Best Romantic Movies Starring Interracial Couples

Part of what makes movies great is that we get so many different genres, actors, and stories. But there is one consistent thing you can always count on: plots revolving around very hot couples.

However, an odd Hollywood blind spot is that most movie couples are of the same race. Our own world is growing in terms of both racial diversity and relationship diversity, so why don’t we see more of this onscreen?

The truth is it’s there, but you need to know where to look. To save you some time, we rounded up the definitive list of the best romantic movies starring interracial couples!

Hitch

If we’re being honest, Will Smith has made some very baffling career decisions in recent years. But the 2005 film Hitch is great fun, with Smith playing Alex “Hitch” Hitchens, a relationship expert who helps men find love with women.

Unfortunately, when he falls in love with Sara Melas (played by Eva Mendes), none of his relationship mojo is helping win her over. Eventually, both Hitch and his clients realize the value of simply being themselves, and after a major misunderstanding, our titular character and Sara mend their relationship.

Overall, the movie is very charming, and we can’t help but love its occasional bouts of fortune cookie wisdom. The best one comes from Hitch himself: “Begin each day as if it were on purpose.”

Jungle Fever

While some movies featuring interracial couples are very optimistic, Spike Lee’s 1991 movie Jungle Fever is quite pessimistic about the topic. It follows the story of African-American architect Flipper Purify (played by Wesley Snipes) and his affair with his Italian-American secretary Angie (played by Annabella Sciorra).

The movie boldly tackles racism and racial myths and how they both shape and destroy relationships. We see Flipper and Angie struggle to simply be a couple in public.

While most of the focus is on the interracial couple, we love this movie for being Samuel L. Jackson’s big breakout role. It also features Halle Berry in her film debut. And the film was a critical darling: Jackson won Best Supporting Actor at the Cannes Film Festival. Jackson also won the same award from the New York Film Critics Circle Awards.

Monster’s Ball

The 2001 film Monster’s Ball is very powerful in part because it doesn’t shy away from some harsh matters. For example, Billie Bob Thornton plays a corrections officer named Hank Grotowski who falls in love with Leticia Musgrove (played by Halle Berry), the widow of a man he helped execute.

The film offers some interesting meditations on race, love, and the United States justice system. But if we’re being honest, this film is mostly remembered for the downright hot sex scenes between Thornton and Berry.

As for Berry, she took home an Oscar for Best Actress for this role. In fact, she was at the center of most of the 14 major awards this film won, including a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.

The Mountain Between Us

Many films featuring interracial couples metaphorically pit the couple against the world. But it’s more than metaphorical in 2017 film The Mountain Between Us as a neurosurgeon played by Idris Elba must who survives a plane crash along with a photojournalist played by Kate Winslet.

We get to see these two fall in love as they try to survive the elements and make their way back to civilization. And once they get there, the two must figure out whether they are truly in love or if, as the cynical surgeon says during their journey, “The heart is just a muscle.”

Who knew that survivalism and romance are two great genres that taste great together?

The Bodyguard

The 1992 film The Bodyguard came out a whopping 30 years ago. And while it is still great now, this movie about an actress (played by Whitney Houston) who falls in love with her bodyguard (played by Kevin Costner) was especially powerful back in the ’90s.

On paper, the story of a bodyguard’s increasingly frustrated attempts to protect a megastar may sound kind of boring. But the romance between Houston and Costner really electrifies each scene they share. And what woman wouldn’t want a man who would literally take a bullet for her?

However, this film wasn’t for everyone. While the movie received three Grammys and was nominated for an Oscar for its soundtrack, some really hated the acting. In fact, the movie received seven Golden Raspberry nominations, including a Worst Actor nomination for Costner and a Worst Actress nomination for Houston. But many will agree time proved the critics long, as The Bodyguard has become a romance classic and one of Whitney Houston’s most beloved performances.

The Big Sick

As you can tell, many of the movies on here are pretty darn serious. If you’re looking for a few more laughs, you should check out the 2017 movie The Big Sick. It stars Kumail Nanjiani as a fictional version of himself (before he became a buff Marvel star) and Zoe Kazan as Emily Gardner (herself a fictionalized version of Nanjiani’s actual wife).

Nanjiani plays a Muslim character whose strict parents encourage him to go to law school in between trying to arrange marriages for him. But Nanjiani wants to be a comedian, and he has a one-night stand with Emily after a performance. Their relationship doesn’t last, but when Emily is injured and in a coma, Nanjiani stays by her side and eventually helps doctors figure out how to treat her rare medical condition so that she can wake up. Eventually, she goes to “heckle” him at a show, which is really just an excuse to reconnect.

The movie alternates between being funny and being bittersweet, and the combination really won audiences and critics over. It won Best Comedy at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards and Best First Screenplay at the Independent Spirit Awards.

I Love You, Man

Whether played seriously or for laughs, most of the movies featuring interracial couples are about race in some way. However, the 2009 film I Love You Man doesn’t make a big deal about the interracial aspect of the relationship between Peter Klaven (played by Paul Rudd) and Zooey Rice (played by Rashida Jones).

Instead, the plot revolves around a snag with their upcoming wedding preparations. While Rice has plenty of friends, Klaven does not. This kicks off his quest to find a potential Best Man at the wedding, with much of the movie focusing on the “bromance” between Klaven and his new best bud: Sydney Fife (played by Jason Segel).

If we were to recount all of the witty and snappy dialogue in the film, we’d be here all day. But arguably the best gag in the movie is Paul Rudd describing the process of playing bass guitar. Or as he describes it in an increasingly-silly voice, “Slapping the bass! Slappa da bass! Slappa da bass mon! Slappa de bass mon!”

Focus

Before they starred together in Suicide Squad, Will Smith and Margot Robbie set our screens on fire in 2015’s crime film Focus. Smith stars as a career con man who takes the young Robbie under his wing. Despite their large age difference (Smith was 42 and Robbie was 24), their chemistry onscreen was undeniable. “Opposites attract,” Will Smith said in an interview.