my favourite feel good films

As we all have quite a lot of time on our hands at the moment, I thought today I'd write a blog about my favourite feel-good films because they're probably needed now more than ever, and we can always try our best to make 2020 a little bit better for each other, right?

10. Ladybird (2017)
Saoirse Ronan and Timothee Chalamet on screen together is something that makes me feel good in itself, but this film is just the embodiment of a good teen movie. It follows a young girl in her senior year of high school, who amazingly renames herself Ladybird, and is just the perfect film to feel any sense of nostalgia about school and innocence. This is the first of two of Greta Gerwig's films in this list, which just shows how much I love her films in general, really.

9. Juno (2007) 

This film is the perfect coming-of-age film. The main character, Juno, falls pregnant at 16, considers abortion but then eventually decides to give birth and put the child up for adoption. It's a beautiful story about teen pregnancy, friendship and growing up, and follows Juno throughout her pregnancy, as she faces school and all the other mid-teenaged problems we've all had.

8. Someone Great (2019) 

This film follows a young girl after a very hard breakup into a night out with her girlfriends. It's a very emotional film, but makes you feel so empowered and watching it in lockdown just made me miss my friends more, which I thought was impossible. It's a very funny film, as well as being super empowering. 

7. Girls Trip (2017)

This film makes me laugh so much, even though I have watched it at least 5 times. It's about a group of women who were best friends during college, and after a long time of not seeing each other, they all go on a weekend away for the first time in years. Again, it's super empowering and makes me miss my friends a ton, but it's also so funny, and the cast are just stunning. I really loved this film. 

6. How to be Single (2016)

I love this film because it's so genuine. It's about a young girl who comes out of a long-term relationship after deciding with her boyfriend that they need time apart. It's first a joint decision, as they decide to use the time apart to 'find themselves', but as things play out, her now ex-boyfriend has moved on, and she's left single. It's about this character finding who she wants to be, with many ups and downs along the way, as well as Rebel Wilson playing a chaotic friend on the side. It's so empowering, so lovely and so funny to watch. It really is one of my favourite films and I've watched it too many times to count. 

5. Legally Blonde (2001)

This film makes me so happy. Admittedly, I only watched this film recently because Alaric from Vampire Diaries is in it, and I have actually written about this film on my blog, as it was included in my Favourite Things of 2020, but I thought it was only necessary to be included in my favourite feel-good films. The story follows a sorority girl into Harvard Law school where she falls in love with all things Law and finds herself in a way she never thought she would. Despite the old-timey, early 2000s feel to it, this film makes me feel super empowered and I just love the story so much.

4. When Harry Met Sally (1989)

This film just makes me feel warm inside. It's a beautiful story about two people, who despite living totally different lives, find themselves bumping into each other. An unlikely friendship turned love story- When Harry Met Sally is the embodiment of the perfect romantic comedy. 

3. Little Women (2019)

The second Gerwig film I was talking about earlier is her latest release starring Saoirse Ronan and Timothee Chalamet, which is the latest adaptation of the best selling novel, Little Women. It is a story of empowerment, love and family, and honestly, there's no one I want to be more than Jo March. The cinematography is gorgeous and I was so obsessed with this film when it first came out. Highly, highly recommend.

2. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)

Despite this film being an absolute classic, I only watched for the first time this year. Young Hugh Grant is something that's feel good in itself, however, the story is just so heartwarming and lovely, as well as equally being hilarious. If you're like me and are a whole 26 years late, definitely make the time to watch it.

Honourable Mentions: 

It's hard to pick one Pixar film to include in the list, as my love for Pixar films is endless. However, the three I thought absolutely necessary to include were Inside Out, A Bugs Life and Coco.

1. Pride (2014)

I'm not particularly sure why this film makes me feel like I can change the world so much, but it really does. Based on a true story, it's a beautiful film about some very unlikely alliances coming together and fighting for the rights for both LGBT groups and The Miners during Thatcher's time as Prime Minister in the 1970s. It's such a British film with such an amazing cast. I couldn't praise this film more. 

Thanks for reading, 

J. I. Smith x