Guardian writers on their ultimate feelgood movies: ‘Radical in its own way'

The Guardian

6 days ago

'Feelgood' movies are often thought of as big-hearted romantic comedies, comforting classics, or childhood favourites that still hold up decades later. In our series, My feelgood movie, Guardian writers reflect on their go-to flick, and explain why their pick is endlessly rewatchable.
This list will be updated weekly with further picks.
Want more options? Here is our earlier list of the 10 best escapist movies and 52 comforting, rewatchable titles.
Director: Paul Feig
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne and Jude Law
Why our writer loves it: 'Spy is radical in other respects: it remains the only major Hollywood spy film that features a middle-aged woman as the lead. I know because every so often, in search of a feelgood film, I rewatch what can be inelegantly described as 'female-fronted spy comedies' … [p]rojects like these are few and far between; I guess Hollywood does not think there's enough of an audience for them. To that I say: join us. The delights are profound; the sense of freedom intoxicating; the costumes and the gadgets and the intrigue sexy and absurd and larger-than-life – and an exciting new adventure, that great siren song to the desk-bound, is always just around the corner.' (Rebecca Liu)
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Spy is available on Hulu in the US and Disney+ and Netflix in the UK and Australia
Director: Campbell Scott and Stanley Tucci
Starring: Tony Shalhoub, Stanley Tucci and Marc Anthony
Why our writer loves it: 'Big Night doesn't yield over much to anxious tension on the one hand or madcap hijinks on the other. This, to me, is what makes it feel so good. There are real stakes to this meal for these characters, but co-directors Tucci and Campbell Scott care enormously that you have a good time at their party. They never want you to refill your own glass.' (Andrew Holter)
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Big Night is available to watch on Hoopla in the US and to rent digitally in the UK and Australia
Director: Chris Smith
Starring: Mark Borchardt, Mike Schank and Tom Schimmels
Why our writer loves it: 'I feel buoyant and inspired every time I watch the film. It's such a beautiful example of how much talent exists out there in the world, in unconventional places, that never gets a shot or a look in.' (Daniel Dylan Wray)
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American Movie is available to rent digitally in the US and Australia and on Amazon Prime in the UK
Director: Wong Kar-Wai
Starring: Brigitte Lin, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Tony Leung Chiu-wai
Why our writer loves it: '[T]he quirky romantic comedy also manages to be his most joyous and uplifting offering.' (Rebecca Liu)
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Chungking Express is available on Max and The Criterion Channel in the US and to rent digitally in the UK and Australia
Director: Wes Anderson
Starring: Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray and Olivia Williams
Why our writer loves it: 'I am elated each time I watch this poignant, wise and wildly funny film – and, yes, there is a happy ending.' (Rebecca Liu)
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Rushmore is available on Hoopla in the US or to rent digitally in the UK and Australia
Director: Richard Ayoade
Starring: Craig Roberts, Sally Hawkins and Paddy Considine
Why our writer loves it: 'It might be a curious choice to name a film that traverses a troubled home life, too-much-too-young sexual experiences, and bullying as my 'feelgood' movie, but within its equally dark and peppy 97 minutes is a story about writing your own rules. Adapted from the Joe Dunthorne novel, Submarine is touching, sweet and, crucially, very funny.' (Sophie Williams)
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Submarine is available to watch on Amazon Prime in the US and UK and to rent digitally in Australia
Director: Gurinder Chadha
Starring: Georgia Groome, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Karen Taylor
Why our writer loves it: 'That's the magic of Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging for our generation. It reminds us of the joyous madness of our school days, when everything was awkward, messy and packed with heart.' (Anya Ryan)
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Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging is available on Hoopla and Kanopy in the US or to rent digitally or on Amazon Prime and Paramount+ in the UK
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Starring: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz and Rufus
Why our writer loves it: 'After completing several good deeds, Amélie falls in love with the elusive Nino (Mathieu Kassovitz), a sex shop employee who likes to collect strangers' photobooth pictures … Although Amélie's kindness might be the apotheosis of whimsy, it's radical in its own way – a quiet protest against the indifference and self-interest that seem to rule city life.' (Katie Tobin)
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Amélie is available to rent digitally in the US
Director: John Guillermin
Starring: Paul Newman, Steve McQueen and William Holden
Why our writer loves it: 'Among the many reasons I'm long overdue for therapy would be that I consider a feature about a bunch of people trapped in a burning skyscraper a feelgood movie. But there it is: the stunning effects (which hold up to this day), the sprawling, larger-than-life cast and accompanying who-will-make-it-to-the-end? suspense, the earnest, cheeseball dialogue – whenever I feel anxious or down, something about The Towering Inferno offers solace.' (Matthew Hays)
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The Towering Inferno is available to buy digitally in the US and rent digitally in the UK
Starring: Ben Johnson, Joanne Dru and Harry Carey Jr.
