The other day, my 17-year-old daughter texted a question on the family group chat. “Poll! What are your top three favorite movies?”
Naturally, when someone asks you a question that broad, you can’t think of a single movie you’ve ever seen in your life. One, for me, was obviously The Godfather, though, so I texted that first — followed by Annie Hall and a tie between Finding Nemo/The Incredibles. My husband texted The Godfather, Thin Red Line and Rushmore. Our other daughter, Abby, 15, had a hard time limiting herself to three and texted Get Out, Juno, Black Panther, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Up and Iron Man.
My daughter Phoebe (whose favorites included No Country for Old Men, Unforgiven and Little Miss Sunshine) then told us that her film teacher at school had predicted The Godfather would be on most if not all the Top Three lists of an older generation. And look at that, her teacher was right!
Two years ago, I queued up The Godfather and The Godfather Part II back to back, and beforehand actually worried that maybe they weren’t going to hold up. But it was the opposite: they were better than I’d remembered and now it’s my goal to convince my kids to make room in their top three for either.
What about you? What’s in your top three?
P.S. Actors’ movie accents rated, and the best TV show of all time.
(Photos from top: The Godfather, Get Out, Little Miss Sunshine, Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Godfather.)
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+1 for Midnight in Paris- speaks to me deeply
Best in Show
Shawshank Redemption
This is an impossible question and I’ve already changed my mind 100 times.
Amelie
Almost Famous
About Time
Honorable mention to Drop Dead Gorgeous
Beaches, Little Women (Winona version) and The Divine Secrets of the YAYA sisterhood. I’m all about the chick flicks lol
The top two are easy for me: Roman Holiday and Casablanca. After that, it gets very difficult. Some favorites are The Thin Man Series (the banter!), You’ve Got Mail, About Time, Fried Green Tomatoes, The Great Escape, The Sting…
Wow, lots of “You’ve Got Mail” fans here! I just saw “Sleepless in Seattle” for the first time a few days ago and can’t get over how ridiculous the story is… but man do Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan have some major and totally adorable chemistry.
Here are 3 favorites, however, that feature neither of them:
1. Paddington 2 – it has 100% on Rotten Tomatoes for a reason :)
2. Barfi! – Bollywood featuring a deaf guy and autistic girl as leads
3. School of Rock – this is my “post breakup” movie of choice… it’s funny, life-embracing, and has zero romance
Barfi is soooo good! There are some top-notch Bollywood films out there, and that’s one of them. Another is 3 Idiots, which is definitely on my top 3 list.
Are we twins? I guess another fan of magical realism! I love love love Barfi so much and I told my husband that Paddington 2 is the best movie I have ever seen in theaters!
Stacey, I LOVE 3 Idiots too!!! Back in the day when Netflix was primarily DVDs I ended up discovering so many wonderful Bollywood and other foreign films. I really miss those days.
Sania, I think we ARE twins! Yes, magical realism all the way! :) Paddington 2 is truly a work of genius, and although several of my friends were skeptical about watching a movie with a cute bear as the lead, I’ve never met anyone who didn’t love it
YOU GUYS … What about 13 Going on 30?!?!?!?!
It’s such a freakin delight and mood booster every single time I watch it! Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Garner may be two of the most endearing people on the planet. I’m with ya, Erin.
1. Pulp Fiction
2. The Big Lebowski
3. Midnight in Paris
I can apply Pulp Fiction and Lebowski quotes to 99% of all life’s situations. If that doesn’t say “great movie,” I don’t know what does.
Yeah, that’s just, like, your opinion, man.
Best movie.
When Harry Met Sally
The Shawshank Redemption
Pride & Prejudice
Little Women (Winona Ryder version!)
You’ve Got Mail
Hector and the Search for Happiness
1. Leap Year.
2. The Girl on the Train.
3. The New Beauty and the Beast movie.
This is such a stressful question.
The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, A League of Their Own.
With the first 20 minutes of UP being better than all other movies ever made combined.
Those first 20 minutes get me every time!
Dead Poets Society
Rushmore
You Can Count on Me (a small, quiet film with Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo (SWOON) that I just looove)
1. what we do in the shadows (the show on fx is fantastic too!)
2. mamma mia (and um. mamma mia here we go again. I KNOW THIS IS CHEATING BUT)
3. kingsman (only the first one. the second one was nice too but. def not top list material)
I lol’d at your comment on Mamma Mia! I also would include both as 1 in my top 3
Drum roll, please…
1. Little Women (Winona Forever!)
2. Dazed and Confused
3. Mean Girls
Runners Up: French Kiss (come at me You’ve Got Mail people, but it is peak Meg Ryan), Blow (for those times when you want to feel awful or want to justify NOT having a cocaine addiction), Coco (how do I still cry after seeing it a million times?!)
