-com subgenre is more than flexible when it comes to working with fantastical elements. The guy falling for the girl first is a typical approach in these love stories as seen, but When We First Met puts a twist on it.

Noah Ashby (Adam DeVine) regrets never being able to woo his friend, Avery (Alexandra Daddario) at the Halloween party they met at in 2014, only to be transported back in time for his second shot. Time travel, time loops, and every other storytelling gimmick have been used in rom-coms, but When We First Met really makes the most of the premise. After having fun with the time travel aspect, it delivers a fitting message that some things are meant to happen as they did.

15 Yesterday (2019)

Being The Only Person To Remember The Beatles Helps A Man Woo His Friend

When We First Met isn’t the only friends-to-lovers movie to incorporate elements of the wild and fantastic in its plot, as Danny Boyle’s 2018 movie Yesterday has a truly intriguing premise surrounding its romance. Yesterday starts with the idea of Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) waking up after an accident to find he’s the only one who remembers the songs of The Beatles.

A unique way of telling the story of someone who accomplishes everything they ever wanted only to realize what they needed was something they already had.

A once struggling songwriter, Jack uses the songs to become a star, but his fame gets in the way of his relationship with his best friend Ellie (Lily James) who is still waiting for him to see her as something more. The movie has a brilliant premise and, in some ways, the love story actually gets in the way of that much more interesting tale. However, it is a unique way of telling the story of someone who accomplishes everything they ever wanted only to realize what they needed was something they already had.

14 One Day (2011)

A Dramatic Rollercoaster Of A Romance

One Day is a romantic drama that’s based on a novel of the same name. To describe this friends-to-lovers movie as dramatic is an understatement, and it takes audiences on a rollercoaster of emotions that centers around two main characters who meet on July 15th. After a steamy night together, they decide to just be friends. Every year they meet on the same day and gradually draw closer to each other.

While most other movies of the friends-to-lovers rom-com subgenre have offered lighthearted laughs, One Day is a more heartbreaking romance as the couple deal with various struggles throughout the years as their love grows stronger. This is also a movie whose quality is buoyed by the strength of its cast, with the likes of Anne Hathaway, Jim Sturgess, Rafe Spall, and Jodie Whittaker all giving terrific performances throughout.

13 Always Be My Maybe (2019)

One Of The Most Hilarious Friends-To-Lovers Rom-Coms Going

Randall Park and Ali Wong star in and wrote Always Be My Maybe, playing Marcus and Sasha, two childhood best friends who drifted apart after an awkward night following the death of Marcus’s mother. When Sasha returns to San Francisco a decade later, she reconnects with Marcus. While the epic Keanu Reeves cameo in Always Be My Maybe was a big reason the movie rises above other Netflix offerings, it is hardly the only reason to watch.

Randall Park and Ali Wong have incredible chemistry together, and they also co-wrote the script alongside Michael Golamco.

The two leads bring so much to the movie, selling the awkwardness of their relationship but making them a couple worth rooting for. Randall Park and Ali Wong have incredible chemistry together, and they also co-wrote the script alongside Michael Golamco. What makes this a particularly good friends-to-lovers movie is that both Marcus and Sasha are in relationships when their feelings begin to develop, adding several extra obstacles for their romance to overcome (one of which is the aforementioned Keanu Reeves).

12 Zack And Miri Make A Porno (2008)

Creating Adult Entertainment Leads To A Wholesome(ish) Romance

Directed by Kevin Smith and starring Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Jason Memes, and Craig Robinson (among others), Zack and Miri Make a Porno is undeniably a friends-to-lovers rom-com that leans more into the com than the rom. Zack and Miri Make a Porno falls under the category of best friends falling in love, but in a raunchy sex comedy movie.

The 2008 follows the titular roommates struggling to make ends meet. They decide to round up a group of their misfit friends and some local talents to make a porno parody of Star Wars only for it to spark something between them. Writer-director Kevin Smith finds a nice mix of heart and gross-out humor including one particularly graphic joke. Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks also both deliver incredible performances as Zack and Miri, with their grounded characters being incredibly believable.

11 Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World (2012)

The Apocalypse Helps A Last Minute Romance Blossom

Finding a way to tell a friends-turned-lovers story that is also about the end of the world is an interesting direction to take, and it results in a surprising comedy-drama with Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. When an incoming asteroid marks the end of the world, a depressed man (Steve Carell) sets out to find his high school crush, joined by his lonely neighbor (Keira Knightley).

