Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Heart Eyes!

Because of its self-aware comedy and tone, Heart Eyes includes multiple references to romance movies, paying homage to the best films that came before. The popularity of romantic comedy horror movies increased over time leading up to the release of Heart Eyes, with films like Companion, Lisa Frankenstein, and Happy Death Day standing out as some of the best. However, Heart Eyes sets itself apart from other films in a few ways.

Firstly, the Olivia Holt-led horror rom-com is much more bloody and gruesome than many other options. This is thanks to the story including an epic slasher villain. However, the most notable difference is Heart Eyes’ self-aware nature. Taking inspiration from Scream, the film pokes fun at horror genre tropes and makes references to previous films. The 2025 film doesn’t just focus on satirizing horror, though. Heart Eyes makes fun of and references many fantastic romance films, especially focusing on the rom-com subgenre.

13

Multiple Movies During Monica’s Speech

Monica’s Speech To Motivate Ally To Go After Jay In Heart Eyes

Throughout Heart Eyes, Monica is Ally’s biggest supporter and cheerleader. After Ally freaks out and turns down Jay, Monica gives her a pep talk about fighting for what she wants, incorporating eight different rom-com тιтles. She says this:

“Ally, listen to me. You deserve to be happy. You deserve to have someone love you for the beautiful, neurotic mess that you are. I mean you can be so clueless sometimes. It’s one of the 10 things I hate about you, honestly. You can’t let Jay go off to his best friend’s wedding, and hook up with a bunch of bridesmaids and move to Notting Hill. No. No, mama. Some kind of wonderful, crazy, stupid love, actually. Go get him. Go get that beautiful melanin man.”

This speech in Heart Eyes is one of the movie’s funniest and most self-aware moments. It comes across as a love letter to the rom-com genre. For those who might have missed all the тιтles, Monica’s speech includes references to these romantic comedy тιтles:

• Clueless
• 10 Things I Hate About You
• My Best Friend’s Wedding
• Bridesmaids
• Notting Hill
• Some Kind of Wonderful
• Crazy Stupid Love
• Love, Actually

A few of the тιтles overlap within the dialogue, making them easy to miss. Only two of the films – My Best Friend’s Wedding and Love, Actually – were referenced separately from Monica’s speech in Heart Eyes.

12

Romeo & Juliet

Ally’s “Til Death Do Us Part” Commercial At Work

Heart Eyes has a sardonic humor that pokes fun at love while simultaneously crafting a romance through unconventional means. This is never more apparent than when the marketing team watches Ally’s “Til Death Do Us Part” campaign for a ring company. The first romantic film referenced in the commercial is the epitome of doomed lovers – Romeo and Juliet, a William Shakespeare story that showcases the tragic side of love. They recreate the scene from the 1996 movie where Claire Danes’ Juliet meets Leonardo DiCaprio’s Romeo, and then the commercial quickly shifts to the death scene, depicting Juliet slitting her throat.

11

тιтanic

Ally’s “Til Death Do Us Part” Commercial At Work

The second film that Ally references in her “Til Death Do Us Part” campaign is тιтanic, which tells the doomed love story of Jack and Rose – two pᴀssengers on the тιтular ship. The commercial shows the scene where Rose and Jack stretch out their arms while standing on the bow of the boat.

However, the scene in Heart Eyes diverges from the source material when they get hit by a thunderstorm. The commercial then cuts to Rose on the floating door and Jack in the water, continuing the decades-long debate about whether Jack could fit on the door alongside his lover in тιтanic.

10

Bonnie & Clyde

Ally’s “Til Death Do Us Part” Commercial At Work

The final part of Ally’s commercial reimagines the death scene from Bonnie & Clyde, a movie that tells the love story between the two eponymous, old-timey gangsters. The gunsH๏τs hit the actors’ chests in slow motion with red scarfs filling in for the blood, adding to the hilarity of the scene. While backlash to Ally’s death-centric marketing campaign could’ve happened either way, Bonnie & Clyde appearing in the commercial is likely why the residents of Seattle reacted so poorly to Ally’s commercial in Heart Eyes, considering the main characters of the film were murderers.

9

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Ally & Monica’s Dressing Room Montage In Heart Eyes

One romance movie reference in Heart Eyes only appears onscreen for a few seconds, so it’s extremely easy to miss. When Ally and Monica go to the store, they show a dressing room montage. Ally walks out wearing a black dress with giant frills and a statement necklace of oversized pearls.

This choice is a spin on the memorable outfit that Aubrey Hepburn wears in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, minus the gloves and hair accessory. Breakfast at Tiffany’s follows a New York socialite named Holly Golightly, who becomes interested in a young writer named Paul Varjack. Like Holly Golightly, Ally seems unwilling to belong to anyone, leaning into self-sufficiency.

