Greetings, reader!
And a happy if-Donald-Trump-was-a-month to all. While I try not to make N*vember into a self-fulfilling prophecy from year to year, I can't help but feel somewhat of a negative charge towards this month that always seems to bring the shittiest low-points of each calendar year in its wake. I've noticed that quite a few people feel the same way (I mean really, when have you ever heard someone go "Man I can't wait for November this year! That's when all the fun happens!"), so I figured I'd do a favor for anyone interested and share some of my favorite feel-good movies to brighten up this time of year. In a certain mood, there's nothing that'll lift your spirits like a good uplifting movie.
Here are my honorable mentions: Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Mamma Mia! (2008), The Blues Brothers (1980), The Breakfast Club (1985), The Intouchables (2011), The Terminal (2004), Top Gun (1986).
10. 21 Jump Street (2012)
"We're reviving a cancelled undercover police program from the 80's and revamping it for modern times. You see, the guys in charge of this stuff lack creativity and are completely out of ideas, so all they do now is recycle shit from the past and expect us all not to notice"
21 Jump Street is, at heart, semi-mindless high school comedy / action entertainment. But with the impeccable chemistry between Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, the immense amount of heart put into the film amidst the stupid jokes, and the surprisingly exciting plot, it accidentally became a masterpiece of semi-mindless high school comedy / action entertainment.
There are many films like 21 Jump Street, but none that are as good. The film will make you laugh, while subtly sucking you in to care about the silly main characters more than you'd expect, so much so that you'll be pumping your fist for their unlikely friendship during the payoff-filled final act. Not only is 21 Jump Street a massively entertaining blockbuster comedy fitting of a rainy N*vember day, it is also much sweeter and more wholesome than you'd expect from a movie filled to the brim with crude jokes and F-bombs.
9. The Big Sick (2017)
"You've never talked to people about 9/11?"
"No, what's your - what's your stance?"
"What's my stance on 9/11? Oh, um, anti"
I know that a conversation about 9/11 doesn't scream "feel-good movie", but as The Big Sick is a comedy, I just had to include the film's objectively funniest line as its representative quote. While this semi-autobiographical Kumail Nanjiani film does touch some heavy topics such as immigration and illness, it is as a whole one of the most sure-fire films to leave a genuine, lasting smile on your face.
The issues are dealt with in a respectful and wholesome manner, the amplitude of jokes is more than enough to counter the more gripping moments, and the love story at the center of it all is very touching (especially when considering how it mirrors Nanjiani's real-life love story with wife Emily Gordon). This film has all the sweet elements of a typical rom-com, but much more substance than the average film from that genre, making the payoffs and romantic moments feel more earned and powerful.
8. Back to the Future (1985)
"Wait a minute, wait a minute, Doc, uh...are you telling me that you built a TIME MACHINE - out of a DELOREAN?"
"The way I see it, if you're gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style?"
I recently re-watched Back to the Future, and while there are individual moments where the film hasn't aged in the best possible way, nothing has changed the fact that as a whole, it's one of the most fist-pump-worthy, "aww yiss" movies of sheer excitement and joy that have ever been made. The best feel-good films are either the occasionally heavy ones that deal with themes in a therapeutic manner, or the ones that momentarily whisk your troubles away in a brilliant fit of escapism, and Back to the Future is a grade-A example of the latter.
While watching this film, there's a good chance you'll forget all about your troubles no matter what you're going through, as it sucks the viewer into its magnificent atmosphere of pure 80's fun quite fully. For any given melancholic mood or crappy day, this film's mixture of rock n' roll, wacky sci-fi, light adventure excitement and brilliant comedy might just be the fix.
7. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
"Remember, Red - hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies"
A word of warning: The Shawshank Redemption is a specific sort of feel-good movie, and only recommended for certain situations: in the divide of feel-good movies into the ones that end up making you feel good after dealing with heavy topics and the ones that are light-hearted escapist fun from start to finish, this film 100 per cent belongs to the former: there are some seriously gripping moments to get through before you reach the payoffs. I still see it as a feel-good film, because when watched from beginning to end, it is bound to leave one feeling inspired and smiling, but the hardships endured throughout the story mean that it might not be the best viewing for those wanting something more light and purely fun.
But if you don't mind witnessing dark middle-of-the-road moments in order to get to the earned feel-good-momentum, then I can't think of a better film to make you feel better somewhere deep inside than this deeply touching and empowering masterpiece. Today's list mostly consists of the fun-all-the-way-through kind of films, but if you're interested in more examples of the through-darkness-into-the-light variety like Shawshank, I can recommend Dead Poets Society (1989) and It's a Wonderful Life (1946) as well.
6. Love Actually (2003)
"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere"
And here we have the opposite end of the spectrum, in relation to the heavy-but-ultimately-uplifting types; Love Actually is all fluff, from beginning to end, and it's fantastic. It is of course a Christmas flick, so one could argue that watching in December would make much more sense, but let's face it - the tail end of N*vember is already starting to be Yuletide season, at least based on the amount of times that you hear Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Is You when walking around town. So if you really need to cheer yourself up in this bleak-seeming world, and don't have a problem with major amounts of cheesiness, then this feel-good rom-com built on hugs and smiles might just be what you need.
5. School of Rock (2003)
"You've heard of Aretha Franklin, right? She's a big lady. But when she sings, she blows people's minds. Everyone wants to party with Aretha! And, you know who else had a weight issue? Me. But when I get up there and start doing my thing, people worship me! Because I'm sexy! And chubby, man"
First of all, School of Rock is an incredibly nostalgic film for me, as I watched it many times as a kid with my family, and the film was one of the many catalysts into me being the rock music enthusiast I am today. Second of all, upon rewatching the film at a more mature age, I've been happy to notice one thing: in this age where a depressing amount of our childhood favorite films are turning out to have aged poorly, due to reflecting racist / sexist / homophobic etc. norms of their time, School of Rock is one of those delightful films that have aged especially well.
