Top 100 Feel-Good Movies candidates

by egmeinder | created - 28 Sep 2012 | updated - 28 Sep 2012 | Public

I haven't seen all these movies, but I thought this would make a really good book, so I'm working on it. The ones I haven't seen are listed alphabetically.

In fact, I'm trying to create a surplus so I can write another volume.

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101. Midnight Run (1988)

R | 126 min | Action, Comedy, Crime

78 Metascore

A bounty hunter pursues a former Mafia accountant who is also being chased by a rival bounty hunter, the F.B.I., and his old mob boss after jumping bail.

Director: Martin Brest | Stars: Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton

Votes: 94,168 | Gross: $38.41M

102. Modern Times (1936)

G | 87 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

96 Metascore

The Tramp struggles to live in modern industrial society with the help of a young homeless woman.

Director: Charles Chaplin | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman, Tiny Sandford

Votes: 259,317 | Gross: $0.16M

103. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

G | 86 min | Animation, Comedy, Family

86 Metascore

When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Hitoshi Takagi, Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, Shigesato Itoi

Votes: 379,853 | Gross: $1.11M

104. Nine to Five (1980)

PG | 109 min | Comedy

58 Metascore

Three female employees of a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot find a way to turn the tables on him.

Director: Colin Higgins | Stars: Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, Dabney Coleman

Votes: 39,387 | Gross: $103.29M

105. Norma Rae (1979)

PG | 114 min | Drama

61 Metascore

A young single mother and textile worker agrees to help unionize her mill despite the problems and dangers involved.

Director: Martin Ritt | Stars: Sally Field, Beau Bridges, Ron Leibman, Pat Hingle

Votes: 12,823 | Gross: $22.23M

106. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

PG-13 | 107 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime

69 Metascore

In the deep south during the 1930s, three escaped convicts search for hidden treasure while a relentless lawman pursues them.

Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John Goodman

Votes: 330,672 | Gross: $45.51M

107. Once (I) (2007)

R | 86 min | Drama, Music, Romance

90 Metascore

A modern-day musical about a busker and an immigrant and their eventful week in Dublin, as they write, rehearse and record songs that tell their love story.

Director: John Carney | Stars: Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová, Hugh Walsh, Gerard Hendrick

Votes: 121,247 | Gross: $9.44M

108. Ordet (1955)

Not Rated | 126 min | Drama

Follows the lives of the Borgen family, as they deal with inner conflict, as well as religious conflict with each other, and the rest of the town.

Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer | Stars: Henrik Malberg, Emil Hass Christensen, Preben Lerdorff Rye, Hanne Aagesen

Votes: 17,394

109. Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)

PG | 91 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family

47 Metascore

When eccentric man-child Pee-wee Herman gets his beloved bike stolen in broad daylight, he sets out across the U.S. on the adventure of his life.

Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Paul Reubens, Elizabeth Daily, Mark Holton, Diane Salinger

Votes: 59,066 | Gross: $40.90M

110. The Philadelphia Story (1940)

Not Rated | 112 min | Comedy, Romance

96 Metascore

When a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself.

Director: George Cukor | Stars: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart, Ruth Hussey

Votes: 73,815

111. Precious (II) (2009)

R | 110 min | Drama

78 Metascore

In New York City's Harlem circa 1987, an overweight, abused, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that she can re-route her life in a better direction.

Director: Lee Daniels | Stars: Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey

Votes: 116,204 | Gross: $47.57M

112. Pretty Woman (1990)

R | 119 min | Comedy, Romance

51 Metascore

A man in a legal but hurtful business needs an escort for some social events, and hires a beautiful prostitute he meets... only to fall in love.

Director: Garry Marshall | Stars: Richard Gere, Julia Roberts, Jason Alexander, Laura San Giacomo

Votes: 361,857 | Gross: $178.41M

113. Roman Holiday (1953)

Passed | 118 min | Comedy, Romance

78 Metascore

A bored and sheltered princess escapes her guardians and falls in love with an American newsman in Rome.

Director: William Wyler | Stars: Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Eddie Albert, Hartley Power

Votes: 147,550

114. Say Amen, Somebody (1982)

G | 100 min | Documentary, Music

Documentary about the American gospel music scene, focusing on two of the movement's pioneering forces, Thomas A. Dorsey and Willie May Ford Smith.

Director: George T. Nierenberg | Stars: Willie Mae Ford Smith, Thomas A. Dorsey, Sallie Martin, Delois Barrett Campbell

Votes: 429

115. Say Anything (1989)

PG-13 | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

86 Metascore

A noble underachiever and a beautiful valedictorian fall in love the summer before she goes off to college.

Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: John Cusack, Ione Skye, John Mahoney, Lili Taylor

Votes: 95,874 | Gross: $20.78M

116. Scent of a Woman (1992)

R | 156 min | Drama

57 Metascore

A prep school student needing money agrees to "babysit" a blind man, but the job is not at all what he anticipated.

Director: Martin Brest | Stars: Al Pacino, Chris O'Donnell, James Rebhorn, Gabrielle Anwar

Votes: 328,511 | Gross: $63.90M

117. Seabiscuit (2003)

PG-13 | 140 min | Drama, History, Sport

72 Metascore

True story of the undersized Depression-era racehorse whose victories lifted not only the spirits of the team behind it but also those of their nation.

Director: Gary Ross | Stars: Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Elizabeth Banks, Chris Cooper

Votes: 76,758 | Gross: $120.28M

118. Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993)

PG | 109 min | Biography, Drama, Sport

89 Metascore

A prepubescent chess prodigy is encouraged to harden himself in order to become a champion like the famous but unlikable Bobby Fischer.

