Bingeable Family Favorites
The weekend is the perfect time to host a movie night with your family, and we’re all craving comfort food right now. To pass the time, and to be introduced to characters you’ll come to adopt as members of your own family, check out our list below of some of our staff’s favorite movies about families that you can watch with your family!
Beloved Favorites Already In Your Collection
Forrest Gump—If you haven’t seen this pop culture classic, you’ll be surprised how many tag lines come from this movie. Tom Hanks’ famous characterization of a man with a simple mind and a pure heart yields well-known phrases like: “My mama always said ‘Life is like a box of chocolate. You never know what you’re gonna get.’” If that’s not 2020, minus the chocolate, what is? Bonus: it’s available on Hulu if you don’t already have it at home!
Steel Magnolias—Do you REALLY love it if you can’t quote every line as it’s coming? Part of what we love is how it captures the the essence of Southern life and the mother-daughter dynamic of both exasperation and unflagging support, best embodied by Julia Roberts’ criticism of her mother’s hair: “Relax! You can't screw up her hair. Just tease it and make it look like a brown football helmet.”
Remember the Titans—We love both the drama and the infectious music in this feel-good sports triumph of a high school football team navigating its first season racially integrated, under the direction of their new coach, played by Denzel Washington. Set right here in Virginia, the film also pays tender tribute to the relationships between fathers and their young daughters, and shows the resiliency of families navigating pressures from the outside world.
My Girl—A quintessential coming-of-age story as 11-year-old Vada grapples with summer love, growing up, and missing her mother as her distracted father runs the family’s in-home funeral parlor. It’s the sweetest of bittersweet films, with characterizations by McCaulay Culkin and Jamie Lee Curtis. Find it on Netflix.
Lesser Known Treasures
The Family Stone—Though set at Christmastime, this acerbic romantic comedy has wit and bite that packs a punch and keeps it from tipping over into sentimentality. The all-star cast embodies the squabbles and fierce protectiveness of adult sibling relationships, as well as all the tension and nostalgia of coming back under your parents’ roof for Christmas. This movie shines with warmth, humor, and most of all, sarcasm. Available on Hulu.
On Golden Pond—A treasure from the 80s, this film examines crotchety Norman’s fear of aging with humor, coupled with an exploration of whether healing childhood wounds is really possible. Norman’s fixation with his fear of death is disrupted as he and his wife host a teenage boy for the summer, and as mutual respect and companionship grow between the teen and septuagenarian, everyone in the family evolves. Henry and Jane Fonda play opposite each other as father and daughter, in what’s been called Henry Fonda’s “last & greatest role.” Katharine Hepburn’s character brings warmth as the wife of 50 years and greatest champion of Henry Fonda’s character. Available on Hulu.
Dan in Real Life—Steve Carrell plays a widower raising 3 daughters, 2 of them teenagers. The movie is a romp through the joyous chaos and clamor of a warm, loving family, concerned and at times over-involved, and all under the same roof for the summer. The elation and awkwardness of romance are explored as Carrell’s character keeps his crush on his brother’s girlfriend under wraps, and as he navigates his teenage daughter’s first relationship. Favorite line is when his daughter wails at Carrell, as only a teenage girl can, “YOU! ARE A MURDERER! OF LOVE!” Find it on Hulu.
Fathers and Daughters—This little known Russell Crowe film from 2016 embodies so many dynamics we see in our cases. A father’s steadfast love for his daughter, from whom he becomes separated, and how those disruptions play out in her adulthood, while she slowly learns to build trust again, make for a fascinating and heartbreaking film.
Modern-Day Classics
The Blind Side—Sandra Bullock & Tim McGraw play a wealthy Memphis couple whose lives are changed for the better when they unexpectedly take in a teenage boy at their children’s school. The film tells the true story of Michael Oher, who becomes a professional NFL player, and poignantly examines the enduring bond both of families of origin and families of choice.
Pursuit of Happyness—Will & Jaden Smith portray the tender on-screen father-son relationship of a man who keeps his family afloat through homelessness to eventually come out on top. Will Smith was nominated for both a Golden Globe & an Academy for his performance in the film. Available on Netflix.
About Time—A British romantic comedy about a young man who discovers he can time travel, this film examines the small choices that make up the patterns of our lives, and the hopefulness, joy, and faithfulness of consistently choosing the people you care about day after day. Rachel McAdams brings light and warmth to the film as the love interest of the main character. Find it on Netflix.
Instant Family—Directed by Sean Anders, himself an adoptive parent, the film explores with humor and fidelity the fostering & adoptive experience, as portrayed by Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne. Find it on Hulu.