This rock-and-roll coming-of-age Richard Linklater film is all about different sorts of kids finding validation, and I've more than once stumbled upon articles about School of Rock being weirdly ahead of its time, heralding it as an example for how many issues should be treated. School of Rock is full of good humor, great music and excellent life lessons for anyone, and if you have kids, I can especially recommend watching it with them - I know at least one set of parents who watched this film with their weird, outsider-feeling kid, and the movie had quite an impact on him. I think I heard he's currently studying to be a music teacher much like Jack Black's character in this film, and living the dream of playing in a rock band.
4. Tag (2018)
"Synchronize your watches"
"I don't know how to do that"
"I don't have a watch"
"Time is a construct"
There are layers to how feel-good of a movie this absolute gem is. Layer #1: as a comedy film, it's funny as hell, and will fill even the coldest N*vember day with laughter. Layer #2: the concept of a group of adults playing an ongoing game of tag they've been playing since childhood is creative and endearing, feeling all the more touching when you remember that this is based on a true story.
Layer #3: through this concept, the film has a lot to say about the important topic of finding your inner child even as a grown-up - I find the idea of 'never stop playing' healthy and important in today's hectic culture. And layer #4: for a silly comedy, Tag has some surprisingly dark moments, but ultimately they are what gives the film an extra amount of heart, making the feel-good element all the more powerful when all is said and done. This film will make you laugh a lot, cry a little, and probably cry from laughter by the end.
3. Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018)
"The greatest thing that we can do is to help somebody know that they're loved and capable of loving"
The only documentary to make today's list, this one is all about iconic TV figure Mr. Rogers. I only had a faint idea of who Rogers was when this film came out, and I remember wondering why suddenly everyone is talking about the documentary about some TV personality from long ago and why it would be such a big deal. Then I watched Won't You Be My Neighbor?, and now the man is somewhat of a hero to me, even though his show was very much not a part of my childhood or anything.
The central theme of Rogers' show, and thus the documentary as well, was kindness. Maybe that's why it felt especially powerful that the film came out during the Trump era - there seemed to be so much everyday kindness missing in American discourse at the moment, with people seeming so fed up and angry with each other all the time (me very much included, unfortunately). Won't You Be My Neighbor is a powerful look at the unique philosophy that helped Rogers be so kind and empathetic towards everyone he encountered, as well as a testament to his show's influence, with so many people sharing stories of how the show helped shape their values in a positive manner and deal with many difficult things. This film will make you feel better about the world, humanity, and yourself.
2. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
"What...is your name?"
"Sir Galahad of Camelot"
"What...is your quest?"
"I seek the Grail"
"What...is your favorite color?"
"Blue. NO, WAIT, YELL..."
Laughter is right up there with ice cream in the category of "sometimes X is the best medicine". Most of the films on today's list feature powerful life lessons and touching narratives of victory through hardship - not this one, though. The first and best Monty Python film is on here purely because it's the hands-down funniest film ever made, and on a certain kind of shitty day, there's just nothing better than to turn your brain off for a moment and enjoy some hilarious entertainment.
While the films of today's list are all here because they're very uplifting when all is said and done, pretty much all of them except for this one also have their darker moments (even Won't You Be My Neighbor has a bit about the right-wing evangelicals who denounced Mr. Rogers and even protested outside his funeral because he says that he accepts gay people - gotta say, despite everything I just said about kindness, I do hope that those fundamentalist assholes have an absolutely miserable N*vember). So if you feel like watching something purely smile-worthy, with no difficult drama to get through in order to get to the fun and spirit-lifting parts, then this laugh-fest is the film for you. You can even make it into a double feature by including The Life of Brian (1979), with its unforgettable lesson about always looking on the bright side of life!
1. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it"
It's November 2019. A young university freshman has just come home, absolutely beaten down by his amount of schoolwork and other stress, not realizing how much he's overachieving while he could be prioritizing some classes and taking it easy on others. In his apartment, he decides that he'll gather strength for the day's remaining schoolwork by first watching a movie, and then putting in a few extra hours in the evening. He picks a movie out of the box in his room, in which there are titles of classic movies he hasn't seen yet written on pieces of paper, and as fate would have it, he picks the one movie that the universe needed him to see that day: Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
1 hour and 43 minutes later, the young man calmly puts his studying materials back into his backpack (they'll still be there the next day), and goes out for a walk to enjoy the fresh air. The movie he just watched was the goofy 80's comedy about cutting class that he expected, but it was also so much more than that. You see, Ferris Bueller's Day Off isn't merely about cutting class for the heck of it, but rather about a high school cool guy (who is cooler than all the other 80's cinema cool guys because this cool guy cares), whose best friend has overachieved to the point of constantly being sick and not enjoying life anymore, so he gives this friend exactly what he needs: a fun and adventurous day full of different activities far away from the stress of schoolwork.
We all need such days sometimes, and in today's society, it's so hellishly easy to get caught up in the wheel of stress, overachieving, and just work, work, work to the point of wondering what it is that you're working so hard for, if you're not taking the time to live life every now and then. This film hammers that point home beautifully, encapsulated in the iconic words: "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it". The freshman I was telling about most certainly needed to hear those words and would even cite watching this film as somewhat of a turning point in how he prioritizes things, or at least as a powerful reminder of his core values learned from his wise parents once upon a time.
Thank you for reading! Tune in next week as I celebrate the 20-year anniversary of 8 Mile by ranking the greatest music biopics of all time.
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