April showers bring May flowers, as the old adage says. Rain allows seeds to germinate, take root, grow, giving fruit later on. “Blame it on the rain,” sang Milli Vanilli back in the day. Well, they weren’t really singing, more like lip syncing. But whatever, the sentiment remains.
So, here it is, a collection of 30 romantic moments blamed on the rain. A heavenly shower a day for this spring month. Where drops from heaven shower down on our lovers, heightening the longing. And we’re all hoping for May flowers to come. Although, admittedly, some of these rainy scenes are all about the May flowers that will never come. Sniff.
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Note: If you think I’m missing some obvious romantic moments in the rain, please take a look at a prior list on The Silver Petticoat Review here, where 12 rainy, romantic moments were shared. I have opted not to have any repeats from that previous list.
30 Romantic Moments in the Rain
(In no particular order)
1. The Iconic Upside-Down Locking of Lips in Spider-Man (2002)
The awkward Peter Parker (Toby Maguire), cloaked in his masked alter-ego, Spiderman, can make the romantic advances with the secret love of his life, Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst), that he never seems to be able to do in his normal life. Spiderman saves MJ from a group of thugs in a dark and rainy alleyway, being sure all the while to keep his unmasked face averted from her curious gaze.
He disappears as she runs towards him, only to reappear hanging upside down with his mask firmly in place. She gently rolls down that mask to reveal his mouth, just the lower half of his face. And they share a very sensual kiss in the pouring rain.
2. A Cheeky Peck on the Wet Moors in Jamaica Inn (1983)
It’s a very sudden, cheeky and rather chaste kiss that Jem (Trevor Eve) plants on a surprised Mary (Jane Seymour) as they converse on the moor. She’s cutting peat, muddy and wet. He’s being a rakish flirt while challenging her about her suspicions about the inn and her Uncle Joss. She’s still so uncertain of Jem, but that surprise kiss raises a response from her. And not a smack as Jem was probably expecting. Mary kisses him ever so slightly back and promises to go to town with him on Christmas Eve. And there’s even the slightest smile on her face when he’s not looking.
3. Scary Sparks in the Rain in Dear John (2010)
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This is a Nicholas Sparks’ film. And Nicholas Sparks loves rain scenes – it’s something of a trope. John (Channing Tatum) and Savannah (Amanda Seyfried) get their requisite rain scene early on in this film. Savannah, who’s using her school break to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, shows John the house they’re building. Their relationship is still very tentative, new. Suddenly, it begins to rain on this couple in this roofless, frame of a house. They seek shelter under a piece of plywood. And some probing questions lead to some enthusiastic tongue probing…
“You don’t scare me, John.”
“Well, you scare me.”
4. The Wet, White, Dress Shirt in The Quiet Man (1952)
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Sean (John Wayne) and Mary Kate (Maureen O’Hara) have been granted familial permission to court under the watchful eye of a chaperone. But they ditch the chaperone and set out exploring the countryside together, talking, getting to know one another. By some ruins, a sudden storm arises, clearly mirroring their own tumultuous feelings here. Sean and Mary Kate then share one, wet, unchaperoned kiss. And the white dress shirt clings to the strapping form of one John Wayne, and Mary Kate freaks out about propriety!
5. Taking Shelter in A Good Rain Knows (2009)
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Timely like the spring rain, so has he come back into my life…
Dong-ha (Jung Woo-sung) and May (Gao Yuanyuan) take shelter under a shop’s marquee. They’re two old university friends reconnecting after many years. The sparks of an old connection are starting to revive, flare up. But both are tentative, unsure, holding back. They give and take and retreat. May asks what happened to the poet, to Dong-ha’s writing aspirations. She asks him why he never wrote to her. Old hurts. Old dreams. They share the briefest of embraces under that marquee in that rain before May retreats and escapes in a cab. She leaves a longing Dong-ha to watch her drive away.
6. Wet Rejection in Pride and Prejudice (2005)
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Oh, it takes liberty with the source material, this scene, but we won’t fault it for that. A wet Mr. Darcy (Matthew MacFadyen), looking very bedraggled and vulnerable, meets Miss Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley) and declares his love and intentions. It goes awry. And the heated, rat-a-tat exchange that results is foreplay at its finest. The raindrops sizzle off these two misunderstood would-be lovers. It’s a thin, thin line between love and hate, they say. And this scene crackles and steams with unresolved romantic tension. Oh, be still my beating heart.
I love you. Most ardently.
7. The Wet, White, Dress Shirt in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
We’ve been rooting for Carrie (Andie McDowell) and Charles (Hugh Grant) to finally get together through this entire movie. But their timing is perpetually off. Until she’s standing there in the pouring rain on his doorstep, apologizing and misunderstanding. She leaves and Charles runs after her in his white dress shirt, wearing no jacket. And in the pouring rain, he sets her straight, his shirt becoming increasingly see through in the rain.
“For the first time in my whole life I realized that I totally and utterly loved one person. It’s the person standing opposite me now. In the rain. The truth of it is I’ve loved you from the first second I met you.”
Oh, a big, sopping wet sigh.
8. Infectious Rain Dancing and Singing in Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
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It’s the sweet and chaste kiss between Don (Gene Kelly) and Kathy (Debbie Reynolds) under an umbrella that sparks Don into one of the most iconic song-and-dance numbers in Hollywood history. You’re humming it already, aren’t you? There’s nothing more infectiously joyous than seeing Gene Kelly splashing around in puddles, embracing the rain.
“Come on with the rain, I’ve a smile on my face!”
