Friends to lovers: Book, movie and TV recom mendations for those who love the trope

Friends to lovers:

TV, film and book recommendations for those who can’t get enough of the timeless trope

WRITING BY CLAUDETTE VEGA AND GRAPHIC BY AUTUMN RENDALL

Are you secretly in love with your best-friend? Have you ever had those two friends who were too close to be “just friends” ? Or maybe you’ve been in that situation where you have a secret crush on your best friend and desperately want to let them know, but if you do, your relationship will never be the same. Or maybe you just enjoy thinking about such scenarios in your head.

It’s no secret that the friends-to-lovers trope in media is beloved by many. Personally, I enjoy the trope because having a foundation of friendship before going into a relationship can be helpful for a long-term relationship. Attraction is not founded on mere physical appearance, but in the ability to see past that into someone else’s personality. It’s finding things you have in common, things you can do together, things you can talk about for hours, and things to bring each other closer together. There is something special about finding someone you love to be around so much that you can never imagine your life without them. If you enjoy the friends to lovers trope as well, here are some of my media suggestions for you:

1.The Office (Pam and Jim) Two office co-workers are best-friends and maybe a little more. This romance is so wholesome that it will be the reason you keep watching the show. From the inside jokes to the thoughtful gifts, their relationship has one of the greatest build-ups in television history. Oh wait, did I mention Pam has a boyfriend?

2.Friends (Monica and Chandler) Imagine two people in your group of friends suddenly start dating in secret. Monica and Chandler will keep you on your feet as they try to hide their romance from their group of friends. Since the show is a sit-com, there are sure to be some hilarious mishaps along the way.

3.The O.C. (Summer and Seth) In this high-school show of the 2000’s, the couple (Seth and Summer) fall into the opposites attract category of friends-to-lovers: the popular girl who falls in love with the geeky invisible guy. As they start hanging out more often, Summer starts to notice Seth’s undying love for her.

Movies

1.What If (starring Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan) This movie has a similar plot point to The Office: two people who are perfect for each other except for the fact that one of them already has a significant other. The romance is a very slow-burn as the friendship of the two main characters grows into something more.

2. Plus One (starring Jack Quaid and Maya Erskine) By the synopsis of the movie, two friends who decide to be each other’s plus one to their friends’ weddings, you can pretty much predict that they will get together. However, the fun is in seeing how they get together. This is a light-hearted film that I would recommend to anyone who is cynical about weddings and enjoys making fun of them with their friends (basically what they do in the movie).

3. When Harry Met Sally (starring Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal) This movie is the blueprint for the friends-to-lovers plot line. It is about two friends who randomly meet each other at different points in their lives until finally one day they become best friends and maybe even more. If you’ve ever romanticized that an old friend from high school would come back to your life ten years later and finally realize that they love you as more than a friend, then this movie is for you.

Books

1.Yes, No, Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Seed This book is about two friends who fall in love while helping out in a local state senate campaign. In this book, there is Muslim and Jewish representation as well as many conversations about The Office, trips to Target, awkward introvert conversations, and a lot of canvassing. Through canvassing, the main characters learn that even the smallest action can have a ripple effect.

2. Perks of Being a Wallflower by Steven Chbosky A high school freshman feeling like an outsider suddenly starts to hang out with a couple of seniors. Suddenly, he realizes that he isn’t so lonely anymore because he has found true friendship. Through Charlie’s letters, you will get to experience the ups and downs of high school with him. You will also be reminded that there are people in the world who see you.

3. The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy by Jenny Han This book contains a love-triangle story between Belly and her two family friends Conrad and Jeremy. The trilogy spans through the summer after junior year, senior year, and freshmen year of college. The books are encompassed by a sense of nostalgia as these three kids meet up in their childhood summer beach house while realizing that life is changing all around them.

I would say one of my favorite things about rom-coms is getting to see how different elements are used in the storyline. Every story has a different equation, but they all yield the same result. Even though all of these are friends-to-lovers stories, there are still unique characteristics to each story. However, don’t get too caught up on thinking this is exactly how it happens in real life. As Mindy Kaling said, “ I simply regard romantic comedies as a subgenre of sci-fi, in which the world created therein has different rules than my regular human world.” So let yourself daydream for a minute - we all need a happy ending from time to time.