Feel Good Movies To Help Battle June Gloom
June Gloom
Janis Joplin, the band “Sublime,” and, I think maybe, Will Smith once said: “Summertime and the livin’s easy”. It’s a statement that is mostly true but summer doesn’t always start out that way. June 21st will kick off the season with the longest day of the year and the bikinis and bar-b-ques can commence. But, as we all know, June is known for Gloom which is defined as “a depressing darkness.” Point being, our perfect little easygoing summertime actually starts out with some bleak and daunting weather that can bring out the hopelessness if you let it. (I realize that a couple of overcast days do not constitute true despair but I’m trying to sell this here. Please permit me to be a little over-dramatic.)
To battle the June Gloom Doom, I suggest you watch a happy movie to dispel the melancholy. A feel-good movie to fill your heart with joy so you can find the courage to roll out of bed in the morning. At first I was going to cobble together a list of depressing movies to coincide with the theme of the article but thought against it. We don’t want a bunch of moping, sad sacks contemplating the meaning of life only to come to the conclusion that nothing works, nothing is right and there really isn’t any reason to keep on. (If you are interested though try “Blue Valentine,” “Happiness” and “Requiem for a Dream”. Wonderfully abysmal!)
Sports movie can be uplifting. The last 15 minutes of “Rudy” can be put on a loop and knock out just about any negative vibes. When he runs on that field, I dare you to not get choked up and cheer along. “Hoosiers” was pretty inspirational and “Field of Dreams” always delivers the goose bumps. Nothing beats “Rocky” though. Greatest thing is he loses in the first film and you still feel triumphant watching. It is the film that established the formula.
I know that many people out there love “Dirty Dancing” and when Swayze lifts Baby at the end, it’s pretty great. For me though, I’ll take “Footloose” to get me dancing in the aisles. When Ren (Kevin Bacon) yells “Let’s dance” during the foot shuffling finale and everyone does, I am hard pressed not to get up and join. And if I’m home and in the right mood (i.e. I’ve had a couple) I will get up and cut footloose right in my living room. “Singin’ in the Rain” is excellent, especially when Gene Kelly is singing in the rain. I’ve never seen “Billy Elliot” but I’ve heard good things. And, I’m always a little ashamed to admit, I really like the “Step Up” movies. I saw the last one in the theatre. In 3D. Tapped my foot the entire time. Don’t tell anyone.
The power of the human spirit is wonderfully explored in “The Shawshank Redemption”. It was released in 1994 which also gave us “The Lion King” (“Hakuna Matata” and Simba reigns) and “Forrest Gump” which is dripping with mushy moments that bring tears of joy. I watched “Gump” once in a particularly sappy mood and cried throughout. I cried when he met Bubba on the bus for the first time and when Bubba bit it, I lost it. Get me a diaper. That’s all I have to say about that.
My wife loves Miyazaki and wasted no time to name “Spirited Away” as her go-to-feel-good movie. Most all of Miyazaki’s work (“My Neighbor Totoro” “Ponyo”) is stuffed with so much spectacular whimsy that it’s easy to make believe you’re a kid while watching.
There you go. That should help get you through the dreary days. As Janis Joplin, George Gershwin and, I think maybe, Guns n’ Roses once said: “No, no, no no, no no, no…Don’t you cry”? In July there will be fireworks!!!