Today’s blog post will be a Godsend if you’ve been thinking over how to talk with your significant other about an important but tough-to-tackle topic you keep avoiding.

That’s because a movie that shows and tells a certain topic in a powerful way can be a PERFECT conversational opener for her to talk to him-- or vice versa-- about that topic in a non-threatening and totally natural way. 

Movies are a microcosm of life. 

To use an acting metaphor, the movie “sets the stage” for a related conversation-- and this is never more useful than when talking about some of the controversial, personal and important topics listed below.

Movies move us. 

Life isn't a movie but sometimes you just want to script the perfect moment.

These movies just might help you do it…

How many ways can you say "I love you" in this movie the two of you will co-direct, co-write and in which you will both co-star? 

So without any further ado, please enjoy the CubicZirconia.com “List of Top Movies to Set the Stage for Crucial Couples’ Conversations”

Alcohol Addiction:

1. When a Man Loves a Woman (Meg Ryan, Andy Garcia)
2. The Way Back (Ben Affleck, Javina Gavankar)
3. 28 Days (Sandra Bullock, Viggo Mortensen)
4. Leaving Las Vegas (Elisabeth Shue, Nicolas Cage)
5. A Star is Born (Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Sam Elliott)

Drug Addiction:

1. The Fighter (Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale)
2. Clean and Sober (Andie MacDowell, Bill Murray, Michael Keaton, Morgan Freeman)
3. Traffic (Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michael Douglas, Benicio del Toro)
4. Trainspotting (Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner)
5. Rachel Getting Married (Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Debra Winger)

Gambing Addiction:

1. Two for the Money (Matthew McConaughey, Al Pacino, Rene Russo) 
2. The Gambler (Mark Wahlberg, Jessica Lange, John Goodman)
3. Honeymoon in Vegas (Sarah Jessica Parker, James Caan, Nicolas Cage)
4. Even Money (Kim Basinger, Forest Whitaker, Nick Cannon, Danny DeVito, Ray Liotta)

Other Unhealthy Addictions:

1. Thank you for Smoking (Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello) [smoking] 
2. Needful Things (Ed Harris, Max Van Sydow) [obsessive possessions]

Anger Issues:

1. Dear John (Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried)
2. Once Were Warriors (Rena Owen, Temuera Morrison, Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell)
3. Anger Management (Jack Nicholson, Adam Sandler, Marisa Tomei)
4. Children of a Lesser God (William Hurt, Marlee Matlin, Piper Laurie)
5. Disney’s Inside Out (Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Lewis Black)
6. Changing Lanes (Ben Affleck, Samuel L. Jackson, Kim Staunton)

Workaholism and Work/Life Balance:

1. If Only (Jennifer Love Hewitt, Paul Nicholls, Tom Wilkinson)
2. Set it Up (Taye Diggs, Zoey Deutch, Glen Powell, Lucy Liu)
3. The Intern (Anne Hathaway, Robert DeNiro, Rene Russo)
4. Morning Glory (Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton)
5. Click (Adam Sandler, Kate Beckinsale, Christopher Walken)

Personal Insecurities:

1. Sweet & Lowdown (Sean Penn, Woody Allen)
2. About Time (Rachel McAdams, Domhnall Gleeson, Bill Nighy)
3. High Fidelity (John Cusack, Jack Black)
4. Silver Linings Playbook (Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Robert DeNiro)
5. Amélie (Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz)

Pornography in Relationships is Unhealthy:

1. Fireproof (Kirk Cameron, Erin Bethea)
2. Don Jon (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore)

Pornography in Relationships is Healthy:

1. Sex Tape (Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel)
2. Zack and Miri Make a Porno (Elizabeth Banks, Seth Rogen)

Sex Drive Differences, Quality vs Quantity:

