What makes for a romantic movie?

The Free Dictionary defines romance as "a love affair," "ardent emotional attachment or involvement between people; love," "an artistic work, such as a novel, story, or film, that deals with sexual love," etc.

How does Netflix define romance?




We wondered that when "Romantic Movies" included Anger Management and Top Gun.


Anger Management?  Okay, maybe some Netflix worker saw Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson with their faces pressed against one another, mouths wide open and assumed the two must kiss in the movie -- possibly frequently since the poster promotes the moment.  But Top Gun?  A romantic film?  When?  When Goose, Maverick and Iceman are parading around the locker room?  When Tom Cruise is "Playing With The Boys," hopping around on the beach?


This is the 1986 film of which Pauline Kael observed, "When [Kelly] McGillis is offscreen, the movie is a shiny homoerotic commercial: the pilots strut around the locker room, towels hanging precariously from their waists.  It's as if masculinity has been redefined as how a young man looks with his clothes half off, and as if narcissism is what being a warrior is all about."