SurfWriter Girls: Valentine’s Day at the Movies

14 Romantic Beach Movies

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One of the best ways to spend Valentine’s Day is watching a romantic beach movie…ideally with someone you love and a big bowl of fresh-made popcorn. So, if you get the popcorn, SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel will give you the low-down on some movie classics available on DVD or the Internet.

From small films to blockbuster musicals, dramas to comedies, chances are there’s a romantic beach movie with your name on it. In honor of Valentine’s Day, we found 14 for you.

Blue Crush. Surfer Anne Marie (Kate Bosworth) is set on winning the Pipe Masters surfing competition in Hawaii when pro football player Max Tollman (Matthew Davis) enters the picture and blurs her focus. The movie is filled with giant waves and surfing scenes. Directed by John Stockwell, 2002.

Blue Hawaii. When ex-GI Chad Gates (Elvis Presley) returns to Hawaii he’s expected to take over the family business. He opts to work as a tour guide for his girlfriend’s (Joan Blackman) agency, instead, finding romance and lots of time to sing and shake his hips. Directed by Norman Taurog, 1961.

From Here to Eternity. Set in Hawaii in 1941 before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, this has the most steamy beach love scene captured on film with the waves crashing around Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr. Nominated for eight Oscars, it won Best Picture and Director. Frank Sinatra and Donna Reed won Best Supporting Actor and Actress Oscars. Directed by Fred Zinneman, 1953.

Gidget. The movie that launched the surf craze, it introduced the world to Gidget – for girl midget (Sandra Dee). Set in Malibu, it focuses on the pivotal summer when Gidget discovers love and surfing, falling for Moondoggie (James Darren) and learning about life from the Big Kahuna (Cliff Robertson). Directed by Paul Wendkos,1959.

Mama Mia! Featuring ABBA songs, this romantic musical is set on a colorful Greek island. Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) wants to know who her father is and invites three of her mother’s (Merle Streep) old flames (Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard) to her upcoming wedding, hoping to discover which one is her dad. Directed by Phyllida Lloyd, 2008.

Nights in Rodanthe. Set in a secluded inn on the Outer Banks of North Carolina before an impending storm, this pairs the potent romantic chemistry of Richard Gere and Diane Lane. Thrown together during the storm crisis, the two share a magical weekend and a life-changing romance. Directed by George C. Wolfe, 2008.

Same Time Next Year. This is one of SurfWriter Girls favorite romantic movies. A man (Alan Alda) and woman (Ellen Burstyn) meet by chance at an inn on California’s ruggedly-beautiful Mendocino coast. Although happily married to others, they wake up in the same bed the next morning…and agree to meet again the following year. They continue to meet each year, sharing in each other’s lives and reflecting the changing times. Directed by Robert Mulligan, 1978.

The Sandpiper. Sparks fly between free-spirited artist (Elizabeth Taylor) and school headmaster (Richard Burton) in this beautifully-photographed Big Sur love story. The Burtons’ magnetism and the movie’s Oscar-winning theme The Shadow of Your Smile are hard to resist. Directed by Vincente Minelli, 1965.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. This movie, filmed partly on the Greek island of Santorini, is both a gal pal film and a romance as four friends (Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera and Blake Lively) discover that the pair of blue jeans they all share fits perfectly on each of them. Directed by Ken Kwapis, 2005.

South Pacific. Set on a Pacific island during WWII, this blockbuster Rodgers & Hammerstein musical was nominated for nine Academy Awards, winning for Best Sound. Songs to keep you humming include Happy Talk and I’m Gonna Wash that Man Right outa my Hair. Rosanno Brazzi and Mitzi Gaynor star. Directed by Joshua Logan, 1958.

Splash. In this romantic comedy set in Cape Cod and New York Allen Bauer (Tom Hanks) falls in love with the girl of his dreams – a mermaid (Darryl Hannah). The question is whether they will live in his world or hers. Directed by Ron Howard, 1984.

The Summer of 42. A radiant, young war bride (Jennifer O’Neill) on the island of Nantucket in 1942 is the object of affection of shy teenager Hermie (Gary Grimes) in this coming-of-age drama. Directed by Robert Mulligan, 1971.

A Summer Place. This Troy Donahue and Sandra Dee romance, set on Pine Island, Maine, is the classic story of young love. The Percy Faith song A Theme from A Summer Place topped the Billboard charts for weeks and won a Grammy. Directed by Delmer Daves, 1959.

Where the Boys Are. Four college girls (Paula Prentiss, Yvette Mimieux, Dolores Hart and Barbara Nichols) head to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, on spring vacation in search of romance. Jim Hutton and George Hamilton also star. Directed by Henry Levin, 1960.