Life Lessons & endearing characters
by quiqueperezsoler | created - 07 Feb 2021 | updated - 1 month ago | PublicLight-hearted every-day-life sitcoms and such with quirky characters with life lessons whom to learn from. Some may go a bit dramatic, others a bit absurd or fantastical, but in the end what unites them is their entertainment value and endearing stories.
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1. How I Met Your Mother (2005–2014)
TV-14 | 4,576 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A father recounts to his children - through a series of flashbacks - the journey he and his four best friends took leading up to him meeting their mother.
Stars: Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Cobie Smulders, Neil Patrick Harris
Votes: 726,291
2. The Office (2005–2013)
TV-14 | 22 min | Comedy
A mockumentary on a group of typical office workers, where the workday consists of ego clashes, inappropriate behavior, and tedium.
Stars: Steve Carell, Jenna Fischer, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson
Votes: 705,552
3. Community (2009–2015)
TV-14 | 22 min | Comedy
A suspended lawyer is forced to enroll in a community college with an eccentric staff and student body.
Stars: Joel McHale, Danny Pudi, Donald Glover, Chevy Chase
Votes: 292,052
4. Parks and Recreation (2009–2015)
TV-14 | 22 min | Comedy
The absurd antics of an Indiana town's public officials as they pursue sundry projects to make their city a better place.
Stars: Amy Poehler, Jim O'Heir, Nick Offerman, Chris Pratt
Votes: 286,654
5. New Girl (2011–2018)
TV-14 | 22 min | Comedy, Romance
After a bad break-up, Jess, an offbeat young woman, moves into an apartment loft with three single men. Although they find her behavior very unusual, the men support her - most of the time.
Stars: Zooey Deschanel, Jake Johnson, Max Greenfield, Hannah Simone
Votes: 244,608
6. The Spectacular Now (2013)
R | 95 min | Drama, Romance
A hard-partying high school senior's philosophy on life changes when he meets the not-so-typical "nice girl."
Director: James Ponsoldt | Stars: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Votes: 161,050 | Gross: $6.85M
7. Stuck in Love. (2012)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
An acclaimed writer, his ex-wife, and their teenaged children come to terms with the complexities of love in all its forms over the course of one tumultuous year.
Director: Josh Boone | Stars: Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Connelly, Lily Collins, Nat Wolff
Votes: 91,843 | Gross: $0.08M
8. Family United (2013)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama
Five brothers reunite for a wedding at the family estate on the day that Spain plays in the 2010 World Cup final.
Director: Daniel Sánchez Arévalo | Stars: Antonio de la Torre, Roberto Álamo, Quim Gutiérrez, Miquel Fernández
Votes: 4,626
9. Flipped (I) (2010)
PG | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Two eighth-graders start to have feelings for each other despite being total opposites.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Madeline Carroll, Callan McAuliffe, Rebecca De Mornay, Anthony Edwards
Votes: 97,113 | Gross: $1.75M
10. This Is Where I Leave You (2014)
R | 103 min | Comedy, Drama
After their father passes away, four grown siblings are forced to return to their childhood home and live under the same roof for a week, along with their over-sharing mother and an assortment of spouses, exes, and might-have-beens.
Director: Shawn Levy | Stars: Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda, Adam Driver
Votes: 88,980 | Gross: $34.29M
11. Wonder (I) (2017)
PG | 113 min | Drama, Family
Based on the New York Times bestseller, this movie tells the incredibly inspiring and heartwarming story of August Pullman, a boy with facial differences who enters the fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time.
Director: Stephen Chbosky | Stars: Jacob Tremblay, Owen Wilson, Izabela Vidovic, Julia Roberts
Votes: 177,699 | Gross: $132.42M
12. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
PG-13 | 103 min | Drama
Charlie, a 15-year-old introvert, enters high school and is nervous about his new life. When he befriends his seniors, he learns to cope with his friend's suicide and his tumultuous past.
Director: Stephen Chbosky | Stars: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Paul Rudd
Votes: 546,190 | Gross: $17.74M
13. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015)
PG-13 | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
High schooler Greg, who spends most of his time making parodies of classic movies with his co-worker Earl, finds his outlook forever altered after befriending a classmate who has just been diagnosed with cancer.
Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon | Stars: Thomas Mann, RJ Cyler, Olivia Cooke, Nick Offerman
Votes: 137,933 | Gross: $6.74M
14. A Good Year (2006)
PG-13 | 117 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A British investment broker inherits his uncle's chateau and vineyard in Provence, where he spent much of his childhood. He discovers a new laid-back lifestyle as he tries to renovate the estate to be sold.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Russell Crowe, Abbie Cornish, Albert Finney, Marion Cotillard
Votes: 101,107 | Gross: $7.46M
15. Camp Nowhere (1994)
PG | 96 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
A group of junior high kids don't want to go to summer camps chosen by their parents. They make their own adult-free camp and "hire" an ex drama teacher to help.
Director: Jonathan Prince | Stars: Jonathan Jackson, Christopher Lloyd, John Putch, Peter Scolari
Votes: 10,628 | Gross: $10.47M
16. Hitch (I) (2005)
PG-13 | 118 min | Comedy, Romance
A smooth-talking man falls for a hardened columnist while helping a shy accountant woo a beautiful heiress.
Director: Andy Tennant | Stars: Will Smith, Eva Mendes, Kevin James, Amber Valletta
Votes: 334,509 | Gross: $179.50M
17. Charlie Bartlett (2007)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A rich kid becomes the self-appointed psychiatrist to the student body of his new high school.
Director: Jon Poll | Stars: Anton Yelchin, Robert Downey Jr., Hope Davis, Kat Dennings
Votes: 66,607 | Gross: $3.95M
18. The New Guy (2002)
PG-13 | 88 min | Comedy
A high school senior branded uncool in the ninth grade gets himself expelled so he changes his image to cool kid at the town's other high school.
Director: Ed Decter | Stars: DJ Qualls, Lyle Lovett, Eliza Dushku, Zooey Deschanel
Votes: 37,584 | Gross: $28.97M
19. Blast from the Past (1999)
PG-13 | 112 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A naive man comes out into the world after spending 35 years in a nuclear fallout shelter.
Director: Hugh Wilson | Stars: Brendan Fraser, Alicia Silverstone, Christopher Walken, Sissy Spacek
Votes: 71,319 | Gross: $26.49M
20. Coco (I) (2017)
PG | 105 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
Aspiring musician Miguel, confronted with his family's ancestral ban on music, enters the Land of the Dead to find his great-great-grandfather, a legendary singer.
Directors: Lee Unkrich, Adrian Molina | Stars: Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Alanna Ubach
Votes: 586,393 | Gross: $209.73M
21. The Judge (2014)
R | 141 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Big-city lawyer Hank Palmer returns to his childhood home where his father, the town's judge, is suspected of murder. Hank sets out to discover the truth; along the way he reconnects with his estranged family.
Director: David Dobkin | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Billy Bob Thornton
Votes: 200,967 | Gross: $47.12M
22. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
PG-13 | 125 min | Comedy, Drama
After a bitter divorce, an actor disguises himself as a female housekeeper to spend time with his children held in custody by his former wife.
Director: Chris Columbus | Stars: Robin Williams, Sally Field, Pierce Brosnan, Harvey Fierstein
Votes: 289,770 | Gross: $219.20M
23. Spirited Away (2001)
PG | 125 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
During her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, a world where humans are changed into beasts.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Miyu Irino, Rumi Hiiragi
Votes: 844,369 | Gross: $10.06M
24. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
Approved | 108 min | Comedy, Drama
A couple's attitudes are challenged when their daughter introduces them to her African-American fiancé.
Director: Stanley Kramer | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn, Katharine Houghton
Votes: 48,776 | Gross: $56.70M
25. Coraline (2009)
PG | 100 min | Animation, Drama, Family
Wandering her rambling old house in her boring new town, an 11-year-old Coraline discovers a hidden door to a strangely idealized version of her life. In order to stay in the fantasy, she must make a frighteningly real sacrifice.
