The 20 best feelgood movies on Netflix

Director: Danny DeVito

Cast: Mara Wilson, Danny DeVito, Pam Ferris

Danny DeVito's snappy, kinetic visual adaptation of this Roald Dahl classic fits the cartoon feel of the source material, and the cast is great. It’s a modern-day pantomime about childhood solidarity and self-empowerment: the real joy here is the view of generational war, the children’s assumption of zero tolerance for injustices inflicted by absurd adults, and the recognition that the big meanies should be punished, by fair means or foul.

Director: Rob Reiner

Cast: Meg Ryan, Billy Crystal

This is a film where everything works: Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan’s just-this-side-of-smug central couple, the gorgeous photography of New York through the changing seasons, even Harry Connick Jr’s jazz-lite soundtrack. And it’s all rooted in Nora Ephron's flawless script.

Director: Claire Scanlon

Cast: Zoey Deutch, Glen Powell, Taye Diggs, Lucy Liu

Director Claire Scanlon resurrects that tragically neglected genre, the romcom, with this amiable caper. The premise – two put-upon assistants (Glen Powell and Zoey Deutch) try to trick their bosses-from-hell as payback for their own stresses – is relatively well-trodden territory, but it’s executed deftly and boasts no little heart. There are even a few genuine laugh-out-loud moments sprinkled among the romantic fare, with Lucy Liu proving that when it comes to comedy she knows how to deliver.

Director: Susan Johnson

Cast: Lana Condor, Noah Centineo

To deal with her intense crushes, Lara Jean (Lana Condor) writes secret love letters to the boys she lusts after, which no one is ever meant to see. Of course, these letters end up being sent out and Lara Jean must deal with her feelings, and the implications of the letters, head on.

This Netflix Original movie, based on the book of the same name by Jenny Han, has been praised by all corners of the internet, especially for the performances of Lana Condor and Noah Centineo, who plays love interest Peter Kavinsky. It looks like the romcom is officially back.

Director: Steven Antin

Cast: Cher, Christina Aguilera, Stanley Tucci

Okay, so the plot of this Christina Aguilera and Cher vehicle makes little-to-no sense, but when you have the former belting out bangers and the latter bouncing off of Stanley Tucci, somehow magic happens. Indeed, Tucci and Cher’s chemistry is wonderful, even when the pop diva struggles to get the lines out without stumbling. Camp, clichéd and totally gluttonous, this one is so bad that it’s good.

Director: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson

Cast: Gina Rodriguez, Brittany Snow, DeWanda Wise

This romcom might not be the most original or groundbreaking addition to the genre, but sometimes if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Instead, focus on friendship and the chemistry that this film’s three female leads have in abundance. 

Director: Roger Kumble

Cast: Christina Milian, Adam Demos, Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman

The concept of this film is preposterous: an American woman loses everything but then happens to win a New Zealand inn (?!) which she attempts to renovate and flip with the help of her hunky contractor. Naturally, their relationship gets complicated. Essentially it’s a hit of sugar and who can complain about that? 

Director: Robert Luketic

Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair

Reese Witherspoon stars in this early ’00s classic about sorority girl Elle Woods and her mission to get her ex-boyfriend back, which involves, incredibly, getting into Harvard Law School and subsequently becoming a badass lawyer. Camp, romantic and inspirational (we still remember that you can’t wash your hair 48 hours after getting a perm), this film is funny and fabulous. 

Director: Damien Chazelle

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone

What could be more feelgood than a musical that pays homage to the classic movie musicals of Hollywood? While not completely free from fraught romance and moments of melancholy, it captures the go-getter spirit of LA and the wonder of those old-fashioned big musical numbers, while telling a story about going out and achieving your dream.

Director: Nahnatchka Khan

Cast: Ali Wong, Randall Park

Netflix continues its romcom reign with this touching and funny film about childhood friends Sasha and Marcus (played by Ali Wong and Randall Park) who have a falling out and don’t speak for 15 years. Brought back together when Sasha, now a celebrity chef, returns to her hometown of San Francisco to open a new restaurant, she finds her former friend to be a happily complacent musician still living at home and working for his dad. Naturally, things become complicated. 

Director: Ari Sandel

Cast: Mae Whitman, Bella Thorne

Mae Whitman has oodles of charm as the down-to-earth lead of this harmlessly predictable high school comedy. Realising she’s known as the 'duff', a Designated Ugly Fat Friend, guys talk to to get to their hotter mates, she sets about reinventing herself. But a message of acceptance wins out in the end.

Director: Ryan Murphy

Cast: Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem, James Franco, Viola Davis

Julia Roberts stars in this soul-searching bildungsroman that follows an unhappy Manhattanite on her journey of self-discovery, spirituality, food and love. It’s cheesy at times, emotional at others, and filled with some fabulous shots of pasta. It’ll make you want to take an extended gap year. 

Director: Nora Ephron

Cast: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams

The last feature film from writer, director and producer Nora Ephron, this comedy-drama about a famous chef Julia Childs (played by an eccentric Meryl Streep) and home cook Julie Powell, who attempts to cook all 524 recipes in one of Child's recipe books in 365 days, is a throwback to the films of old, where dreams become reality. 

Director: Will Gluck

Cast: Emma Stone, Penn Badley, Stanley Tuccci

Will Gluck’s twenty-first-century take on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a film that brings the spunk back to the teen comedy. Stone plays Olive, a straight-A student who taps into her school’s rumour mill for social clout and financial gain. If you like your teen comedies with real jokes and skewed morals, this one is for you.  

Director: Steven Spielberg

Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Robin Williams, Julia Roberts

While not critically adored at the time of release, this rejigged tale about an all-grown-up Peter Pan and his ongoing feud with Captain Hook has become a cult classic. Robin Williams is great, as is a campy Dustin Hoffman, and we challenge you not to want to run away with the Lost Boys. Yes it’s sweet and sentimental, but it’s also a lot of fun.

Director: Michael Patrick King

Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon

Unlike the highly problematic sequel, the first Sex and the City movie is a total romp. Just like a two-hour episode of the beloved HBO dramedy, the film tells the story of Carrie Bradshaw and her cabal of friends as she navigates love and life in New York City. This time, however, the budget is higher, the clothes even more glamorous and the sex slightly less in your face. 

Director: Phil Traill

Director: Will Gluck

Cast: Mila Kunis, Justin Timberlake

Normally we’d say avoid any films starring pop stars pivoting to acting (aside from Cher). However, former boybander Justin Timberlake is surprisingly convincing as a metrosexual man embroiled in a no-strings sex pact with Mila Kunis that, obviously, finds itself strung up with complications. Kunis is the real star here, though, as she solidifies her stance as a brilliant comedic actor, and there are some wonderfully dated references to flashmobs that aren’t to be missed. 

Director: Anne Fletcher

Cast: Danielle Macdonald, Jennifer Aniston

This entertaining and feelgood coming-of-age dramedy sees Jennifer Aniston excel as a former pageant queen whose plus-size, teenage daughter enters a pageant as a protest. Even better: it’s all soundtracked by Dolly Parton.

Director: McG

Cast: Lucy Liu, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore

Very much a product of its time, this sequel to the early ’00s reboot of Charlie’s Angels is weird, wild and wonderful. From the generous liberties taken with earthly physics to the brilliant chemistry between the film’s three leads, there’s just so much to love (and laugh about).