Movies that could save your marriage

That’s the overarching conclusion of a new study out of the University of Rochester, which found that watching a film that examined the complexities of marriage and discussing the issues together as a couple can be just as effective at curbing divorce rates as traditional marriage counseling methods.

The findings, published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, show that the movie method helped cut the divorce rate of newlywed couples from 24 percent to 11 percent at the three-year mark -- the same success rate as supervised sessions conducted by trained therapists.

"Taking time to sit down and take an objective look at your relationship with your partner is going to be helpful for any couple at any stage,” said study lead author Ronald Rogge in a statement.

“They can make it a yearly thing they do around their anniversary -- watch a movie together and talk about it. That would be a fantastic thing to do and a great present to give themselves each year."

For the study, 174 couples were divided into three groups and underwent various marriage counseling methods. Couples in the movie group were sent home with a list of film titles and instructed to watch one film a week. Using a questionnaire, participants were then asked to talk about the marital issues presented in the film and relate them back to their coupledom.

Want to try out the movie method yourself? Rogge has put together the list of movies used in the study, a list of recommended titles, and the movie discussion questions online.

A Star Is Born Adam’s Rib Anna Karenina As Good As It Gets Barefoot in the Park Children of a Lesser God Days of Wine and Roses Desk Set Dying Young Fools Rush In Forget Paris French Twist Funny Girl Gone with the Wind Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner Hanover Street Husbands and Wives Indecent Proposal Jungle Fever Love Jones Love Story Made for Each Other Mississippi Masala Move Over, Darling Mr. Blandings Builds His Dreamhouse My Favorite Wife Nina Takes a Lover Nine Months On Golden Pond Pat and Mike Penny Serenade Pfft! Red Firecracker, Green Firecracker She’s Having a Baby Steel Magnolias Terms of Endearment The Devil’s Advocate The Egg and I The Male Animal The Out of Towners The Thin Man The Way We Were Untamed Heart When a Man Loves a Woman Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf With Six You Get Eggroll Yours, Mine and Ours

Additional movies recommended: American Beauty Anger Management Autumn in New York Bee Season Before Sunset Blue Valentine Coal Miner’s Daughter Couples Retreat Crooklyn Date Night Deliver Us from Eva Devil Wears Prada Family Man Father of the Bride Fool’s Gold Four Christmases Her Hope Springs It’s Complicated Julie & Julia Jumping the Broom Just Married Life as We Know It Longtime Companion Love and Other Drugs Marley and Me Meet the Fockers Monster-in-Law Mr. & Mrs. Smith Obsessed Something’s Gotta Give Surviving Christmas Sweet Home Alabama Sweet November The Five-Year Engagement The Backup Plan The Big Wedding The Bounty Hunter The Breakup The Campaign The Door in the Floor The Good Girl The Horse Whisperer The Marriage Chronicles The Mirror Has Two Faces The Money Pit The Notebook The Story of Us Think Like a Man True Lies Unfaithful Waiting to Exhale Wanderlust Why Did I Get Married? You, Me and Dupree

What main problem(s) did this couple face? Are any of these similar to the problems that the two of you have faced or might face as a couple?

Did the couple have a strong friendship with each other? Were they able to support each other through bad moods, stressful days, and hard times? Did they listen to each other like good friends? Did the couple in the movie do considerate or affectionate things for each other?