Even the most idealistic among us know that happy endings aren't always good. Sometimes, the happy ending is just the beginning of a larger story that ends with someone weeping into a quart of ice cream alone on the couch, or at least distract from the pain for a while.
Sometimes what you need is a movie about a break up. 31 of the best breakup movies will help you process your sadness, exorcise your rage, and encourage you to move on.
There are 31 breakup movies that can be watched online.
It's better to have lost and loved than to have lost and loved. After trying to wipe his ex from his mind, he wonders if some of his memories are worth keeping.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind can be watched on the internet.
Credit: Netflix
It isn't always an option to take a break. In Marriage Story, Charlie and Nicole suffer through an ugly custody battle and come out the other side with a new type of relationship, one based on shared parenthood.
You can watch Marriage Story on the internet.
When you've just had your heart broken in High Fidelity, you have a suspicion that some of it may have been your fault. Maybe you can too if Rob learns to grow up a bit.
High Fidelity is available on the Apple App Store.
This film is not a promise that it will improve. It's hard to lose your S.O. when she's a famous TV star. It's not like you can't rebound with a cool girlfriend like Forgetting Sarah Marshall's.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall is available on the internet.
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Something a bit more dramatic is what some of the break ups call for. You need to travel to rural Sweden for a once-in-a-lifetime festival put on by an obscure death cult in order to get your point across after a break up.
You can watch Midsommar on Prime Video and on the App Store.
Credit: Randee St Nicholas / 20th Century Fox / Kobal / Shutterstock
Waiting to Exhale combines the satisfaction of setting a cheating ex's car on fire with the comforting reassurance of close-knit friendship and serves as a gentle reminder that better things lie ahead.
You can watch Waiting to Exhale on Prime Video and on the App Store.
Two people can like each other a lot, but they aren't meant to love one another. After seven years of marriage, a pair of high-school sweethearts are forced to move on from each other, even though they remain best friends.
You can watch Celeste and Jesse Forever on the following websites.
It's only because they broke up with two other guys that they were able to flirt with Jack Black and Jude Law in the movie.
The Holiday can be watched on Prime Video and on the App Store.
The Souvenir is an exquisite portrait of the doomed relationship between naive Julie and the mysterious Anthony, acknowledging both how difficult it can be to disentangle from a toxic relationship.
The Souvenir can be watched on Prime Video and on the Apple store.
It's like pressing down on a bruise while watching Blue Valentine, it's what makes it so satisfying. Between the tender start of Dean and Cindy's romance and its jagged end, the film is a tear jerking experience.
One of the most romantic endings to love is between Rick and Ilsa. Wouldn't it be great to think we did? Paris and Casablanca will always be with us when we're sad.
Casablanca is available on Prime Video, as well as on the following websites:
Credit: Merrick Morton / 20th Century Fox / Regency / Kobal / Shutterstock
Gone Girl has a lot to say about the dangers of modern marriage, even though it's not about a break up. You can see how Nick and Amy went from meet-cute to fairy-tale romance.
There are two ways to watch Gone Girl: on Prime Video and on the Apple App Store.
Let Tom warn against looking back at previous relationships with glasses. He is able to understand what went wrong when he sees Summer with clearer eyes.
There are two ways to watch (500) Days of Summer (opens in a new tab).
The cast of Crazy, Stupid, Love reminds you of romantic gestures and one hilarious brawl that the right one is worth fighting for. Try not to pay attention to the outdated gender roles.
You can watch Crazy, Stupid, Love on Prime Video and on the Apple App Store.
Anyone who's tried to remedy a broken heart with meaningless confrontations and hookups will recognize themselves in Shirin, a film written and directed byDesiree Akhavan.
Appropriate Behavior is available on Vudu, Tubi, and Prime Video, as well as on the Apple App Store.
Swingers know that every freshly dumped person needs a friend who will take them out on the town, look at them, and remind them that they're not rich. It would be great if that friend had the charisma of Vince Vaughn.
