The Best Easy Movies to Watch (Page 8)
Sometimes all we want is a movie that won’t eat up any brain power, but still contains the ingredients for maximum enjoyment. If that’s you, here are the best easy watches that are now available for streaming.
Based on a romantic YA novel, Geek Girl asks us to believe in its unlikely world, where a plain—beautiful, but plain—girl like Harriet can wow a top model scout (to the point where he begs her to join his agency) and have an in-demand fashion designer have her wear her latest design, all while Harriet […]
Is there a film as transcendent as Top Hat? While the plot could have easily been resolved by a personal introduction, it’s absolutely fun to see the shenanigans that this simple miscommunication brings. It brings the spats between the couples, the witty banter they share, and the palpable chemistry between Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. […]
When a shy student somehow attracts the attention of the most popular guy at school, it’s pretty much the stuff of plenty of straight teenage romcoms. Get Real is this, but gay, but there’s a tenderness to the way these teenage archetypes are portrayed, and simply placing Steven and John’s closeted relationship side-by-side with the […]
As is oddly common for TV shows revolving around stand-up comedy, the actual jokes in Comedy Chaos are mostly duds—or in this case, may have been greatly lost in translation from the original Indonesian. But while the show’s humor is only ever mildly amusing at best, it opens with a pretty compelling set-up: a protagonist […]
A fantastic and light Canadian comedy, the Trotsky stars Jay Baruchel as Leon Bronstein, a young man who believes himself to be the reincarnation of the Soviet leader Leon Trotsky. True to his past life, Leon soon begins a quest to organize a revolution at his father’s clothing company, while dealing with the transition from ritzy […]
When forming a connection with someone, sometimes it doesn’t go the way you plan to– it’s a familiar romcom thread, something from the classics, but it’s a story that works. Trick is a witty comedy of errors with a similar thread, but through the various obstacles shy gay man Gabriel has in trying to get […]
If Red Ollero’s first special on Netflix doesn’t have the most consistent laughs or the most original punchlines to make, it still serves as a good introduction for users of the platform to crass, everyday Filipino humor. Whether due to editing or Ollero’s writing itself, there are a number of times during his set when […]
«When comedians get a bit older they do a movie with “emotions” in it. Here’s mine.» Flight of the Conchords’ Jemaine Clement on Twitter. People Places Things is exactly that, a funny yet heartfelt comedy. Will Henry, A New York City graphic novelist walks in on his girlfriend cheating on him at their kids’ birthday […]
As emotional and personal as it is, Becoming King is just too dewy-eyed and close to the source to have any bearing on those who are not all that interested in learning about the immersion process a Hollywood actor goes through. Jessica Oyelowo admittedly has an interesting story on her hands: that of her husband […]
As much as the Alabama-bred stand-up comic doesn’t fit into the stereotype of someone with an online presence, Dusty Slay’s comedy special can’t help but feel like you’re scrolling through the Twitter feed of someone’s funny but incoherent (and most likely high) thoughts. There isn’t much connective tissue to be found in Workin’ Man, which […]
The episodes of Midnight Diner are just as heartwarming and assorted as the dishes the restauranteur known only as Master prepares for his customers. Much like short stories, they each have their standalone arc and specific conflict, but they all share the same connection: they take place in this diner, which is open only from […]
With more and more young people moving to the city for jobs, there’s a certain beauty in the countryside that is being missed out. The Road Home is a simple and straightforward love story, one that is mostly composed of Zhang Ziyi as a country girl stealing glances at the handsome city boy who’s come […]
Taylor Tomlinson clearly has more of a writer’s approach to stand-up than a performer’s, for better or worse. On the one hand, every word in this special feels considered (even those that she has to come up with on the spot during audience interactions), with a cadence meant to draw you towards the writing itself. […]
Hallmark is the last place you’d expect to find a low-budget movie that decries excessive automation and advocates for local businesses, but for some reason this is the setting against which Love & Jane’s story is told. And the movie doesn’t come across as insincere either, as it uses a familiar romcom template to actually […]
Finnish director and megastar Aki Kaurismäki hits with yet another absurd but poignant movie. The Other Side of Hope is about a Syrian refugee and his journey across Finland, both the country and the culture, in hopes for a fresh start. It’s a genuine and simple movie, played masterfully by a cast of newcomers. But […]
You don’t have to have seen a single game of tennis to enjoy this mockumentary about the longest match that (n)ever took place in the sport’s history. Andy Samberg plays Aaron Williams, the mullet-sporting adopted brother of Serena and Venus (whose family “reverse Blind-Sided” him) made immortal by his record-smashing, week-long battle with posh, dim-witted […]
The walk-and-talk roots of the Before Trilogy are traceable to this low-budget cult movie from writer-director Richard Linklater, which came five years before our first introduction to Celine and Jesse. Rather than follow a single, winding conversation, though, Slacker hops from character to character every few minutes, and we never meet them again. In fact, […]
Like a less intense and somewhat grayer BoJack Horseman, Animals follows anthropomorphic animals in New York City as they mull over everything from heartache to existential dread. It sounds bleak, but there’s a lightness to it thanks to the improvisational nature of the series. Instead of a script, creatorsPhil Matarese and Mike Luciano, who also […]
As exciting as it sounds to have a real person transported into a fictional story, An American an Austen really doesn’t do much with its protagonist’s foreknowledge of the plot, nor is it particularly clear about the rules or consequences of Harriet’s situation, if any. This means that much of the film consists of watching […]