8

Pretty Woman

Ally & Monica’s Dressing Room Montage In Heart Eyes

During the montage in Heart Eyes, Ally puts on a black lacy dress with a ɴuᴅᴇ lining underneath and a piece of lace that goes across the neck, looking like a choker. In addition to being beautiful, this dress is an Easter egg to the movie Pretty Woman, starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere.

In the film, a business executive named Edward Lewis hires a Sєx worker to act as his date for some events, and they start falling for each other. During one scene, Edward meets Vivian at the bar before dinner, and she’s wearing the dress. Heart Eyes referencing Pretty Woman feels appropriate considering it’s one of the best rom-coms of all time.

7

My Best Friend’s Wedding

Jay’s Comment To Ally Outside The Bathroom In Heart Eyes

One of the central factors in Heart Eyes’ story is the fact that it’s Valentine’s Day when the Heart Eyes Killer attacks. Luckily, the writers provided a reason why Jay and Ally would be working together at a restaurant on Valentine’s Day. After the meeting, Jay reveals that he has to fly out of Seattle the next day for “my best friend’s wedding,” which is the тιтle of a classic Julia Roberts romantic comedy from the 90s. The film tells the story of a woman named Julianne who tries to break up the wedding of her best friend, Michael.

6

Thelma & Louise

Ally & Monica Getting Coffee Before A Work Meeting

Early in Heart Eyes, Ally starts stressing that she’s going to get fired from her job because of the issue with her marketing campaign. However, Monica’s willing to stand up for Ally, saying, “We’ll Thelma and Louise this sh*t.” This is a reference to the тιтular film that blends together the genres of buddy comedy, crime drama, and romance. Thelma and Louise go on a trip to get away from the men in their lives, and they get caught up in a crime. By the end, they love each other enough to kiss while driving off a cliff together.

5

His Girl Friday

The Movie Playing At The Drive-In Theater During The Heart Eyes Mᴀssacre

Halfway through Heart Eyes, Ally and Jay escape the Heart Eyes Killer’s attack at the police station, running away until they accidentally arrive at the drive-in theater. On the screen is the classic 1940 screwball comedy film His Girl Friday, which Ally reveals to be a movie she loves.

The movie follows a newspaper editor named Walter Burns who tries to get back his reporter ex-wife, Hildy Johnson, by giving her a story about a convicted killer’s execution. The Heart Eyes character even watches it when she gets home from the mᴀssacre. Ally’s love for His Girl Friday is a hint that she’s much more of a romantic than she seems to be and that she really wants love.

4

Love, Actually

Ally Going To The Airport To Stop Jay From Getting On The Plane

An extremely popular trope in the romance and rom-com genres is a person running to the airport to stop their lover from getting on a plane. The most popular example of this narrative choice happens in Love, Actually – a movie that weaves together many love stories around Christmastime. Sam goes to the airport to tell Joanna how he feels, and they end up kissing.

Variations of the “Run For Your Love” trope can be found in movies like Crazy Rich Asians, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Sleepless in Seattle, and Funny Girl.

Heart Eyes also uses this trope, albeit with a twist. Ally takes a cab to the airport to stop Jay from leaving and profess her feelings. However, she receives a call revealing that Jay never made it to the airport.

3

Cinderella

Ally’s Rant About Romance During Her Dinner With Jay

When Ally and Jay meet up at their work dinner, Jay talks positively about love while Ally makes her skepticism of relationships very clear. She goes on a rant about the fact that everyone seeks fairytale love, even though it’s rare. At the end of her speech, Ally references Cinderella, saying, “Prince Charming? Until you catch him f*cking your sister.” This hilarious quote is a reflection of Ally’s mental state early on, showing just how much she’s grown by the end of Heart Eyes.

2

Forget Me Not

The Heart Eyes Killer’s Phone Call To Ally

One of the cleverest and most obscure romance movie references in Heart Eyes happens toward the end of the movie when the Heart Eyes Killer calls Ally on the phone. He says, “Roses are red; violets are black. Guess who’s with me and not coming back?” When she asks, “Who is this?” the killer replies, “We’ve met before. Forget me not.”

Forget Me Not is the тιтle of an all-but-forgotten British romantic dramedy, and it’s also the тιтle of a 2009 little-known horror movie. The double Easter egg perfectly exemplifies the tone of Heart Eyes, which balances rom-coms with horror. Additionally, it represents the slasher film’s inclusion of both gallows humor and lighthearted comedy.

1

Runaway Bride

The Final Moments Of The Story In Heart Eyes

The final romance Easter egg occurs after Ally and Jay get engaged. The Heart Eyes soundtrack starts playing “You Can’t Hurry Love” by The Supremes. This is a direct reference to Runaway Bride, which tells the story of a woman named Maggie who has repeatedly run away from the alter and a reporter named Ike who wants to cover her story.

After Maggie and Ike get married at the very end of the film, Runaway Bride famously plays a cover of the song “You Can’t Hurry Love” by The Chicks. Given the self-aware nature of the script, it feels appropriate that the final moments of Heart Eyes, before the credits, is a romance Easter Egg.