Directed by: John Ford
Why our writer loves it: 'Wagon Master's great appeal lies in the feel of the thing. 'Be gentle', Travis encourages a restless horse, and that spirit pervades the film. It is Ford's gentlest picture and arguably his most beautiful, both on the surface and beneath it. The film is a plea for tolerance – most of its characters having just been run out of town – that is augmented by a thousand perfect details in word and image: the dialogue spare and true, Ford's camera going to a square dance and focusing first on the wooden planks shifting in the dirt.' (Rick Burin)
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Wagon Master is on Tubi in the US and on BBC iPlayer in the UK
Starring: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Why our writer loves it: 'What makes a film 'feelgood'? If it's not a romcom, or otherwise setting out to impart warm fuzzies, familiarity plays a big part. I've seen Jaws so many times that watching it now truly feels like sinking into a warm bath.' (Elle Hunt)
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Jaws is available to rent digitally in the US and is on Amazon Prime in the UK
Starring: Stars Nancy Allen, Bobby Di Cicco and Marc McClure
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Why our writer loves it: 'Even at the height of their parasocial hijinks, Zemeckis never treats girlhood obsession with a hint of mockery or condescension. Rather, it's an affectionate celebration of what it means to be a fan – its heady thrills and innate universality – as hilarious as it is relatable. I wasn't born anywhere near the 60s, but every time I rewatch I Wanna Hold Your Hand, I feel like I missed out on all the fun.' (Miatta Mbriwa)
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Starring: Hilary Duff and Adam Lamberg
Directed by: Jim Fall
Why our writer loves it: 'Nostalgia clouds the mind but I do think this movie is genuinely funny … While the film is undeniably a trite tableau of teen movie cliches, it avoids the harshest and grossest ones that were popular at the time. No one is mocked for having an eating disorder or stalked oh-so-romantically. It is aspirational in the silliest sense – while other movies might've inspired you to flirt like this or dance like that, nothing in The Lizzie McGuire Movie could be copied: you're either in danger of being mistaken for an Italian pop star or you're not. This means it didn't make 11-year-old me feel bad about herself, and it still makes adult me feel good.' (Amelia Tait)
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The Lizzie McGuire Movie is available to watch on Disney+ in the US and UK
Starring: Veronica Lake and Joel McCrea
Directed by: Preston Sturges
Why our writer loves it: 'Sullivan's Travels reminds us there's something inherently incorruptible about clinging to the scraps of happiness we're given.' (Alaina Demopoulos)
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Sullivan's Travels is available to rent digitally in the US and UK
Starring: Tony Hancock
Directed by: Robert Day
Why our writer loves it: '[T]there is something rather wonderful about seeing Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock in full and living colour, operating at the height of his powers, the man who his writers described as 'the best comic actor in the business'. And of course the film is a wonderful portal to a vanished world, a net-curtained Britain just on the cusp of its transformation by 60s pop culture. Lucian Freud called The Rebel the best film ever made about modern art; well, he should know, but for me it's more than that – there's an extra joy in remembering the hours I spent tittering at it with Dad as we lolled on the three-piece suite back in my gormless teenage years. If anything makes me feel good, it's that.' (Andrew Pulver)
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Starring: Paul McGann and Richard E Grant
Directed by: Bruce Robinson
Why our writer loves it: 'The tape went back to Blockbuster. I bought my own. I took it to college and watched it drunk and sober, with friends and alone, in halls and in my desperate pit of a house. Through early adulthood, into fatherhood, on DVD then streaming. To watch Withnail is to discover it again.' (Martin Pengelly)
Withnail and I is available on Max and the Criterion channel in the US and on Channel 4 in the UK
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Starring: Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan
Directed by: Nora Ephron
