5 Killer Rom Coms Nobody Will Recommend You on Valentine’s Day

Don’t worry. Valentine’s Day can drive us all a little crazy.

The couples in these next five rom coms already are.

5. Mr. Right (2015)

Make no mistake, this is an assassin flick. Sam Rockwell plays a hitman whose career has taken a slight detour. Now, instead of killing assigned targets, he turns the gun on the bloodthirsty clients who would send him to murder others. When he meets Martha (Anna Kendrick), it’s his funny and quirky side that she falls in love with. But when his current career is revealed, she…

Well, she’s surprisingly cool with it.

Watch this one if you’re a hopeless romantic. (Or if you remember Rockwell riding a tiger in “Tucci Gang.”)

4. Arsenic and Old Lace (1943)

This is the oldest film on the list, but if you prefer your rom coms with a bit of an “Addams Family” vibe, this is the one for you!

Mortimer (Cary Grant) has spent his life vowing never to get married. But after meeting the love of his life, he decides to get hitched anyway. Naturally, he returns to his childhood home to tell his family the good news.

Unfortunately, his impending nuptials coincide with the discovery that his beloved aunts — who raised him from birth — are actually serial killers.

This wasn't the only time Grant starred in a romance with a killer edge (just watch Suspicion if you don’t believe me). But what makes Arsenic and Old Lace unique is that it carries a surprisingly upbeat energy that really shows off the actor’s impressive comedic timing.

3. RED (2010)

Although not typically described as a rom com, there are enough elements of the sub-genre present in this film to justify my adding it to this list.

Frank (Bruce Willis) is a retired CIA agent with a defunct license to kill, while Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker) is a customer service rep he’s fallen in love with over the phone. When Frank’s targeted for assassination, he goes into hiding… and makes sure to drag his clumsy crush along for the ride.

The romance between Frank and Sarah is the connecting thread of the entire story, tying everything together from beginning to end. It’s through their budding romance that the subject of love is explored, even when that includes the platonic and familial love between Frank and his trigger-happy friends (played with gleeful chaos by Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren and John Malkovich).

Don’t get me wrong. There’s still plenty of heart-pounding action. It’s just also surprisingly heartwarming, too.

2. Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005)

Two assassins. Hired to kill each other. You’ve heard this story before.

Except, these assassins happen to be married… to each other. So maybe you haven’t heard this story before.

(Unless you watched this when the Brangelina craze was at its height. In which case, you’ve definitely heard this story before.)

But being assigned to kill each other leads this bored married couple to see a whole other side to themselves, effectively pushing the “refresh” button on their stale marriage. Watch this one if No Time to Die broke your heart.

1. Santa Clarita Diet (2017–2019, 3 Seasons)

Just in case you wanted something to binge-watch until Valentine’s Day is mercifully over…

Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant star as a happily married couple whose relationship is challenged when Sheila (Barrymore) unexpectedly dies one day, reviving with a hunger for human flesh.

Yep, she’s a zombie. And rather than reject his wife for her new “condition,” Joel (Olyphant) decides to do everything in his power to help her. Even if it means buying a few body bags.

Both actors’ onscreen chemistry is pitch perfect. It’s their obvious affection for one another that charms you into rooting for them, even when the jokes cannonball into the deep end of dark humor.

Once again, the story carries a distinctly “Gomez and Morticia Addams” energy. But in an age where rocky marriages are the norm on T.V. (think Tony and Carmela Soprano), it’s refreshing to see a rock-solid marriage where both partners are clearly in love with each other.

Despite paranormal havoc, of course.

This article was originally posted on Medium.