Thursday Movie Picks: Enemies to Lovers (Romance Edition)

February 3, 2022

Wandering through the Shelves hosts a weekly movie challenge in which you choose 3-5 movies based on that Thursday’s theme and explain why you chose those movies.

Today’s theme is Enemies to Lovers (Romance Edition), so here are my choices!

Bridget & Mark (Bridget Jones's Diary)

Helen Fielding’s modern take on Pride and Prejudice…sort of! Bridget and Mark start off on the wrong foot almost immediately, with Bridget overhearing Mark insulting her mere moments after they met. Bridget is a woman trying to figure out her life, and Mark is a stuffy human-rights barrister. They begin to find common ground during their many encounters, which of course, leads to attraction and then… love! Renee Zellweger and Colin Firth had amazing chemistry, not only in Bridget Jones’s Diary, but the two sequels that followed. They’re definitely one of my favorite movie couples.

Beatrice & Benedick (Much Ado About Nothing)

A classic enemies-to-lovers relationship. In William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing (adapted by Kenneth Branagh), Benedick and Beatrice hide their attraction to one another behind constant arguing and insults. Their friends can see the truth, so they all conspire to allow Beatrice and Benedick to overhear how the other is in love with them, which forces them to confront their true feelings. Claudio and Hero may be the couple getting married, but it’s Benedick and Beatrice that bring the passion to this story. It doesn’t hurt that Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson (who were married at the time) were SO good together in this film.

Joe & Kathleen (You've Got Mail)

“‘Joe’? ‘Just call me Joe’? As if you were one of those stupid 22-year old girls with no last name? ‘Hi, I’m Kimberly!’ ‘Hi, I’m Janice!’ Don’t they know you’re supposed to have a last name? It’s like they’re an entire generation of cocktail waitresses.” A modern remake of The Shop Around the Corner, You’ve Got Mail stars Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan as Joe Fox and Kathleen Kelly, business rivals who can’t stand each other… at first! Unbeknownst to them, they’re also online “pen pals” who have struck up a very meaningful friendship, and maybe more.

Bridget Jones's Diary - Much Ado About Nothing - Thursday Movie Picks - You've Got Mail