There’s truly nothing better than Meg Ryan hollering “LACTOSE INTOLERANCE!!!” from a train through France. 😂
So hard to narrow down but here’s my list:
When Harry Met Sally
Some Like It Hot (Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Marilyn Monroe) HIGHLY recommend if you’ve never seen it!
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Love Priscilla!
I love that it seems like we could ALL go to the movies together and be fine!
1) You’ve Got Mail (I loved seeing it so much!!!)
2) Julie and Julia
3) Chef (There’s no actual climax/conflict to this movie which is kind of awesome. Lots of food, lolz, and a love story)
1) Moonstruck
2) Heartburn, based on Norah Ephrons book
3) The Goonies
Moonstruck is such a classic!
1. Princess Bride
2. Moonstruck
3. Thoroughly Modern Millie
Honorable mention for my favorite Christmas movie of all time, Muppet Christmas Carol.
Muppet Christmas Carol is the BEST.
How fun!
1. The Parent Trap (1998)
2. The Sound of Music
3. The Devil Wears Prada
Sophie’s Choice, Reality Bites, Dead Poet’s Society (with Legally Blonde as a runner up)
What we do in the shadow – out of the league!
Untouchables (ofc French);
Polanki’s movies e.g. Venus in the fur
Sideways
Midnight in Paris
You’ve got Mail
Sounds like loads of work, but I’d love to see the Cup of Jo reader top 10 :)
For me, we’ll say
Princess Bride(!)
Midnight in Paris
Amelie
With runners up
LOTR
You’ve Got Mail
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
My Neighbor Totoro
Lost in Translation
The Force Awakens
So many good movie suggestions here!!
Call me by your name
Arrival
Inside Out
Mean Girls!
Guilty pleasure movies that I secretly love — Harold and Kumar and Hot tub time machine
I LOVED reading all these comments! I think my answer would change depending on what day you asked me, but today it’s:
Love Actually – cannot count the number of times I’ve seen this, maybe because it was one of the first movies I purchased on DVD in high school?
Trainwreck – I went to it in theaters with my friend and I’ve never laughed out loud so much at a movie!
Get Out – totally unexpected plot, amazing social commentary undercurrents, and phenomenal acting.
My husband said the Godfather II as his top – I knew he would haha! I’ve watched and liked them, but don’t get ~the hype~
Little Women
Stepbrothers!!!
Clueless
Ghostbusters
The Big Lebowski
Rushmore
It’s a Wonderful Life
Becoming Jane
State Fair (the hokiest…but I basically wore out the VHS version when I was a kid and can recite every. single. line. so it stays on my list)
Love State Fair! My parents had the whole set of Rogers & Hammerstein vhs tapes, and State Fair was my favorite (followed by Oklahoma).
Loved R&H! My grandparents had them all and I was OBSESSED.
Oklahoma and State Fair were my top 2
Mermaids!!! All time favorite forever:)
Little Women
The Royal Tenenbaums
Rushmore
Dirty Dancing
Fried Green Tomatoes
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Annie Hall
Edward Scissorhands
Mermaids! Yes! I haven’t thought of this film in forever – thank you for the reminder.
Oh my gosh, Dirty Dancing! Yes! How did I forget this on my list???
yes!! i love the Godfather and definitely encourage everyone to love it (and read the book!) my all time, top 5 favorites (not in order): The Big Lebowski, Office Space, Pulp Fiction, Animal House and High Fidelity (obv)
1. Stranger Than Fiction
2. Amelie
3. Notting Hill (my go-to cheer up film)
Looks like I’m going to have to watch a lot of new-to-me films that are suggested here!
The life of others (German movie, political thriller)
The secret in their eyes (from Argentina, thriller + love story, amazing)
Amélie
In my father’s den (New Zealand, amazing thriller)
Mr and Mrs Smith (Angelina’s magic)
Anything by and/or with Woody Allen
Layer cake (because we need an English movie + Daniel Craig before James Bond and some great music)
Mamma Mia + Here we go again (because we need a musical)
Mona Lisa (Julia Roberts forever)
Shanghai express (Marlene Dietrich forever)
The holiday (the dialogue about being the leading lady of your life)
Moonstruck (Nicholas Cage before his new teeth!)
Le Grand Bleu (the Big Blue)
Crazy, Stupid, Love
That Thing You Do!
