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50 Dating Tips From The Movies

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

The Dating Tip: "Benjamin, we're meant to lose the people we love. How else would we know how important they are to us?"

How It Applies In Real Life: Once you've bypassed how dark and depressing this sounds on the surface, you realise that sage old lady Mrs Maple (Edith Ivey) is actually hitting Benjamin (Brad Pitt) with some top quality advice. As Joni Mitchell once sang, you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone.

Some Like It Hot (1959)

The Dating Tip: It's not how long you wait, it's who you're waiting for!"

How It Applies In Real Life: It's easy to descend into panic at the mere age of twenty-four - a bad break-up and a Friday night in home alone is enough to convince most of us that we're destined for a life of loneliness and solitude - but saxophonist Joe (Tony Curtis) reminds us all that there's simply no point in unnecessary distress.

So don't settle for an average beau - you might meet your soulmate in the queue for soup at your retirement home.

17 Again (2009)

The Dating Tip: "Listen, girls. If you don't respect yourself, how do you expect others to respect you?"

How It Applies In Real Life: Who wouldn't trust a thirty-seven-year-old father of two reliving his high school years after a mysterious encounter with a magical janitor? That is one dude who has seen some serious stuff.

This gem came about after Mike O'Donnell (Zac Efron) found himself trying to convince teenage girls that there's more to dating saying yes to randy boys. Self-respect is key.

National Lampoon's Van Wilder (2002)

The Dating Tip: "First dates are interviews."

How It Applies In Real Life: Preparation, preparation, preparation. It's the key to any successful date (and every successful interview).

Make sure you've done your homework (not too much though, you don't want to accidentally reveal that you've been stalking them on Facebook for weeks) and wear your smartest suit. It's a winning combination.

The Tao of Steve (2000)


How It Applies In Real Life: Jenniphr Goodman's romance comedy The Tao of Steve gave the world the hero they never knew they needed - a slightly over-weight slacker who just happened to be a total ladykiller.

Steve's powers lay in his "tao" - his intricately-crafted method of seduction, and he taught single people everywhere that the most important part of dating is simple mathematics. Dig out your old stopwatch and get out there.

Sixteen Candles (1984)

The Dating Tip: "That's why they call them crushes. If they were easy, they'd call 'em something else."

How It Applies In Real Life: It should be law that on their fifteenth birthday, all teenagers must sit and watch all the movies of the late, great John Hughes. Think of the sheer amount of dating tips and love lessons you'd get in just a few hours?

Sixteen Candles reminds us all that love can be painful, but it really shouldn't be any other way. Teenage lust is meant to be fraught with heartache - the clue is in the name.

She's All That (1999)

The Dating Tip: "Sometimes when you open up to people, you let the bad in with the good."

How It Applies In Real Life: Entering into a new relationship is a delicate balance of total vulnerability and playing it cool. The more you let yourself trust in someone new, the more chance you have of ending up twice as miserable at the end of it.

But, according to the undeniable wisdom of teen heartthrob Zach Siler (Freddie Prinze Jr.), that's the most important part of falling in love. It's no wonder he managed to woo nerd-turned-hotbabe Laney Boggs (Rachael Leigh Cook) now, is it?

Friends With Benefits (2011)

The Dating Tip: “It’s not who you want to spend Friday night with. It’s who you want to spend all day Saturday with.”

How It Applies In Real Life: It's easy to convince yourself you've found a soulmate at 2am outside the local Chicken Cottage: sixteen Jägerbombs tend to act as a rather potent love potion.

The hangover is a different story, however. If you still want to hang out with them once the alcohol fumes have wafted away, then chances are you've got yourself a keeper.

American Pie (1999)

The Dating Tip: "You ask them questions, and listen to what they have to say and shit."

How It Applies In Real Life: Dating isn't always as difficult as you think. When you've waded through all the politics and the games, you're left with one simple rule - just talk to them.

Whoever thought we'd be taking relationship advice from American Pie's Oz (Chris Klein)?!

Bridesmaids (2011)

The Dating Tip: "Make room for someone who is nice to you."

How It Applies To Real Life: A great poet once said that we accept the love we think we deserve. Or maybe that's from The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

Either way, it hits the nail right on the head, and these are some words of wisdom that down-on-her-luck baker Annie (Kristen Wiig) needs to hear. Buck up your ideas, stop wasting your time on sexy-but-mean Jon Hamm, and save that spot for someone who treats you like a human being.