There’s nothing quite like a well made, artfully done, depressing-as-hell film.  It’s what I love.  It’s what I long for when entering a darkened theater — my There Will be Bloods, my Sweet Hereafters, my classic noir, my psychological dramas, my human tragedies.  I avoid musicals and romantic comedies like the plague…these being films most would claim as “feel good”.  But there’s something special about a well done “nice film” that can brighten one’s spirits.  And then there are those off-the-wall comedies that make you laugh over and over.  After watching one of the most draining and harrowing films of recent memory, the artfully done but dehumanizingly humanist IRA-hunger-strike-in-prison drama, Hunger, I realized I needed a pick-me-up.  So what movies make someone like me feel good? 

Well, here’s the Schleicher Spin on Ten Feel Good Films that totally “get me”:

10.  Ratatouille (2007) – Hats off to this rat and the best Pixar film ever.  I frickin’ love this little French rat chef.  It’s all about the story-arc and character development here.

Ah...Paris!

9.  Wet Hot American Summer (2001) – Really, how can you not feel good when a movie has these four words in the title:  WET, HOT, AMERICAN,  and SUMMER?  Yeaaaaah!  Summer camp and the 1980′s rocked, man!  This is the movie that Hot Tub Time Machine wishes it could be. Continue reading →