This is also one with a somewhat bittersweet ending, but that doesn’t make it any less of an entertaining ride.

The road trip brings the pair, sharing a meaningful time with their remaining days that they soon come to realize means much more than their initial goals for the apocalypse. The mix of humor with the chaos of society collapsing and the drama of reflecting on life makes for one of the sweetest movies about the apocalypse. Of course, what with the world ending, this is also one with a somewhat bittersweet ending, but that doesn’t make it any less of an entertaining ride.

10 Some Kind Of Wonderful (1987)

One Of The Best Friends-To-Lovers Stories Of The 1980s

Some Kind of Wonderful is a little dated, and very much a product of the 1980s, but still a classic romantic comedy that fits snugly into the best friends turned lovers category. Keith (Eric Stoltz) is an aspiring artist and best friend of tomboy Watts (Mary Stuart Masterson). Keith becomes enamored by the school’s popular girl as Watts realizes her feelings for him.

The various stories mix together in an effective way, but it is the central relationship between Keith and Watts that is the best part of the movie. Watching Some Kind Of Wonderful in the 1980s brings a healthy dose of 80s nostalgia, with writer John Hughes’ particular style that made for so many great teen movies of the era. Yet this is one that has outlasted so many of its contemporaries thanks to the characters.

9 Love, Rosie (2014)

A Satisfyingly Slow Burner Of A Friends-To-Lovers Movie

Lily Collins finds herself in plenty of romantic entanglements in Emily in Paris, but before starring in the Netflix series, she was in Love, Rosie. Rose (Collins) and Alex (Sam Clafin) have been best friends since childhood, but when they begin to realize their mutual romancing feelings for one-another, they keep missing chances with each other as they go about their own separate lives.

This, of course, makes the payoff incredibly satisfying when they do eventually find one-another, as is often the case with friends-to-lovers movies that are slower burns.

Collins and Clafin make for a charming duo in this story of missed chances. It says a lot about their chemistry, as the audience is willing to watch as they are continuously pulled away from each other waiting for that moment for them to come together. However, this, of course, makes the payoff incredibly satisfying when they do eventually find one-another, as is often the case with friends-to-lovers movies that are slower burns.

8 The F Word (2013)

A Globe-Trotting Friends To Lovers Movie

Harry Potter actor, Daniel Radcliffe gets a shot at love in the romantic comedy, The F Word. Directed by Michael Dowse from a script by Elan Mastai, The F Word is based on the book Toothpaste and Cigars by TJ Dawe and Michael Rinaldi. In this friends-to-lovers movie, Wallace (Radcliffe) is down on his luck living with his sister when he meets Chantry (Zoe Kazan). Despite feeling that she is perfect for him, Wallace has to sit by and wait as Chantry has her own relationship.

Adam Driver’s early movie role as Wallace’s best friend is the highlight, but the movie is an underrated gem of the rom-com genre. It avoids being too cheesy, embracing the comedy of the story with some hilarious moments. Radcliffe also makes for a great rom-com lead. This is a truly global friends-to-lovers movie too, as Wallace ends up following Chantry from Toronto to both Dublin and Taiwan.

7 Brown Sugar (2002)

A Wedding Stirs A Change In A Previously Platonic Relationship

Brown Sugar doesn’t do much to redefine the rom-com genre, but the characters, the chemistry, and the tone of the movie help it to stand out as a solid friends-to-lovers movie. Sanaa Lathan and Taye Diggs star as childhood friends who bonded over a love of music. Years later, with one of them about to get married, they find themselves finally starting to venture into that romantic territory they avoided for so long.

Setting the movie inside the rap music world allows for supporting roles for two of the best rappers turned actors, Mos Def and Queen Latifa. They play friends of the two main characters who, along with everyone else, can see that the two are meant for each other. The way they resist those feelings makes for a sexy and captivating tension in the movie.

6 13 Going On 30 (2004)

Mark Ruffalo And Jennifer Garner Bring Perfect Chemistry To The Screen

13 Going on 30 is a teen classic when it comes to romance movies from the 2000s. After being tired of her teen years, Jenna wakes up years later and is 30 years old. She learns that she became distant and cold as an adult and cut ties with her best friend, Matty (Mark Ruffalo). She finds him to help figure out her past and, despite him being engaged, they start to fall for one another.