1. 40 Days and 40 Nights (Josh Hartnett, Shannyn Sossamon)
2. Thank You for Sharing (Mark Ruffalo, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim Robbins)
3. Kinsey (Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, John Lithgow)
4. Sex, Lies and Videotape (James Spader, Andie MacDowell)
5. The Mirror Has Two Faces (Barbra Streisand, Jeff Bridges, Lauren Bacall)

Sexual Adventure:

1. Eyes Wide Shut (Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise)
2. 50 Shades of Grey (Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan)
3. Permission (Rebecca Hall, Gina Gershon, Dan Stevens)
4. Friends with Benefits (Mila Kunis, Justin Timberlake)
5. 9 ½ Weeks (Kim Basinger, Mickey Rourke)

Possible Relocation (let’s go for it):

1. Away We Go (John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Allison Janney)
2. For Richer or Poorer (Tim Allen, Kirstie Alley)
3. Wanderlust (Jennifer Aniston, Paul Rudd)
4. Forget Paris (Billy Crystal, Debra Winger, Joe Mantegna)

Possible Relocation (let’s stay where we are):

1. Moving (Richard Pryor, Beverly Todd, Stacey Dash)
2. The Devil’s Advocate (Al Pacino, Keanu Reeves, Charlize Theron)
3. The Firm (Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Gene Hackman)
4. No Escape (Lake Bell, Owen Wilson, Pierce Brosnan) 

Long Distance Relationships:

1. Going the Distance (Drew Barrymore, Justin Long, Ron Livingston)
2. The Holiday (Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black, Cameron Diaz)
3. Sleepless in Seattle (Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks)
4. Like Crazy (Felicity Jones, Anton Yelchin, Jennifer Lawrence)
5. The Lake House (Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock)
6. The Time Traveler’s Wife (Rachel McAdams, Ron Livingston, Eric Bana)
7. Ghost (Demi Moore, Patrick Swayze, Whoopi Goldberg)
8. Before Sunrise (Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy)

Proposal and Wedding Expectation vs. Boyfriend/Girlfriend Forever:

1. Leap Year (Amy Adams, Matthew Goode)
2. Seeing Other People (Jay Mohr, Julianne Nicholson)
3. He’s Just Not That Into You (Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Connelly, Bradley Cooper)
4. 27 Dresses (Katherine Heigl, James Marsden)
5. The 5-Year Engagement (Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Chris Pratt)

Deciding to / Getting Pregnant:

1. What to Expect When You’re Expecting (Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Rock, Dennis Quaid)
2. Junior (Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emma Thompson, Danny DeVito)
3. Nine Months (Julianne Moore, Hugh Grant)
4. Where The Heart Is (Natalie Portman, Ashley Judd, Joan Cusack)

Infertility / Struggling to Get Pregnant:

1. The Back-up Plan (Jennifer Lopez, Alex O’Laughlin)
2. Private Life (Kathryn Hahn, Paul Giamatti)
3. Baby Mama (Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Sigourney Weaver)
4. Disney’s Up (Ed Asner, Jeremy Leary)
5. Made in America (Nia Long, Ted Danson, Whoopi Goldberg)
6. The Switch (Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Jeff Goldblum)
7. Raising Arizona (Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter)
8. The Help (Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer)

Considering Adoption/Foster Childcare:

1. Annie (Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, Quvenzhané Willis)
2. Big Daddy (Adam Sandler, Joey Lauren Adams)
3. The Great Gilly Hopkins (Kathy Bates, Glenn Close, Sophie Nélisse)
4. Three Men and a Baby (Tom Selleck, Ted Danson)
5. Baby Boom (Diane Keaton, Harold Ramis, Sam Shepard)

Parenting Disagreements:

1. Yours, Mine & Ours (Dennis Quaid, Rene Russo)
2. Knocked Up (Katherine Heigl, Seth Rogen)
3. Parenthood (Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen, Rick Moranis)
4. Parental Guidance (Bette Midler, Billy Crystal, Marisa Tomei, Tom Everett Scott)

Co-parenting Disagreements (step-parent and previous relationship issues):

