that's why god made the movies
September 24, 2023 11:15 AM Subscribe
Vanity Fair lists 31 feel good movies to boost your mood. Archive link.
Options to buy and stream below each suggestion in the Vanity Fair link, which is a handy feature.
Presented in chronological order, the list appears to be of the "one selection from each contributor" variety, so there's a fun selection.
The list itself below, if your mood booster is arguing with lists and not clicking on links:
* City Lights
* The Bishop’s Wife
* Harvey
* Singin’ in the Rain
* Roman Holiday
* Lilies of the Field
* Harold and Maude
* Gregory’s Girl
* Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
* The Princess Bride
* Working Girl
* Field of Dreams
* Sister Act
* The Pelican Brief
* Groundhog Day
* Clueless
* French Kiss
* The Birdcage
* Good Will Hunting
* 10 Things I Hate About You
* Galaxy Quest
* Spirited Away
* Bend It Like Beckham
* Pride & Prejudice
* Akeelah and the Bee
* Sing Street
* Lady Bird
* Coco
* Yesterday
* In the Heights
* Everything Everywhere All at Once
* Rye Lane
Options to buy and stream below each suggestion in the Vanity Fair link, which is a handy feature.
Presented in chronological order, the list appears to be of the "one selection from each contributor" variety, so there's a fun selection.
The list itself below, if your mood booster is arguing with lists and not clicking on links:
* City Lights
* The Bishop’s Wife
* Harvey
* Singin’ in the Rain
* Roman Holiday
* Lilies of the Field
* Harold and Maude
* Gregory’s Girl
* Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
* The Princess Bride
* Working Girl
* Field of Dreams
* Sister Act
* The Pelican Brief
* Groundhog Day
* Clueless
* French Kiss
* The Birdcage
* Good Will Hunting
* 10 Things I Hate About You
* Galaxy Quest
* Spirited Away
* Bend It Like Beckham
* Pride & Prejudice
* Akeelah and the Bee
* Sing Street
* Lady Bird
* Coco
* Yesterday
* In the Heights
* Everything Everywhere All at Once
* Rye Lane
They left off the all time most obvious movie for this list...Pollyanna.
posted by Chuffy at 11:35 AM on September 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Chuffy at 11:35 AM on September 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
Missing Wings of Desire
posted by TwoToneRow at 11:35 AM on September 24, 2023 [21 favorites]
posted by TwoToneRow at 11:35 AM on September 24, 2023 [21 favorites]
The Birdcage? Boost my mood, really?? It’s full of homophobia and irritating misunderstandings.
posted by Melismata at 11:43 AM on September 24, 2023 [10 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 11:43 AM on September 24, 2023 [10 favorites]
There are no Hal Hartley movies. Also Eurovision: Song of Fire and Ice which has got to be one of the most upbeat movies of recent history. Everyone is so nice. Watch it.
posted by misterpatrick at 11:45 AM on September 24, 2023 [14 favorites]
posted by misterpatrick at 11:45 AM on September 24, 2023 [14 favorites]
Harold and Maude is kind of big picture feel good, I guess? But it puts you through the wringer in the process. I generally cry more than I laugh with that one.
posted by rikschell at 11:47 AM on September 24, 2023 [19 favorites]
posted by rikschell at 11:47 AM on September 24, 2023 [19 favorites]
Ah yes, Coco, the heartwarming story of the land of Death, and a mysterious land beyond Death where you go if mamaw forgets you.
posted by credulous at 11:49 AM on September 24, 2023 [13 favorites]
posted by credulous at 11:49 AM on September 24, 2023 [13 favorites]
I don't hate this list. A lot of them belong here, and I look forward to those I don't know given how decent the choices are elsewhere.
posted by bonehead at 11:56 AM on September 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by bonehead at 11:56 AM on September 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
My missing feel-good movies are
* 5th Element (1997)
* Into the night (1985)
* LA Story (1991)
posted by bonehead at 11:59 AM on September 24, 2023 [21 favorites]
* 5th Element (1997)
* Into the night (1985)
* LA Story (1991)
posted by bonehead at 11:59 AM on September 24, 2023 [21 favorites]
Harold and Maude is in the same category as Truly, Madly, Deeply for me. Great film but more catharsis than feel-good.
posted by bonehead at 12:00 PM on September 24, 2023
posted by bonehead at 12:00 PM on September 24, 2023
Aw, I'm a big fan of Akeelah and the Bee and I'm happy to see it on this list. It wasn't a hit back in the day, but it seems to have long legs.
posted by BlahLaLa at 12:01 PM on September 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by BlahLaLa at 12:01 PM on September 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
I don't hate this list.
I do. Only missing Jersey State and The Phantom Menace.
An actual feel-good film, and (the horror!) it's not from this century: Breaking Away.
And yes, Get Of My Lawn!
posted by Rash at 12:04 PM on September 24, 2023 [14 favorites]
I do. Only missing Jersey State and The Phantom Menace.
An actual feel-good film, and (the horror!) it's not from this century: Breaking Away.
And yes, Get Of My Lawn!
posted by Rash at 12:04 PM on September 24, 2023 [14 favorites]
I think cathartic movies can be feel-good movies, just not all feel-good movies are cathartic. Like, the idea that Coco is not a feel good movie for some people is one of those "huh, aren't human differences interesting" moments for me.
Similarly, Waitress is a whole mess about abusive relationships and the magical healing power of having an unwanted baby, which is objectively problematic, but it makes me happy.
posted by the primroses were over at 12:06 PM on September 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
Similarly, Waitress is a whole mess about abusive relationships and the magical healing power of having an unwanted baby, which is objectively problematic, but it makes me happy.
posted by the primroses were over at 12:06 PM on September 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
Seconding Fifth Element.
My list would include Hot Fuzz and The Martian.
posted by damsel with a dulcimer at 12:07 PM on September 24, 2023 [12 favorites]
My list would include Hot Fuzz and The Martian.
posted by damsel with a dulcimer at 12:07 PM on September 24, 2023 [12 favorites]
I don't know whether to blame this on post-9/11 angst or just the malaise of a pre-out trans person trying to make cis life make sense in their 20s, but I discovered that one movie, every time, was able to pull me out of depressed mood. Because things could always be so so so much worse.
Happiness (1998)
posted by neuracnu at 12:07 PM on September 24, 2023 [8 favorites]
Happiness (1998)
posted by neuracnu at 12:07 PM on September 24, 2023 [8 favorites]
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. There's one line I find problematic now. But when it was made it was not uncommon to hear. It's just two dudes who aren't that great and failing school going on an adventure and they come back and they succeed. And that saves the universe.
posted by downtohisturtles at 12:18 PM on September 24, 2023 [10 favorites]
posted by downtohisturtles at 12:18 PM on September 24, 2023 [10 favorites]
This list seemed like a totally random selection of popular movies? Like ENTIRELY random.
