Not for Cynics or Haters: A Montage of Hollywood's Most Romantic Scenes

Matthew Belinkie packs iconic moments from 95 classic movies into four minutes in How Hollywood Says "I Love You," for an overwhelming experience that will make you laugh, cry, or run away screaming. Happy Valentine's Day!

Belinkie describes the meticulous process of condensing hundreds of clips into the final video in a post on OverThinkingIt.com, including a poignant insight into the nature of these formulaic, yet powerful, movie moments:

You might even say that these climactic speeches are the whole point of a romantic comedy. We want to see someone bridge that gap between “it will never work” and “happily ever after,” armed only with the power of words. And the way you cross that chasm is by not caring if you fall. You have to lose your cool, drop your guard, and swing for the fences. It’s interesting that there’s often an element of public humiliation to these declarations. In Keeping the Faith, Ben Stiller has to woo Jenna Elfman via speakerphone, with her whole office listening. In Hitch, Will Smith stops Eva Mendes from leaving town by jumping in front of her car. In Made of Honor, Patrick Dempsey actually interrupts the girl’s wedding to another man, and does his whole “I’ve loved you forever” monologue right there in the church (he is eventually punched). In Jerry Maguire, Tom Cruise arrives home to find his living room full of strange women, but he barely hesitates. “If this is where it has to happen,” he says, “then this is where it has to happen.” And that is exactly the point. These men don’t give speeches like this because it comes naturally to them. They do it because love has left them no other choice.

These people are not just expressing love, they are putting themselves at risk. And it’s that combination of what they say and what it took to say it that lifts us up where we belong.

For more work by Matthew Belinkie, visit http://www.overthinkingit.com/author/belinkie/.