So, If any of you are feeling anything like me, you are stressed, tired, burned out, and searching desperately for comfort. Holidays can be a stressful time, but adding a pandemic on top of it does no one any good. I personally spent this Thanksgiving eating alone on my bedroom floor while my family ate together downstairs because I’m self isolating in my room to make sure they’re all safe. It honestly sucked. It was lonely, and reminded me how much I missed how the world was before 2020. But instead of looking to some kind of unhealthy coping mechanism, I decided to turn to some good, old fashioned comfort movies. If you are desperate for distraction like me, here’s a list of some of my favourite movies to help you escape for a few hours!
1: Barbie Movies
Okay, so this one isn’t a specific movie, but it’s kind of a group of them. The old Barbie movies are indisputably the best, and watching them sends me right back to my childhood. I’ll watch the 12 Dancing Princesses and all of a sudden I become my 8 year old self dancing to the credits in the living room. I won’t give the whole list of quality Barbie films here, but the top few (in no particular order) are Swan Lake, Rapunzel, The Nutcracker, Princess and the Pauper, Fairytopia, The Magic of the Pegasus, The Island Princess, and The 12 Dancing Princesses. If you’re looking for something to toss you back in time a decade and a half, this definitely does the trick for me.
2: Everafter: A Cinderella Story
This is my absolute favourite version of the Cinderella story. It stars Drew Barrymore in the early 16th century French countryside, and is both incredibly romantic and infinitely quotable. This version adds so much depth to the romance, and the “wicked stepmother” is so very believable. The setting is gorgeous, the characters so well developed, the story just twisty enough to keep you on your toes, and it all has a happy ending, just as any Cinderella story does. The soundtrack alone makes me smile and feel so calm! This is probably my favourite movie ever, as well as one of my top comfort movies, so if you like a good period movie with a happy ending, this is definitely for you.
3: Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
I have always been, and will always be, a sucker for a good pirate story. Say what you will about the later Pirates of the Caribbean movies, but the first one was well thought out, beautiful shot, and had so many great things about it. Captain Jack Sparrow was clever and morally grey without being just comic relief, Will was hopelessly in love with Elizabeth and trying desperately to earn her affection and respect, and Elizabeth was just hoping to escape her world and find adventure. I love the movie so much for a solid pirate adventure story, and whenever I listen to that soundtrack I feel capable of anything. It’s a great feeling.
4: Ten Things I Hate About You
This was, fun fact, the first movie I ever saw in theaters. My parents took me in my little baby seat to go watch it, and I stayed awake the whole way through, only falling asleep during the credits. I am a sucker for a Shakespearian story, and what better way to tell it than through a high school rom-com? I’ve grown up loving the iconic characters, and I still cheer up when I hear the song from the credits. It’s got a great energy, and as far as rom-coms go it is way less creepy and toxic than other ones I’ve seen, which is a massive point in its favor.
5: Anne Of Green Gables
Specifically, I mean the 1985 version. There have been so many different portrayals of Anne on screen, but the 1985 version is definitely my favourite. I’ve loved Anne of Green Gables since I first read the books, and I just love how the movie translates that on to screen! The location is beautiful, the characters so accurate, and the story doesn’t stray much beyond the books, which is what I looked for in an adaptation because I loved the books so much. Even better, there are multiple movies, showing different points in Anne’s life! That means that it doesn’t have to stop at just one movie, it can be hours on hours of escaping to 19th century Canada!
So it’s clear from this list that I have a few main things I like in a comfort movie. I clearly like a strong female lead, and I am especially fond of period movies. It’s not to everyone’s taste, I know, but I generally find that when I’m looking for escapism, I want to escape everything. I don’t think about how characters should be wearing masks in public if it is a masquerade ball from 16th century France. I don’t worry about social distancing when Keira Knightley just fell off a cliff into water. I’m not so lonely when I watch Barbie as Odette, becoming a swan each night. Watching movies isn’t going to finish my homework or cure Covid-19 or help me cope with politics, but it can help. It’s nice to just turn off my brain for a bit sometimes, you know? I hope this list gives you a good starting point for watching some movies, or better yet, reminds you of your own favourite comfort movies. We can all use a little extra care right now, so let yourself watch a movie and escape for a few hours. It might not fix things, but it might help.