10 Movies To Watch When You're Feeling Blue
There’s no better cure for a bad brain day than finding an upbeat movies to give your spirit a lift. Next time you’re curled up in bed scrolling your streaming service of choice, consider giving one of these fun films a watch.
You’ve Got Mail (1998)
Meg Ryan owns a children’s indie bookstore on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Tom Hanks opens a big business bookstore next door that threatens to shut her down. Unbeknownst to each other, the two have been communicating for weeks via an internet chat room for book lovers. The acting is wonderful and the soundtrack is beautiful and the dialogue is witty and the plot is rock solid and I’m running out of adjectives to describe just how much of a gem this movie is. Just watch it, you’ll understand.
Bee Movie (2007)
This is confirmed the best movie ever made. I have seen Bee Movie no fewer than six times and I have absolutely no idea what happens. Honey bee Barry B. Benson (Jerry Seinfeld) basically launches a bee revolution. Every scene is a fever dream. If you’re looking for something silly and vibrant and at times surprisingly touching, look no further than this masterpiece of cinema. Don’t be afraid to join the Bee Movie hive.
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
A young Abigail Breslin stars in this sweet indie film about a little girl whose dysfunctional family drives cross country in a decrepit Volkswagen van so she can compete in a beauty pageant. It’s the perfect combination of laugh-out-loud funny, dramatic, and sincere. It’s cast of chaotic characters bicker and yell, but all in service of their unwavering love for one another. It’s one of those movies that makes you want to call your family and tell them how much you love them. Make sure you stick around for its famously hilarious end.
Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
This precious indie film directed by Wes Anderson follows two moody, peculiar children who fall in “love” and run away together on a fictional island. It’s a whimsical whirlwind of a movie, expertly paced from start to finish. The juxtaposition between how nonsensical the plot is and how dead serious the actors behave makes it a quirky and delightful watch, perfectly suited for a cloudy day.
Being John Malkovich (1999)
A+ rating for title accuracy here. Being John Malkovich is a bizarre, brilliant film in which a man discovers a small door that deposits him inside the brain of Academy Award-nominated actor John Malkovich. For 15 minutes, anyone who enters the door can gets to be John Malkovich before being portal dumped beside the New Jersey turnpike. It’s a masterclass in magical realism and extremely fun to watch.
But I’m A Cheerleader (1999)
This camp cult classic follows a high school girl whose parents discover she’s gay and ship her off to a cartoonish, pastel-colored conversion therapy camp — think live action Cat in the Hat — to straighten her out. It takes a serious topic and turns it on its head, focusing on the lighthearted resistance and shenanigans of the boys and girls at the camp. It’s got romance. It’s got parody. It’s stars Natasha Lyonne and Clea DuVall and Melanie Lynskey. And also RuPaul, for some reason? Turn this one on for an iconic, one-of-a-kind ode to queer love.
D.E.B.S. (2004)
Written and directed by Angela Robinson, D.E.B.S. is a campy, fast-pace film following a prodigious spy-in-training who strikes up a forbidden romance with her spy squad’s archnemesis. Take James Bond, but make it silly and melodramatic and very, very gay.
The Sandlot (1993)
If you haven’t seen The Sandlot, what are you doing!? Embrace your inner child with this adorable, rowdy coming-of-age film about a rag-tag group of youth baseball players on a quest for first kisses, local fame, and the approval of the ghost of slugger Babe Ruth. It’s a lovely nostalgia film, paying homage to sleepy childhood summers and the shenanigans of boyhood. “You’re killin’ me Smalls!”
Shrek 2 (2004)
I know I said Bee Movie was the best film of all time but I take it back. Forget The Godfather, Shrek 2 is by far the best film ever made. I swear 90% of the budget must’ve gone just to securing the rights to the soundtrack. It’s an extremely smart parody of itself, rich with pop culture allusions and fantastic voice acting. (Jennifer Saunders is legendary as Fairy Godmother!) It’s one of those rare sequels outshines its predecessor. At one point they torture the gingerbread man? When it comes to Shrek 2, you won’t be able to help cracking a smile and singing along.
Juno (2007)
If I don’t watch this movie twice a year I’ll actually die. Elliott Page is brilliant in this heartfelt indie film about a teenager whose unplanned pregnancy gets her tangled up in the imploding marriage of the childless couple who wants to adopt her baby. Kimya Dawson, of Moldy Peaches fame, made the famous, folk-inflected soundtrack. And who can forget Juno’s iconic Cheeseburger phone? Juno is a pristine relic of its time that truly never gets old.