Do Romantic Gestures Work In Real Life?

Has anyone ever tried to recreate a romantic scene from a movie to woo you? Do grand romantic gestures work in real life? Apparently it's more common than you might think. In a survey conducted by 1-800-FLOWERS.COM in time for Valentine's Day, 2,000 U.S. customers spilled the beans on trying to pull off grand gestures from the silver screen. According to the numbers, about one in every seven people has attempted to recreate a romantic movie scene at some point, only to find that they are (*spoiler alert*) significantly more challenging in real life.

Overall, Americans don't consider themselves to be terribly romantic. Only 25 percent of respondents reported being romantics, and 68 percent of people believe that those romantic overtures from the movies seem good on the screen, but are barely even possible in the real world. But judging by my newsfeed, romance isn't completely dead. So what gives with all those proposals anyway?

You've probably heard some of your friends telling their lengthy engagement stories which somehow always involve one half of the couple struggling through a comedy of errors to keep their plot a secret, and the other half pretending that he or she doesn't already know what's about to go down. Surprises are difficult to organize, and romantic surprises are, evidently, doubly so.

That difficulty may be explained by a fickle little conflict between the 79 percent of people who say they like a good romantic surprise, and the 41 percent of people who are suspicious of the motives behind said surprise. In the words of the immortal wedding songstress Etta James, "Love will see us through, if only you trust in me." So, stop being so suspicious, people.

But apparently, a whole bunch of these people are just guessing how they would feel about all of this hypothetical romance anyway, because almost half of all respondents said that they had never texted their partners just to say "I love you." You 860 people need to pick up your phones right now and get your life together. You can thank me later.

So, if you're thinking about recreating a classic movie scene this Valentine's Day, take a look at this infographic and consider coming up with your own hopelessly romantic surprise.

Image: Touchstone Pictures; 1-800-FLOWERS.COM