Not Fun, Part II

My Life

This is a follow-up to yesterday’s entry, so please read that first.

Though one of my strongest beliefs is that any individual can make a profound difference in society, movies seem to be less entertaining all the time. I pulled the quote below because it had me shaking my head, but then nodding a little. I get what he means. There’s a right place for fun, and if the entertainment industry isn’t the right place, then what the hell is?

At one extreme, you have Hotel Rwanda, and at the other you have Nacho Libre. What do you watch when you’re too exhausted to delve into the social implications of genocide, but you’d still like to keep your brain switch set to “on?”

That’s been a real frustration for me. Not enough movies in the last few years have made me feel both happier and smarter. In fact, only Amelie and Junebug come to mind–and Junebug isn’t everyone’s idea of a feel-good flick.

So I guess I’m wondering if this is a real trend, or just my personal experience. What movies have left you feeling smarter and sunnier afterward?

Published

137 thoughts on “Not Fun, Part II”

  1. Napoleon Dynamite
    Strictly Ballroom(1992)
    Muriel’s Wedding(1994-early Toni Collette)
    Room With a View (1985-Helena Bonham Carter, Julian Sands)
    Spinal Tap (1984-Christopher Guest)
    Enchanted April(1992-Miranda Richardson, Josie Lawrence)
    Man in the Moon (1991-EARLY Reese Witherspoon)
    Life is Sweet (1990)
    Dead Again (1991-Emma Thompson & Kenneth Branagh)
    Little Shop of Horrors (1986-Rick Moranis)
    Any of the Pixar animations

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  2. The Big Lebowski
    O Brother Where Art Thou
    Dr. Strangelove
    Snatch
    Good Will Hunting
    Dogma
    Airplane!
    This is Spinal Tap

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  3. This is a great thread! Delurking to participate: I have to add Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi (2003) — it’s in Hebrew with English subtitles. Witty dialogue, lots of character development, moving story that revolves around Shlomi keeping his family together that made me think about it for weeks after I saw it the first time. I’d also like to add Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Bend It Like Bekham if they haven’t already been mentioned. Finally, I second many of the films already listed, such as Good Will Hunting, Run Lola Run, Real Women Have Curves, and Akeelah and the Bee (even though it was produced by Starbuck$!). Happy viewing. Thanks for all the great suggestions!

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  5. i think woody allen movies are fun and usually make me feel smarter, although i think that’s just from listening to intellectuals talk for 2 hours and not from actually learning anything.

    other recent films i recently enjoyed (fun) and learned something from (mostly documentaries, as other ones have already been mentioned several times):

    Sketches of Frank Gehry (documentary about the architect)

    The Notorious Bettie Page

    Touch the Sound (documentary about a deaf musician that is quite incredible)

    Paris is Burning (documentary about drag queens in NYC who invented “vogueing”)

    Me and You and Everyone We Know

    The Yes Men (documentary: infiltrating corporations and playing subversive jokes on them)

    the rest are good recommendations – added a bunch to my netflix queue. thx!

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  6. Somewhat newer, The worlds fastest indian

    Somwhat older, Waking Ned Devine

    Both great movies with funny old guys.

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  7. In no particular order…

    01. Me, You & Everyone We Know.
    02. Little Miss Sunshine.
    03. Everything is Illuminated.
    04. Broken Flowers.
    05. Goodbye, Lenin!
    06. The Sea Inside.
    07. Big Fish
    08. Rushmore.

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  8. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
    Exotica
    Baraka
    Raising Arizona
    The Breakfast Club

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  12. my husband and i are constantly berating hollywood for producing such crap! however, these i like:

    eternal sunshine…
    the tao of steve
    true romance
    norma rae
    moonlight and valentino

    then again, i also like me, myself & irene, little nicky, and old school, so…

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  13. Big Fish!! And Finding Neverland (although that’s a weepie in the end, it’s very uplifting) and Pleasantville (intelligent, artistic film) and dig out Strictly Ballroom, if you can find it. That movie is BEAUTIFUL.

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  15. Dear Maggie Mason Berry,
    Your blog was the 1st ‘blog’ first i ever read so many years ago. Heather and Leta are so groovy. please be adventurous next time and eat the durian. If the durian stinks think of our emperor.

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  17. Hi Maggie-
    I’m a long time reader who has rarely, if ever, posted here. I’m very picky about movies, and find Hollywood often lacking, so I’m loving this list! I’d like to add a couple of gentle all time favorites of mine, The Princess Bride and also Adventures of Baron Munchausen. I love a little fantasy and whimsy for good escapism.

    I recently saw you post on my friend Andrew Falconer’s new baby site…I was so tickled and also wondered how he managed it!

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  18. I read the first 30 or so comments — enough to know that a couple of my recommendations (Election, the first two or three Thin Man movies) were listed by others. Not sure if a few other favorites — All About Eve, Sense and Sensibility, Bound, Party Girl — have been mentioned yet. My sister recommended the remake of Freaky Friday with Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, and I was suprised to find that I really liked it. Mean Girls is also a winner. What have I seen in the theater recently that I could recommend? Well, I have a toddler, so not much… but Syriana was entertaining and thought-provoking. Not exactly light material, though, and the scene with the pool was so horrifying I almost had to leave the theater. Cars was very entertaining — I’d definitely watch that again. Among others I see listed above, Muriel’s Wedding, Strictly Ballroom, and the Tao of Stever are all favorites.