Atonement
About Time
YESSSSSS THAT THING YOU DOOOOOOOOO
1. You’ve Got Mail (This movie always feels like a warm blanket and soup on a rainy day….aka the epitome of a film that gives a sense of comfort.)
2. Pride & Prejudice (Keira Knightley and Matthew Mcfadyen….I can’t get over the soundtrack and when Mr. Darcy walks across the field on a dewy morning.)
3. Cinema Paradiso (This film started my long love affair with the Italian language, literature, art, and culture)
BONUS
4. Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (You have to love any music made by Michel Legrand)
5. Les Parapluies de Cherbourg
5. Sabrina (both the Audrey Hepburn version and the one with Harrison Ford)
Beautiful Girls
Sideways
Anne of Green Gables
runner up…Pulp Fiction
1. GOONIES: I literally know every. single. line.)
2. Three Amigos: Labeling this as a rotating Steve Martin movie spot is more accurate. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels? LA Story? Depends on the day.
3. Elf: We watched it last night to celebrate Half Christmas and man, it’s so so so good. Christmas! Will Ferrell! NYC!
Sometimes I feel a little silly that all my movies are for kids or are comedies but what can I say? I *am* a little silly, and I’ll own that :-)
The Adventures of Robin Hood (w Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland)
You’ve Got Mail
Much Ado About Nothing (w Emma Thompson! Kenneth Branagh!)
Casablanca
Skyfall
and all time favorite from childhood is the cartoon Robin Hood!
Surprised that I haven’t seen two of my favorite 80’s comedies: Trading Places and Fast Times at Ridgemont High!
Beef jerky time!! :)
So hard to pick only three, I draw these out of the hat:
Sunset Boulevard
Dead Poets Society
Lost Highway
Interesting about the Godfather. I used to think of it as a favourite, but the last time I watched it, it felt so sickening and stale to me. As much as I love Marlon Brando, heck, all the actors are amazing, the soundtrack is to die for, the photography is stunning, but….. all it is about is a bunch of men killing each other. The women are barely there, shoved to one side at best, and the plot is really only about power, money and the rat race of crime. It surprisingly left me with a gut wrenching feeling of disgust. I think I’m getting more sensitive, and I welcome that, as we are fed so much violence and it’s easy to get desensitized. I say that with all respect, as I recognize the cinematic genius that went into making this move.
we should have another thread for “what did you re-watch 10-20 years later and it DIDN’T hold up at all?”
My two answers, I love Friends but it’s so so homophobic/transphobic/lemme ogle your boobies Rachel- some scenes are unwatchable. Also the animated Peter Pan is the most racist thing I’ve ever seen in my life.
How to Train Your Dragon
7 Brides for 7 Brothers (an oldie but my favorite!)
Good Will Hunting
My top 3 have to be,
About Time
Roman Holiday
Silver Linings Playbook
But I also tend to re-watch Beauty and the Beast, Rent and How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days often.
I forgot about ‘Silver Linings Playbook’! I love that movie too and can’t get enough of it.
The Ten Commandments (Yul Brynner!!), The Sound of Music (Christopher Plummer!), and Auntie Mame. Runners up: Gladiator, Gigi and Gone with the Wind.
-Pride & Prejudice (2005)
-The Darjeeling Limited
– Harry Potter – Order of the Phoenix
– Leap Year
O Brother Where Art Thou?
Kung Fu Hustle
The Fugitive
The Fifth Element
All About My Mother
Blazing Saddles
Jessie – real into your list! The Fifth Element would be in my top five for sure.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
American Beauty
Doctor Zhivago
(weird combo, I know)
1. Bridesmaids (I can basically recite all the lines at this point)
2. You’ve Got Mail
3. Good Will Hunting (If you don’t have a crush on Matt Damon after watching this movie, idk what to tell you)
hahahaa agree w/your note on #3
I think we’re best friends
Labyrinth
Beetlejuice
Nosferatu
#californiagothchildhood
This speaks to me
The Impossible
Gone With the Wind
#3 I would have to give some thought…
Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Sound of Music (I just saw for the first time a few years ago!)
Kill Bill (1 &2)
The Shawshank Redemption
The Thomas Crowne Affair
It’s Complicated
I stop whatever I’m doing when one of these come on and watch, no matter where I am in the movie. Shawshank for the heart, Thomas Crowne Affair for the music/banter, It’s Complicated for visions of my best life (….not so much the divorce, but really Nancy Meyers and Meryl Streep can make any situation appear enviable).