posted by potrzebie at 12:21 PM on September 24, 2023 [12 favorites]
posted by potrzebie at 12:21 PM on September 24, 2023 [12 favorites]
Across the Universe
An American in Paris
Back to the Future
Emma (2020)
High Society
Little Women (2019)
My Neighbor Totoro
Nine to Five
Radio Days
Real Genius
Stop Making Sense
The Big Sleep
The Blues Brothers
The Hudsucker Proxy
The Music Man
The Maltese Falcon
The Parent Trap (1998)
The Royal Tenenbaums
To Have and Have Not
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 12:23 PM on September 24, 2023 [16 favorites]
An American in Paris
Back to the Future
Emma (2020)
High Society
Little Women (2019)
My Neighbor Totoro
Nine to Five
Radio Days
Real Genius
Stop Making Sense
The Big Sleep
The Blues Brothers
The Hudsucker Proxy
The Music Man
The Maltese Falcon
The Parent Trap (1998)
The Royal Tenenbaums
To Have and Have Not
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 12:23 PM on September 24, 2023 [16 favorites]
Trouble in Paradise (1932)
Pride (2014)
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:27 PM on September 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
Pride (2014)
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:27 PM on September 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
I saw The Peanut Butter Falcon by accident, and damned if I wasn't uplifted.
posted by fairmettle at 12:27 PM on September 24, 2023 [10 favorites]
posted by fairmettle at 12:27 PM on September 24, 2023 [10 favorites]
Adding Hellzapoppin', Time Bandits, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, and the entire prime of the Brothers Marx.
posted by delfin at 12:29 PM on September 24, 2023 [11 favorites]
posted by delfin at 12:29 PM on September 24, 2023 [11 favorites]
Yes, Breaking Away is the first title I think of when anyone mentions “feel good movies.”
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 12:30 PM on September 24, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 12:30 PM on September 24, 2023 [8 favorites]
It's not everyone's cup of tea but Speed Racer always puts me in a better mood
posted by jazon at 12:32 PM on September 24, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by jazon at 12:32 PM on September 24, 2023 [8 favorites]
Saving Face (2004)
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:37 PM on September 24, 2023
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:37 PM on September 24, 2023
Seconding that this list really needs My Neighbor Totoro.
My nomination for a feel-good movie not on the list: Jump Tomorrow.
I am always on the lookout for feel-good movies, so thank you for this post, the primroses were over!
posted by kristi at 12:47 PM on September 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
My nomination for a feel-good movie not on the list: Jump Tomorrow.
I am always on the lookout for feel-good movies, so thank you for this post, the primroses were over!
posted by kristi at 12:47 PM on September 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
Local Hero
posted by 1970s Antihero at 12:53 PM on September 24, 2023 [20 favorites]
posted by 1970s Antihero at 12:53 PM on September 24, 2023 [20 favorites]
Good Will Hunting? I mean, I guess the ending. But the rest of the movie is down right soul gutting.
or maybe it's my history as an abuse survivor coloring it
posted by kathrynm at 12:59 PM on September 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
or maybe it's my history as an abuse survivor coloring it
posted by kathrynm at 12:59 PM on September 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
I once promoted Bliss (1985) as something of a feel-good flick and really horrified the people I recommended it to.
I see now, skimming Wikipedia, that hundreds of people walked out when it was screened at Cannes.
It's very good.
posted by Glomar response at 12:59 PM on September 24, 2023 [7 favorites]
I see now, skimming Wikipedia, that hundreds of people walked out when it was screened at Cannes.
It's very good.
posted by Glomar response at 12:59 PM on September 24, 2023 [7 favorites]
ROMAN HOLIDAY? That film destroyed me! We watched it ten years ago and I'm not sure my brother has recovered!
posted by an octopus IRL at 1:18 PM on September 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by an octopus IRL at 1:18 PM on September 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Wait, Harold and Maude next to Gregory’s Girl? Did I write this list or something?
(make sure you watch the un-dubbed Gregory's Girl. The accents in the dubbed version make Brigadoon sound authentic)
posted by scruss at 1:23 PM on September 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
(make sure you watch the un-dubbed Gregory's Girl. The accents in the dubbed version make Brigadoon sound authentic)
posted by scruss at 1:23 PM on September 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
Honestly I think that My Neighbour Totoro is the only movie that qualifies for this list. Nobody dies. No one is hurt. There's a little mild stress. Everyone loves each other and/or shows each other respect. The natural world is beautiful and also loves you. There's no morals being shoved in your face, either.
I think Lilo and Stitch is possibly also qualified, but it's a distant second as Lilo does act out a bit at school (perhaps justifiably), the parents died in the story setup (very sad), and there's a lot more stress with the threat of Lilo being rehomed, but everyone in general is doing their best with what they're given to cope with, even Mr Bubbles, and at the end it all comes together joyfully.
posted by seanmpuckett at 1:27 PM on September 24, 2023 [12 favorites]
I think Lilo and Stitch is possibly also qualified, but it's a distant second as Lilo does act out a bit at school (perhaps justifiably), the parents died in the story setup (very sad), and there's a lot more stress with the threat of Lilo being rehomed, but everyone in general is doing their best with what they're given to cope with, even Mr Bubbles, and at the end it all comes together joyfully.
posted by seanmpuckett at 1:27 PM on September 24, 2023 [12 favorites]
What, exactly, is a feel good movie? I ask because several of the movies on that list don't strike me as movies I would watch in order to feel good or even in order to feel ever-so-slightly better. So, I'm wondering if I'm just confused or missing something, or if the people picking the movies were confused or missing something.
posted by Jonathan Livengood at 1:32 PM on September 24, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by Jonathan Livengood at 1:32 PM on September 24, 2023 [7 favorites]
Everything Everywhere All At Once did not make me feel good.
posted by eviemath at 1:40 PM on September 24, 2023 [20 favorites]
posted by eviemath at 1:40 PM on September 24, 2023 [20 favorites]
What makes a feel-good movie?
My feel-good film doesn’t have to be your feel-good film. That is the beauty of art and individual preference, but this lack of clear definitions makes understanding the therapeutic utility of movies awfully hard to parse.posted by the primroses were over at 1:46 PM on September 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
quickly reads list, is reminded that one person's feelgood is another's "seriously? that makes you feel good? It makes me want to hurt someone"
though to be fair, I have really enjoyed some of these movies.
posted by philip-random at 1:46 PM on September 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
though to be fair, I have really enjoyed some of these movies.
posted by philip-random at 1:46 PM on September 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
A lot of people I know rewatch Apollo 13 for uplift.
posted by doctornemo at 1:51 PM on September 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by doctornemo at 1:51 PM on September 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
Adding Hellzapoppin', Time Bandits, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, and the entire prime of the Brothers Marx.
Time Bandits??? The one that ends (SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THIS MOVIE THAT WAS RELEASED IN 1981, WHICH IS FORTY-TWO WHOLE YEARS AGO) with the kid's parents dead and everyone else around him ignoring him?? THAT DOES NOT FEEL GOOD.
posted by cooker girl at 1:54 PM on September 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
Time Bandits??? The one that ends (SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THIS MOVIE THAT WAS RELEASED IN 1981, WHICH IS FORTY-TWO WHOLE YEARS AGO) with the kid's parents dead and everyone else around him ignoring him?? THAT DOES NOT FEEL GOOD.
posted by cooker girl at 1:54 PM on September 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
and a few that come quickly to mind that aren't on the list (all movies that I can watch pretty much any time)
Hard Day's Night
Help
Yellow Submarine
A Christmas Carol (Alistair Sim version, but only once a year)
Monty Python's Holy Grail
Time Bandits
Local Hero
Buckaroo Banzai
Big Lebowski
Tree of Life
posted by philip-random at 1:56 PM on September 24, 2023 [8 favorites]
Hard Day's Night
Help
Yellow Submarine
A Christmas Carol (Alistair Sim version, but only once a year)
Monty Python's Holy Grail
Time Bandits
Local Hero
Buckaroo Banzai
Big Lebowski
Tree of Life
posted by philip-random at 1:56 PM on September 24, 2023 [8 favorites]
the kid's parents dead and everyone else around him ignoring him?? THAT DOES NOT FEEL GOOD.