Why our writer loves it: You've Got Mail 'may be naive and soppy, but as a single person it keeps me optimistic that genuine connection may still be found by logging on to your computer (or unlocking your iPhone)'. (Alim Kheraj)
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You've Got Mail is available on Hulu in the US and on Now TV in the UK
Starring: Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan
Directed by: Rob Reiner
Why our writer loves it: 'I sometimes ask myself whether I should love When Harry Met Sally as much as I do. I mean, isn't the film a bit reductive when it comes to gender? Maybe. Yet at the same time, it's a romantic comedy that's actually romantic and actually funny, something few romcoms can boast today. But the reason it's my feelgood film is because I discovered it at a time when I needed it most.' (Henry Roberts)
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When Harry Met Sally is available to rent digitally in the US and UK
Starring: Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Amitabh Bachchan
Directed by: Karan Johar
Why our writer loves it: 'Scenes from this movie are seared in mind and I often quote its lines in my daily life – such is its hold on me. I am a complete sucker for the drama, the music, the pageantry, the familiar (though outdated) movie tropes, the costumes, the sets – after all, I grew up watching Bollywood movies (SRK is the love of my life, he just doesn't know it). It is a heaping dose of nostalgia that instantly uplifts my mood and restores my spirit, no matter how in the doldrums the world around might seem.' (Tasneem Merchant)
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Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham is available on Netflix and Amazon Prime in the US and UK
Starring: Michael Keaton, Glenn Close and Robert Duvall
Directed by: Ron Howard
Why our writer loves it: 'Perhaps it's all just borrowed nostalgia for the half-remembered 90s, to remix James Murphy's lyric. But I see it as a feelgood film that makes you feel good because it never shouts about it; there's no need to force joy, it's just there in all that messy exuberance. The maddening life happening relentlessly, the people at work in the loud city, the thrill of chasing down a story – this is what is actually joyful.' (Larry Ryan)
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The Paper is available to rent digitally in the US and UK
Starring: Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore
Directed by: Frank Coraci
Why our writer loves it: 'One thing I love most about The Wedding Singer is the soundtrack that includes You Spin Me Round (Like a Record), Blue Monday and Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic. Barrymore sings a bit of 99 Luftballons into her oversize headphones. Sandler gets to perform his own compositions: Somebody Kill Me ('I was listening to the Cure a lot when I wrote this') and Grow Old With You – the latter he performs on a plane to stop Barrymore from marrying the evil Glenn. The ending features a brilliant cameo from 1998 Billy Idol playing 1980s Billy Idol, who wakes from his booze-addled slumber to shove Glenn in the airplane toilets. ('Excuse me, sir. I have to serve the beverages.')' (Rich Pelley)
The Wedding Singer is available to rent digitally in the US and on Amazon Prime in the UK
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Starring: Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried and Pierce Brosnan
Directed by: Phyllida Lloyd
Why our writer loves it: 'Mamma Mia! isn't a movie – it's a holiday. It's a film so divorced from subtext and intricacy that its only ask for viewers is to bask in the Greek sunshine as the sounds of Abba wash over them … It was never meant to be taken seriously; it's a film without pretense. Much of what he complains about is precisely what makes Mamma Mia! the perfect cinematic comfort blanket.' (Jeffrey Ingold)
Mamma Mia! is available on Max in the US and on Now in the UK
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Starring: Divine, David Lochary and Mary Vivian Pearce
Directed by: John Waters
Why our writer loves it: 'The will to create a movie for the specific purpose of appalling anyone unaware of its true meaning turned Pink Flamingos into the ultimate litmus test. You either got its sick jokes or you didn't. But those who did got something far more lasting than a laugh. We got a one-way ticket to an underground populated by parallel dissidents, an entire community of the unruly and free. That's a lot to gain, which is why, even decades after I first saw Pink Flamingos, I return to it whenever I need to be reminded there's a universe of possibilities out there not reflected in the world we know now.' (Jim Farber)