The Thomas Crown affair <3 <3 <3
I love so many American classics like Father of the Bride (LOL – the hot dog bun scene!), but in terms of movies I could watch repeatedly, there are three really beautiful, dreamland foreign films I love the most:
1. Beau Travail (French) – you’ll never look at the song Rhythm of the Night the same way again. Probably not everyone will go for this movie but it’s so beautiful to me. Like, how did Claire Denis (the director) think of this story to tell?
2. I Am Love (Italian) – Tilda Swinton (say no more), you’re not really sure what era it is for a lot of it, and the music is incredible. From the same director as Call Me By Your Name.
3. My Neighbor Totoro (Japanese) – super sweet story with imagination-stretching characters and an adorable theme song that you can watch with your kids. A little ambiguous for a children’s movie in a way that makes it a good watch even as an adult.
YES. I Am Love was one long, aching, swoon on a movie, and Totoro is a forever classic. Hadn’t heard of Beau Travail, but it looks SO GOOD. So glad there are other folks who connect with foreign film here!
YES. I Am Love was one long, aching, swoon on a movie, and Totoro is a forever classic. Hadn’t heard of Beau Travail, but it looks SO GOOD.
So glad there are other folks who connect with foreign film here, and thanks for your recs!
Finally someone recommends foreign movies! There are so many good ones! Thank you, will check all 3 of them!
Shawshank Redemption
The Blind Side
Music and Lyrics
Whenever I mention Music and Lyrics, people looks so blank… It was Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore as a failed/aging popstar and nervous/sad writer. And there’s funny one-liners and some cheesy pop songs. Honestly? What’s not to like about that?
And the day I crashed and totalled my car, what did I want to watch when I got home? The only thing I knew would make me feel a tiny bit better? Hugh Grant being sassy and sarcastic.
I love Music & Lyrics. Our aerobics instructor at the Y actually created a routine to the song Pop! Goes My Heart – great fun!
MUSIC AND LYRICS!! I had the song they wrote together stuck in my head one day. It’s such a lovely film!
YES about Music and Lyrics! His song to her at the end always surprises me by making me cry.
In no particular order:
The LotR trilogy (it counts as one!), for obvious reasons. I’ve been meaning to do a re-watch since GoT ended (show ’em how epic battle scenes can be done ;) ).
Spirited Away, which only gets more poignant and beautiful with age.
Mad Max: Fury Road, which I saw three times in theaters and viscerally reacted to each time. I’m going to an outdoor screening of it next week! So good to watch in a crowd.
The Philadelphia Story, Mary Poppins and Little Women are probably the three films I can watch again and again without ever skipping scenes or losing patience.
I work in film, so I see pretty much everything. And I love the Oscar-y, highbrow dramas – but with most of them I want to see them once and then I’m done!
12 Years a Slave is probably the best movie I’ve ever seen and that I never want to watch again. It had me in the pit of my stomach the entire movie and stayed in my head for a month afterward. So powerful, but not re-watchable.
This is so hard…
Little Women (1994)
You’ve Got Mail
Sleepless in Seattle
I think we need a totally different list for Christmas movies! Because holy smokes, I live for Christmas movies. Notice that all three of my top choices also include Christmas at some point lol
1. When Harry Met Sally (favourite movie of all time)
2. Bram Stoker’s Dracula (despite Keanu’s terrible accent/performance)
3. Midnight in Paris (the soundtrack! the cast! the portrayal of famous literary figures! and a love letter to my favourite city in the world)
We share two favorites! I’ve never seen Bram Stoker’s Dracula and how I must. 💙
A favorite from WHMS:
“They don’t make Sunday”
“Why not?”
“Because of God”
I love Keanu with all my heart but sometimes I watch clips of him in Dracula on YouTube so I can have a good laugh lol. Poor guy. I think he was just miscast and was setup for failure? That’s what I tell myself anyways…
can’t believe, (unless I missed it) no said “Shawshank Redemption” or “Gone with the Wind”.. so so gripping in different ways!
Clue, Moonrise Kingdom, and Singing in the Rain. All very different, but all represent different parts of me.
Moonrise Kingdom, love it! So maybe you would also love „the perks of being a wallflower“ – my all time favorite :)
Clue!
Raging Bull
Erin Brockovich
A League of Their Own
Erin Brockovich for me as well!
Followed by You’ve Got Mail and Seven.
Erin Brockovich for me too!!
Much Ado About Nothing
Paterson
Erin Brockovich
1. Footloose (Kevin Bacon version only)
2. Something’s Gotta Give
3. Dirty Dancing
I hate having to limit it to 3 movies because it feels not only impossible, but also makes me question my above selections. But I know I am in a safe place and honestly love me some Footloose!! :)
Footloose and Dirty Dancing are both the BEST!