still feels good to me. Kid's better off without those parents and he did just help out big time in vanquishing no less than Evil himself -- I think he can handle a little future adversity.
posted by philip-random at 1:58 PM on September 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
still feels good to me. Kid's better off without those parents and he did just help out big time in vanquishing no less than Evil himself -- I think he can handle a little future adversity.
posted by philip-random at 1:58 PM on September 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
HACKERS, PEOPLE
HACKERS
(also ten thousand curses on whoever it was who tried to drag Todd Solondz into this conversation)
posted by phooky at 1:59 PM on September 24, 2023 [9 favorites]
HACKERS
(also ten thousand curses on whoever it was who tried to drag Todd Solondz into this conversation)
posted by phooky at 1:59 PM on September 24, 2023 [9 favorites]
Well, I just watched Gran Tourismo last night and that did it for me.
posted by blue shadows at 2:14 PM on September 24, 2023
posted by blue shadows at 2:14 PM on September 24, 2023
Strictly Ballroom
posted by supermedusa at 2:17 PM on September 24, 2023 [29 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 2:17 PM on September 24, 2023 [29 favorites]
Any of the following lines will instantly lift my mood:
“Damn! We’re in a tight spot.”
“Care for some gopher?”
“They loved him up and turned him into a h-h-hornytoad!”
“Oh George, not the livestock.”
posted by the duck by the oboe at 2:20 PM on September 24, 2023 [21 favorites]
“Damn! We’re in a tight spot.”
“Care for some gopher?”
“They loved him up and turned him into a h-h-hornytoad!”
“Oh George, not the livestock.”
posted by the duck by the oboe at 2:20 PM on September 24, 2023 [21 favorites]
Okay I know it only just showed up on Netflix, but I am going to recommend Is Love Enough? Sir as my feelgood movie for the fall of 2023.
posted by Pararrayos at 2:30 PM on September 24, 2023
posted by Pararrayos at 2:30 PM on September 24, 2023
Moonstruck
My Favorite Year
My Neighbor Totoro
posted by Glinn at 2:41 PM on September 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
My Favorite Year
My Neighbor Totoro
posted by Glinn at 2:41 PM on September 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
My feel-good movies don't require too much emotional investment, but are movies I can rewatch a lot. The Fifth Element might be top tier feel-good for me. I'd also put The Princess Bride and Back to the Future here, but I have to be honest: I've just noticed I'm starting to recreate the list of movies that played endlessly on cable tv when I was a kid.
posted by grandiloquiet at 2:50 PM on September 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by grandiloquiet at 2:50 PM on September 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
From the list, I'd pick Groundhog Day, Galaxy Quest, Lady Bird, and Everything Everywhere All at Once. But my real feel-good movies, in terms of rewatchability, are all sequels: Star Trek II, Terminator 2, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Aliens. Go figure.
posted by Halloween Jack at 3:04 PM on September 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 3:04 PM on September 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
Bring It On and Ocean's Eight are always good for a little mood boost for me.
posted by EvaDestruction at 3:07 PM on September 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by EvaDestruction at 3:07 PM on September 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Joe vs the Volcano
The Last Starfighter
THX 1138
Teen Wolf
The Princess Bride
The Muppet Movie
posted by chronkite at 3:07 PM on September 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
The Last Starfighter
THX 1138
Teen Wolf
The Princess Bride
The Muppet Movie
posted by chronkite at 3:07 PM on September 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
The Tall Guy (if only for the hilarious, silly sex scene with Emma Thompson and Jeff Goldblum), Party Girl (the 1995 Parker Posey flick), Impromtu (ensemble scenery chewing), and Star Wars: A New Hope.
posted by mollymillions at 3:16 PM on September 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by mollymillions at 3:16 PM on September 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
METAFILTER: I'm starting to recreate the list of movies that played endlessly on cable tv when I was a kid.
posted by philip-random at 3:18 PM on September 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by philip-random at 3:18 PM on September 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
Buckaroo Banzai
So what? Big deal.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:19 PM on September 24, 2023 [9 favorites]
So what? Big deal.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:19 PM on September 24, 2023 [9 favorites]
Galaxy quest is also the absolute best hangover movie in the world
posted by supermedusa at 3:23 PM on September 24, 2023 [13 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 3:23 PM on September 24, 2023 [13 favorites]
Return of the Secaucus Seven
posted by Ideefixe at 3:27 PM on September 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Ideefixe at 3:27 PM on September 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
Brigsby Bear The IMDB Storyline describes the movie without giving away the reason the show had an audience of one:
Brigsby Bear Adventures is a children's TV show produced for an audience of one: James. When the show abruptly ends, James's life changes forever, and he sets out to finish the story himself.posted by achrise at 3:37 PM on September 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
The Pelican Brief???
posted by UltraMorgnus at 3:37 PM on September 24, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by UltraMorgnus at 3:37 PM on September 24, 2023 [9 favorites]
Harold and Maude is kind of big picture feel good, I guess? But it puts you through the wringer in the process. I generally cry more than I laugh with that one.
80% pure joy. 20% one of the hardest cries you'll ever have from a movie. It gets past your defenses and then, dang. But then... it's worth seeing over and over because it just ultimately reaffirms so much about being a feeling, growing soul
posted by treepour at 3:42 PM on September 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
80% pure joy. 20% one of the hardest cries you'll ever have from a movie. It gets past your defenses and then, dang. But then... it's worth seeing over and over because it just ultimately reaffirms so much about being a feeling, growing soul
posted by treepour at 3:42 PM on September 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
Interestingly, there were only 3 movies in the article's list that I'd both regularly rewatch and consider a feel-good movie, but so far 10 of the movies mentioned in this thread (and missing from the original list) that fit that criteria for me. Conclusion: My taste in feel-good movies is much closer to that of my fellow MeFites than to Vanity Fair's.
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:47 PM on September 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:47 PM on September 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
The Pelican Brief???
I once shot a pelican in my underwear...how he got in them I'll never know.
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:48 PM on September 24, 2023 [8 favorites]
I once shot a pelican in my underwear...how he got in them I'll never know.
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:48 PM on September 24, 2023 [8 favorites]
As a result, it was a very brief pelican.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:56 PM on September 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:56 PM on September 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
I'd add this year's Polite Society.
And The Suicide Squad (2021), but I know that's just me.
posted by praemunire at 3:58 PM on September 24, 2023 [7 favorites]
And The Suicide Squad (2021), but I know that's just me.
posted by praemunire at 3:58 PM on September 24, 2023 [7 favorites]
Moonstuck
A happy ending with everthing resolved and even the jilted fiance is included, plus funny. Cher at her peak Cher-ness.
posted by readery at 4:33 PM on September 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
A happy ending with everthing resolved and even the jilted fiance is included, plus funny. Cher at her peak Cher-ness.
posted by readery at 4:33 PM on September 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
And The Suicide Squad (2021), but I know that's just me.
That and Peacemaker didn't quite make my short list, but only because I'm mostly sticking to movies (and shows) that have been around a bit longer; ditto for the GotG movies.
posted by Halloween Jack at 4:52 PM on September 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
That and Peacemaker didn't quite make my short list, but only because I'm mostly sticking to movies (and shows) that have been around a bit longer; ditto for the GotG movies.
posted by Halloween Jack at 4:52 PM on September 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Buckaroo Banzai
I used to work with a guy who commented on every complicated situation at work by saying, "Don't tug on that. You never know what it might be attached to."