1. Kramer vs. Kramer (Meryl Streep, Dustin Hoffman)
2. Daddy’s Home (Mark Wahlberg, Will Ferrell, Linda Cardellini)
3. Stepmom (Julia Roberts, Ed Harris, Susan Sarandon)
4. Bye-Bye Love (Matthew Modine, Paul Reiser, Randy Quaid)

Loss of a Child:

1. The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her (Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy)
2. The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him (James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain)
3. Welcome to the Rileys (James Gandolfini, Kristen Stewart, Melissa Leo)
4. Rabbit Hole (Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, Dianne Wiest)
5. Fundamentals of Caring (Craig Roberts, Paul Rudd, Selena Gomez)
6. In The Bedroom (Tom Wilkinson, Sissy Spacek, Nick Stahl)
7. My Sister’s Keeper (Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin, Alec Baldwin)

Keeping Romance Alive after Kids:

1. Look Who’s Talking (Kirstie Alley, John Travolta, Olympia Dukakis)
2. Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., Renée Zellweger)
3. Little Fockers (Ben Stiller, Barbra Streisand, Robert DeNiro, Owen Wilson, Jessica Alba, Dustin Hoffman)
4. Just Go With It (Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston)
5. The Parent Trap (Lindsay Lohan, Dennis Quaid, Natasha Richardson)
6. One Fine Day (Michelle Pfeiffer, George Clooney)
7. Blended (Drew Barrymore, Adam Sandler)

Moving in Together / Cohabitation

1. Life As We Know It (Katherine Heigl, Josh Duhamel)
2. Crash Pad (Christina Applegate, Domhnall Gleeson, Sunita Prasad)
3. Cold War (Michael Blaiklock, Rammel Chan, Scarlett Harper)
4. The Break-Up (Jennifer Aniston, Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau)
5. Sleeping with the Enemy (Julia Roberts, Patrick Bergin, Kevin Anderson)
6. You, Me & Dupree (Owen Wilson, Kate Hudson, Matt Dillon, Michael Douglas)
7. Beetlejuice (Geena Davis, Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin)
8. The Way We Weren’t (Fiona Gubelmann, Ben Lawson, Tobin Bell)

Choosing/Buying a House / Renovation Plans:

1. Are we Done Yet? (Nia Long, Ice Cube, John C. McGinley)
2. The Money Pit (Tom Hanks, Shelley Long)
3. 5 Flights Up (Diane Keaton, Morgan Freeman)
4. A Good Year (Russell Crowe, Abbie Cornish, Albert Finney)
5. Falling Inn Love (Christina Milian, Adam Demos, Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman)

Disagreements about Spending and Saving money:

1. It Could Happen To You (Nicolas Cage, Bridget Fonda, Rosie Perez) 
2. A Bug’s Life (Kevin Spacey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus)
3. What Happens in Vegas (Ashton Kutcher, Cameron Diaz)
4. Just Married (Brittany Murphy, Ashton Kutcher)
5. This is 40 (Leslie Mann, Paul Rudd, Maude Apatow)

Differing Financial Risk Appetites

1. Fool’s Gold (Kate Hudson, Matthew McConaughey, Donald Sutherland)
2. A Simple Plan (Bridget Fonda, Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton)
3. Indecent Proposal (Demi Moore, Robert Redford, Woody Harrelson)
4. The Pursuit of Happyness (Will Smith, Thandie Newton, Jaden Smith)
5. What’s the Worst that Could Happen? (Martin Lawrence, Danny DeVito, Bernie Mac, John Leguizamo)
6. The Honeymooners (Cedric the Entertainer, Mike Epps, Gabrielle Union)

Career & Ambition Disconnects (he wants more/less/different vs she wants less/more/different):