The Sound of Music
Out of Africa
The Big Lebowski
But also “The Little Mermaid” because it was the first movie I ever saw as a 4 year old and its place in my heart will never be removed. Plus the music is 👌🏻
Yesss to Almost Famous! Do you find that a shocking amount of people haven’t heard of it, too? Anything with Frances Mcdormand should be mandatory viewing!!
Legends of the Fall (like another commenter, if you’re not completely in love with Brad Pitt after watching this, I don’t know what to tell you!)
Almost Famous
Man in the Moon
The Sound of Music
Titanic
Clueless
A League of Their Own – the ultimate feel good/female empowerment movie.
Frozen – as the mother of two toddler girls, I’ve seen it at least a 100 times and it is still good. it is the prefect kids movie.
Before Sunrise/Before Sunset – the ultimate romantic and yet realistic movie.
Bill Pullman: I’m a big fan of yours. I’m Doty’s husband.
Tom Hanks: oh, then I’m a big fan of YOURS.
❤️
1. The Apartment
2. Amelie
3. Donnie Darko
4. Independence Day
5. Matilda
Swingers (always and forever)
Dazed and Confused
Wedding Crashers
I am noticing a theme here!
I was wondering if anyone else was going to say Swingers! One of my all time favorites too. Wedding Crashers might also make my top three.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Wizard of Oz, You’ve Got Mail
To choose just three favorite movies, like books, is such a difficult undertaking. I have different favorite movies for different moods! Instead, I like to ask “what are the movies (or books) that you reach for again and again?” Mine are: When Harry Met Sally, You’ve Got Mail and Beauty and the Beast.
What can I say, I love love.
Apollo 13
You’ve Got Mail
The Young Victoria
My goodness we are of the same mind! How do you feel about That Thing You Do! and Shakespeare in Love?
Great poll! I have four:
Not One Less (it should be mandatory for everyone to see this for avoidance of any doubt about the indomitability of the human spirit!)
Midnight Cowboy
Jesus’ Son
True Romance
True Romance – Gary Oldman kills me in that one!
TRUE ROMANCE!!! You are my people! Alabama forever!!
Tootsie, The Apartment, Bonnie & Clyde
The Way Way Back
Groundhog Day
Grand Budapest Hotel
Cabaret
Eat Pray Love
Snatch
West Side Story
Vicky Christina Barcelona
Weekend (If you love the Before Sunrise triology, watch Weekend. It’s SO good.)
La Vie en Rose
Babel
Y Tu Mama Tambien
Cool Hand Luke
Almost Famous
Tootsie
Amy
You’ve Got Mail
Stepbrothers
The Sandlot
On Golden Pond
Out of Africa
PS I Love You
On Golden Pond is where my parents got my name! It’s an endearing movie but sort of depressing to me.
Godfather
About Time
Little Miss Sunshine
Roman Holiday
1) Muriel’s Wedding
2) Far From The Madding Crowd
3) Suite Francaise
Yes to Muriel’s Wedding!! Also Afternoon Delight and Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. Goodfellas for the mafia theme.
1. The American President
2. The American President
3. The American President
Just kidding, I have other favorites, too. But I do wish Andrew Shepherd would run for President!
He has my vote! Loved this movie so much.
Only 3? I can’t choose between these favorites:
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
A Room With a View
Call Me by your Name
Lost In Translation
Moonrise Kingdom
I love Call me by your name and Lost in Translation!
I LOVE this!!! Everyone’s faves are soo good!
Harry Potter Series (you have to include them all!)
The Young Victoria (love Emily Blunt)
Miracle on 34th Street, 1994 remake w/ a tiny Mara Wilson (i watch it year round, makes me smile on rough days)
THANK YOU for mentioning The Young Victoria. I watch it a few times a month. It’s a timeless favourite. Blunt is spectacular in it.
Oh man! Cannot wait to read the comments. I’m sure there are some great ones I have forgotten about. My top 3 in no particular order:
Fletch
Caddy Shack
Almost Famous
Maybe not my favorites per se, but I will always stop to watch reruns of these…
Bridesmaids
Dirty Dancing
I love you, Man
A River Runs Through It
La La Land
Harry Potter series & Love Actually (only during holiday season though)
Oh gosh. I have too many:
It might be easier for me to name some favorite directors:
Wes Anderson
David Lynch
Jim Jarmusch
Cameron Crowe
Wong Kar Wai
Also:
Spirited Away
Near Dark (love vampire movies)
The Goonies
Bridesmaids
Friday Night Lights (hate football, love football movies)
Rafifi
The Fast & Furious franchise
Gone in 60 Seconds
Before Sunset
Point Break
Dirty Dancing
I could go on…
Bull Durham
The Constant Gardener
10 Things I Hate About You
oh my god. Y tu Mama Tambien! Your list is amazing!