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 5:04 PM on September 24, 2023 [16 favorites]
I used to work with a guy who commented on every complicated situation at work by saying, "Don't tug on that. You never know what it might be attached to."
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 5:04 PM on September 24, 2023 [16 favorites]
and another that came to mind. It's intense in places for sure, not interested in imposing a romanticized view of humans and their stupid shit, but it sure manages to end up somewhere hopeful and believable. Highly recommended.
And currently available for free at youtube
Tillsammans a.k.a. Together (2000)
If you don't speak Swedish, you will want to go to settings and turn on English subtitles.
posted by philip-random at 5:12 PM on September 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
And currently available for free at youtube
Tillsammans a.k.a. Together (2000)
If you don't speak Swedish, you will want to go to settings and turn on English subtitles.
posted by philip-random at 5:12 PM on September 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
How the hell is Ferris Bueller a feel good movie? Are there really people who identify with Ferris?
posted by darksasami at 5:13 PM on September 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by darksasami at 5:13 PM on September 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
Harold and Maude is not my favorite movie, period -- let alone feel good movie. But Earth Girls Are Easy is definitely a candidate for the feel good category to my mind. Also, Big Top Pee Wee has its moments as well.
posted by y2karl at 5:52 PM on September 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by y2karl at 5:52 PM on September 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
Lars and the Real Girl.
posted by kinnakeet at 6:02 PM on September 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by kinnakeet at 6:02 PM on September 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
despite what the blurbs that are allegedly not written by AI say, what i think this list is, is not feelgood movies but comfort movies. films that the selectors have seen so many times that they just feel totally at ease, comforted, and not challenged by the contents. these same contents may be shocking, disturbing, or unsettling to first-time and few-time viewers, but they are no longer that way to the person who watched it many times and grew to love it, warts, abuse, [redacted] and all.
seems like most of these listicles intentionally commit some sort of category error like that in their titling, probably because of the engagement they invariably draw.
the more interesting question to me is, why do we always fall for it?
posted by glonous keming at 6:29 PM on September 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
seems like most of these listicles intentionally commit some sort of category error like that in their titling, probably because of the engagement they invariably draw.
the more interesting question to me is, why do we always fall for it?
posted by glonous keming at 6:29 PM on September 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
Missing from the list IMO:
School of Rock
The Muppet Movie
Hook
Back to the Future
The Goonies
Liar Liar
The Martian
Ghostbusters
Radio Days
Real Genius
Return of the Jedi
Apollo 13
Grease
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Little Miss Sunshine
posted by kmartino at 6:42 PM on September 24, 2023 [10 favorites]
School of Rock
The Muppet Movie
Hook
Back to the Future
The Goonies
Liar Liar
The Martian
Ghostbusters
Radio Days
Real Genius
Return of the Jedi
Apollo 13
Grease
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Little Miss Sunshine
posted by kmartino at 6:42 PM on September 24, 2023 [10 favorites]
How the hell is Ferris Bueller a feel good movie? Are there really people who identify with Ferris?
This pin-points why most of the films on the list turn me off: I guess I identify with a different character in the movie, than the author of the list.
posted by Rash at 6:55 PM on September 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
This pin-points why most of the films on the list turn me off: I guess I identify with a different character in the movie, than the author of the list.
posted by Rash at 6:55 PM on September 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
I would add Ed Wood.
Ferris Bueller actually, honest-to-god enrages me.
posted by holborne at 7:09 PM on September 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
Ferris Bueller actually, honest-to-god enrages me.
posted by holborne at 7:09 PM on September 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
Ferris haters may enjoy: Honest Trailers | Ferris Bueller's Day Off
posted by gwint at 7:17 PM on September 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by gwint at 7:17 PM on September 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
One of my favorites: State and Main.
posted by kat518 at 7:17 PM on September 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by kat518 at 7:17 PM on September 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
Started out very strong, but as it got into recent ones some real headscratchers. If someone has the energy they could divvy up the list by critic and see if that explains some of the odder choices being attached to "feel good."
posted by mark k at 7:18 PM on September 24, 2023
posted by mark k at 7:18 PM on September 24, 2023
Everything Everywhere All At Once did not make me feel good.
I absolutely loved it, but the mix of exhaustion from crying until I couldn’t anymore combined with the “I’m in this picture and I don’t like it” feeling have me waiting at least another year before I think I could watch it again.
And Field of Dreams? Why not throw Big Fish and A River Runs Through It to complete the “let’s make a sneaky list claiming to be all feel good movies while actually inducing leaden paralysis and deep, deep depression” feeling going on here?
posted by Ghidorah at 7:18 PM on September 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
I absolutely loved it, but the mix of exhaustion from crying until I couldn’t anymore combined with the “I’m in this picture and I don’t like it” feeling have me waiting at least another year before I think I could watch it again.
And Field of Dreams? Why not throw Big Fish and A River Runs Through It to complete the “let’s make a sneaky list claiming to be all feel good movies while actually inducing leaden paralysis and deep, deep depression” feeling going on here?
posted by Ghidorah at 7:18 PM on September 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
I can, and do, quote pretty much the entirety of Buckaroo Banzai, in any manner of situations. "This far inside the head, it aaalllll looks the same." My teenage daughter has taken to saying, because she's heard it from me a million times, whenever we end up somewhere that ends up being disappointing, "Wherever you go, there you are." I don't think she even knows it's from Buckaroo, because she won't watch any film I like on principle. Though her comfort movie is the same 2005 Pride and Prejudice in the linked post, which is very, very good.
So many of these extra choices are so good. I want to add Wim Wenders' Until the End of the World, which never fails to give me the warm fuzzies that the apocalypse can happen all at once, instead of being slow and really expensive like it actually will be.
And I never saw Galaxy Quest until very recently, because I've always loathed Star Trek because everyone is Lawful Good, and then it was the classic one DVD in the rented cabin on a rainy day, and wow, it's just near-perfect all the way through and has basically the same take on Star Trek that I do. I wish I'd seen it sooner.
posted by outgrown_hobnail at 7:27 PM on September 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
So many of these extra choices are so good. I want to add Wim Wenders' Until the End of the World, which never fails to give me the warm fuzzies that the apocalypse can happen all at once, instead of being slow and really expensive like it actually will be.
And I never saw Galaxy Quest until very recently, because I've always loathed Star Trek because everyone is Lawful Good, and then it was the classic one DVD in the rented cabin on a rainy day, and wow, it's just near-perfect all the way through and has basically the same take on Star Trek that I do. I wish I'd seen it sooner.
posted by outgrown_hobnail at 7:27 PM on September 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
“Care for some gopher?”
“They loved him up and turned him into a h-h-hornytoad!”
So back when O Brother Where Art Thou was in theaters - I was having a really rotten day one day, and around lunchtime I decided to do something about it. I'd already seen this film and knew I liked it; I called a friend and asked if he wanted to see it again with me that night after work. He said sure. And within an hour after we made those plans - simply the knowledge that I was going to be seeing that film that night was enough to cheer me up.