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Starring: Meryl Streep and Albert Brooks
Directed by: Albert Brooks
Why our writer loves it: 'Life-affirming' is perhaps an overused adjective, but few movies have successfully illuminated the human condition as well as this one. Fear is commonplace in our daily lives, but Albert Brooks's film might hold the key to ridding the worries of anxiety-ridden people such as myself. As the new year often brings about feelings of regret and unease, Defending Your Life is the warmest hug you can receive.' (Oliver Macnaughton)
Defending Your Life is available to rent digitally in the US and the UK
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Starring: Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant
Directed by: Roger Michell
Why our writer loves it: 'What is so wonderful about the film is how effortless it all seems. The story isn't complex; there are no gunfights or CGI raccoons; the greatest jeopardy in the film involves Grant having to catch Roberts before she goes back to America – a problem that reads as plausibly insurmountable in 1999 but today would be remedied with a few WhatsApps. But, despite the illusion of effortlessness, getting everything right in this way is deceptively tricky. Has a single romcom ever managed to marry all of the necessary elements – cast, script, timing, an intangible magic – so perfectly? (No. The answer is no.)' (Ralph Jones)
Notting Hill is available on Netflix in the US and Channel 4 in the UK
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Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer and Matthew Modine
Directed by: Jonathan Demme
Why our writer loves it: The movie is a long list of quirky pleasures, including a 'starter kit of premium 80s college rock (New Order, Pixies, the Feelies), well-placed family dog reaction shots, and an FBI agent who dresses himself like Wallace in the Wallace & Gromit shorts. Few of the laughs in the film feel like punchlines or payoffs to some heavily orchestrated joke. Demme's approach is more low-key and breezy, cruising confidently on the assumption that his DayGlo gangland will be fun enough without him having to push too hard. He catches a rhythm and does the mambo Italiano. It feels like your feet never touch the floor.' (Scott Tobias)
Married to the Mob is available on Hoopla, Kanopy and Pluto in the US and Amazon Prime in the UK
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Starring: Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker
Directed by: Brett Ratner
Why our writer loves it: 'Rush Hour taps into something that stirred my heart then and now: an ease settles into the two actors, Chan and Tucker's joviality feeling so genuine that the east-meets-west tropes evolve into characters who have something real at stake, and who are also having fun.' (Tammy Tarng)
Rush Hour is available on Netflix in the US and Amazon Prime in the UK
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Starring: Steve Martin, Diane Keaton and Martin Short
Directed by: Charles Shyer
Why our writer loves it: 'Why do I come back to this film again and again? As a girl and younger woman I was emphatically against marriage (though I've since softened) and watched it more as a comedy horror than anything aspirational. The only aspect of the Bankses' life I'd want is the kitchen. And yet watching Franck and the family put on their ridiculous show makes me want to be part of it. I love ritual, and ceremony, and Steve Martin, and Martin Short, and Diane Keaton.' (Laura Snapes)
Where to watch: Father of the Bride is available on Hulu and Disney+ in the US and on Disney+ in the UK and Australia
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Starring: James Woods and Louis Gossett Jr
Directed by: Michael Ritchie
Why our writer loves it: 'Diggstown is the perfect feelgood movie – a breezy but exciting genre mashup with enough of a hangout vibe that you can have it on in the background, but also enough stakes that you will inevitably end up giving it your full attention.' (Zach Vasquez)
Where to watch: Diggstown is available on Amazon Prime
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Starring: Cher and Christina Aguilera
Directed by: Steve Antin