Godfathers I/II (when I first started dating my husband, he had never seen them and was convinced Goodfellas was better. I nipped that in the bud immediately)
When Harry Met Sally
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Now that I have a three-year-old, I’d like to add Sing and Coco to this list.
Goodfellas always and forever!!
So hard to limit it to three! If pressed, I’d probably say:
Before Trilogy
Call Me By Your Name
Casablanca
But, also:
A Room with a View
But, I’m a Cheerleader
Anne of Green Gables
Heathers
Say Anything
Only Lovers Left Alive
Pride and Prejudice
Stealing Beauty
Adventureland
Dan in Real Life
The Family Stone
Ratatouille
Sleepless in Seattle
I think that these are just my ‘comfort’ movies, that I would only watch alone when I need a little extra self love. More cerebral involved movies that I LOVE include:
BlackKKlansman
Arrival
The Imitation Game
The Post
The Constant Gardener
1. The Holiday
2. The Town
3. Beauty and the Beast
Side note: All the “You’ve got Mail” comments have me wanting to watch it again tonight! And I’m also thinking… maybe I should actually watch The Godfather?!
Good Will Hunting
The Graduate
My Cousin Vinny
The Harry Potter Series (8 for the price of 1)
Top four (I’m a rule breaker) that came to mind:
1. It’s Complicated
2. Devil Wears Prada
3. Chef
4. Twister
TWISTER YES!
Ooooh Chef! It literally got me in the kitchen attempting that pasta… Drool
The Help (I turn this on EVERY TIME I’M ON THE PLANE)
The Devil Wears Prada (when The Help is not available — if I’m being honest)
L’Auberge Espagnole
Lost in Translation
The Money Pit (took on a whole new meaning once I renovated a house)
Troop Beverly Hills
Also love the Lars and the Real Girl and High Fidelity shoutouts. I am clearly among my people.
Troop Beverly Hills (What a thrill!!) 😂🙌🏽 . You made my day, Kate.
I’m simple:
You’ve Got Mail
Father of the Bride 1 & 2
Sabrina (Julia Ormond)
Ah I LOVE Father of the Bride! I think I was a bit too young for peak Steve Martin but my husband has introduced me to Bowfinger and LA Story and now I love him even more.
Steel Magnolias
Good Will Hunting
Sound of Music
but I could list 10 more …
Y Tu Mamá También (sexiest movie ever)
Anchorman (pretty much every line is comedy gold)
Sliding Doors (sorry not sorry!)
Hilary and Jackie (makes me weep every time)
Legends of the Fall/A River Runs Through It (tie for peak Brad Pittness)
The Big Lebowski (perfect.)
Annie Hall (in spite of that d-bag Woody Allen)
OMG, Hilary and Jackie! I wept for DAYS after seeing this. Oh my heart hurts just thinking about this movie.
LOVE your list. Legends of the fall….. Still have a crush on Tristan.
Christin, I think I am the only person I’ve ever met (hello, me!) who has ever watched Hilary and Jackie. It was SO underrated. I owned a VHS copy and probably watched it 300 times in my early 20s, weeping profusely and grossly each time. And I’m not really a movie re-watcher. Rachel Griffiths and Emily Watson are just out of this world…which is reminding me. How did I leave out Muriel’s Wedding?!
The Royal Tennebaums
Amelie
Stealing Beauty
1. Sense and Sensibility – I always wanted to be Marianne but I am 100% Elinor and am more and more okay with that as I get older
2. Silver Linings Playbook – such memorable characters. The dance scene at the end kills me every time
3. Finding Nemo – the most quoted in my house
Such a fun question. I love reading everyone’s responses!
I love Emma Thompson’s Sense and Sensibility! Glad you mentioned it — it’s so often overlooked. My child was going to be named Elinor, but he turned out to be a boy, so he’s Elliott instead! :)
I forgot the list The Graduate :-)
So many great movies, but top 3: When Harry Met Sally, Last of the Mohicans, Marty (1955 – Ernest Borgnine), Home for the Holidays, Lost in Translation, Love Actually, Vicky Christina Barcelona – and anything Javier Bardiem is in… oops, I got carried away!