Garner and Ruffalo’s chemistry with one-another also helps to make it a movie that rom-com fans love to revisit.

The movie is sort of a reimagining of the Tom Hanks movie Big but doesn’t feel derivative. Instead, it makes for a sweet, funny, and charming story with a winning performance from Garner who perfectly captures the teen spirit, and Mark Ruffalo also gives an incredibly solid performance years before his debut as The Hulk in the MCU. Garner and Ruffalo’s chemistry with one-another also helps to make it a movie that rom-com fans love to revisit.

5 Reality Bites (1994)

Aimless Friends Find Love In The 1990s

Directed by Ben Stiller, Reality Bites explores the generation of young adults in the 1990s looking for direction in their lives while also wanting to rebel against the more structured systems they are meant to fit into. However, the central relationship finds Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke playing two aimless young friends who have avoided a romance for years, despite a mutual attraction, but soon find themselves entering complicated territory.

Reality Bites is a pure 90s movie yet doesn’t feel dated despite how much it leans into the vibe of the era. This is another friends-to-lovers movie that’s strong mostly thanks to the quality of its cast, with Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke joined by the likes of Janeane Garofalo, John Mahoney, and Ben Stiller himself. There are also a cameo from Renee Zellweger as a one-night-stand of Ethan Hawke’s Troy.

4 Past Lives (2023)

A Critically Acclaimed Friends-To-Lovers Story

Past Lives emerged as an early contender for best movie of 2023 in the story of a relationship spanning decades. The movie begins with young friends Nora and Hae Sung whose friendship is cut short when Nora’s family leaves their home in South Korea to move to Canada. Despite having only vague memories of each other, the two reconnect online as young adults picking up that friendship but wondering if it could be something more.

Past Lives was received incredibly well by critics, with it receiving five nominations at the Golden Globes

This friends-to-lovers movie is a beautiful look at the thoughts of what might have been and the different paths people go down in their lives. The quiet and intimate story packs a big emotional punch. Past Lives was received incredibly well by critics, with it receiving five nominations at the Golden Globes, including the coveted Best Motion Picture – Drama.

3 Spider-Man (2002)

One Of The Most Infamous Friends-Turned-Lovers Couples In Comic Book History

Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy delivered the exciting superhero action and adventure fans expect. But it also was compelling due to the strengths of the characters and their relationships which are not always done well in the genre. At the center of the trilogy is the relationship between Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson, which begins in the first movie.

Peter is left pining for Mary Jane, who only sees him as the kind boy next door or the friend of her boyfriend, Harry. However, she holds a secret crush on Spider-Man, not knowing it is Peter all along. To add more cruelty, MJ finally realizes it is Peter she wants only for him to realize Spider-Man can’t have the luxury of relationships. MJ and Peter are one of the most famous friends-to-lovers couples in comic books, and Raimi does a great job at bringing their rocky romantic journey to the big screen.

2 Love & Basketball (2000)

A Solid Mix Of Sport And Romance

Love & Basketball is a staple friends-to-lovers movie that’s regularly replayed on TV, and for good reason. This love story is a bit different, seeing as the main characters do date on and off. Monica Wright (Sanaa Lathan) and Quincy McCall (Omar Epps) have known each other since childhood and both have the drive to become professional basketball stars while struggling with their feelings for each other.

It is not often a mix of a basketball movie and a romance that is pulled off well, but Love & Basketball is the perfect marriage of these two subjects. The movie never ignores the characters’ passion for the game but makes the romance steamy and compelling at the same time. Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps give incredibly engaging performances as Monica and Quincy, which also definitely helps the movie’s watchability.

1 When Harry Met Sally (1989)

Perhaps The Most Famous Friends-To-Lovers Story Of All Time

Seen as one of the greatest rom-coms of all time, When Harry Met Sally might well be the beginning of the question, “Can men and women ever just be friends?” Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan star as the titular characters who meet without the possibility of romance on the table and gradually see each other go in and out of relationships as a spark of something more grows inside them.

Nora Ephron’s Oscar-nominated script is an insightful, clever, and hilarious look at relationships, the dynamic of men and women, and love in general. There is an endless mix of hilarious moments, like the iconic diner scene, as well as heartwarming moments, like the climactic declaration of love. It’s impossible to overstate just how much of a classic When Harry Met Sally is considered, and it’s perhaps the definitive friends-to-lovers romance storys.