The Sting and Guardians of the Galaxy 2 had a similar effect - particularly Guardians, which I saw as part of a friend's birthday movie outing. I'd had a truly TRULY heinous day at work that day - I asked another person to meet me at the venue a little early so I could unload on them and not harsh the mood of the birthday boy. I knew nothing of the Guardians comics and hadn't seen the first film; I had to ask the birthday boy to gimme a debrief, and he summed it up as "The A-Team in space". But it turns out to have been exactly what I needed; just silly enough, just poignant enough, and just big-dumb-fun enough, and with a soundtrack that was a direct hit to my happy place.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:38 PM on September 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
“They loved him up and turned him into a h-h-hornytoad!”
So back when O Brother Where Art Thou was in theaters - I was having a really rotten day one day, and around lunchtime I decided to do something about it. I'd already seen this film and knew I liked it; I called a friend and asked if he wanted to see it again with me that night after work. He said sure. And within an hour after we made those plans - simply the knowledge that I was going to be seeing that film that night was enough to cheer me up.
The Sting and Guardians of the Galaxy 2 had a similar effect - particularly Guardians, which I saw as part of a friend's birthday movie outing. I'd had a truly TRULY heinous day at work that day - I asked another person to meet me at the venue a little early so I could unload on them and not harsh the mood of the birthday boy. I knew nothing of the Guardians comics and hadn't seen the first film; I had to ask the birthday boy to gimme a debrief, and he summed it up as "The A-Team in space". But it turns out to have been exactly what I needed; just silly enough, just poignant enough, and just big-dumb-fun enough, and with a soundtrack that was a direct hit to my happy place.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:38 PM on September 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
If you think about it, Apollo 13 is basically The Martian in space.
posted by mbrubeck at 7:47 PM on September 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by mbrubeck at 7:47 PM on September 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
Why the hell isn't Raising Arizona on this list?
posted by SPrintF at 7:48 PM on September 24, 2023 [23 favorites]
posted by SPrintF at 7:48 PM on September 24, 2023 [23 favorites]
List does not contain "Empire Records" or "So I Married an Axe Murderer", thus is invalid. Also nth-ing "O Brother, Where Art Thou". It's bona-fide.
posted by jferg at 7:55 PM on September 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by jferg at 7:55 PM on September 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
Rather than arguing what should or should not be on the canonical list, I'd be more interested in hearing what everybody's least-likely feelgood movie is.
Mine is probably Stalag 17.
posted by HeroZero at 8:01 PM on September 24, 2023
Mine is probably Stalag 17.
posted by HeroZero at 8:01 PM on September 24, 2023
Why the hell isn't Raising Arizona on this list?
Amen to that. It's a genuine treasure of a movie.
I'm going to go with Ang Lee's Sense and Sensibility, the 1995 one with Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Alan Rickman, Hugh Grant, Gemma Jones. The cast! The landscapes! The nimble script! The costumes! Divine!
And tell me you can't get to the end, after tears welling freely for Elinor at pale Marianne's bedside, to find, so gently, that all will be happy and well after everything, and after all. And as the cheerful party emerges into the country sunshine in the final scene, you get this warm, molten, enduring feeling that YES, EVERYTHING WORKS OUT IN THE END, and also, as a bonus, the smoking-hot ex-lover who once so callously thwarted you will almost certainly pine for you forever. That feels pretty good.
Also, the scene where Fanny totally loses it and starts screeching at her own upstart protege is SO SATISFYING.
posted by mochapickle at 8:11 PM on September 24, 2023 [8 favorites]
Amen to that. It's a genuine treasure of a movie.
I'm going to go with Ang Lee's Sense and Sensibility, the 1995 one with Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Alan Rickman, Hugh Grant, Gemma Jones. The cast! The landscapes! The nimble script! The costumes! Divine!
And tell me you can't get to the end, after tears welling freely for Elinor at pale Marianne's bedside, to find, so gently, that all will be happy and well after everything, and after all. And as the cheerful party emerges into the country sunshine in the final scene, you get this warm, molten, enduring feeling that YES, EVERYTHING WORKS OUT IN THE END, and also, as a bonus, the smoking-hot ex-lover who once so callously thwarted you will almost certainly pine for you forever. That feels pretty good.
Also, the scene where Fanny totally loses it and starts screeching at her own upstart protege is SO SATISFYING.
posted by mochapickle at 8:11 PM on September 24, 2023 [8 favorites]
I'd be more interested in hearing what everybody's least-likely feelgood movie is.
There's always Come And See.
A few more: Tokyo Story, Gallipoli and Miracle Mile.
Or maybe I misunderstand.
posted by Rash at 8:12 PM on September 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
There's always Come And See.
A few more: Tokyo Story, Gallipoli and Miracle Mile.
Or maybe I misunderstand.
posted by Rash at 8:12 PM on September 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
I'd be more interested in hearing what everybody's least-likely feelgood movie is.
My Dinner with Andre.
posted by darksasami at 8:25 PM on September 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
My Dinner with Andre.
posted by darksasami at 8:25 PM on September 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
Midnight Run hasn’t been mentioned yet so I’ll throw that in. For your consideration.
posted by Ishbadiddle at 8:25 PM on September 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Ishbadiddle at 8:25 PM on September 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
Real Genius. Goonies, LOTR, Raising Arizona, O Brother, Where Art Thou. I suspect that the Mummy movies must resonate for a ton of people given the amount of bandwidth they suck up on cable TV any given weekend. YMMV but only the first one worked for me. The Universal monster movies in October. As far as the holidays: Christmas in Connecticut, the Alistair Sim version of the Christmas Carol, and last but not least, It Happened on 5th Avenue.
posted by Ber at 8:25 PM on September 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Ber at 8:25 PM on September 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
* Stardust (same vibes as Princess Bride)
* Tokyo Godfathers (best Christmas movie)
* Kiki's Delivery Service (almost any Studio Ghibli film)
* Toy Story, Finding Nemo, WALL-E
* Isle of Dogs, Moonrise Kingdom, Asteroid City, Fantastic Mr Fox (any Wes Anderson movie really)
* The Wrong Trousers (any Wallace and Gromit movie)
* Hot Fuzz, Sean of the Dead, The World's End, Baby Driver (anything by Edgar Wright, if you don't mind action or cheesy gore)
posted by AlSweigart at 8:39 PM on September 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
* Tokyo Godfathers (best Christmas movie)
* Kiki's Delivery Service (almost any Studio Ghibli film)
* Toy Story, Finding Nemo, WALL-E
* Isle of Dogs, Moonrise Kingdom, Asteroid City, Fantastic Mr Fox (any Wes Anderson movie really)
* The Wrong Trousers (any Wallace and Gromit movie)
* Hot Fuzz, Sean of the Dead, The World's End, Baby Driver (anything by Edgar Wright, if you don't mind action or cheesy gore)
posted by AlSweigart at 8:39 PM on September 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
I'd be more interested in hearing what everybody's least-likely feelgood movie is.
Sling Blade
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:43 PM on September 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
Sling Blade
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:43 PM on September 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
I'd be more interested in hearing what everybody's least-likely feelgood movie is.Oh, c'com -- that was Wallace Shawn's greatest role this side of the Grand Nagus!
My Dinner with Andre.
posted by y2karl at 9:09 PM on September 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
I agree that feel good and comfort movies are related but different concepts. In the clueless era, I leaded on the slightly more masculine Hackers and Mallrats. Nowadays Pixar always does it in my household, and I need to see Lady Bird and Barbie again. I did Enjoy Peanut Butter Falcon.
posted by CostcoCultist at 9:26 PM on September 24, 2023
posted by CostcoCultist at 9:26 PM on September 24, 2023
One of my favorites: State and Main.