Director: Henry Selick | Stars: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman, Jennifer Saunders
Votes: 262,443 | Gross: $75.29M
26. Amélie (2001)
R | 122 min | Comedy, Romance
Despite being caught in her imaginative world, Amelie, a young waitress, decides to help people find happiness. Her quest to spread joy leads her on a journey where she finds true love.
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Lorella Cravotta
Votes: 792,393 | Gross: $33.23M
27. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
R | 101 min | Comedy, Drama
A family determined to get their young daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant take a cross-country trip in their VW bus.
Directors: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris | Stars: Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear, Abigail Breslin
Votes: 516,396 | Gross: $59.89M
28. Forrest Gump (1994)
PG-13 | 142 min | Drama, Romance
The history of the United States from the 1950s to the '70s unfolds from the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75, who yearns to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Sally Field
Votes: 2,246,064 | Gross: $330.25M
29. Life of Pi (2012)
PG | 127 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Adil Hussain, Tabu
Votes: 665,079 | Gross: $124.99M
30. Treasure Planet (2002)
PG | 95 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
Jim Hawkins is a teenager who finds the map of a great treasure hidden by a space pirate. Together with some friends, he sets off in a large spaceship, shaped like a caravel, on his quest.
Directors: Ron Clements, John Musker | Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emma Thompson, Martin Short, Roscoe Lee Browne
Votes: 132,350 | Gross: $38.18M
31. Surf's Up (2007)
PG | 85 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A behind-the-scenes look at the annual Penguin World Surfing Championship, and its newest participant, up-and-comer Cody Maverick.
Directors: Ash Brannon, Chris Buck | Stars: Shia LaBeouf, Zooey Deschanel, Jon Heder, Jeff Bridges
Votes: 90,342 | Gross: $58.87M
32. Pretty Woman (1990)
R | 119 min | Comedy, Romance
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: 360,032 | Gross: $178.41M
33. Finding Forrester (2000)
PG-13 | 136 min | Drama
Forrester, the author of a famous book, decides to help Jamal, a 16-year-old student, discover his writing prowess by mentoring him and enrolling him into a prestigious private school.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Sean Connery, Rob Brown, F. Murray Abraham, Anna Paquin
Votes: 89,414 | Gross: $66.40M
34. Over the Garden Wall (2014)
TV-PG | 11 min | Animation, Short, Adventure
Two brothers find themselves lost in a mysterious land and try to find their way home.
Stars: Elijah Wood, Collin Dean, Melanie Lynskey, Christopher Lloyd
Votes: 69,832
35. Return to Oz (1985)
PG | 113 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, is somehow called back to Oz when a vain witch and the Nome King destroy everything that makes the magical land beautiful.
Director: Walter Murch | Stars: Fairuza Balk, Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Piper Laurie
Votes: 30,230
36. Hook (1991)
PG | 142 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
When Captain James Hook kidnaps his children, an adult Peter Pan must return to Neverland and reclaim his youthful spirit in order to challenge his old enemy.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Robin Williams, Julia Roberts, Bob Hoskins
Votes: 272,453 | Gross: $119.65M
37. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (2023)
TV-MA | 28 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
Scott Pilgrim meets the girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers, only to find out her seven evil exes stand in the way of their love.
Stars: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Satya Bhabha, Kieran Culkin
Votes: 16,336
38. Nanny McPhee (2005)
PG | 97 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
A governess uses magic to rein in the behavior of seven ne'er-do-well children in her charge.
Director: Kirk Jones | Stars: Emma Thompson, Colin Firth, Angela Lansbury, Kelly Macdonald
Votes: 85,188 | Gross: $47.14M
39. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
PG | 130 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell
Votes: 497,708
40. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
PG-13 | 132 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
The X-Men send Wolverine to the past in a desperate effort to change history and prevent an event that results in doom for both humans and mutants.
Director: Bryan Singer | Stars: Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy
Votes: 743,293 | Gross: $233.92M
41. X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
PG-13 | 144 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
In the 1980s the X-Men must defeat an ancient all-powerful mutant, En Sabah Nur, who intends to thrive through bringing destruction to the world.
Director: Bryan Singer | Stars: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult
Votes: 459,596 | Gross: $155.44M
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