When you’re feeling down, a trip to the movies can take you on an emotional journey. They don’t just entertain us; they can be therapeutic, too.
A nation-wide survey from 2016 found audiences felt “less stressed, like I took a mini vacation” from their problems after watching a movie.
Medical science backs up the anecdotal evidence. Scientists say the brain hierarchy is flatter when watching movies, freeing us, for the duration of the movie, anyway, from the stress of working and solving problems.
Comedies and dramas flood our brains with feel-good endorphins, laughing reduces the stress hormone cortisol levels and horror movies release dopamine, a 'feel-good' neurotransmitter that helps with mood regulation.
In other words, movies can help when you’re feeling down, so, if you’re feeling blue, here’s a list of feel-good movies to make you feel great.
Advanced Style
For years, blogger Ari Seth Cohen chronicled the lifestyles—concentrating on the styles—of the women the fashion industry forgot, the chic seniors of New York City. His documentary “Advanced Style” focuses on seven women ranging in ages from 62 to 95, like fashionista Zelda Kaplan, the eldest of the pack.
She’s a firecracker in fiery, exotic clothes. Asked if she still goes out dancing, she says, “Very rarely because my partners are all dead.” Like the rest of the women, she drips with personal style.
Fashion is “Advanced Style’s” McGuffin, the thing that brings all these people together and bonds them, but it’s the women’s spirit and their attitude to aging that informs every minute of this documentary.
Looming mortality, blindness and other travails of old age take a backseat to the unabashed verve on display. Phrases like “There is no time limit to anything” and “enjoy the moment” are voiced, but coming from the lips of women determined to embrace every minute of life, they don’t sound like platitudes or pop psychology. Instead, they sound like good advice from people who know a thing or two about not just how to look good, but to feel good.
Patti Cake$
“Patti Cake$,” a story of big dreams and hip hop glory, is gritty, sweet and quite unforgettable. Danielle Macdonald is Patricia Dombroski, a New Jersey wannabe rapper with a way with words and a dream of bettering her circumstances through hip hop.
With musical partner Hareesh (Siddharth Dhananjay) and an off-the-grid punk rocker who goes by Antichrist (Mamoudou Athie), she performs as PBNJ, a band with a demo but no street cred or prospects. When a “showcase” at a strip club goes sideways, Patti leaves the group, trading hopes of MTV stardom for a catering job. Music is never far away, however, and still might be the remedy for Killer P’s heartache and crushed dreams.
It’s hard to classify “Patti Cake$” as a feel-good movie, but underneath the story’s grit and grime is an aspirational tale that won’t leave the taste of saccharine in your mouth. It’s a raw, emotional coming-of-age story of the type we’ve seen before, with styles we’ve seen before— fantasy cutaways and impossibly grim circumstances to overcome—but Patti is a resilient underdog, a sympathetic lead brought to vivid and appealing life by Macdonald.
What begins as one rapper’s run-of-the-mill journey to get out from under the weight of her dreams, snakes around to become a high-energy, fist-pumping story of overcoming odds with dignity -- on your own terms.
Hidden Figures
The title “Hidden Figures” has a double meaning. On one hand, it refers to the mathematical calculations that went in to making John Glenn the first American man to orbit the Earth in 1962. On the other hand, it describes Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, three African-American NASA mathematicians who did many of those calculations.
“They let women do things at NASA,” says Johnson, “and it’s not because we wear skirts, it’s because we wear glasses.” The film focuses on Johnson, played by Taraji P. Henson, but by the time the end credits roll, mathematician Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and aerospace engineer Jackson (Janelle Monáe) have joined her to rise above the societal challenges placed on them to make invaluable contributions to the NASA space program.
“Hidden Figures” is a feel good, crowd pleaser of a movie. Based on true events, it is a blend of history and uplifting story that engages with its subject and characters in an entertaining and heartfelt way. It’s a good-hearted look at a time of great change both in the macro—American cultural shifts in the space race and in terms of race—and in the micro universe of how African American women made their mark at NASA.
Batkid Begins
The cynical film critic in me feels obliged to point out that “Batkid Begins,” the documentary about Miles Scott, a young cancer survivor who wants to be a superhero for a day, is about as deep as a lunch tray. But as I type those words it’s through tired eyes, my peepers watery and bleary as a result of the documentary’s feel-good emotional rollercoaster.
“Batkid Begins” isn’t a hard-hitting documentary from a news point of view. Occasionally it plays like an ad for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which, given the good work they do, is fine by me. It is, however, hard hitting on an emotional level. It’s one of those stories that shows people at their best and reaffirms your faith in humanity.
Don’t expect an in-depth look into why tens of thousands of people took the day off work to support Miles or anything much about what happened to Miles when the crowds went home. Instead, director Kurt Kuenne lays out the story via a minute-by-minute timeline, by and large following the action in a linear way. Could there have been a deeper, more meaningful movie made about San Francisco’s outpouring of love for Batkid? Absolutely. Would the emotional impact of the story have been heightened? Impossible.
When Harry Met Sally
Familiar characters and faces can be a recipe for feeling better when you’re down. It’s the same at the movies. Revisiting an old favorite, a movie you’ve had a good experience with before, can lift spirits.
For me, “When Harry Met Sally” is that movie. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan are more than just perfectly cast as the leads, they are relatable, like old friends. That it also contains one of the most famous rom-com lines of all time is simply an added bonus.
On New Year’s Eve, Harry says to Sally, “I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” It’s a genuinely moving moment in a very funny movie that reaffirms the power of true love and, as a viewer, the mood-altering power of reliving a nice moment with familiar faces.