Despite featuring a sharp script and solid performances, Party Down struggled to rake in views when it premiered in 2009, and sadly had to quit after just two seasons in. But since then, its small cast had gone on to become TV luminaries and its sardonic humor garnered newfound appreciation among the younger crowd. Even […]
This international comedy-drama in French, Greek, and Turkish is about a free-spirited Greek girl who travels to Istanbul on a mission to help her father. Once there, she meets Avril, a French woman whose plans to help Syrian refugees have backfired. Together, they embark on a music-inspired adventure to Lebos from Turkey. Director Tony Gatlif, […]
There’s a very clear target audience for Steve Treviño’s comedy, and for that particular group it’s easy to see his appeal: he says what a lot of married couples probably have on their minds during moments of conflict, but he still doesn’t take any of it too seriously. However, to an outsider, Treviño’s comedy can’t […]
This slow romance is set in a Seoul bakery during the 1990s. A boy fresh out of juvenile detention and a part-time employee fall for each other while working there. For a while, their existence is joyful and quiet as they sell bread and bond. However, the Asian financial crisis of 1997 forces the bakery […]
Emily (Evanna Lynch), a strange, unique girl does not receive the long awaited letter from her father on her birthday. Sick of worrying, she decides to break away from home to visit him in the psychiatric institution where he stays. The plan requires the help of Arden (George Webster), a boy from school who is […]
Sometimes, in life, we’re forced to be with people we don’t immediately get along with, like in the classroom, the workplace, or, if you’re unlucky, in a jail cell. Down by Law is black-and-white drama focused on three men in a jail cell, two of them outright hating each other, but not as much as […]
At its core, The Trust is everything you expect from American reality TV, complete with several highly irritating contestants and drama that just never hits as hard as it tries to. So it’s good that the central game mechanics are simple yet designed to have the players sow as much discord among themselves as possible. […]
Unlike Lovesick, which rightfully changed its name from Scrotal Recall, Schitt’s Creek is still called Schitt’s Creek many seasons in. After flying under the radar for a while, the sitcom about a wealthy, Arrested-Development-style family coping with the sudden loss of their fortune is starting to get the attention it deserves. Warm and witty writing, […]
Even if Crimes of Fashion: Killer Clutch faithfully sticks to the general template of a mystery film, that doesn’t guarantee its quality. It may have structure and suspects and motive but it doesn’t inject its own color into the expected story beats. Maybe it’s a consequence of the film being made for a network that […]
There’s a strong moral focus to Dee & Friends in Oz that helps keep it from being just a distraction for young children. The series logically continues the theme of outsiders learning to overcome their insecurities and courses this lesson through “Dorothy” herself—with much less peril and wicked witches involved, of course. But the show […]
Best in Show’s cast list reads like a catalog of comic greats. Among others, it includes Parker Posey, Jane Lynch, John Michael Higgins, Jennifer Coolidge, and the unbeatable duo that is Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy. Their participation alone should you clue in on what kind of film this is: a delightful exercise in improvisational […]
I can’t get a song out of my head from this movie: the 1985 UK hit Desire As from Prefab Sprout. It plays when the two main characters, a sensitive kid who’s bullied by his school for not liking rugby, and the school’s rugby star; talk over the “Berlin Wall” that separates their dorm room. […]
This is an easy and funny Canadian TV show about a Korean store owner in Toronto. He completely lacks awareness of modern gender, sexual orientation, and race issues – yet his good nature redeems him. In the first episode he is confronted for saying something homophobic, but replies by pretending he has an ongoing 15% […]
As a sort of cooking-themed game show, Wildcard Kitchen doesn’t have enough to it by way of game mechanics and strategy to make it truly engaging. The cards that each chef is dealt hold all the power, which does make the show more similar to simply watching people gamble, but it also means the players […]
Jack Whitehall definitely has funny observations to make about life around him, and he clearly has a writer’s ear for detail-oriented jokes. But he hardly allows his jokes to breathe during this special, constantly over-explaining the point or killing the momentum of a really smart, clever punchline with so many more unnecessary lines after the […]
With a title as generic as Bandidos, the series is set up exactly how you’d expect: a charming group of antiheroes and weirdos somehow coming together and pulling off improbable schemes while cracking jokes and flirting with each other. There’s a reason this formula works, of course, and the show’s charismatic cast helps greatly in […]
It may look like a cheap TV movie, but this quietly affecting story of a lonely grandmother looking for kindness and meaning at a retirement hotel is an absolutely charming watch for you, your parents, and your own grandparents. The stakes are refreshingly low, as the title character’s quick friendship with a twentysomething writer helps […]
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It’s not that being similar to another, successful, animated franchise is a bad thing, but The Tiger’s Apprentice hurries to practically every plot point without properly establishing its setting, its characters, or their relationships. It all means well, and once you get used to its lower production values, it becomes clear that the film has […]
Before he developed his signature dollhouse visual style, Wes Anderson made his feature debut with this lowkey, heartwarming, and decidedly not-symmetrically-perfect comedy about a bunch of misfits. Bottle Rocket isn’t as much of an outlier in its director’s storied filmography as might initially seem, however. Written in partnership with college buddy Owen Wilson — who, […]
As far as destination romantic comedies go, Irish Wish is at least self-aware enough to commit to its corniness without making its characters too insufferable to follow. For once avoidable misunderstandings don’t drive the conflict, as the story progresses as one extended “be careful what you wish for” journey of self-discovery. Still, one can’t help […]
