When it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month, or even your year, you need a temporary escape; an escape to mental peace and serenity, and feel-good movies enable you to get out of the rabbit hole and make lemonade with the lemons in front of you.
With the pandemic, various lockdowns, and a lot of political drama, the past year has been extremely troublesome without a doubt – and so even the people who do not have any apparent problems need an escape from reality. And that is the very reason we have arranged an elite collection of stress-releasing movies – because sure The Godfather is a classic film series, but it is not an ideal choice for when all you need is tranquility and calm. The best stress-releasing films should leave you revived and loaded with euphoria. Furthermore, that is actually what we as a whole need as of now.
In case you are searching for historic tenseness, demanding, and mind-numbing stories, you will not find those here – all we have here are pure, hot-chocolate-for-the-soul goodness and warmth.
Most of the movies in this list can be found on streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, however, if you are connected with a good cable provider like Optimum TV, you might just be able to watch them on cable too with the exceptional lineup of more than 420 channels.
Here’s an entire rundown of the best stress-releasing movies to lighten up your mood.
1. Forest Gump (1994)
Writer: Eric Roth
Lead Cast: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Box Office: 683.1 Million USD
This classic movie of 1994 is pleasant, reaffirming, hopeful, and positive to say the least. Tom Hanks graces our screens as ‘Forest Gump’ and does utmost justice to the complex role of a simple storyline. The dialogue, ‘Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are gonna get,’ will always be the epitome of hopefulness and strength. This movie is sufficient to uplift your mood and motivate yourself towards your goals.
2. Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
Writer: Pete Chiarelli, Adele Lim
Lead Cast: Henry Golding, Constance Wu, Awkwafina
Director: Jon M. Chu
Box Office: 238.5 Million USD
The title of the movie, ‘Crazy Rich Asians,’ depicts exactly what the movie delivers. The crazed and ultra-rich lifestyle of the Asians in this movie has us all in awe. The brilliant performances, exceptionally well-written screenplay, and amazing direction by Jon M. Chu make this movie nothing less than a five-star.
3. Paddington 2 (2017)
Writer: Simon Farnaby, Paul King
Lead Cast: Hugh Grant, Sally Hawkins, Hugh Bonneville
Director: Paul King
Box Office: 40 Million USD
This movie is pure, polite, and sparks kindness. It would not be wrong to say that this movie exudes positive rays and delight. The graphics and cinematography need to be applauded from the start to the end. ‘Paddington 2’ is like a medicine that can help you with any problem.
4. To all the boys I’ve loved before (2018)
Writer: Jenny Han
Lead Cast: Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, Anna Cathcart, Israel Broussard
Director: Susan Johnson
It is next to impossible that you have not watched this movie a million times because how can anyone not. It is one of the best chick flicks of recent times. Lana Condor and Noah Centineo have wooed us completely with their purity and love. What started as a fake relationship rules us over with the love that can conquer all. No matter how many times you have watched it or even if you remember the dialogues by now, this movie is set to make you release your stress.
5. When Harry met Sally (1989)
Writer: Nora Ephron
Lead Cast: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher
Director: Rob Reiner
Box Office: 92.8 Million USD
‘When Harry Met Sally’ is the perfect rom-com. There is not one thing off about this movie and how can there be when Nora Ephron has written it. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan make us fall in love with their love story. You can watch it at any instance and you would be entertained to the core.
6. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Writer: Stephen King
Lead Cast: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton
Director: Frank Darabont
Box Office: 58.3 Million USD
We know that your first instinct might make you feel that ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ is a pressing movie and might not even be a part of this list. However, the theme of the movie is nothing but positive and hopeful vibes. There are a lot of disturbing things like abuse and injustice happening with a wrongfully imprisoned man, although the moment he takes his life back is totally worth it and makes you feel wholesome to another level.
7. Frozen (2013)
Writer: Jennifer Lee
Lead Cast: Kirsten Bell, Josh Gad, Jonathan Groff
Director: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
Box Office: 1.28 Billion USD
The storyline, the characters, the animation, everything about this movie is next to perfect. With Frozen, Disney has accelerated its storytelling skills by a hundred percent. The plot revolves around two sisters who grow apart due to a mishap involving magical powers. This movie is free of any age limit – whether you are a 70 years old veteran, a 25 years old fresh graduate, or an 8 years old kid, you are going to love it.
8. Clueless (1995)
Writer: Amy Heckerling
Lead Cast: Alicia Silverstone, Paul Rudd, Stacey Dash
Director: Amy Heckerling
Box Office: 56.6 Million USD
Easy and charming are the perfect words to describe ‘Clueless.’ This movie can be watched hundred times in a row and still would not lose its magic by one percent even. The love angle between Cher and her ex-stepbrother is explored in an unimaginable way and trust me if you have not watched it yet, you are missing out on something great.
9. Love Actually (2003)
Writer: Richard Curtis
Lead Cast: Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Kiera Knightley
Director: Richard Curtis, Mat Whitecross
Box Office: 246.8 Million USD
This Christmas-themed movie makes you feel as good as you want to feel. ‘Love Actually’ is like a chocolate chip cookie, crispy on the crust and gooey all along. It is sentimental, gripping, pure, and filled with love. Audiences can relate to their own love life with the various couples shown in the movie.
10. Legally blonde (2001)
Writer: Kirsten Smith, Karen McCullah
Lead Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Jennifer Coolidge
Director: Robert Luketic
Box Office: 141.8 Million USD
There can never be a list of stress-releasing movies without the mention of this artsy and perfect movie. Reese Witherspoon delights the audience with her performance as Elle Woods, who joins Harvard Law School after being dumped by her boyfriend. She paved her destiny herself and there is nothing more empowering than watching her shine through and through.
11. She’s the man (2006)
Writer: Kirsten Smith, Karen McCullah, Ewan Leslie
Lead Cast: Amanda Bynes, Channing Tatum
Director: Andy Fickman
Box Office: 57.2 Million USD
One of the best things this movie did was introducing Channing Tatum. ‘She’s The Man’ is a delightful story about a girl who disguises herself as a boy to play soccer. Although this movie exhibits emotions like joy and hope, it also raised the question of why girls are not given the real chance?! The title of the movie even spills the fact that female glory is much more than just fashion and that ‘she’ should be given equal opportunities in all aspects of life.
12. Always be my maybe (2019)
Writer: Ali Wong, Nathan Kahane, Randall Park, Erin Westerman
Lead Cast: Randall Park, Ali Wong, Keanu Reeves
Director: Nahnatchka Khan
Growing up as neighbors, Sasha and Marcus harbored deep feelings for each other and when Sasha moves back into the town, their destinies get intertwined again. However, their romance has to come over a lot of obstacles that start with Sasha’s love interest, Keanu Reeves.