Let’s be honest, most romance films follow a formula: Two people meet, something keeps them apart, and they eventually find their way back to each other. That’s not a bad thing, after all, it’s a formula because it works. That said, sometimes it gets a little predictable, a little too cute. What happens when the movie doesn’t hit the same notes, when the setting is unfamiliar, or when the choice between two lovers takes place after they’re already dead?

Aside from being romances, they share almost nothing else in common. One is a comedy, one is a fantasy, and one is science fiction. That said, they all treat romantic connection as something to be developed,grown, and fostered rather than that instant zing! It’s this shared quality that makes them worth grouping together.

Our 3 Films That Pair Love With the Unfamiliar

So we’ve buttered you up with promises about strange and unusual love stories, but even then we’re feeling like we’re underselling them. Here they are from least to most unsuaul:

• 1. A Nice Indian Boy (2024), streaming on Hulu, is a twist on a classic. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner with a shy Indian-American doctor who falls for an openly gay white man raised by Indian parents. The leads are Karan Soni (Dopinder from Deadpool) and Jonathan Groff (King George III from Hamilton), if you ask Rotten Tomatoes, it’s fresh on all accounts (95% Tomatometer and 96% Popcornmeter). Despite being a comedy, it’s genuine and sincere in all the right places, and that’s why we’ve put it as our first pick. It’s unconventional without going entirely off-road. 

• 2. Eternity (2025) on Apple TV+ is an afterlife romance, having Elizabeth Olsen choose between her husband of 65 years (played by Miles Teller), and a first love who died young (played by Callum Turner). It’s fantasy, it’s silly, it’s cute, and it’s a love triangle like you’ve never seen. It asks what if they were (technically) both the man she picked to spend her life with?  It’s RT Certified Fresh with a 77% critics’ score and a 90% audience score and topped the Apple TV+ charts in February 2025, so give it a try if that sounds interesting.

• 3. Love Me (2024), available on Paramount+, is even stranger. Casting Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun as two AIs (a buoy and satellite) falling in love after humanity is gone. Like we said, it’s strange and RT critics and audiences agree (at 47% and 62% respectively). Doesn’t that premise alone sound interesting? We’re no longer talking about cross-cultures or love triangles. We’re not even talking about age gap relationships. We’re talking about affection without life, even without bodies.

If you’re still on the fence, let’s break these down a little more:

What A Nice Indian Boy Gets Right About Comedy and Identity

A Nice Indian Boy works because it’s about love against all odds. Simple enough, Karan Soni plays a man whose family has certain expectations for his romantic life, but the man he falls for? He’s white, sure, but it turns out that he’s kind of more Indian than even Soni’s character is. It’s a hilarious reversal that keeps you on your toes and having fun the whole time (we’re only sorry you didn’t go in completely blind, what a trip that would be!).

Never heavy-handed, the film could be a comfort-watch in the making for you. What keeps it grounded is the way it handles the reactions of family members and friends, who each respond to the relationship in different and sometimes contradictory ways. 

Eternity Asks a Question That Has No Good Answer

Have you ever wondered if you could have two soulmates? After all, who hasn’t had that thought of “maybe they’re the one…” from across a room? (and more than once). So like we said, a woman dies and finds herself in the afterlife, but has to choose between the two men she loved in life. Long-time husband (65 years of marriage), or the first love which burned so bright but died young? If you know the producers, A24, you know the classic fantasy mixed dry comedy you’re in for, but the ending might still surprise you.  

Love Me and the Limits of Premise

Bored of seeing romances between a boy and a girl? How about a buoy and a satellite?  With humanity dead and gone, all that’s left is the toys and tech left behind. They develop a relationship without a world, without friends, without having ever known anyone. Love in a void. 

The question here is, what does attachment and affection actually require? What does it look like at its barest level? That said, ambition and execution are separate things, and it’s a hard premise to deliver on (and a harder question to answer). The general consensus is that it doesn’t quite keep the emotional momentum going, but that doesn’t mean it’s not interesting. 

Now, Are These Films Worth Watching Together?

We’re not suggesting a triple-feature (unless you’re really brave), but these three films do scratch a unique itch. Can love bloom anywhere? Can those impossible choices have happy endings? A Nice Indian Boy says that yes, you can find love despite your cultural identity not lining up with your romantic compatibility; Eternity says that you can love again, and that it’s not a betrayal of the ones you’ve already loved; Love Me says that you don’t even have to be human to love and be loved, that even at the end of the world there’s love to be found. 

That said, none of them are trying to prove a point about what love should be. They are telling stories about specific characters in specific situations, and the strangeness of those situations is what makes the emotional stakes feel real. (Also, unless you have subscriptions to Hulu, Apple TV+, or Paramount+, you’ll have a little trouble running a triple-feature anyway).

So that’s it? Just three? Well, here’s some honorable mentions.

Hopefully, these films are enough to soothe that romantic soul of yours, but what about your non-romantic soul? In this list we have movies about robots that’ll make you cry:

Maybe that K Stew mention has you thinking about her other roles, so here’s our list of her best:

And if you do want a little more romance, here’s a whole bunch of conventional but cute ones for you to watch on netflix: