Life is not a romantic comedy. If it were, the Grand Romantic Gesture would not tend to get one arrested. You can get away with some really creepy stuff in movies, however. The difference is that the audience knows these two people are ultimately meant for each other, while in real life all you have to go on is the fact that one person is pursuing another. When that behavior become stalkerish, the real-life response is to run far away. Take, for example, The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Much of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 finds Peter Parker doing battle with that most formidable of foes: his girlfriend’s desire to live her own life. After breaking up with Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy, Peter adds her photos to his crazy conspiracy wall (with the unnerving note, “Do I have to lose you too??”), then uses his Spidey powers to stalk his ex-girlfriend all around Manhattan. And just as Gwen’s in mortal danger of pursuing her career at Oxford, he scrawls, “I LOVE YOU” on the Brooklyn Bridge, snatches her to the top of it, then insists he’s just “going to follow [her] everywhere,” forever. See, it’s sweet, because she’s literally powerless to resist!
Not all of the examples in this list at the AV Club are movies; there are also TV shows, songs, and plays. And you could probably think of more stories that aren’t on the list. Altogether, it’s a lesson in what not to do for Valentines Day. -via Metafilter