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  19. You’re so right; the only “recent” movies I could think of were Eternal Sunshine and Sideways. Oh, and don’t flog me–I loved Napoleon Dynamite. Everything else on my list is either old or way-old. For all fun and no thought, Little Shop of Horrors. For more thought and feeling good, Holes, Big Fish, O Brother, Princess Bride, Billy Elliot, Finding Forrester, Benny and Joon. Most obscure: The Draughtsman’s Contract (very thought provoking but kind of dark); and my favorite movie of all, The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T (1950’s film, NOT animated, by Dr. Seuss).

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  20. Memoirs of a Geisha made me feel smarter about Japanese culture, and it had a happy ending too… That’s my vote!

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  21. I absolutely second most of what’s already been mentioned above, but especially Monsoon Wedding, Triplets of Belleville, Bread and Tulips (Pane e Tulipi? It’s Italian), The Croupier, and Sense and Sensibility.

    For my own $0.02, I suggest:
    -any Merchant Ivory Film (I recently enjoyed ‘Le Divorce’, their latest)
    -Howl’s Moving Castle, the latest from Hayao Miyazaki (go for the Japanese version with subtitles rather than dubbed)
    -Serenity (thoughtful sci-fi with humor)
    -‘Poirot’, ‘Midsomer Murders’, and the new ‘Miss Marple’ mystery programs (check the Biography channel or netflix)

    Sit, relax, and enjoy!

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  22. 1. Edward Scissorhands (okay, not so new)
    2. Wordplay
    3. Spellbound
    4. Little Miss Sunshine
    5. In America (devastatingly heartwrenching in the middle, so hopeful by the end)
    6. Election
    7. March of the Penguins

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  23. Three more movies that come to mind:

    Thumbsucker (sweet teenage angst)

    Transamerica (wonderful is so many ways)

    Broken Flowers (funny in a melancholy way)

    also Billie Elliot is the best feel good movie ever. I own it and watch it whenever I’m feeling down.

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  24. I keep on thinking about this post and coming up with more and more movies.

    I’d like to add anything with Alan Rickman in it. (Truly Madly Deeply, Love Actually and especially that one where he goes to space with Tim Allen)

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  25. I don’t know about smarter, but these made me happy.
    Garden Sate
    The Royal Tennenbaums
    Saved
    Secretary
    Almost Famous
    Mad Hot Ballroom
    Thank you for Smoking
    Everything is Illuminated

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  26. No one mentioned “Mindwalk”? Older, yes, maybe not smarter, well…yeah…, but leaves one questioning.

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  28. I read always but never post, I love this thread….

    my vote is for Friends with money- made me happy

    under the tuscan sun- looked pretty and also made me happy!

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  30. too many comments to read them all but “little miss sunshine” was a BLACK COMEDY, there is nothing “sunny” about that but the title.

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  31. I don’t think I saw a couple of my favorites ‘Sliding Doors’ and ‘The Shipping News’. Not so cheerful but a movie that treats your mind a bit like the game Twister always left your body is ‘Memento’.

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  32. Am I mistaken in seeing American Beauty mentioned only once? This must be a mistake. American Beauty is absolutely wonderful.
    Other movies that I can only watch every once in a while, so as not to ruin the magic:
    Garden State
    Donnie Darko
    Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door(German, totally worth the subtitles.)
    Amelie
    These five make my day three times better, every single time I watch them.

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  33. Can’t believe no one mentioned Almodovar. All about my mother, Talk to her, or Bad Education. They all make you laugh and think (and sometimes cry – all about my mother really made me cry and laugh at the same time, it is my all time favorite)

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  34. What a great question; smarter and sunnier are usually mutually exclusive characteristics. I would have to agree with some of the above:
    1) Amelie – cos the french always seem that little bit smarter
    2) Lost in translation – Sofia rocks
    3) Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind – great for that ‘ahah’ moment
    4) American Splendour – for the interaction with the real life people and characters
    5) The Power of One – although the book was better
    6) The Castle/The Dish – two aussie films about simple things that have the best characters
    7) Lantana – again an aussie film but so good
    8) Love Actually – nice feelgood stuff
    9) Dead Poets Society – and oldie but goodie

    and probabley the one that has affected me the most…
    10) New York Doll – my partner is alwyas on me to watch punk stuff; this blew me away emotionally and cerebrally.

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  36. I agree with all the ones listed that I have seen. And to whomever: Garden State (as any movie) either speaks to you or it doesn’t. Sometimes you don’t get it, and that’s OK.

    As for my input, I have consistently been impressed with flicks from Focus Features. I’d watch just about anything with their name on it. Sticking with the smaller movie houses and independent films you tend to find a bit more meaning and less formula…

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  37. Seconding some already mentioned:
    * Adaptation
    * Wonder Boys

    ..and adding:
    * She’s the One
    * Being John Malkovich

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