The best kisses that have ever happened onscreen, because you need to see kissing
Happy International Kissing Day—one day (out of many) spent bowing down to the glory of the kiss. And what better way to honor awesome lip-to-lip moments than by looking back at some of those famous kisses that collectively knocked the wind out of us? Answer: There is no better way.
What is it about our favorite characters kissing that makes us feel so many feelings? What is it that makes us want to gawk and analyze and press rewind and watch again and maybe cry when fictional people we love finally touch lips? Or, really, touch lips in a way that seems primal and full of that kind of deep, resonant love that can carry you through anything.
We feel things when we watch these kisses. We feel happy. We feel hopeful and excited. We maybe even feel a little bit jealous. We wish these kisses had happened to us or maybe we wish they were happening right now. We love these kisses. Quite literally, they make us swoon (i.e.: to be emotionally affected by someone or something that one admires; become ecstatic).
Here are our favorite kisses. Don’t get all grumpy if we didn’t include yours, just tell us about them!
HALL OF FAME KISSING
1. Ross, Rachel and the kiss that you could watch 100,000,000,000 times:
2. Jim and Pam for all the wins in the world of wins. OH MY GOD. JIM AND PAM.
3. Jess and Nick on New Girl and not just because we’re biased, but because—damn, son—these humans have chemistry
4. You are actually not allowed by law to talk about kissing without mentioning The Notebook. Mad props to McAdams/Gosling for making love and kissing look like this.
5. Angelina Jolie in Gia kissing. Everything about this movie, really. But for being ahead of its time and showing two women in love and struggling in their relationship and kissing.
6. Jake and Samantha from Sixteen Candles, on the table, in front of a birthday cake, after the day she had, is a moment our pre-teen selves wanted to live inside of…
7. And also this moment of pure exuberance:
MORE GOOD KISSING
8. I mean, Danny Castellano, for the love of all the holy things. He looks like a good kisser.
9. Say Anything, people. Lloyd Dobler. There is no better.
10. My Girl kissing. Could honestly cry just looking at this.
11. The kiss that makes you cry, part 2: Everything about Brokeback Mountain hurts, but especially Ennis (Heath Ledger) and Jack’s (Jake Gyllenhaal)’s tragic love and forbidden kissing
12. Look at her face. Alex owns Piper in this Orange Is The New Black kiss scene
13. Scully/Mulder/you know you want to watch this on a loop forever kissing
14. Harry Potter in Movies, K-I-S-S-I-N-G
15. Kurt and Blaine kiss on Glee!
16. Oh you thought you were over kissing, but wait. Seth and Summer
17. Never Been Kissed but NOW SHE HAS
18. Friday Night Lights Riggins/Lyla Garrity mega kissing
19. Breakfast at Tiffany‘s, with a cat, in the rain kissing
20. By the copier, finding-love-at-work (500) Days of Summer kissing
SPECIAL MENTION NON-FICTIONAL KISSING
21. Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Blue Ivy at last year’s VMAs does not really fit in here, but it doesn’t matter really because, this is amazing