Go you huskies!
posted by j_curiouser at 9:55 PM on September 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Go you huskies!
posted by j_curiouser at 9:55 PM on September 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Tampopo would have never been in my suburban video store in the mid 90’s, which was later put out of business by Blockbuster. So it misses my “comfort” phase, but I would certainly recommend as a feel good especially if you are into quirky films like Amelie. I will also put another vote in for LA Story.
posted by CostcoCultist at 10:13 PM on September 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by CostcoCultist at 10:13 PM on September 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
I am sure they left "The Brand New Testament" out just by by mistake and will soon add it and say sorry.
posted by Richard Upton Pickman at 10:13 PM on September 24, 2023
posted by Richard Upton Pickman at 10:13 PM on September 24, 2023
No Star Trek 4? The theme alone is my feel good go-to.
posted by UltraMorgnus at 10:53 PM on September 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by UltraMorgnus at 10:53 PM on September 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
The scariest movie that ever made me feel good: Love and Monsters.
posted by demi-octopus at 1:49 AM on September 25, 2023
posted by demi-octopus at 1:49 AM on September 25, 2023
Another recommendation for The Blues Brothers.
https://www.metafilter.com/200795/Its-106-miles-to-Chicago-we-have-half-a-pack-of-cigarettes
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 2:57 AM on September 25, 2023 [5 favorites]
https://www.metafilter.com/200795/Its-106-miles-to-Chicago-we-have-half-a-pack-of-cigarettes
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 2:57 AM on September 25, 2023 [5 favorites]
Young Frankenstein? Flash Gordon? How’re they not on the list?!
posted by jzb at 3:43 AM on September 25, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by jzb at 3:43 AM on September 25, 2023 [4 favorites]
Mod note: [btw, this post has been added to the sidebar and Best Of blog]
posted by taz (staff) at 4:31 AM on September 25, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by taz (staff) at 4:31 AM on September 25, 2023 [8 favorites]
My eclectic submissions, make of them what you will:
- Zoolander. The sheer silliness is hard to beat. And David Bowie judging the walk-off! The school for ants!
- How to train your dragon. Sure there's some sad bits, but overall it's full of exuberance and that closing track from Jónsi always gets me.
- Charlie's Angels. The one with Drew and Lucy and Cameron. Just something about women kicking ass and being there for each other.
posted by Athanassiel at 5:19 AM on September 25, 2023
- Zoolander. The sheer silliness is hard to beat. And David Bowie judging the walk-off! The school for ants!
- How to train your dragon. Sure there's some sad bits, but overall it's full of exuberance and that closing track from Jónsi always gets me.
- Charlie's Angels. The one with Drew and Lucy and Cameron. Just something about women kicking ass and being there for each other.
posted by Athanassiel at 5:19 AM on September 25, 2023
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
(there is a certain kind of sick/recuperating where this and Princess Bride are the only movies I want to see)
posted by heyforfour at 5:23 AM on September 25, 2023 [3 favorites]
(there is a certain kind of sick/recuperating where this and Princess Bride are the only movies I want to see)
posted by heyforfour at 5:23 AM on September 25, 2023 [3 favorites]
Singles. Definately Big Lebowski. Watched Moonstruck last night, someone mentioned it upthread, seconded. Lots of 90's movies that I taped on VCR from TV like 12:01.
posted by fridgebuzz at 5:39 AM on September 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by fridgebuzz at 5:39 AM on September 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
Mirai - the dub is very good, but this trailer has the happy theme song.
But I'm surprised no one has said PADDINGTON! That's a guaranteed mood booster every time.
posted by WhackyparseThis at 5:52 AM on September 25, 2023 [3 favorites]
But I'm surprised no one has said PADDINGTON! That's a guaranteed mood booster every time.
posted by WhackyparseThis at 5:52 AM on September 25, 2023 [3 favorites]
Logan Lucky is all I got that seems to fit, but I also like documentaries about science like The Edge of All We Know, where the process is a nailbiter but the results are good.
(The One Piece live-action series is also very good but its not a movie.)
posted by drowsy at 5:56 AM on September 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
(The One Piece live-action series is also very good but its not a movie.)
posted by drowsy at 5:56 AM on September 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
Chariots of Fire. It makes me feel good, and that's enough.
But the absolute essential is Way out West - if you don't at least smile at the "commence to dancing" number then you are clinically dead
posted by YoungStencil at 7:09 AM on September 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
But the absolute essential is Way out West - if you don't at least smile at the "commence to dancing" number then you are clinically dead
posted by YoungStencil at 7:09 AM on September 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
if you don't at least smile at the "commence to dancing" number then you are clinically dead
The official name for this number is At The Ball, That's All and I wholly agree. I haven't even seen the full film (Laurel and Hardy, FYI), I just watch this clip.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:19 AM on September 25, 2023 [3 favorites]
The official name for this number is At The Ball, That's All and I wholly agree. I haven't even seen the full film (Laurel and Hardy, FYI), I just watch this clip.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:19 AM on September 25, 2023 [3 favorites]
Wayne's World.
Hot Tub Time Machine.
Bridesmaids
posted by wowenthusiast at 7:22 AM on September 25, 2023
Hot Tub Time Machine.
Bridesmaids
posted by wowenthusiast at 7:22 AM on September 25, 2023
I can't believe no one's mentioned That Thing You Do! yet!
posted by soundofsuburbia at 7:58 AM on September 25, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by soundofsuburbia at 7:58 AM on September 25, 2023 [5 favorites]
OK, my least likely feel good movie would be Repo Man. For some of you this would be a possibly cute old film, or a goofy send up of several subcultures. And it is both of those but as a young punk when it was released, it pretty much had everything: dead aliens, the CIA, crazed scientists, hot punk rock criminals, Circle Jerks doing a lounge cover of a favorite song (the whole soundtrack is pretty good!), snappy dialogue , and Harry Dean Stanton. I watch it at least once a year. One of the best things Alex Cox has ever done. If you like this you may like Penelope Spheeris' less well known films: Suburbia (not the Linklater film), and Decline of Western Civilization (the first one).
posted by evilDoug at 8:23 AM on September 25, 2023 [10 favorites]
posted by evilDoug at 8:23 AM on September 25, 2023 [10 favorites]
METAFILTER: Just something about women kicking ass and being there for each other.
posted by philip-random at 8:49 AM on September 25, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by philip-random at 8:49 AM on September 25, 2023 [3 favorites]
Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel.
Hot Fuzz.
Is the whole swathe of Sports Movie excluded?
posted by k3ninho at 9:49 AM on September 25, 2023
Hot Fuzz.
Is the whole swathe of Sports Movie excluded?
posted by k3ninho at 9:49 AM on September 25, 2023
I think Sirens fits this bill. there is a scene in it that always makes me cry but its not sad! just beautiful in a way that hits my weird feels.
posted by supermedusa at 10:31 AM on September 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 10:31 AM on September 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
How on earth did they miss "The Full Monty" and "When Harry Met Sally?"
And another vote here for "O Brother, Where Art Thou."
posted by Ginesthoi at 10:33 AM on September 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
I haven't seen anyone mention Happy-Go-Lucky yet, so throwing that in the mix.
In re comfort vs. feel good: the original Black Christmas is a comfort watch for me and my wife. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? too. I'd say both are pretty much "feel bad" movies if you don't have personal context for them.
