Say Anything and Declarations of Love in Film

Recently my fiancé and were discussing ways in which to incorporate our shared love of film into our upcoming wedding.

The ideas we came up with ranged from the very simple (popcorn appetizers) to the fully committed (renting out a movie theater), and we ultimately had to rule out a few options for logistical reasons, but arguably our best idea was to edit together clips of our favorite - and the most memorable - declarations of love in film to play in the background of our reception.

As we started brainstorming which clips we would use, the first that came to mind was was everyone’s favorite hopeless romantic, Lloyd Dobler.

Even if you haven’t seen the movie, you know the scene.  Lloyd Dobler (played by John Cusack) stands outside Diane Court's (Ione Skye) bedroom window with his boombox held high in the air, blasting Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes.”

The scene is iconic and it represents one of the most memorable declarations of love in film history.  It’s been referenced and parodied on television, in films, by other artists, and it has even been updated to reflect what the same scene would look like using slightly more modern methods for music-blasting.  There was even a Lloyd Dobler flash mob in Times Square for the 20th anniversary of the film in 2009.

This weekend at the Blue Starlite, if I were to assign a tangental theme, it would be declarations of love in film.  In addition to Lloyd with his boombox in Say Anything, there’s also poor Westley, tumbling down the hill with a pained “As you wish,” in the 80s classic, The Princess Bride. You can catch both hopeless romantics tonight and tomorrow beginning at 8:15 p.m.

So, to close out, I selfishly ask - what’s your favorite declaration of love in film?  Is it a sweeping grand gesture, like that of Lloyd Dobler, or is it closer to Han Solo and Princess Leia?  Leave your answers in the comments below.