You’ve Got Mail
The Holiday
Love Actually
E.T.
Annie (original version)
My Girl
Not necessarily the best, but the movies that had the greatest impact on me. I still know all the dialogue to Annie and can sing all the parts in different character voices… yep
The Holiday
Almost Famous
Home Alone
Cinema Paradiso
The City of Lost Children
Emily
So many for so many occasions, but About Time always makes the cut! Remember that blog post about what makes you feel alive? That movie!
Best movie EVER, I always end up in tears
Yes!!! I LOVE About Time. Sooo good.
The Wizard of Oz
When Harry Met Sally
Dirty Dancing
:)
In no particular order; Dead Poet’s Society, Man in the Moon, Cold Mountain. I could watch each of these moves over and over and still feel such a range of emotions.
Goodfellas
Annie Hall
When Harry Met Sally
we are the same person, annie!
1. Pride and Prejudice (BBC)
2. Beauty and the Beast (animated)
3. Casablanca
Angela Lansbury singing “Beauty and the Beast” just kills me.
Almost Famous
The Way Way Back
It’s a Wonderful Life
(+ Cinderella)
High Fidelity – early oughties angst at its best. Plus, who can resist John Cusack and Jack Black? The final scene is pure magic.
The Way, Way Back – gorgeous cast, divine coming of age story with the likes of Sam Rockwell, Toni Colette, Maya Rudolf and Steve Carrell.
The Kingdom – some people found it problematic but gosh its the perfect action/thriller.
I forgot about High Fidelity. I really want to watch, but I’m not sure I can handle a full story about a manchild in this day and age. I don’t remember any details, so maybe it will hold up better than I remember.
Now and Then
Wizard of Oz
Dazed and Confused
Grumpy Old Men
Predators
Ratatouille
About Time and Arrival.
I stopped watching The Godfather after the scene of the dead horse.
Although Gigi is one of the most sexist and ridiculous movies out there, i have so many memories of watching it as a young girl and loving it…. the costume design, the music, the french accents! So I would have to put that on my list. Second would be Mean Girls, which is also ridiculous, but any time it is on TV I have to watch it. And lastly, I can’t let these two movies define me so I would add Double Indemnity, which is a classic film noire… I am a huge fan of that genre!
Les 400 Coups
Emma
The Sound of Music
Love Actually
Family Stone
Breakfast at Tiffanys
Hi Mom- it’s Izzy. I know this is you LOL!!!!!
Just have to say this mother-daughter shout out totally made me smile :)
OMG the comment from your daughter haha! Glad to see another Love Actually fan girl here – I watch it at least once year and never fails to make me laugh/cry/feel better about life.
Oh my gosh Ann & Izzy this is fantastic…I love thinking about recognizing someone you love by their movie list.
Bridget Jones Diary
I Was A Male War Bride
Last of the Mohicans
1. The Parent Trap (sue me, but I prefer the Lindsay Lohan version)
2. The Devil Wears Prada
3. When Harry Met Sally
I prefer the Lindsay Lohan version too! A perfect remake of a classic.
The Lindsay Lohan version is literal Perfection
~Ocean’s 11
~Up in the Air
~Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Movies usually put me to sleep, but I have watched these over and over and now I want to watch them again!
Oooooh Oceans Eleven is SUCH good one
My favorite movies are the ones I could watch 1000 times and never get sick of:
Father of the Bride
Wedding Singer
Goodfellas
Roman Holiday
Midnight In Paris
Harry Potter series
I have a list of my Top 20 on my laptop! It’s so hard to narrow down.
briana | youngsophisticate.com
Howl’s Moving Castle
Pride & Prejudice
Ida
1. Sound of Music
2. Shawshank Redemption
3. Dead Poets Society
The Lord of the Rings trilogy (technically three movies, but whatever)
Little Women (1994 version)
Lady Bird
You’ve Got Mail is a close fourth
We are almost the same person! Mine are LOTR trilogy, Little Women, and You’ve Got Mail :)
Almost Famous
Reality Bites
A Few Good Men
Not necessarily the best movies, but mine
A Few Good Men!!! 🙌
A Few Good Men has just such great lines. My husband and I yell “You can’t handle the truth!” in every situation it remotely makes sense.
Return of the Secaucus Seven
Play it again Sam
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Miracle
Pride & Prejudice (the Keira Knightley one, don’t @ me)
Definitely, Maybe
I love the keira knightley one !