Swingers is available on Prime Video, as well as on the following websites:
It's a movie for those dark days when you wonder if love exists or if it's just a cruel joke. Clive Owen, Julia Roberts, Jude Law, and Natalie Portman are unfaithful to each other.
Closer is available on Prime Video and on the Apple App Store.
Credit: Tracy Bennett / MGM / Kobal / Shutterstock
Anyone smarting over an unappreciative ex should look up to Reese Witherspoon'sElle Woods. Work your butt off to get him back, discover how awesome you are in the process, and realize you never needed him in the first place. It's hard.
Legally Blonde can be found on Prime Video and on the Apple store.
Sometimes, breakups are for the best, even though they are never enjoyable. At the beginning of The Wedding Singer, there are two people who are engaged to the wrong people, and they are about to find out that their true loves are each other.
The Wedding Singer can be watched on Prime Video and on the Apple store.
Ryan Gosling makes his third appearance on this list as Sebastian, whose passionate relationship with Mia (Emma Stone) falls apart over their diverging dreams, but leaves both of them changed for the better in the end.
There are two ways to watch La La Land, on Prime Video and on the internet.
Credit: Moviestore / Shutterstock
Most of the movie is about Elio and Oliver getting together, not splitting apart, but they can't stay together forever. It's a good idea to put this one on when you're thinking about the affair.
Call Me by Your Name can be found on Prime Video and on the Apple store.
An exaggerated battle of the sexes between two exes gives way to a dramedy about damage that can't be undone between two people who loved each other once and still might
The Break-Up can be watched on Prime Video and on the Apple store.
Credit: C Barius / DC / Warner Bros / Kobal / Shutterstock
It's not easy striking out on your own after a big break-up, but HarleyQuinn serves as a reminder that everything is possible with a can-do attitude, some rad new friends, and a really, really good egg sandwich.
Birds of Prey can be seen on Prime Video and on the premium cable channels.
The cautionary tale about taking that understandable impulse to "win" the divorce way, way, way too far is served up by this comedy.
The War of the Roses can be watched on Prime Video and on the Apple App Store.
Relationships are a part of the history you bring to your next relationship, for better or for worse. Scott has to battle his girlfriend's seven evil exes and also deal with a couple of his own exes.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World can be watched on Prime Video and on the Apple App Store.
Credit: A Band Apart / Miramax / Kobal / Shutterstock
Nothing butcinematic violence and bloodshed will do when you're in a post-breakup rage. It's the second volume. The more action-packed of the two will help you figure out that anger. 2 goes deeper into the feeling with lots of cool kills.
There is a way to watch Kill Bill. Prime Video and 1 are both available on the internet. Both Prime Video and 2 are available on the Apple store.
Being single can be bad, but being coupled isn't always good. There are awkward fissures in a marriage after a man makes a questionable decision. Downhill is a remake of an English-language movie.
Force Majeure can be watched on Prime Video and on the internet.
Watching a shitty ex get what's coming to him is one of the most gratifying things a person can do.
The First Wives Club is available on the internet in two ways.
Credit: Warner Bros / Kobal / Shutterstock
Magic Mike XXL does a great job of celebrating one of the benefits of a break up: the freedom to join your bros on an epic road trip of sexual pleasure and self discovery.
The movie is available on Prime Video and on the App Store.
Spike Jonze's Her is best saved for a period of self- reflection after a heart break. Joaquin Phoenix plays an about-to-be-divorced man who starts dating a woman who is more advanced than he is, but he finds that his new relationship has some problems as well.
She is available on Prime Video and on the Apple store.
Do you need someone to dump your partner so you don't get into a fight? Call on Jen and Mel, co-writers, co-directors, co-leads. For a reasonable fee, these fearless Breaker Upperers will impersonate police officers, play pregnant, or even fake your death. Van Beek and Sami sparkle. This New Zealand comedy is going to make you laugh and cry at the same time.
The Breaker Upperers is a show that is available on the internet.
The blurb appears in a previous list.
UPDATE: Oct. 23, 2022, 5:00 a.m. EDT This post has been updated to reflect current streaming options.
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