“All you need is love,” right? At least that seems to be the general message rampant not only in theaters today, but in many movies since the beginning of filmmaking.

Year after year, movie after movie is released centered on the pining and whining of unrequited love, or the ecstasy of ending up with the one that you want. They range from comical (the famed diner-orgasm scene from “When Harry Met Sally”) to tragic (who can forget Ewan McGregor’s sob at the end of “Moulin Rouge?”)

Some are great, like the British made, wonderfully acted “Love Actually,” and some are simply terrible, for example, Sandra Bullock’s “Hope Floats.” Cartoons aren’t even safe. Some of Disney’s most famous animated films are about lovers’ attempts to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles, be it a mermaid in love with a human hunk, or a cinder-covered servant girl lusting after a prince.

But what have we gotten from all these movies, other than the obvious fact that falling for a prince is the way to go? Have all these love-based movies provided America with an unrealistic and potentially disappointing view of love?

It seems as though people base their expectations for falling in love on characters and relationships they see in movies. Films provide guidelines for how love should be –