Staff Picks | Wine night movies

What’s better than date night? Sitting in a blanket fort with your friends, passing a bottle of wine back and forth while you sob or cheer over a late-night movie.

After all, there is no high that can compare to how you feel when you’re wine drunk — even if the hangover afterward is cause for regret. But we would say the memories made are worth it, especially when you’ve got the perfect movie to accompany your drinking.

These “wine drunk” movies range from sappy to gut-busting, and every one of them pairs perfectly with whatever wine you have in your cabinet at the moment. Rather than heading to the bars this weekend, consider putting one of these flicks on your TV and getting comfy for as long as you can — tomorrow morning you might be resting your splitting head on the toilet bowl.

“Bridesmaids” // Diana Velasquez, Culture Editor

Screw romance, I’m drinking cheap boxed wine until I drop with my friends. There is no better movie that conveys this pastime than the comedy classic “Bridesmaids.” The movie focuses on Annie Walker (Kristen Wiig), who has been bestowed with the teeth-gritting position of maid of honor at the wedding for her best friend, Lillian Donovan (Maya Rudolph). You might love your best friend more than anything, but nothing changes a relationship like the tension a wedding can bring — especially when it seems like Lillian’s friends have all their lives together and Annie does not.

Annie finds herself especially at odds with Helen, one of Lillian’s friends, who is clearly trying to one-up Annie’s spot as maid of honor. Their infighting leads to a memorable episode of chronic food poisoning, a fight with a flight attendant and the desecration of some good champagne and a chocolate fountain. It’s an absolutely hysterical movie, and it goes to show you that the finer things in life often aren’t worth the hassle, and when you’re with the right person, that gas station wine can taste as good as a fancy vintage.

“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” // Sarah Demchak, Staff Writer

“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” is set in our very own Pittsburgh and takes viewers on a rollercoaster of emotions. The director, Stephen Chbosky, depicts a light-hearted story with a darker message hidden underneath. Starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller, the movie beautifully captures true friendship and devastating loss. Grab a group of friends, pop open some Barefoot Pink Moscato and get ready to cry over this iconic film. It is the perfect movie to become entirely invested in, relate to, laugh at, cry at and get overly attached to the characters.

I love to gush over all the Pittsburgh references throughout the movie. For example, they mention Schenley Park, there’s a scene at the Outlook and even Cathy makes an appearance. The last scene ends the film on the best feeling possible — bliss, excitement, nostalgia and euphoria — in the Fort Pitt Tunnel. After finishing the film and becoming sufficiently wine drunk, find your gang’s “Tunnel Song” and celebrate the love in your friendship.

“10 Things I Hate About You” // Katelyn Kruszewski, Staff Writer

The ‘90s highschool romcom meets Shakespeare in the iconic film “10 Things I Hate About You.” Inspired by William Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew,” the movie centers around the beloved Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) and her ill-tempered sister Kat (Julia Stiles). New kid on the block Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) hopes to date beautiful Bianca, but must overcome their father’s strict dating rules. Cameron enlists the help of school bad boy Patrick (Heath Ledger) to win over the untamable Kat. The unlikely couple falls in love in a whirlwind of prom, parties, detention and poetry.

If you’re looking for a hilarious romantic comedy that tugs at your heart, put “10 Things I Hate About You” on your wine night list. Besides, who can resist watching young Heath Ledger serenade Julia Stiles with “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You?”

                            

“Before Sunrise” // Patrick Swain, Staff Writer

With each passing day, I feel more tempted to drop out of college and spend my years traversing Europe in the hopes that I might ever relate to “Before Sunrise.”

The film follows Jesse (Ethan Hawke), a heartbroken American, who finds solace in a Eurail pass. On a train in Austria, he charms Céline (Julie Delpy), an elegant Parisian. The two impulsively deboard their train in Vienna with no money and nowhere to stay, venturing wherever the night takes them. An intimate romance blossoms between the couple as they discuss life and love before a breathtaking Viennese landscape. As sunlight creeps over them the next morning, the two strangers feel as though they’ve spent an eternity in each others’ company — but a departing train pulls them apart, making them strangers once more and their night in Vienna a distant memory.

If you yearn for some escapism from your single life, grab a bottle of cheap wine – something that sounds European, but the specifics aren’t important – and rent “Before Sunrise.” Perhaps someday you’ll find yourself on a Port Authority bus, enchanted by a beautiful stranger.

“The Devil Wears Prada” // Julia DiPietro, Staff Writer

Fashion, Paris and a female star-studded cast all rolled into one epic film. “The Devil Wears Prada” surrounds Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway), an intelligent and aspiring journalist who takes on the assistant role for the cold-hearted Editor in Chief of “Runway” magazine, Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep). As Sachs learns her way in the world of fashion design, she must juggle her sassy coworker, Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt), and the impossible tasks of her much-wanted job. Keep in mind, when rising in the professional world, you might just lose yourself on the way up. Not only does this movie feature super catchy early 2000s tunes and gorgeous designer Valentino costumes — nothing screams wine night more than The Eiffel Tower, drama and love triangles.

Some of the lines in this movie are absolutely iconic, so you will find yourself quoting Streep for weeks after watching. “The Devil Wears Prada” is also based on a true story, which I love. Grab some pink wine and your closest friends and give this movie a try. Just be warned that it will make you want to drop everything and move to New York to become a fashion designer.

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