Ooo! What are the re-watchable "feel bad" movies? Z is up there for me. Depressing as hell, but such a good watch.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 10:52 AM on September 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
In re comfort vs. feel good: the original Black Christmas is a comfort watch for me and my wife. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? too. I'd say both are pretty much "feel bad" movies if you don't have personal context for them.
Ooo! What are the re-watchable "feel bad" movies? Z is up there for me. Depressing as hell, but such a good watch.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 10:52 AM on September 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
Yeah, LA Story is a tragic omission.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty wasn't much loved by critics, but it's somehow a quiet and gentle film about jumping out of a helicopter and punching a shark with an extremely 2013 Stomp-and-Holler Icelandic-indie-folk soundtrack, if that happens to be your thing.*
(This is very much my thing.)
posted by BrashTech at 10:54 AM on September 25, 2023 [5 favorites]
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty wasn't much loved by critics, but it's somehow a quiet and gentle film about jumping out of a helicopter and punching a shark with an extremely 2013 Stomp-and-Holler Icelandic-indie-folk soundtrack, if that happens to be your thing.*
(This is very much my thing.)
posted by BrashTech at 10:54 AM on September 25, 2023 [5 favorites]
Good ol' Metafilter - one person's feel good movie is another's (especially mine) stomach churning ordeal. So if a feel good is one in which: 1) You can rewatch, 2) does not make you feel bad, 3) improves your mood, 4) helps you forget about your woes and/or bring you comfort? Then for me really that's only one movie - Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster. Having a giant radioactive creature destroying pollution and a creature born of our hubris? Makes me feel good and I love the theme song.
posted by Ashwagandha at 11:42 AM on September 25, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Ashwagandha at 11:42 AM on September 25, 2023 [3 favorites]
I recently rewatched The Big Year. Delightfully feel good.
posted by Kosmob0t at 1:12 PM on September 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Kosmob0t at 1:12 PM on September 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
Ctrl-F my neighbor totoro
0/0 results
Trash list. Ignore and move on.
(Okay to be fair, it does have Spirited Away, which is my favorite movie ever, but it's not My Neighbor Totoro.)
posted by Quasirandom at 1:55 PM on September 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
0/0 results
Trash list. Ignore and move on.
(Okay to be fair, it does have Spirited Away, which is my favorite movie ever, but it's not My Neighbor Totoro.)
posted by Quasirandom at 1:55 PM on September 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
Then for me really that's only one movie - Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster yt . Having a giant radioactive creature destroying pollution and a creature born of our hubris? Makes me feel good and I love the theme song yt .
I believe that Ashwagandha may just have won this thread.
posted by philip-random at 2:28 PM on September 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
I believe that Ashwagandha may just have won this thread.
posted by philip-random at 2:28 PM on September 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
My list includes:
Harvey
The Muppet Movie
The Great Muppet Caper
Muppets Take Manhattan
Labyrinth
True Stories
Repo Man
various Marx Brothers films (generally Animal Crackers, Horsefeathers, Duck Soup, and/or Monkey Business)
Some Like It Hot
The 5th Element
Young Frankenstein
Skidoo!
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 3:12 PM on September 25, 2023 [3 favorites]
Harvey
The Muppet Movie
The Great Muppet Caper
Muppets Take Manhattan
Labyrinth
True Stories
Repo Man
various Marx Brothers films (generally Animal Crackers, Horsefeathers, Duck Soup, and/or Monkey Business)
Some Like It Hot
The 5th Element
Young Frankenstein
Skidoo!
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 3:12 PM on September 25, 2023 [3 favorites]
Skidoo!
For those not familiar, here's the wikipedia synopsis:
"Skidoo is a 1968 American comedy film directed by Otto Preminger, starring Jackie Gleason, Carol Channing, Frankie Avalon, Fred Clark (who died on December 5, two weeks before the film's release), Michael Constantine, Frank Gorshin, John Phillip Law, Peter Lawford, Burgess Meredith, George Raft, Cesar Romero, Mickey Rooney and Groucho Marx playing "God" (making, at age 77, his final appearance in a feature film). It was written by Doran William Cannon and released by Paramount Pictures on December 19, 1968. The screenplay satirizes late-1960s counterculture lifestyle and its creature comforts, technology, anti-technology, hippies, free love and then-topical use of the drug LSD."
So, content warning: Jackie Gleeson on acid.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 3:32 PM on September 25, 2023 [5 favorites]
For those not familiar, here's the wikipedia synopsis:
"Skidoo is a 1968 American comedy film directed by Otto Preminger, starring Jackie Gleason, Carol Channing, Frankie Avalon, Fred Clark (who died on December 5, two weeks before the film's release), Michael Constantine, Frank Gorshin, John Phillip Law, Peter Lawford, Burgess Meredith, George Raft, Cesar Romero, Mickey Rooney and Groucho Marx playing "God" (making, at age 77, his final appearance in a feature film). It was written by Doran William Cannon and released by Paramount Pictures on December 19, 1968. The screenplay satirizes late-1960s counterculture lifestyle and its creature comforts, technology, anti-technology, hippies, free love and then-topical use of the drug LSD."
So, content warning: Jackie Gleeson on acid.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 3:32 PM on September 25, 2023 [5 favorites]
The Great Muppet Caper
Yes! I just watched this again for the first time in decades and I still knew a lot of the lines! It's joy in a bottle.
posted by mochapickle at 5:09 PM on September 25, 2023 [4 favorites]
Yes! I just watched this again for the first time in decades and I still knew a lot of the lines! It's joy in a bottle.
posted by mochapickle at 5:09 PM on September 25, 2023 [4 favorites]
I have to agree with the Muppet Movies being feel good.
And whoever said Star Trek IV is right on the money. In fact, I"m going to put it on right the fuck now because I need something feel good.
posted by kathrynm at 6:33 PM on September 25, 2023 [7 favorites]
And whoever said Star Trek IV is right on the money. In fact, I"m going to put it on right the fuck now because I need something feel good.
posted by kathrynm at 6:33 PM on September 25, 2023 [7 favorites]
The Muppet Christmas Carol. Best version ever.
And another vote for The Big Lebowski, and Bliss.
posted by Pouteria at 6:34 PM on September 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
And another vote for The Big Lebowski, and Bliss.
posted by Pouteria at 6:34 PM on September 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
I agree with the comment way above that said the mefite list blows the Vanity Fair list away! I have to say that the ending of Dr. Strangelove never fails to put a smile on my face (especially lately); there are any number of John Waters movies that I would put on my personal list.
But even for those less demented than me, Little Miss Sunshine is a must; Ed Wood is great fun too.
posted by TedW at 6:44 PM on September 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
But even for those less demented than me, Little Miss Sunshine is a must; Ed Wood is great fun too.
posted by TedW at 6:44 PM on September 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
Thinking more along the lines of comfort films, my list includes:
A Hard Day's Night
The Princess Bride
Castle of Cagliostro
Porco Rosso
The Thin Man
Harold and Maude
Dr. Strangelove
The Producers
Some Like it Hot
Amélie
(Marx Brothers Films)
When Harry Met Sally
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
The Italian Job (2003)
posted by LovelyAngel at 7:06 PM on September 25, 2023 [3 favorites]
A Hard Day's Night
The Princess Bride
Castle of Cagliostro
Porco Rosso
The Thin Man
Harold and Maude
Dr. Strangelove
The Producers
Some Like it Hot
Amélie
(Marx Brothers Films)
When Harry Met Sally
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
The Italian Job (2003)
posted by LovelyAngel at 7:06 PM on September 25, 2023 [3 favorites]
Big Trouble (yes, that one), for reasons I cannot yet identify.