Why our writer loves it: 'Many of those who panned Burlesque on its release would feel punished by this cosmically appointed choice of comfort movie. A sequined patchwork quilt of all manner of backstage musicals and melodramas from various eras of Hollywood – starring, in a naked reach for cross-generational gay fandom, dual divas Christina Aguilera and Cher – the film inspired critical comparisons to A Star is Born, Cabaret and Showgirls, most of them unflattering. It made $90m at the global box office: not a flop but not a palpable hit either, least of all for a film where the feather budget alone could have funded a modest indie drama. Antin, whose long but scattered pre-Burlesque career ran the gamut from acting to screenwriting to stunt work to producing Pussycat Dolls reality shows, hasn't directed another film since. The world, by and large, hasn't mourned.' (Guy Lodge)
Where to watch: Burlesque is available to watch on Netflix in the US, on Sky Cinema in the UK and ABC iView and Amazon Prime in Australia
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Starring: Chris Rock and Bernie Mac
Directed by: Chris Rock
Why our writer loves it: 'I've come back to this film so many times after the election for laughs, only to wind up seeing the whole picture as a clearer allegory for Kamala Harris's defeat than Obama's victory. Like Harris, [Chris Rock starring as Mays Gilliam, a small-time politician turned presidential hopeful] was a party sacrifice, offered up to make a certain loss look less bad on the cards, thrown into the fray at the 11th hour, plugged into a humming campaign apparatus, and touted as a history maker. It really makes you think about how close comedy is to horror.' (Andrew Lawrence)
Where to watch: Head of State is available to stream in the US on Freevee, Tubi, Paramount+ and MGM+, in the UK on Paramount+ and on Amazon Prime in Australia
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Starring: Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon and Paul Bettany
Directed by: Brian Helgeland
Why our writer loves it: 'To me, watching a feelgood film is an intensely nostalgic exercise. That's because whenever a film is special or timely enough to take up lodging in your heart, rewatching it is also an act of remembering an old version of yourself. A Knight's Tale is shaded by the genuine sadness of Ledger's death only seven years after its release, but when I watch it I also remember the way it used to make me feel, as a girl who loved the jousting because her older brother did, all the while secretly cherishing an action film for being so brazenly sentimental.' (Francesca Carington)
Where to watch: A Knight's Tale is available on Amazon Prime in the US and available to rent digitally in the UK and Australia
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Starring: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz and Jennifer Connelly
Directed by: Robert Rodriguez
Why our writer loves it: 'My feelgood movie for when humanity lets me down is Alita: Battle Angel, a movie where much of humanity hangs out in a city-sized junkpile. And though I don't press play with this aspect particularly in mind, it's nice to imagine a future where things have gone terribly wrong (that just seems realistic at this point) yet unforeseen triumphs still emerge from the tech-nightmare garbage heap. There are plenty of more time-honored films that take a more direct path to temporary bliss, including sci-fi movies better-equipped to restore faith in humanity.' (Jesse Hassenger)
Where to watch: Alita: Battle Angel is available to watch on Hulu in the US, on Netflix and Disney+ in the UK and on Disney+ in Australia
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Starring: Wendy Hiller, Roger Livesey, Pamela Brown
Directed by: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Why our writer loves it: 'I Know Where I'm Going! offers up such portentous moments of mystical and romantic significance lightly, alongside comical asides and colourful eccentricity. It's a disarming strategy, which tends to leave the audience every bit as bewitched as (the film's main character) Joan. In this corner of the universe, anything might be possible, even an ancient curse.' (Pamela Hutchinson)
Read the full review for I Know Where I'm Going!
Where to watch: I Know Where I'm Going! is available to watch on Tubi, Amazon Prime and the Criterion Channel in the US and is available to rent digitally Australia and in the UK and watch on BBC iPlayer
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