Something released in the last couple years?
Really need something to lift my spirits. It’s been a rough week.
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is a god damned delight.
Seconded.
If you have access to Hulu, Tag is affable and pretty lightweight. At the very least, you can try to catch the CGI used to conceal Jeremy Renner’s broken arms.
Also, Alison Brie and Aubrey Plaza and the writer/director of The Little Hours reunited for Spin Me Round. It’s pretty inconsequential (and to me nowhere near as good as The Little Hours) but it has its funny moments. And it’s always nice watching an ensemble of funny people bumble through a farce in an exotic location, and wondering just how dark this is going to get.
Thirded.
If you haven’t seen Everything Everywhere All At Once, it’s a great fun film.
Always time to watch a classic. When was the last time you saw The Princess Bride? Or Raiders or the Lost Ark? Or Casablanca?
My go-to when I’m feeling down is the John Sayles movie The Secret of Roan Inish. It probably won’t work for everyone, but it’s a beautiful movie, filled with great storytellers. It’s not totally light, there’s tragedy in it (heck, it starts with a funeral) but damn if I don’t feel better by the end, every time.
Currently on Prime, Hoopla, Kanopy, and others…
If you have D+ you could watch Muppets Mayhem. That is lighthearted comedy.
Jeff, it’s a documentary, but I’d highly recommend Searching for Sugar Man. Do yourself a favor and don’t read up anything on it before watching it.
Sorry to hear that, Jeff. One of the best things I’ve seen recently is - and try to ignore the terrible name! - Colin from Accounts. A very funny romcom, slightly rude and sweary, but good-hearted and uplifting. It’s written by (and stars) a husband and wife team, it’s 8 half-hour episodes, and I ended up watching them all in one evening.
(I’m not sure where to see it in the US, but it’s free on BBC iPlayer coughVPNcough)
Edit: duh, just noticed this was in the Movies forum, sorry. Watch it all together and it’s almost like a long film…! Or, in a similar vein, Rye Lane is a great watch as well.
How’s your tolerance for B/W?
Speaking of romcoms reminds me that Simon Pegg did a bunch of fluffy ones that are great light entertainment, “Absolutely Anything”, “Hector and the Search for Happiness” and “A Fantastic Fear of Everything”.
The Lost King is a feelgood dramatization of a true story about an ordinary woman who goes in search of the resting place of King Richard III. Not zany-fun, but low-key and pleasant with some great core performances. It’s rentable.
Catherine Called Birdy is a comedy about life as a young woman in the middle ages. It gets a little heavy in places, but is always buoyed by the wry first-person narration of Bella Ramsay. It’s on Prime:
Last recommendation I have is The Lost City, which is like an updated Romancing the Stone, with the always delightful Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum. Inarguably fun. Also on Prime:
Hope some of these lift your spirits, Jeff!
Never a bad idea to throw this on:
Its a Mad Mad Mad Mad World! I laughed my head off as a kid.
Some other recommendations from stuff we watch when we want something fun, silly and happy-making:
Hot Fuzz
How to Train Your Dragon (not 2 or 3, just the first one)
Paddington 1 and 2 (especially 2)
Central Intelligence
Jumanji (new new ones with the Rock)
Ant-Man 1 and 2
Added bonus there is the ridiculously gorgeous soundtrack.
Oh, truly one of the best, for sure.
I watch Little Bear and Life with Louie cartoons (you can find episodes for both on Youtube).
Oh Life with Louie was terrific.
I remember feeling that that was a beautiful movie. Only watched it the one time. A bit slow moving but uplifting. It’s from the 80s 90s though.
@jpinard If it must be from the last couple of years you could do a lot worse than the excellent The Cuphead Show on Netflix. Classic Golden Age-style animation - super fun. EDIT: although I see you’ve posted this in the Movies subforum, so I don’t know if it serves.
If a movie and from whenever: Galaxy Quest, c’mon, it’s right there (on Netflix as well IIRC).
Highly recommend The Man in the Hat. It’s on Amazon Prime. Not sure where else you can stream it.
A weird recommend. Two early Guy Ritchie films that are caperish and a bit light in tone even with characters dying. Snatch and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. They should at least grab your brain for a couple of hours.
Also the Nicholas Cage movie The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.