1. Big (Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia)
2. Say Anything (John Cusack, Ione Skye, John Mahoney)
3. Blue Valentine (Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams)
4. Look Who’s Talking Now (John Travolta, Kirstie Alley)
5. Slumdog Millionaire (Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Saurabh Shukla)
6. Good Will Hunting (Matt Damon, Minnie Driver, Ben Affleck, Robin Williams)
7. G.I. Jane (Demi Moore, Viggo Mortenson)
8. Office Space (Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston)
9. Eat, Pray, Love (Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem, Richard Jenkins)

Jealousy:

1. Closer (Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Clive Owen, Julia Roberts)
2. Last Night (Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington, Eva Mendes)
3. Legends of the Fall (Brad Pitt, Julia Ormond, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn)
4. Moulin Rouge! (Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, John Leguizamo)
5. Obsessed (Idris Elba, Beyoncé Knowles, Ali Larter)

Competitiveness:

1. Love & Basketball (Sanaa Lathan, Omar Epps, Glenndon Chatman)
2. You’ve Got Mail (Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks, Greg Kinnear)
3. Laws of Attraction (Julianne Moore, Pierce Brosnan)
4. She’s The Man (Amanda Bynes, Laura Ramsey, Channing Tatum)
5. Intolerable Cruelty (George Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Billy Bob Thornton)

(Pre-)Wedding Stress:

1. The Wedding Ringer (Kevin Hart, Josh Gad)
2. The Wedding Planner (Jennifer Lopez, Matthew McConaughey)
3. Monsoon Wedding (Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey, Shefali Shah)
4. License to Wed (Robin Williams, Mandy Moore, John Krasinski)
5. Bride Wars (Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway, Candice Bergen, Chris Pratt)
6. Naked (Marlon Wayans, Regina Hall) 
7. Bridesmaids (Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy)

Wedding on a Budget (how-to and let’s not waste our cash):

1. Ms. Matched (Alexa PenaVega, Shawn Roberts, Leah Gibson)
2. The Week Of (Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Steve Buscemi)
3. Crazy Rich Asians (Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh)
4. Sex and the City (Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon)
5. The Wedding Singer (Drew Barrymore, Adam Sandler)

Wedding issues with Meddling Family:

1. Father of the Bride (Diane Keaton, Steve Martin, Martin Short)
2. Jumping the Broom (Angela Bassett, Paula Patton, Laz Alonso)
3. Mamma Mia! (Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfriend, Pierce Brosnan)
4. Ready or Not (Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, Mark O'Brien)
5. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Michael Constantine)
6. Because I Said So (Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore, Gabriel Macht)
7. Betsy’s Wedding (Alan Alda, Molly Ringwald, Joey Bishop)

Father-in-law Issues:

1. Guess Who (Ashton Kutcher, Bernie Mac, Zoe Saldana)
2. Meet the Parents (Robert DeNiro, Ben Stiller, Teri Polo)
3. The In-Laws (Albert Brooks, Ryan Reynolds, Michael Douglas)
4. The Birdcage (Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman)

Mother-in-law issues:

1. Monster-in-Law (Jennifer Lopez, Jane Fonda, Michael Vartan)
2. The Notebook (James Garner, Rachel McAdams, Joan Allen, Ryan Gosling)
3. Terms of Endearment (Shirley Maclaine, Jeff Daniels, Jack Nicholson, Debra Winger)
4. The Big Wedding (Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Katherine Heigl)

Feeling in a Rut / Reigniting the Passion:

1. Think Like a Man (Gabrielle Union, Kevnin Hart, Chris Brown)
2. How Stella Got Her Groove Back (Angela Bassett, Taye Diggs, Whoopi Goldberg)
3. Before Sunset (Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy)
4. Serendipity (Kate Beckinsdale, John Cusack, Jeremy Piven)
5. The Vow (Rachel McAdams, Channing Tatum, Sam Neill)
6. 50 First Dates (Drew Barrymore, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider)
7. Shall We Dance? (Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Jennifer Lopez)
8. Date Night (Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Mark Wahlberg)

Empty Nest (Kids Moving Out):

