'Throwback Thursday': 'An Affair to Remember' perfected New Year's

When I was 15, my mother decided it was time to put a little epic romance in my life by showing me the 1957 classic An Affair to Remember. I had just seen Sleepless in Seattle at a friend’s sleepover and couldn’t stop talking about it, so my mother thought it would be good for me to know where that film had gotten its inspiration. So as a young teenager then in my first “real” relationship, I watched An Affair to Remember and imagined the day I would get a New Year’s kiss like the one shared between Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. I watched as this epic romance unfolded, and suddenly, I felt like one moment could change my entire life, like I could meet my true love on the next New Year’s Eve (or the one after that).

Quick refresher: In the film, Kerr and Grant kiss on New Year’s Eve. But after realizing they’re both engaged to other people, they make a deal to meet on top of the Empire State Building in six months if they’re both still interested. I won’t spoil the rest of the story for you, but the important thing is that it all started with a perfect New Year’s kiss.

Watch the “trailer” for An Affair to Remember below:

Since An Affair to Remember, dozens of films from When Harry Met Sally to Bridget Jones’ Diary and the a bit on-the-nose-titled New Year’s Eve have incorporated New Year’s kisses of all kinds (some more successfully than others). So what’s your favorite pop culture New Year’s kiss? I’m sure you know mine.