So you’ve had a bad day, a bad week or, as is the case for most of us, a pretty effing wild YEAR and we’re only 5 months in. Can we consider this a false start and just start this 2020 over?
You embark on a journey of finding something cheery to watch, something that will make your little toes and your belly button tingle with inexplicable human joy.
Horrors and thrillers are strictly off limits, this is a period meant for low stakes drama, animations, rom-coms and wholesome movies that soothe your soul.
For all those times you need your spirits lifted and your wobbly bottom lip steadied, these are the feel-good movies to add to your watch list.
Now go and show your sofa a good time.
1 Clueless (1995)
We couldn’t compile a feel-good movies list and not include this coming-of-age 90’s sleepover classic, could we? Clueless follows the life of Cher Horowitz, a rich high school girl from Beverly Hills as she navigates, teenage life, designer labels, love and self-discovery. Full of charm, quotable one-liners and a wardrobe of plaid dreams, a gem like this is hard to find. Fun fact: it was loosely based on Austen’s novel Emma.
2 The Blind Side (2009)
Based on a true story, this heart-warming movie will have you cheering (and crying) from the side-lines.
3 The Goonies (1985)
If you haven’t seen this movie, we’re sorry for your loss because this is basically the original Stranger Things. A ragtag gang of kids called The Goonies stumble across an old map and embark on an adventure to find the lost treasure. But it’s not all plain sailing. This is 80’s nostalgia at its best!
4 Elf (2003)
To the people that say you can only watch a holiday movie at Christmas, you sit on a throne of LIES. Sometimes, you just need to escape to a world where a fully-grown man in an elf suit eats spaghetti with maple syrup and radiates positivity. It’s a perennial great for a reason. Watch it 365 times a year until smiling is your favourite thing to do.
5 Big (1998)
The ultimate feel-good movie. Things don’t get more wholesome than Tom Hanks and that toy shop piano scene.
6 Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Starring Dev Patel and Freida Pinto, Danny Boyle’s Oscar-winning film tells the story of how a kid from the slums in Mumbai ends up competing for the big prize on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Humour, romance and a toe-tapping Bollywood soundtrack are what cement this movie as one of the feel-good greats.
7 The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
Will Smith stars alongside his son Jaden Smith in this moving film based on the true story of Christopher Gardner, a hard-pressed single parent who loses everything and builds a life from nothing. Inspiring, emotional and will most definitely make you cry those salty happy tears.
8 Sister Act (1992)
Restore your faith in life with this troupe of all-singing, all-dancing nuns. It was one of the first movies to have given nuns a real voice and personality behind the habit, and oh what personalities they had. One of the most underrated and important movies of our time.
9 Grease (1978)
Nothing will get those chills multiplying quite like a sing-a-long with Sandy, Danny and the rest of the gang. If you don’t know all the words, you haven’t watched it enough times. We don’t want your excuses.
10 Girls Trip (2017)
Four best pals known as the legendary Flossy Posse reunite for a boozy girls holiday to New Orleans. You will laugh so hard, pee will greet your knickers. Cheers to sisterhood!
11 Sex and the City (2008)
There’s no sh*t storm too BIG for these girls to handle. This unbreakable foursome never fail to remind us of the power and importance of good friendships and regular orgasms.
12 Dumplin’ (2018)
Based on Julie Murphy’s young adult novel of the same name, a plus-size teenage daughter of a former beauty queen signs up for her mum’s pageant as an act of rebellion. Together with her friends, she works to revolutionise the meaning of pageants and their unattainable beauty standards. That’s right, a movie about a curvy girl who is confident in her own skin, unapologetic and doesn’t need to shrink herself to love herself. Every body is a swimsuit body – say it louder for the people at the back. A bomb movie with an equally bomb soundtrack full of Dolly Parton jams – it’ll charm your country socks off.
13 Legally Blonde (2001)
Having an off-day? Get everybody’s favourite lawyer, Elle Woods, on the case. She’ll win every time.
14 The Parent Trap (1998)
A tiny Lindsay Lohan plays the part of two identical twins who were raised without knowing the other existed. When they reunite at Summer camp, they hatch a plan to swap places and get their divorced parents back together again. As feel-good movies go, it’s a double win.
15 Mrs Doubtfire (1993)
When life gives you lemons, watch Robin Williams! Daniel Hillard, a divorced actor attempts to win back his wife and spend more time with his kids by getting a job… as their female nanny. Williams is pure unparalleled sunshine, obvs. Especially when he sets fire to his t*ts.
16 The Greatest Showman (2017)
Of course it made the list. It IS the list for crying out loud.
17 Billy Elliot (2000)
Set against the backdrop of the 80’s miner’s strike in North East England, Billy Elliot tells the heart-warming story of an 11-year-old boy who wants to swap his boxing gloves for ballet slippers. It will make your heart do pirouettes.