1. Failure to Launch (Matthew McConaughey, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Bates)
2. Otherhood (Angela Bassett, Patricia Arquette, Felicity Huffman)
3. It’s Complicated (Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin)
4. El Nido Vacío (Oscar Martínez, Cecilia Roth, Inés Efron)
5. Hope Springs (Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, Steve Carell)

What do We have in Common Anyway? (Race, Culture, Faith, Class, Political Differences etc)

1. Fools Rush In (Salma Hayek, Matthew Perry)
2. Splash (Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah, John Candy)
3. Loving (Ruth Negga, Joel Edgerton, Will Dalton)
4. Save The Last Dance (Julia Stiles, Sean Patrick Thomas)
5. Love Actually (Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Keira Knightley)
6. The Way We Were (Robert Redford, Barbra Streisand)
7. Maid in Manhattan (Jennifer Lopez, Ralph Fiennes)
8. The Illusionist (Jessica Biel, Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti)
9. Dirty Dancing (Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey)
10. The Other End of the Line (Jesse Metcalf, Sara Foster, Anupam Kher)
11. The Duchess (Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes)
12. Notting Hill (Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant)
13. Pretty Woman (Julia Roberts, Richard Gere, Jason Alexander)
14. Love Story (Ali MacGraw, Ryan O’Neal)
15. Shakespeare in Love (Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush)
16. My Big Fat Greek Wedding (Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Michael Constantine)
17. Titanic (Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates)

Household Responsibilities / Chores Conflict:

1. The Family Man (Téa Leoni, Nicolas Cage, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Piven)
2. Marley and Me (Jenifer Aniston, Owen Wilson)
3. Mrs. Doubtfire (Sally Fields, Robin Williams, Pierce Brosnan)
4. What Women Want (Helen Hunt, Mel Gibson, Marisa Tomei)
5. Overboard (Eugenio Derbez, Anna Faris, Eva Longoria)

He Said/ She Said (Difficult to Forgive):

1. Before Midnight (Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy)
2. My Best Friend’s Girl (Dane Cook, Kate Hudson, Jason Biggs, Alec Baldwin)
3. 10 Things I Hate About You (Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon-Levitt)
4. The Bounty Hunter (Jenifer Aniston, Gerard Butler)
5. Love Don’t Cost a Thing (Christina Milian, Nick Cannon, Steve Harvey)
6. Revolutionary Road (Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet) 
7. Marriage Story (Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Julia Greer, Ray Liotta, Alan Alda)

Secrets:

1. Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie)
2. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (Kate Hudson, Matthew McConaughey)
3. True Lies (Jamie Lee-Curtis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Arnold)
4. Why Did I Get Married? (Tyler Perry, Janet Jackson, Sharon Leal, Michael Jai White)
5. Stephen King’s A Good Marriage (Joan Allen, Anthony LaPaglia, Stephen Lang)
6. Hitch (Eva Mendes, Will Smith, Kevin James)
7. Four Christmases (Reese Witherspoon, Vince Vaughn, Robert Duvall, Jon Favreau)

Annoying Quirks & Pet Peeves (Thin Line Between Love and Hate):

1. The Proposal (Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds)
2. Something’s Gotta Give (Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Keanu Reeves,
   Amanda Peet)
3. When Harry Met Sally (Meg Ryan, Billy Crystal)
4. The Ugly Truth (Katherine Heigl, Gerard Butler)
5. Groundhog Day (Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell)
6. The Bodyguard (Whitney Houston, Kevin Costner)

Couples Therapy:

1. Couples Retreat (Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Malin Akerman)
2. I Give it a Year (Rose Byrne, Rafe Spall, Alex Macqueen)
3. Central Intelligence (Kevin Hart, Dwayne Johnson, Danielle Nicolet)
4. The War of the Roses (Kathleen Turner, Michael Douglas, Danny DeVito)
5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet)
6. The Marriage Chronicles (Jazsmin Lewis, Darrin Dewitt Henson, Terri J. Vaughn)

Considering Divorce (Let’s stay together):