Garden State
Before Sunrise (the trilogy; love them all)
Sleepless in Seattle
Runners up: You’ve Got Mail, Story of Us, When Harry Met Sally, An Affair to Remember, Breakfast at Tiffanys
YES! love Nora Ephron!
We have very similar taste,
Garden State, the before sunrise/sunset/midnight trio (before sunrise is my fave) and When Harry met Sally would be mine!
Speed, Interstellar, Last of the Mohicans
The Parent Trap (original one with Hayley Mills)
Dirty Dancing
The Sound of Music
Runners Up
Hidden Figures
The Fugitive
3 is totally impossible, but Wayne’s World is always somewhere on my list – I could quote it start to finish. And Princess Bride! My Cousin Vinny. Little Shop of Horrors. Does Adventures in Babysitting hold up? I must have watched it a hundred times as a kid and we didn’t even own it – I’d just rent it every time we went to the video store!
We just watched Adventures in Babysitting not long ago and I really enjoyed watching it again.
I rewatched Adventures in Babysitting last year to see if it held up! I did notice a couple of problematic things that wouldn’t fly today (for example, IIRC there’s one part where a black guy jumps out and they, like, gasp and recoil. And then, surprise! He turns out to be good! Lol?
But I still found the most charming parts (one of my favorite opening sequences ever!) to be just as great :)
Ack! I forgot Dazed and Confused!
Groundhog Day
The Bourne Identity
The Fugitive
Thelma and Louise
Lost in Translation
Any Harry Potter movie!
Into the Spider-Verse
All the Harry Potters (it’s an 8 for one deal ha)
Dan in Real Life
I used to think I had to list off only critically acclaimed films to sound posh for these kind of lists, but now I just embrace what I like.
Into the Spider-Verse was the best movie I’ve seen in years, I am so happy to see it listed here!!!!
My husband and I had to keep pausing our rental of Into the Spiderverse because we kept yelling “HOW IS THIS MOVIE THIS GOOD??!”
@ Dani, I have seen it approx. 40 times (2 &4 year old boys) and MAN. Does it hold up! Everything about it! I haven’t gotten tired of it yet, and I don’t think I ever will. My boys quote the movie every night: “dad, I love you,” and my husband replies with… “that’s a copy!”
Charade
Secret of Nihm
Real Genius
Real Genius! Yes! I was looking at all these comments and thinking, ‘surely I’m not the only person who could quote this whole movie.’ Gotta love a young Val Kilmer!
1) The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
2) Rocky Horror Picture Show
3) Green Mile
First three that came to mind:
Gone With the Wind
The Shining
Fried Green Tomatoes
Oh! Fried Green Tomatoes! That should have been on my list…
the shining!!!! have you seen the pretend rom-com trailer for it? so funny:
https://cupofjo.com/2009/12/the-shining/
Singin in the Rain
Divorce Italian Style
Hot Fuzz
Coco
You’ve Got Mail
Harry Potter (all of them ;))
Pride & Prejudice
Pretty Woman, “I want the FairyTale.”
The Equalizer, ( hello that fight scene!!)
My Best Friend’s Wedding, “He’s got you on a pedestal, and me in his arms.”
The Great Escape (1969)
The English Patient (1996)
One flew over the cuckoos nest (1975)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Simply impossible to choose only 3
Father of the Bride
Moonrise Kingdom
BBC’s Pride and Prejudice (watch it every holiday season while gift wrapping)
1. Pride & Prejudice
2. Silver Linings Playbook
3. Revolutionary Road
And I (and my husband) love to rewatch these yearly to feel them differently at all the changing stages of my life.
Any chance the COJ team can use these comments to compile a “Top 10 movies of COJ readers” list?
i love this idea!
Yes!
what a fun idea!
1. Garden State
1. Dead Poet’s Society
2. La Ultimo Bacio (the Italian version and definitely not the US version)
3. Almost Famous
Garden State!! so good
Classics are classics, but some new movies are worth being classified among the top choices:
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Django Unchained
Interstellar
…and soo looking forward for the new Tarantino movie – Once Upon A Time… in Hollywood
Ahh! I couldn’t list just three!
The Tenant
The Game (basically anything David Fincher)
The Departed
Stranger than Fiction
Mulholland Drive (also anything David Lynch)
The Godfather
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Empire Strikes Back
Monsters, Inc.
it took me a minute but these are what immediately came to mind:
1. Lalaland
2. Spirited Away
3. Mean Girls (not cinematic greatness but i love this and can quote this all day)
4. Crouching tiger, hidden dragon
I just rewatched crouching tiger hidden dragon last night! the soundtrack is just the best.