MOVIEPIQ · ROMANCE · FOR RESTLESS NIGHTS

Romance Movies For Restless Nights From The 80S And 90S

Romance movies for restless nights from the 80s and 90s. Includes Tootsie, Dangerous Liaisons, Steel Magnolias and more, curated by Moviepiq.

Late. Restless. Not ready to give up on the day yet. These work for that.

Tootsie movie poster
1
1982 · ★★★½☆ 7.2/10

When struggling, out of work actor Michael Dorsey secretly adopts a female alter ego – Dorothy Michaels – in order to land a part in a daytime drama, he unwittingly becomes a feminist icon and ends up in a romantic pickle.

The right film for when sleep won't cooperate but exhaustion is already there.

Dangerous Liaisons movie poster
2
1988 · ★★★½☆ 7.2/10

In 18th century France, Marquise de Merteuil asks her ex-lover Vicomte de Valmont to seduce the future wife of another ex-lover of hers in return for one last night with her. Yet things don't go as planned.

The right film for when sleep won't cooperate but exhaustion is already there.

Steel Magnolias movie poster
3
1989 · ★★★½☆ 7.2/10

A young beautician, newly arrived in a small Louisiana town, finds work at the local salon, where a small group of women share a close bond of friendship and welcome her into the fold.

Absorbing enough to quiet the mind, calm enough not to wind it back up.

Arizona Dream movie poster
4
1993 · ★★★½☆ 7.2/10

Rebellious young Axel Blackmar gets caught up into the family car business when his cousin, Paul, coaxes him to come to Arizona to attend the wedding of their Uncle Leo. As Axel makes the decision to try selling Cadillacs with his family, he meets an eccentric woman named Elaine and her equally quirky stepdaughter, Grace. Their lives become inextricably intertwined through romance, dreams – and death.

Absorbing enough to quiet the mind, calm enough not to wind it back up.

Out of Africa movie poster
5
1985 · ★★★½☆ 7.2/10

Tells the life story of Danish author Karen Blixen, who at the beginning of the 20th century moved to Africa to build a new life for herself. The film is based on her 1937 autobiographical novel.

The right film for when sleep won't cooperate but exhaustion is already there.

Restless nights need films that absorb without over-stimulating. That balance is harder than it sounds.

Warm and unhurried. Good for nights that need settling.

Stepmom movie poster
6
1998 · ★★★½☆ 7.2/10

Jackie is a divorced mother of two. Isabel is the career minded girlfriend of Jackie's ex-husband Luke, forced into the role of unwelcome stepmother to their children. But when Jackie discovers she is ill, both women realise they must put aside their differences to find a common ground and celebrate life to the fullest, while they have the chance.

The right film for when sleep won't cooperate but exhaustion is already there.

The English Patient movie poster
7
1996 · ★★★½☆ 7.1/10

In the 1930s, Count Almásy is a Hungarian map maker employed by the Royal Geographical Society to chart the vast expanses of the Sahara Desert along with several other prominent explorers. As World War II unfolds, Almásy enters into a world of love, betrayal, and politics.

The right film for when sleep won't cooperate but exhaustion is already there.

Buffalo '66 movie poster
8
1998 · ★★★½☆ 7.1/10

Billy is released after five years in prison. In the next moment, he kidnaps teenage student Layla and visits his parents with her, pretending she is his girlfriend and they will soon marry.

The right film for when sleep won't cooperate but exhaustion is already there.

Gia movie poster
9
1998 · ★★★½☆ 7.1/10

Gia Carangi meteorically rises to modeling fame in the late 1970s but becomes overconsumed by persistent loneliness and drug addiction.

Absorbing enough to quiet the mind, calm enough not to wind it back up.

Lolita movie poster
10
1997 · ★★★½☆ 7.1/10

Humbert Humbert is a middle-aged British novelist who is both appalled by and attracted to the vulgarity of American culture. When he comes to stay at the boarding house run by Charlotte Haze, he soon becomes obsessed with Lolita, the woman's teenaged daughter.

The right film for when sleep won't cooperate but exhaustion is already there.

These films work because they match where you actually are, not where you think you should be.

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