Hollywood Suite invites film fans to fall out of love and into the arms of a bad romance this February, with the exclusive Canadian broadcast premiere of Kim Albright’s dark comedy With Love and a Major Organ (2023) on February 25 at 9pm ET. For those who aren’t feeling the love this year, Hollywood Suite has curated a special collection of anti-Valentine’s Day films starring favourites like Demi Moore, Emma Stone, Sharon Stone, Michael Douglas, Ryan Gosling, Jennifer Aniston and more, available now on Hollywood Suite On Demand.
“Love isn’t always in the air; whether you’re feeling it or not, we’ve curated a lineup for everyone to enjoy this month,” said Suzanne Marshall, Hollywood Suite Senior Manager, Programming. “Kim Albright has created a fantastical world for the lovesick in With Love and a Major Organ that is both cynical and hopeful at the same time.”
The not-so-romantic Canadian film brings viewers into an alternate world where hearts are made of objects and suppressing emotions is self-care. A lonely woman, played by Anna Maguire (Violation), actually rips out her own heart for the man she loves, played by Hamza Haq (Transplant), only to discover that he has run away with it.
For a little more Valentine’s relief and the dark side of love, sex, and obsession, catch Clint Eastwood’s American Southern Gothic thriller The Beguiled (1971); Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct (1992); and Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal in the revenge tale Nocturnal Animals (2016). Sweet romances turn sour in the dramedy Striptease (1996) starring Demi Moore; the Oscar-winning musical La La Land (2016); and the premiere of The Break-Up (2006) starring Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston.
While love sometimes does stink, romance is still in the air for some including the original rom-com It Happened One Night (1934). Directors may have mixed comedy and romance since the start of movies, but it was the friction between Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert in this Frank Capra film that made the genre an audience favourite. Available alongside this classic are contemporary romances including Four Weddings and A Funeral (1994); The Wedding Planner (2001) and Long Shot (2019).
Highlights from the programming lineup in celebration (or not) of Valentine’s Day can be found below:
Father of the Bride (1950)
It Should Happen To You (1954)
Tall Story (1960)
Come September (1961)
Baby The Rain Must Fall (1965)
Rachel, Rachel (1968)
The Beguiled (1971)
Remember My Name (1978)
The Fan (1981)
Raggedy Man (1981)
Cat People (1982)
Sixteen Candles (1984)
My Beautiful Laundrette (1986)
Blind Date (1987)
Dirty Dancing (1987)
Basic Instinct (1992)
What’s Love Got To Do With It (1993)
It Could Happen To You (1994)
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1995)
Striptease (1996)
Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)
Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998)
The Wedding Singer (1998)
You’ve Got Mail (1998)
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Never Been Kissed (1999)
High Fidelity (2000)
Miss Congeniality (2000)
Legally Blonde (2001)
Sidewalks of New York (2001)
The Wedding Planner (2001)
Love Actually (2003)
Something’s Gotta Give (2003)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
The Notebook (2004)
Wimbledon (2004)
The Break-Up (2006)
The Holiday (2006)
Crazy, Stupid, Love (2010)
Easy A (2010)
Begin Again (2013)
La La Land (2016)
Nocturnal Animals (2016)
Professor Marston & The Wonder Women (2017)
Ali & Ava (2021)