Phantom of the Paradise, because of everything.
Flash Gordon, no doubt.
RHPS
posted by detachd at 7:33 PM on September 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
Phantom of the Paradise, because of everything.
Flash Gordon, no doubt.
RHPS
posted by detachd at 7:33 PM on September 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
On a sidenote, here is TV Tropes regarding Wallace Shawn's second greatest role.
And for a sidenote on a sidenote here is IMDB on Rene Auberjonois, who, AI or not, no iteration of Star Trek can ever replace.
posted by y2karl at 7:39 PM on September 25, 2023 [3 favorites]
And for a sidenote on a sidenote here is IMDB on Rene Auberjonois, who, AI or not, no iteration of Star Trek can ever replace.
posted by y2karl at 7:39 PM on September 25, 2023 [3 favorites]
I used to have the movie poster for Big Trouble in my room in highschool. I don't know why either but I absolutely agree.
posted by downtohisturtles at 7:48 PM on September 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by downtohisturtles at 7:48 PM on September 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
Chicken run
Field of Dreams
The Natural
Chan is Missing
Juno
Little Miss Sunshine
Elf
A Christmas Carol (with Patrick Stewart)
Earth Girls are Easy
posted by dbmcd at 8:38 PM on September 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
Field of Dreams
The Natural
Chan is Missing
Juno
Little Miss Sunshine
Elf
A Christmas Carol (with Patrick Stewart)
Earth Girls are Easy
posted by dbmcd at 8:38 PM on September 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
Big Trouble in Little China:
Jack Burton: Feel pretty good. I'm not, uh, I'm not scared at all. I just feel kind of... feel kind of invincible.posted by kirkaracha at 9:39 PM on September 25, 2023 [5 favorites]
Wang Chi: Me, too. I got a very positive attitude about this.
Jack Burton: Good, me too.
Wang Chi: Yeah!
[pause]
Jack Burton: Is it getting hot in here, or is it just me?
And another vote for.. ...Bliss.
posted by Pouteria
By which I meant the 1985 Australian film with Barry Otto, not the 2021 film with Owen Wilson.
posted by Pouteria at 10:25 PM on September 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Pouteria
By which I meant the 1985 Australian film with Barry Otto, not the 2021 film with Owen Wilson.
posted by Pouteria at 10:25 PM on September 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
Mystery Men. So silly. Janeane Garofalo arguing with a bowling bowl. Greg Kinnear being the kind of ass you thought he really was. William H. Macy as everyone's dad. Paul Reubens farts.
posted by goofyfoot at 10:57 PM on September 25, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by goofyfoot at 10:57 PM on September 25, 2023 [5 favorites]
Up in the Air (2009)
Danny Deckchair (2003)
About Time (2013)
Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)
My Cousin Vinny (1992)
Children Full of Life (2003)
posted by Mr. Papagiorgio at 11:15 PM on September 25, 2023 [3 favorites]
Danny Deckchair (2003)
About Time (2013)
Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)
My Cousin Vinny (1992)
Children Full of Life (2003)
posted by Mr. Papagiorgio at 11:15 PM on September 25, 2023 [3 favorites]
Are we talking feel-good movies or comfort movies? I'm gonna go with the latter as there's a fair amount of crossover on my end.
Pride & Prejudice 2005
Totoro
Pride & Prejudice miniseries which I treat as a movie
Emperor's New Groove
Ever After
Glass Onion (yes really)
Mamma Mia
Kung Fu Panda
How to Train Your Dragon
Despicable Me
The Mummy
O Brother, Where Art Thou
Muppet Christmas Carol
Enola Holmes
posted by The Adventure Begins at 12:35 AM on September 26, 2023 [4 favorites]
Pride & Prejudice 2005
Totoro
Pride & Prejudice miniseries which I treat as a movie
Emperor's New Groove
Ever After
Glass Onion (yes really)
Mamma Mia
Kung Fu Panda
How to Train Your Dragon
Despicable Me
The Mummy
O Brother, Where Art Thou
Muppet Christmas Carol
Enola Holmes
posted by The Adventure Begins at 12:35 AM on September 26, 2023 [4 favorites]
Feel good movies? I mean, how can you feel any better about things than Tim Curry as the dark lord? Yeah, that’s right: Legend.
Or maybe your tastes run more towards shiny chrome utterly not period appropriate armor, a soundtrack that’s essentially pressing play on an CD of Carmina Burana, and an over the top Merlin shouting things like “BEHOLD, the sword of POWah!” Then yeah, you should be watching Excalibur.*
*if nothing else, check out that trailer for Excalibur from a time, wait, no, from a land… wait, no, from an age, yeah, that’s it, From an Age when Trailers Had Big Proclaimey Voiced Men Proclaiming How Awesome This Movie Is! A movie of legend! A movie, for a king!
posted by Ghidorah at 12:48 AM on September 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
Or maybe your tastes run more towards shiny chrome utterly not period appropriate armor, a soundtrack that’s essentially pressing play on an CD of Carmina Burana, and an over the top Merlin shouting things like “BEHOLD, the sword of POWah!” Then yeah, you should be watching Excalibur.*
*if nothing else, check out that trailer for Excalibur from a time, wait, no, from a land… wait, no, from an age, yeah, that’s it, From an Age when Trailers Had Big Proclaimey Voiced Men Proclaiming How Awesome This Movie Is! A movie of legend! A movie, for a king!
posted by Ghidorah at 12:48 AM on September 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
How has it gotten this far and no one has mentioned The Castle yet? You can smell the serenity.
posted by snwod at 7:17 AM on September 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by snwod at 7:17 AM on September 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
Actually Cats (the new one) is one of my feel good movies because it's so horribly bad.
posted by kathrynm at 11:22 AM on September 27, 2023
posted by kathrynm at 11:22 AM on September 27, 2023
Chungking Express tho
posted by tovarisch at 1:45 PM on September 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by tovarisch at 1:45 PM on September 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
Hamlet 2
posted by Mesaverdian at 4:43 PM on September 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Mesaverdian at 4:43 PM on September 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
Sneakers
posted by Mchelly at 5:43 PM on September 27, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Mchelly at 5:43 PM on September 27, 2023 [4 favorites]
I'm with downtohisturtles in regards to Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.
posted by y2karl at 11:46 AM on October 1, 2023
posted by y2karl at 11:46 AM on October 1, 2023
Also Wet, Hot, American Summer; Pirate Radio, Box of Moonlight, Bubba Ho-tep ( the King gets an honorable death!) and Reduced Shakespeare.
From Bollywood: 3 Idiots
posted by Mesaverdian at 11:59 AM on October 1, 2023 [1 favorite]
From Bollywood: 3 Idiots
posted by Mesaverdian at 11:59 AM on October 1, 2023 [1 favorite]
This obscure Burt Reynolds flick about a grizzled middle-aged house burglar and his goofy, goodnatured protege: Breaking In
posted by biddeford at 8:12 PM on October 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by biddeford at 8:12 PM on October 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
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I like the variety of "feel good" represented here, although there's nothing wildly out of left field. No one taking the opportunity to come in and suggest serial killer documentaries as their happy place.
posted by the primroses were over at 11:24 AM on September 24, 2023 [4 favorites]