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Film and TV

Relationships Suck: Top 5 Movies About Awful Couplings

There is nothing more wonderful than being alone on Valentine's Day! Naturally, we are being sarcastic. As one half of a couple, Valentine's Day brings potential surprise engagements, co-worker jealousy-inducing flower deliveries, overpriced prix fixe dinners, a reason to shop at Victoria's Secret, or, at the very least, a cheap, heart-shaped box of chocolates.

For those of us that are single out there, Valentine's Day brings attention to sappy love songs on the radio, a sudden overabundance of PDA, a shockingly noticeable amount of pregnant women, in-your-face "love sucks/Anti-Valentine's" parties and an excellent excuse to overindulge in wine and cheese alone in your apartment while watching Friends.

Let's look on the bright side here, people, being single can be a blessing, especially on the fourteenth of February. You don't have to worry about what to wear, where to eat without seeming too cheap, or if you should even celebrate together because that may mean that you are indeed dating and then you'll have to go change your Facebook status and open yourself up to ridiculing posts from friends and family. There are a lot of reasons to celebrate being single on Valentine's Day -- relationships can be a real pain in the ass.

Art Attack would like to think that on this occasion the glass is half-full (after being refilled numerous times), and we've got some movies to prove it. Watching these flicks will make you thank God you're alone. Art Attack wishes you a Happy Valentine's Day with the top 5 movies to make you feel better about being single.

5. Revolutionary Road Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet play an unhappy married couple living in the 1950s that have fallen into a deep rut. For a brief, shining moment they are exultant with the notion of ditching it all and moving to Paris, but it doesn't last very long. If you want to see a depressing film that will make you never want to get married in the 1950s, Revolutionary Road is the way to go.

4. Sleeping With the Enemy Oh, Julia Roberts, did you think you were in this wonderful-yuppyish, happy marriage and everything was perfect and looked like an L.L. Bean catalog? Wrong. Your husband is a psychotic, abusive asshole that will stop at nothing to control you and your long, luscious hair.

3. We Don't Live Here Anymore We Don't Live Here Anymore is a little indie film that came out in 2004 starring Laura Dern, Mark Ruffalo, Peter Krause and Naomi Watts. The plot revolves around two couples that happen to be great friends and are committing adultery with each other. This movie makes you question not only marriage and love but your friends, too! Turn your back for a moment and will they be sleeping with your husband? While this movie is smart and beautiful, with excellent acting, it really makes you want to find a good divorce lawyer.

2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind While Eternal Sunshine is filled with perfect relationship moments, meeting on a train, falling in love, being silly together, it flips the switch on you just as quickly. Yuck! Some of the conversations the audience is forced to endure from the movie's leads, Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey, are gut-wrenching. Watching two people call each other out on all of their imperfections is never a good time, despite this movie being one of the best (IMO) ever made.

1. Blue Valentine Blue Valentine was released in 2010 to critical praise and received numerous film festival awards. If you have not seen it, be prepared for a very difficult pill to swallow. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams play a married couple on the verge of destruction. The film cuts in and out of their courtship and current meltdown, with explicit scenes that will make you sick. Even if you are rooting for the couple in the end, you will walk away thanking your lucky stars that you are not in their relationship.

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Abby Koenig
Contact: Abby Koenig