Director: Steven Zaillian | Stars: Joe Mantegna, Ben Kingsley, Max Pomeranc, Joan Allen

Votes: 42,397 | Gross: $7.27M

119. Shakespeare in Love (1998)

R | 123 min | Comedy, Drama, History

87 Metascore

The world's greatest ever playwright, William Shakespeare, is young, out of ideas and short of cash, but meets his ideal woman and is inspired to write one of his most famous plays.

Director: John Madden | Stars: Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Tom Wilkinson

Votes: 234,261 | Gross: $100.32M

120. Shaolin Soccer (2001)

PG | 87 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy

68 Metascore

A young Shaolin follower reunites with his discouraged brothers to form a soccer team using their martial art skills to their advantage.

Director: Stephen Chow | Stars: Stephen Chow, Wei Zhao, Yat-Fei Wong, Man-Tat Ng

Votes: 89,130 | Gross: $0.49M

121. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

PG | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

72 Metascore

A recently widowed man's son calls a radio talk-show in an attempt to find his father a partner.

Director: Nora Ephron | Stars: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Ross Malinger, Rita Wilson

Votes: 190,748 | Gross: $126.53M

122. Small Change (1976)

PG | 104 min | Comedy, Drama

The lives of a motherless boy, who is just starting to get interested in women, and his physically abused friend, who lives in poverty, are mixed with more or less innocent childhood experiences and challenges of a number of children.

Director: François Truffaut | Stars: Georges Desmouceaux, Philippe Goldmann, Nicole Félix, Chantal Mercier

Votes: 6,387 | Gross: $0.04M

123. Smoke (1995)

R | 112 min | Comedy, Drama

70 Metascore

A Brooklyn smoke shop is the center of neighborhood activity, and the stories of its customers.

Director: Wayne Wang | Stars: Harvey Keitel, William Hurt, Giancarlo Esposito, José Zúñiga

Votes: 38,075 | Gross: $8.35M

124. Blue in the Face (1995)

R | 83 min | Comedy

56 Metascore

Brooklyn Cigar Store is a neighborhood hangout in Brooklyn with Auggie Wren/H.Keitel as center. Some people are interviewed about Brooklyn, spiced up with statistics on Brooklyn.

Directors: Paul Auster, Wayne Wang, Harvey Wang | Stars: Harvey Keitel, Lou Reed, Michael J. Fox, Roseanne Barr

Votes: 10,091 | Gross: $1.28M

125. Some Like It Hot (1959)

Passed | 121 min | Comedy, Music, Romance

98 Metascore

After two male musicians witness a mob hit, they flee the state in an all-female band disguised as women, but further complications set in.

Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft

Votes: 283,388 | Gross: $25.00M

126. Stand by Me (1986)

R | 89 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

75 Metascore

A writer recounts a childhood journey with his friends to find the body of a missing boy.

Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell

Votes: 441,348 | Gross: $52.29M

127. The Straight Story (1999)

G | 112 min | Biography, Drama

86 Metascore

An old man makes a long journey by lawnmower to mend his relationship with an ill brother.

Director: David Lynch | Stars: Richard Farnsworth, Sissy Spacek, Jane Galloway Heitz, Joseph A. Carpenter

Votes: 97,402 | Gross: $6.20M

128. Ted (2012)

R | 106 min | Comedy

62 Metascore

John Bennett, a man whose childhood wish of bringing his teddy bear to life came true, now must decide between keeping the relationship with the bear, Ted or his girlfriend, Lori.

Director: Seth MacFarlane | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane, Joel McHale

Votes: 656,804 | Gross: $218.82M

129. The Ten Commandments (1923)

Passed | 136 min | Biography, Drama, History

After hearing the story of Moses, the sons of a devout Christian mother go their own ways, and the atheist brother's breaking of the Ten Commandments leads to tragedy.

Director: Cecil B. DeMille | Stars: Theodore Roberts, Charles de Rochefort, Estelle Taylor, Julia Faye

Votes: 2,659 | Gross: $5.36M

130. Thelma & Louise (1991)

R | 130 min | Adventure, Crime, Drama

89 Metascore

Two best friends set out on an adventure, but it soon turns around to a terrifying escape from being hunted by the police, as these two women escape for the crimes they committed.

Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen

Votes: 172,918 | Gross: $45.36M

131. Together (2000)

R | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

84 Metascore

In 1975, the dynamics of a Swedish commune begin to change upon the arrival of a beaten wife and her two kids.

Director: Lukas Moodysson | Stars: Lisa Lindgren, Michael Nyqvist, Emma Samuelsson, Sam Kessel

Votes: 24,327 | Gross: $1.07M

132. True Romance (1993)

R | 119 min | Crime, Drama, Romance

59 Metascore

In Detroit, a pop-culture nerd steals cocaine from his new wife's pimp and tries to sell it in Hollywood, prompting the mobsters who own the drugs to pursue the couple.

Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer

Votes: 242,367 | Gross: $12.28M

133. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)

Not Rated | 91 min | Drama, Musical, Romance

86 Metascore

A young woman separated from her lover by war faces a life-altering decision.

Director: Jacques Demy | Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Nino Castelnuovo, Anne Vernon, Marc Michel

Votes: 31,317 | Gross: $0.03M

134. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

76 Metascore

Harry and Sally have known each other for years, and are very good friends, but they fear sex would ruin the friendship.

Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, Bruno Kirby

Votes: 242,551 | Gross: $92.82M

135. When We Were Kings (1996)

PG | 88 min | Documentary, Sport

83 Metascore

Boxing documentary on the 1974 world heavyweight championship bout between defending champion, George Foreman, and the underdog challenger, Muhammad Ali.

Director: Leon Gast | Stars: Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Don King, James Brown

Votes: 19,127 | Gross: $2.79M



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