1. Sweet Home Alabama (Reese Witherspoon, Josh Lucas, Patrick Dempsey)
2. The Story of Us (Bruce Willis, Michelle Pfeiffer)
3. 17 Again (Zac Efron, Matthew Perry, Leslie Mann)
4. Mr. Wonderful (Matt Dillon, Annabella Sciorra, Mary-Louise Parker)
5. Overnight Delivery (Paul Rudd, Christine Taylor, Reese Witherspoon)
6. Sweet November (Keanu Reeves, Charlize Theron)
7. Crazy, Stupid, Love (Julianne Moore, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling)

Surprise Illness and/or Expected Premature Partner Death:

1. Irreplaceable You (Gugu Mbatha Raw, Steve Coogan, Michiel Huisman)
2. Phenomenon (John Travolta, Kyra Sedgwick, Forest Whitaker, Robert Duvall)
3. A Walk to Remember (Mandy Moore, Shane West, Daryl Hannah)
4. The Big Sick (Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter)
5. P.S. I Love You (Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler, Harry Connick Jr.)
6. The Bucket List (Morgan Freeman, Jack Nicholson)
7. Me Before You (Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Janet McTeer)
8. The Fault in Our Stars (Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff)
9. Ordinary Love (Lesley Manville, Liam Neeson, Esh Alladi)
10. Amour (Jean-Louis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva, Isabelle Huppert)
11. Dying Young (Julia Roberts, Julia Roberts, Campbell Scott, Vincent D'Onofrio)

Diamond Deprogramming:

1. Blood Diamond (Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, Jennifer Connelly)
2. Flawless (Demi Moore, Michael Caine, Lambert Wilson)
3. The Ambassador (Mads Brügger, Heather Schmid)
4. Diamonds (James Purefoy, Judy Davis, Derek Jacobi)
5. Master of the Game (Dyan Cannon, Harry Hamlin, Ian Charleson)
6. Siberia (Keanu Reeves, Boris Gulyarin, Ashley St. George)

We didn’t set out to make this list to total more than 250 movies.

The list started as two store staff members having a conversation over lunch. 

But the more we talked to people we know and trust-- people who actually do have good relationships-- the better we liked the idea when these men and women expressed approval and encouragement to create the list. 

Movies can provide a simple, easy and stress-reduced way to bring up almost any topic in conversation without seeming to be pushy, whiny, nosy, or overly critical.

Think this list is overkill? No worries. Maybe you’re one of the super-lucky people that has a super-happy marriage without any conflict or crucial conversations left to have. Have a super happy day...or maybe you’re just not married yet? :)

The truth for many, though, is this: 

• It's easy to feel happy surrounded by friends and family on the day of your wedding. 
• It's easy to look happy in an Instagram post. 
• It's easy to sound happy on that magical getaway weekend. 
• It's easy to say "I’m happy" after an awesome massage.
• It’s easy to express happy thanks for a birthday present, or at the close of that glorious day when he takes the kids so you can have some alone time. 

But really that's the highlight reel.

Couples that go the distance learn that real love and lasting marriage is about the day-to-day negotiation of this and that and the other:

• who needs some solo time STAT
• what we’re gonna do together
• when we’re gonna get that project done
• where we’re going to eat dinner tonight…
• how we’re gonna keep the spark alive after becoming parents
• why certain things are important to each of us

I guess what we’re saying-- and feel free to disagree, God knows we would enjoy some blog commenters who aren’t trying to spam our readers with “special price on penis pills”-- but we feel like real love is the whole damn movie of not just the meet-cute and the sex and action, but lots and lots of dialogue and conflict, too. 

All we’re hoping to do with today’s share is give our customers and subscribers a great way to open a tough conversation she/he may have been dreading and not know where to start.

We're here to help you get your message across. 

We just want a small producer credit in your movie. 

Be cool.

(and while you're here, leave a comment and add your favorite(s) too, ok?)