r Smaggle and I rarely disagree but there are a few things he just doesn’t understand about me. If he’s going out for the evening, I’ll get all set up on the couch for an evening of crocheting and I’ll put on a movie I’ve seen 100 times. Dirty Dancing, Pretty Woman, Ghost… the usual suspects. It drives him nuts because he pretty much only wants to watch stuff he’s never seen before and has no concept of why I would want to watch Julia Roberts singing Prince in a bathtub for 400th time in my life. Repeat offender movies are like your long time best friends. I love the familiarity of old movies, of knowing what’s about to happen and not having to use my brain too much. There’s just that feeling of coming ‘home’ to movies like this, you know? It’s like driving down the street where you grew up… here are my top 7 feel good movies.
1. Garden State
This movie is just a delight. Natalie Portman is adorable, Zach Braff is a painful darling and the whole thing is gorgeous. The Sheldon cameo is a high light and the scene where they all stand and scream into the abyss? Cinematic catharsis.
2. To Wong Foo Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar
If you can make it through this gift from the movie gods without crying into your popcorn over the early demise of the too-beautiful-for-this-world-Patrick-Swayze, this movie is freaking adorable. If you’ve never watched it, put it on your to-do list. I mean it’s Patrick Swayze, John Leguizamo and Wesley Snipes in drag. I really don’t know what else you could want from a movie.
3. Juno
Honest to blog, this movie always tickles my salami. Ellen Page’s delivery is spot on through out the entire thing and Alison Janney is a goddess as always. J.K Simmons as Juno’s dad is also amazing casting. Side note – if you want to see Simmons in the role of his career watch Whiplash. It’s incredible.
‘I don’t feel I need to explain my art to you Warren.’
I swear, half my vocabulary comes from this movie. ‘I’M BRINGING REX’S LUNCH!!!’
I also cannot listen to that Romeo and Juliet song without feeling sad that I never got the chance to marry Ethan Embry.
5. Notting Hill
‘I’m just a (ridiculously tall, incredibly attractive and wildly famous) girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.’ There are few problems in life that can’t be fixed with a bit of Hugh Grant bumbling and just the general existence of Julia Roberts who I will love until the day I die.
6. How To Make An American Quilt
This is a sneaky one that often gets forgotten but it’s such a lovely movie. Although there’s a scene at the end where Winona Ryder runs outside wrapped in this divine quilt that her grandmother’s quilting group made for her, in search of her fiance and drags the damn thing through the dirt. My Type A tendencies hate that bit… but I love the rest of it.
Adam Sandler in his hey day combined with Drew Barrymore’s sparkly little face, this one is guaranteed to punch you in your happy gland.
What’s your favourite feel good movie you’ve watched again and again? Are you a serial movie watcher?
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