A Glean movie guide
From Rivals to Romance
The thin line between love and hate.
The best movies where mutual dislike turns into an irresistible attraction.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
Pride & Prejudice
The definitive slow-burn where first impressions and social standing create a legendary romantic friction.
A story of love and life among the landed English gentry during the Georgian era. Mr. Bennet is a gentleman living in Hertfordshire with his overbearing wife and five daughters, but if he dies their house will be inherited by a distant cousin whom they have never met, so the family's future happiness and security is dependent on the daughters making good marriages.
- 02
10 Things I Hate About You
A sharp high-school reimagining of Shakespeare where two outcasts find common ground through mutual disdain.
On the first day at his new school, Cameron instantly falls for Bianca, the gorgeous girl of his dreams. The only problem is that Bianca is forbidden to date until her ill-tempered, completely un-dateable older sister Kat goes out, too. In an attempt to solve his problem, Cameron singles out the only guy who could possibly be a match for Kat: a mysterious bad boy with a nasty reputation of his own.
- 03
Anyone But You
A breezy modern comedy that uses a fake-dating scheme to bridge the gap between two people who can't stand each other.
After an amazing first date, Bea and Ben’s fiery attraction turns ice cold — until they find themselves unexpectedly reunited at a destination wedding in Australia. So they do what any two mature adults would do: pretend to be a couple.
- 04
The Hating Game
Workplace competition reaches a boiling point in this literal interpretation of the professional rivals trope.
Resolving to achieve professional success without compromising her ethics, Lucy embarks on a ruthless game of one-upmanship against cold and efficient nemesis Joshua, a rivalry that is complicated by her growing attraction to him.
- 05
You've Got Mail
Business rivals clash in person while unknowingly falling for each other through anonymous digital letters.
Book superstore magnate Joe Fox and independent book shop owner Kathleen Kelly fall in love in the anonymity of the Internet—both blissfully unaware that he's trying to put her out of business.
- 06
The Proposal
A high-stakes power dynamic shifts when a demanding boss and her assistant are forced into a sham engagement.
When she learns she's in danger of losing her visa status and being deported, overbearing book editor Margaret Tate forces her put-upon assistant, Andrew Paxton, to marry her.
- 07
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
The ultimate high-stakes rivalry where a bored married couple discovers they are actually rival assassins.
A husband and wife struggle to keep their marriage alive until they realize they are both secretly working as assassins. Now, their respective assignments require them to kill each other.
- 08
Red, White & Royal Blue
An international feud between a First Son and a British Prince evolves into a secret, high-stakes romance.
After an altercation between Alex, the president's son, and Britain's Prince Henry at a royal event becomes tabloid fodder, their long-running feud now threatens to drive a wedge in U.S./British relations. When the rivals are forced into a staged truce, their icy relationship begins to thaw and the friction between them sparks something deeper than they ever expected.
- 09
Much Ado About Nothing
The original 'merry war' of wits featuring Beatrice and Benedick, the archetypal bickering couple.
In this Shakespearean farce, Hero and her groom-to-be, Claudio, team up with Claudio's commanding officer, Don Pedro, the week before their wedding to hatch a matchmaking scheme. Their targets are sharp-witted duo Benedick and Beatrice -- a tough task indeed, considering their corresponding distaste for love and each other. Meanwhile, meddling Don John plots to ruin the wedding.
- 10
It Happened One Night
A foundational screwball comedy where a cynical reporter and a spoiled heiress clash on a cross-country journey.
A runaway heiress makes a deal with the rogue reporter trailing her but the mismatched pair end up stuck with each other when their bus leaves them behind.
- 11
Palm Springs
A cynical, time-looping twist on the trope where two wedding guests are forced to endure eternity together.
When carefree Nyles and reluctant maid of honor Sarah have a chance encounter at a Palm Springs wedding, things get complicated when they find themselves unable to escape the venue, themselves, or each other.
- 12
The Shop Around the Corner
A charming classic about two bickering shop employees who are secretly each other's beloved pen pals.
Two employees at a gift shop can barely stand one another, without realising that they are falling in love through the post as each other's anonymous pen pal.