Feel-Good Movies to Watch When Feeling Blue

A lot of us are emotionally impacted by the current pandemic. So, while we’re all stuck here in our homes, it’s great to put on a movie to ease the stress. With that, I made up a small list of some of my favorite feel-good movies.

The Princess Bride (1987)

A timeless classic, and probably the most quotable movie ever, The Princess Bride is the story of the dashing farm-boy turned pirate: Westley (Cary Elwes) and his beloved, Buttercup (Robin Wright) overcoming obstacles against Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon).

The Princess Bride is funny, heartwarming and while some of the dialogue can be cheesy, again, it’s so gosh darn quotable you can’t help but say the lines at any chance you get.

A personal favorite performance was Mandy Patinkin as Inigo Montoya. He’s on the hunt for a six-fingered man who killed his father. Inigo is such a likable character that you root for him throughout his arc.

Coco (2017)

In previous articles, I’ve been a bit ill towards Disney/Pixar, but in all honesty, I do love them, I’m just not a fan of everything they do. Nevertheless, they do make great heartwarming movies such as this one.

Coco is about a young boy named Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez) who dreams of becoming a musician, however, his family has banned everything to do with music. After playing the guitar that belonged to his favorite idol, he’s transported to the land of the dead and has to find his way back.

Like other Pixar films, Coco is fun, sweet and of course, emotional. If your heartstrings weren’t tugged during the Remember Me scene, I don’t believe you. Not only is the story great, it’s visually stunning, has a full Latino voiced cast, and the music is amazing.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)

A funny and wholesome movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding is about a Greek woman named Toula (Nia Vardalos) who wants to break free from her family’s strict traditions. One day, she meets a non-Greek man named Ian (John Corbett), and they fall in love.

Being half-Greek myself, this is a pretty relatable movie. Granted, some specifics about Greek culture are exaggerated, but it’s never offensive. One hilarious joke I love is that when Ian is being converted into Greek Orthodox, he’s baptized in a kiddie pool ; that scene is hilarious.

There aren’t many movies that focus on a Greek family, and the dynamic between Toula and her relatives is both strong and realistic. Even though the family is harsh with their traditions, they’re all still lovable.

Paddington (2015)

A wonderful movie about a CGI bear who loves marmalade that’s super heartfelt. Paddington’s trailer initially did nothing for me; I thought it was going to be another poorly done adaptation of a children’s classic, but this caught me by surprise.

Paddington is, well, about Paddington the bear (Ben Whishaw): who travels to London to find a home. He gets adopted by a kind family, however, living in a different place isn’t very easy. Paddington gets into all sorts of trouble, including flooding the family’s bathroom by accident.

Paddington is quite heartfelt; not heartfelt to the point where you get emotional, but Paddington’s such a darling, you desire the best for him. The people who adopt him are also a delight. Mary Brown (Sally Hawkins) treats Paddington as if he was her son and it’s super sweet.

Mary Poppins (1964)

I can understand if you don’t like Paddington, but Mary Poppins is another story. This is another classic, and is one of Disney’s best, and so it was perfectly fine standing on its own. We didn’t need a sequel.

Anyway, the film is about Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews): a magical nanny who visits a dysfunctional family to bring them closer. There, she takes care of the children: Jane (Karen Dotrice) and Michael (Matthew Garber), as well as improve their family dynamics.

Julie Andrews is a delight as Mary Poppins. She’s kind but strict, and her relationship with Bert (Dick van Dyke) is endearing. The music is also great and memorable. It would put a smile on anyone’s face, especially “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”.

The Blues Brothers (1980)

Speaking of films that didn’t need a sequel — yes, there’s a sequel and there’s no need to look it up — The Blues Brothers is about Elwood (Dan Ackroyd) and Jake (John Belushi), two brothers on a ‘mission from God’ to get their band back together.

The Blues Brothers is a fun, energetic movie with catchy music. The film also has a great cast, including a wealth of POC such as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Cab Calloway and James Brown. We also see Carrie Fisher who plays Jack’s former fiancee who was left at the altar. Fisher’s character takes drastic measures to kill Jack, such as putting explosives inside a building.

The Blues Brothers also has the best police chase scenes ever; so many cars get destroyed, it’s very thrilling!

Originally published by by Lauren Massuda on April 14, 2020