8 Date Night Movies That Won't Start a Fight

Picking the movie is the real fight. Skip it. These eight score high with critics and audiences, and nobody has to pretend afterward.

Number one needs a whole evening and at least one box of tissues.

1. 8
   Slumdog Millionaire (2008)9.3

   A love story told through quiz answers, and it works.

   Every quiz question pulls up a chapter of Dev Patel's life, and Danny Boyle cuts Mumbai like a music video. Critics rank it above 92% of notable movies.
2. 7
   Good Will Hunting (1997)9.0

   Robin Williams on a park bench beats any kiss here.

   Matt Damon plays a janitor who solves math nobody else can, and Minnie Driver makes him nervous in the best way. 8.4 on IMDb from 1.25 million votes.
3. 6
   Cinema Paradiso (1988)9.3

   Nostalgia for a Sicilian childhood neither of you had.

   A kid falls for the movies in a tiny Sicilian village, then falls for a girl, and both stories land. 174 minutes, critics above 88% of notable movies.
4. 5
   Forrest Gump (1994)8.9

   The safest pick here. Nobody has ever vetoed it.

   Tom Hanks wanders through decades of American history with a box of chocolates and zero cynicism. $678.2 million worldwide. Sappy, sure. That's the assignment tonight.
5. 4
   Amélie (2001)8.9

   The most charming movie here, and it's not up for debate.

   Audrey Tautou plays a shy Paris waitress who secretly fixes strangers' lives and can't fix her own. Audiences rank it above 99% of notable movies, and it made $175.6 million worldwide.
6. 3
   Brokeback Mountain (2005)8.9

   Heath Ledger barely talks, and it's the best acting here.

   Ang Lee follows two ranch hands who meet one summer in Wyoming and can't shake it for years. Critics rank it above 92% of notable movies, $179.1 million worldwide.
7. 2
   Casablanca (1942)9.7

   Old enough to be a classic, short enough for a weeknight.

   Bogart and Bergman in a nightclub full of refugees, spies and excellent hats. 8.5 on IMDb from 662,855 votes, made for a reported $1 million.
8. 1
   Titanic (1997)8.6

   Yes, it's 194 minutes. Clear the whole evening.

   Kate Winslet's Rose is the real lead, and the romance moves so fast you forget the runtime. $674.4 million domestic on a reported $200 million budget.

$595.39 says one of you picks Titanic and the other one pretends to be annoyed about it.

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Current mood: ready to fight about it