9. Showering Sparks in The Lucky One (2012)
It’s not rain per se. But it is an outdoor shower, and this is a Nicholas Sparks’ film. And Nicholas Sparks loves falling water scenes. Beth (Taylor Schilling) surprises Logan (Zac Efron) as he’s washing his hands in his outdoor shower. And all the sexual tension that’s been sparking between these two ignites in a fully clothed shower of water droplets. Oh, they get out of those wet things later on…
10. Wet Intensity in The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
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Okay, it’s more waterfall spray than rain, but who can forget the wet intensity of Hawkeye’s (Daniel Day-Lewis) parting commands to Cora (Madeleine Stowe)? He yells at her over the rumbling of the falls to stay alive, to be strong, that he will find her. This, as the enemies are coming, and he must away, away so he can regroup and rescue.
11. Lightning Rods and Love Declarations in Sweet Home Alabama (2002)
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It’s white and it’s wet, but it’s not the iconic wet shirt. It’s a wedding gown. Melanie (Reese Witherspoon) leaves her fiancé at the altar to find her hubby Jake (Josh Lucas), the man she forgot to divorce and loves still. And she finds him at their spot at the beach in a rainstorm. She has to yell over the wind and the rain and the thunder. Melanie declares to Josh that they remain married, and she wants to keep it that way. It’s a sopping wet declaration.
“You’re the first boy I ever kissed, Jake. I want you to be the last.”
12. A Rainy Climax in Sliding Doors (1998)
The film that’s been jumping between two timelines, both following the life and loves of Helen (Gwyneth Paltrow), climaxes in the rain. The jumps between the two timelines are peaking here, crescendoing. In the one timeline, James (John Hannah) is running after Helen in the rain, running to explain a misunderstanding, to make things right, to declare his love. It can’t be any more iconic, until, well, I won’t ruin the film. But you’ll soon find it raining in real life out of your eyes…
13. A Very Wet and Steamy First Kiss in Jamaica Inn (2014)
Oh, Mary (Jessica Brown Findlay) and Jem (Matthew McNulty) have been sharing a good deal of charged banter from day one. So, when they find themselves away from the inn – and its oppressive secrets – there’s suddenly space and freedom and rainy darkness to take the bantering to the next level. To finally move into lip-locking action.
“I didn’t look for this, and I don’t want it,” Mary states, seemingly rebuffing Jem and his advances. But then, she kisses him, right there, in the rain, in that alleyway.
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He had asked her earlier to pretend to love him. I don’t think there’s any pretending going on there, Jem.
14. The Gazebo of Longing in Anne of Avonlea (1987)
Gil (Jonathan Crombie) and Anne (Megan Follows) bump into one another quite unexpectedly in the mist. Their jobs and studies and Anne’s point-blank refusal of Gil’s marriage proposal the year prior have left these two kindred spirits estranged. Thunder rolls, so Gil and Anne seek shelter in a park gazebo, and a very civil conversation starts. All’s well with both of them. She’s got a five-year contract to sign. He’s engaged to be married to another. Anne musters a congratulations. Gil apologizes for his feelings the year before. He’s got a train to catch. They’re oh so nice to one another.
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But before he goes, he asks about her writing, encouraging her to write from her heart about the people and places she knows and loves. It’s such a deep statement of belief and faith in her and her talents. He hands her the letter, he was going to post to her. As they briefly embrace in farewell, Gil whispers, “Don’t forget me.” It’s crackling beneath the surface there, this unsaid deep love and understanding between them.
Oh, Gil! Oh, Anne! Say it already! Anne, admit it, you love this man! But he runs off into the mist and makes his train. And, Anne, she watches that train pull away with her lip quivering. And then she heads home and starts writing about those she loves…
15. The Wet, Wild and Wonderful Wedding in About Time (2013)
Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) and Mary (Rachel McAdams) finally tie the knot, after many time-traveling trips by Tim to get the meet-cute just right. And the first date. As well as the first night together. And on it goes. And here, on the day of the culmination of their perfect courtship, well, all hell breaks loose. The perfect day becomes a storm. And all the preparations for the perfect day are blown away. All the hairdos are wrecked. All the cupcakes are soaked. The tent blows away. It’s a wonderful montage of destruction. Maybe perfection is overrated. And perfection is just as it is, wet, wild and wonderful. One day, you can’t live again. Truly, an unforgettable, imperfectly perfect day.
What a great list! I love that you included Rolf and Liesl’s moment from The Sound of Music. Also, I can’t believe there is another Jamaica Inn movie I haven’t seen and that it stars Jane Seymour!!
Thanks, Brittaney! And you’ll be seeing a review of this lost gem of a Jamaica Inn adaptation next week. It’s fantastic! One of those where-have-you-been-my-whole-life moments (-: Stumbled across it researching this article, found the whole thing on YouTube — quality’s a bit poor at times, but it’s a real Gothic treat. The chemistry between Trevor Eve and Jane Seymour is through the roof!
I love this list the only classic you left off (no judgement) is Breakfast at Tiffanys. “You’ve got no guts. You’re afraid to stick out your chin and say, “Okay, life’s a fact, people do fall in love, people do belong to each other, because that’s the only chance anybody’s got for real happiness.” And then the classic rain kiss. I swoon every time. Thanks for this list. Never saw Jamaica Inn. Im off to watch it this weekend.
Thanks, Annie. The first image that comes to my mind when thinking of romance and rain is indeed “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, but I was trying not to have any repeats from a previous list, so I had to let it go (-: And enjoy “Jamaica Inn” — it’s a fun watch. I really enjoyed it.
There was a wonderful Bollywood movie maybe 1950 ish vintage that had a similar scene to “Singing in the Rain”. I saw it at an East Indian restaurant when I was driving to San Diego about 10? years ago.
Sounds like a good one. I must admit that I haven’t seen too many Bollywood movies, so can’t really comment on them. Thanks for reading!