From (the best) superhero movie to (the funniest) ’70s movie, the streaming giant has some solid ways to make you feel good.
There are a lot of movies on Netflix designed to make you feel good; “feel-good movies” is even one of the service’s many categorical rows you can scroll through endlessly, paralyzing your decision about what you actually want to watch. But here’s the thing: Not every feel-good movie is good. Some of them are downright clumsy–so determined to reach that crowd-pleasing ending that they provide the equivalent of a cheap, fast-fading dopamine hit. Some of them, with their broad ideas of what audiences want, even come across as kind of insulting.
Beyond that, there are a lot of different ways to define that good feeling you’re searching for: Do you want to laugh, or go “aww”? Do you want to watch people fall in love, or family-friendly antics that end in a hug? For this list, we’ve combed through the current Netflix offerings in an attempt to go beyond the algorithm’s nebulous definition of feel-good, and present a line-up of films that come by their good feelings honestly, skillfully, and in a variety of ways.
In an attempt to acknowledge the secret range of the feel-good movie, this list encompasses comedies, romances, family movies, dramas, and even the occasional action-movie comfort food. Some of them are Netflix originals from the last few years; others are all-time classics from decades ago. (The latter is a little harder to come by on Netflix, but they still turn up!) The various films are ranked by a mixture of quality (how good the movie is in general) and effectiveness (how good it’ll make you feel)–because you shouldn’t have to settle for less just because you want to feel good when the credits roll.
35St. Vincent (2014)This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.St. Vincent | official trailer US (2014) Bill Murray Melissa McCathy Naomi WattsWatch on
This dramedy about a kid befriending an old coot played by Bill Murray is more than a little sitcommy, reducing both the irreverence of Murray’s funniest movies and the prickliness of his work with Wes Anderson into standard senior-citizen-speaks-freely shtick. But Murray still helps leaven the levels of saccharine, and he’s helped along by a nicely understated non-comedic performance from Netflix mainstay Melissa McCarthy.
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34Wine Country (2019)This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Wine Country | Official Trailer [HD] | NetflixWatch on
The first film directed by SNL and Parks & Recreation veteran Amy Poehler assembles an all-star roster of comic performers—Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch, Ana Gasteyer, Paula Pell, and Poehler herself—for a story about a grossly underserved demographic: Women in their 50s. Poehler is particularly interested in how friendships are affected by aging, and the actors’ real-life friendships make that aspect of the film particularly convincing. It’s a bit like an all-lady, hangout-oriented City Slickers.
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33Coach Carter (2004)This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Coach Carter (2005) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic TrailersWatch on
There are a lot of inspirational-coach movies out there, but considerably fewer that boast an actor of Samuel L. Jackson’s star power in the coach role. Jackson plays a real-life high school basketball coach who garnered attention by insisting that his players attend classes and maintain a C+ GPA in order to play, which gives the movie a less traditional path to sport-centric uplift.
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Advertisement – Continue Reading Below32Storks (2016)This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.STORKS – Official Trailer 3Watch on
On its surface, this is another frantic, overcranked work of modern animation, telling an overly convoluted story (about a stork and a lonely human bumbling their way through caring for a baby) with a rapid-fire series of not-quite-jokes. But the movie also has some surprisingly spot-on depictions of new parenthood, and its emotional climax really lands, placing it a cut above its loud but less heartwarming competition.
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31Set It Up (2018)This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Set It Up | Official Trailer [HD] | NetflixWatch on
Not all Netflix rom-coms are created equal, and this one boasts genuine star power in the form of Zoey Deutch and a pre-Top Gun: Maverick Glen Powell, playing two harried professionals who try to engineer a break from their demanding bosses by secretly setting them up on dates with each other. You’ll be able to predict what happens next, but that doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy it.
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30Labyrinth (1986)This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Labyrinth (1986) Official Trailer – David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly Movie HDWatch on
A coming-of-age fantasy about a teenage girl letting go of childish habits while opening her heart has become a nostalgia object of its own, not least because it co-stars the late, great David Bowie as the Goblin King, who kidnaps the baby brother of Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) per her impetuous request. To rescue her brother, Sarah must travel through a tricky labyrinth populated by a variety of creatures engineered by Jim Henson, who directed. Less terrifying than The Dark Crystal, Henson’s other big fantasy project from the ’80s, Labyrinth is a sweeter, kid-friendlier adventure, where even the bad guy can pause his meddling to sing a soul-lifting bop like “Magic Dance.”
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Advertisement – Continue Reading Below29The DUFF (2015)This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.The DUFF Official Trailer #1 (2015) – Bella Thorne, Mae Whitman Comedy HDWatch on
High school, as so many glib teen comedies tell us, is hell—as is watching a teen comedy that’s just going through the motions. The Duff does more, spotlighting Arrested Development and Parenthood star Mae Whitman as a high schooler who finds self-acceptance as she navigates complicated social dynamics.
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28A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019)This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon Trailer #1 (2019) | Movieclips TrailersWatch on
Pretty much every Aardman-made stop-motion cartoon has a heavy dose of sweetness, but there’s something especially affirming about their toddler-friendly Shaun the Sheep series, which offer dialogue-free slapstick romps with literal fuzziness.
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27The Forty-Year-Old Version (2020)This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.The Forty-Year-Old Version | Official Trailer | NetflixWatch on
Put aside the title, which weirdly puns on The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Radha Blank’s film—she wrote, directed, produced, and starred—is a bracing and funny look at an artist’s process, specifically the sometimes-difficult but often-rewarding practice of following your muse and staying true to your own artistic vision. Blank plays a playwright weary of compromising her work who starts looking toward the less filtered world of rap music for a creative outlet.
