If you want to venture out this weekend and do the old fashioned thing – catch a movie in person – there are some limited options, provided you have a car and like sitting in it for hours. Of course snow in the forecast could derail this tremendously (whether you have the means to get yourself there or not), but as the risky and resourceful PNW folks we are, we wait until we see snow in large amounts before we accept that it will impact our plans.  

The Newberg/99W drive in is showing two movies, 50 First Dates and So I Married An Axe Murderer. Both are classics in their own right and with dusk hitting around 6pm these days, they can show the first flick a little earlier than you might be used to and still get you home in time to wonder what to do next. Due to Covid-19 related restrictions, they can only allow 200 vehicles on the property and do not sell tickets in advance, so be sure to get in line about an hour before showtime if you are intending to go. Their website has all the details on when you can go and what to do while you’re there. Don’t play the “I didn’t know” card, know before you go. We are all carrying a super computer in our pockets these days with all the world’s knowledge contained somewhere inside. We can take time away from taking pictures of cats and deserts to research best practices at a place of business. But if you like to just click a link, here you go.

If those movies don’t strike your fancy, Washington Square Mall is hosting their “Love Struck!” pop-up Drive In Movie Event this weekend. Friday night they are showing PS I Love You and The Proposal, Saturday Night’s features are 10 Things I Hate About You and She’s All That, and Sunday caps it off with A Walk To Remember and The Notebook. Tickets are slim so go get them while you can.

If you’re staying in this weekend, here are some Valentine’s weekend appropriate movies that are streaming on Netflix:

The Lovebirds 

Love Wedding Repeat 

Holidate 

About Time 

Easy A

50 First Dates

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

My Best Friend’s Wedding

Even if you go to the drive-in and watch a couple of these, you do have an entire, possibly snowed in weekend to fill. Need more ideas? We have you covered. 

Looking for unexpected romance hidden in a neat indie movie? Darius (Aubrey Plaza) and Kenneth (Mark Duplass) certainly weren’t expecting to find love. Check out Safety Not Guaranteed – it’s not for everyone, there are time travel elements and a few fake ears (ok just one), but most people seem to enjoy the journey and it takes place in a relatively local spot. Another good one is Class Rank. It’s like the folks behind Juno and Election made a movie together. It is a little slow at times but Skyler Gisondo and Oliva Holt keep it refreshing and interesting and you keep wondering what they might accomplish together.   

You can always just binge the whole first season of Never Have I Ever, which is a surprisingly underrated show filled with lots of almost romance and some actual romance. The only surprising part is that more people haven’t seen it. The trailers don’t make it look like a show for everyone, but that’s exactly what it is. And Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is perfect as the lead. If you’re looking for a cookie cutter show, you won’t get it. If you’re looking for seeing the world through a teenage girl’s eyes while she navigates an unexpected tragedy and tries to be the person she wants to be while also trying to be who other people expect her to be, and occasionally merging the two, this is the show for you. 

If you need a longer series to watch, and haven’t watched New Girl before, check it out, it’s basically five years of romantic comedy and well worth it. Even if you have seen the show before, it’s always good as a rerun. Most good shows just don’t go out of style and this one is full of funny moments for everyone, but there is plenty of sappy stuff to go around also. 

Schitt’s Creek is another series full of comedy and romance, and if you haven’t watched it yet, you probably don’t know how many inside jokes you’re missing out on with your friends. If you have already seen it through and just have time for one or two episodes, check out “Open Mic” (season 4 episode 6), or “Single’s Week” (season 4 episode 12). They are the best showcases of David and Patrick’s and Alexis and Ted’s relationships. 

If you are planning to get flowers for a loved one or significant other, I recommend looking into that sooner rather than later. Once you get within 24-48 hours of Valentine’s Day, prices on decomposing decorative plants tend to inflate by 24-48%. Kidding….kind of. In the timeless words of Steve Butabi, offering his thoughts on silk plants  – “Well, they’ll last forever, cause they’re silk. They’ll always be there. They’ll never die. They’ll never change. They’ll never say you’re not good looking. They’ll always be in your room where you left them and not suddenly move out to the guest house.” I prefer to get my wife the freshest flowers available, and if you wait too long, you end up spending double or triple what you planned for, and you get half-dead plants to show for it. Half-dead plants say one of two things about you – either you didn’t go on time, or you are terrible at noticing which plants are not dead yet and buying those. It’s not a difficult thing to do. Don’t wait, even if you’re a day or two or several early, here’s the thing – it’s never a bad time to give someone flowers. Unless they are allergic to specific ones, and that’s a key bit of information you must know. I can’t google that for you. If it spoils a surprise, don’t worry about it. If we’ve learned one thing from Covid-19, it’s that health and safety are paramount compared to anything else.

And that about does it. Hope you have a safe, happy, and fun Valentine’s Day Weekend. If you are planning on picking up takeout, you’re probably the farthest thing from alone there. Plan on long waits and high prices. This year, we will be staying in, cooking for each other, and buying desert from a local small bakery or restaurant. We want to support local businesses while also living out our dreams of not worrying about long waits for high priced items on a reduced menu. But that’s just us. If we don’t watch The Princess Bride (my favorite) or The Proposal (my wife’s favorite), we’ll probably be watching Once Upon A Deadpool, which is a pretty good combo of both.  

Stay safe, friends. See you next time.