If you’re wiping away your tears after watching The Map That Leads to You on Amazon Prime Video and wondering if there’s another movie that will help you feel all those emotions again, don’t worry.
The Watch With Us team has taken the winning formula of The Map That Leads to You — heartwarming romance plus a seriously impactful road trip — and picked out five fantastic films that check those same boxes.
With selections from the obvious to the surprising, these can’t-miss romantic road movies star actors like John Cusack, Julia Roberts, and more.
‘It Happened One Night’ (1934)
The original road trip love story is It Happened One Night, a black-and-white movie from famed director Frank Capra, and it is one of only three films to win the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay. Starring Claudette Colbert as rebellious heiress Ellie Andrews and Clark Gable as street-wise reporter Peter Warne, the movie is a screwball comedy that follows Ellie as she attempts to travel across the country to marry a pilot whom her father (Walter Connolly) disapproves of.
Peter agrees to help her reach her destination in exchange for an exclusive story — but the duo end up falling in love along the way. Featuring that classic hitchhiking scene and an adorable romance, It Happened One Night is proof that sometimes, you just can’t beat the classics.
Stream It Happened One Night on Tubi.
‘Eat, Pray, Love’ (2010)
Based on the memoir by Elizabeth Gilbert, this travel film stars Julia Roberts as a fictionalized version of the author, who goes on a trip around the world after divorcing her husband of eight years. Along her journey through Italy, India and Indonesia, Liz tries new foods and gains a new understanding of herself. She also meets new people — including Felipe (Javier Bardem), a handsome Brazilian businessman.
It’s not easy for Liz to open herself to new love, especially an intercontinental one — but the lessons of her travels help her learn to be vulnerable again. Beautiful scenery and the magnetism of Julia Roberts make Eat, Pray, Love a perfect road movie romance.
Stream Eat, Pray, Love on Netflix.
‘Before Sunrise’ (1995)
Two strangers meet on a train and decide to disembark in Vienna together. The “travel” portion of this movie is on a much smaller scale than the others on this list — Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Céline (Julie Delpy) spend the night in just one city. But they explore every inch of it, talking about life, love, religion, Vienna and everything in between. Their adventures bring them closer together, despite them having very little in common on the surface.
It’s a sumptuous romantic film that all takes place throughout one magical night — the kind of romantic journey that stays with you after the credits roll. And if you love it, there’s more — director Richard Linklater helmed a whole trilogy following these characters as they grow closer and apart throughout the years.
Rent Before Sunrise on Amazon Prime Video or Apple TV+.
‘Anastasia’ (1997)
It may not be historically accurate, but Anastasia is one heck of a romantic road movie. The story follows Anya (Meg Ryan), an orphan who, unbeknownst to her, is actually the long-lost Grand Duchess Anastasia of Imperial Russia. Fate leads her to Dmitri (John Cusack), a con man who plans to pass off an ordinary girl as the Grand Duchess and gain a reward from her grandmother (Angela Lansbury), who survived the Soviet revolution and resides in Paris.
Most of the movie follows Anya and Dmitri, plus Dmitri’s partner-in-crime Vlad (Kelsey Grammer) on the road from St. Petersburg to Paris by train, boat and on foot — and Anya and Dmitri fall more in love with every step. Combine a great love story with gorgeous animation, a bit of magic and some stunning music, and you’ve got a phenomenal movie.
Stream Anastasia on Disney+.
‘Zombieland’ (2009)
This one’s not an obvious choice for a road romance movie, but once you start thinking about it, it totally fits. In the wake of a zombie outbreak, Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) is a nerdy guy who has a list of rules for escaping the brain-eating monsters. He ends up partnering with Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) and Wichita (Emma Stone) on a cross-country mission to a place that’s allegedly free of zombies.
Though Columbus and Wichita start out as enemies, they fall in love along the way in this movie that’s the perfect mix of romance, comedy and horror. Even amid blood, guts and jump scares, this road trip proves love can survive the apocalypse.
Rent Zombieland on Amazon Prime Video or Apple TV+.
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