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Advertisement – Continue Reading Below26Hustle (2022)This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Hustle starring Adam Sandler | Official Trailer | NetflixWatch on
Adam Sandler has spent a lot of his movie career on crudely, sometimes bullyingly sentimental comedies, while occasionally dipping into fountains of anxiety like Punch-Drunk Love and Uncut Gems. Hustle has some of the tension of his serious movies, and a little of the underdog sentimentality of his comedies, and the remix pays off. Sandler plays a floundering basketball scout who risks his career on a talented but unformed new prospect, and his real-life love of the game shines through.
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25Dope (2015)This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Dope | Official Trailer [HD] | Open Road FilmsWatch on
This coming-of-age sorta-caper movie boasts Shameik Moore, Miles Morales of the Spider-Verse cartoons in the flesh—and a handful of terrific original songs that should have received Oscar attention. It’s a little baggy, but Dope brings a class-conscious, race-conscious twist to the kind of college-admissions narrative that typically stars well-to-do white teenagers.
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24Paddington (2014)This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Paddington TRAILER 1 (2014) – Sally Hawkins, Hugh Bonneville Movie HDWatch on
This gentle, funny kid-lit adaptation has been eclipsed by the sterling reputation of its sequel—but the original Paddington is really just as good! A bear (voiced by Ben Whishaw) arrives in London and changes the life of his accidental host family in an adventure that manages to be faithful to both the spirit of the original books and the sensibility of writer-director Paul King. Lessons in kindness rarely feel so well-earned.
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Advertisement – Continue Reading Below23Eurovision: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: The Story Of Fire Saga | Official Trailer | NetflixWatch on
Will Ferrell’s funniest movie in years is also one of his most unexpectedly sweet, very much informed by a sincere fandom of the gloriously ridiculous annual Eurovision song contest. Ferrell and Rachel McAdams play lifelong friends and bandmates who dream of winning Eurovision, and get an unexpected shot at doing just that. It’s like one of Ferrell’s sports comedies refashioned as a musica
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22Wendell & Wild (2022)This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.WENDELL & WILD | Official Trailer | NetflixWatch on
Stop-motion animation master Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas; Coraline) has said he uses horror elements in his movies hoping to “scare, not scar” his younger viewers. In Wendell & Wild, a collaboration with Jordan Peele (and Peele’s sometime comedy partner Keegan-Michael Key), he does just that—while crafting an inclusive and ultimately touching story about a teenage loner who must save her hometown from supernatural shenanigans.
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21Big Eyes (2014)This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Big Eyes Official Trailer #1 (2014) – Tim Burton, Amy Adams Movie HDWatch on
Don’t let anyone tell you Tim Burton hasn’t made a good movie since the ’90s. His sorta-biopic of painter Margaret Keane (Amy Adams) is particularly underseen, and Adams is typically excellent as a resilient artist who fights off her shady husband Walter (Christoph Waltz).
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Advertisement – Continue Reading Below20Dolemite Is My Name (2019)This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Dolemite Is My Name | Official Trailer | NetflixWatch on
Just the sight of Eddie Murphy back in top form is probably enough to qualify Dolemite Is My Name as feel-good entertainment; even better, Murphy is channeling his energy and comic timing into playing Rudy Ray Moore, a real-life MC-turned-comedian-turned-filmmaker who made the blaxploitaton classic Dolemite.
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19Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Hunt for the Wilderpeople Official Trailer 1 (2016) – Sam Neill, Rhys Darby Movie HDWatch on
Before he became a go-to Disney franchise guy, Taika Waititi made a number of smaller, offbeat films. One of the sweetest and most heartwarming is this comedic sort-of-adventure movie about an oddball kid and his gruff father figure, wonderfully played by Sam Neill.
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18Jerry Maguire (1996)This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.JERRY MAGUIRE [1996] – Official Trailer (HD)Watch on
Before Tom Cruise became a full-time stuntman, he occasionally appeared in smaller-scale comedies and dramas, like this affecting romcom from Cameron Crowe. Cruise plays a sports agent who strikes out on his own, with the support of a plucky single mother (Renee Zellweger). Thanks to Crowe’s knack for distilling complicated relationships into memorable lines and scenes, this movie may be more complex and satisfying than you remember.
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Advertisement – Continue Reading Below17Missing Link (2019)This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Missing Link Trailer #1 (2019) | Movieclips TrailersWatch on
One of the gentlest and least macabre projects from the stop-motion animators at Laika, Missing Link is a big-hearted adventure story about an explorer (Hugh Jackman) teaming up with a bigfoot-style creature (Zach Galifianakis) to find members of the latter’s tribe. As with other Laika films, the filmmakers’ affection for their misfit characters lends it emotional depth missing from a lot of contemporary cartoons.
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16Parenthood (1989)This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Parenthood Official Trailer #1 – Steve Martin Movie (1989)Watch on
One of the best films by director Ron Howard, this ensemble dramedy about the ups and downs of raising children features one of Steve Martin’s best performances. He plays one kind of neurotic dad, while Rick Moranis plays another, and Dianne Wiest explores the challenges of single motherhood. If this all sounds a little heavy, this is also a movie that manages to be funny and relatable without trafficking in cheap attempts at uplift.
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