Am I the only one that has a list of movies where I can pick one and am totally at ease? Some days during the week (or really any day), I feel a sense of anxiousness. This may be due to a busy workday or upcoming events or it just being a Monday. One of the ways I try to reduce my anxiety is to put on one of my favorite movies where I know exactly what’s going to happen and therefore no anxiety of the unknown.
I’m obviously not a doctor (to my parents’ disappointment) but this is what helps me de-escalate my anxiety and feel calm and productive on a weekday. If I have enough time, I may even watch the same movie twice in one night, but it’s really just something I put on in the background while I try to be productive!
Movies
1. Miss Congeniality (HBO Max)
I have watched this movie almost every other day in the past few weeks. It’s a light-hearted but badass story of a female FBI agent (Sandy Bullock) who goes undercover at the Miss United States pageant in San Antonio to find who is sending letters threatening to attack everyone at the event. Another reason I love this movie is that it’s based in San Antonio, and we alllllll know how much I love San Antonio amirite? The San Antonio Riverwalk boat tour even makes a stop at the stage where the swimsuit competition was held!
2. Legally Blonde (Netflix)
This has been a favorite of mine for as long as it has been out! Who doesn’t love Reese Witherspoon, Bruiser Woods, and feminism?! It’s your classic story of a sorority girl who goes to law school to win back the love of her life but discovers her passion, courage of conviction, and strong sense of self along the way – all while wearing her power color, pink! It’s a feel-good movie around a smart woman who (*SPOILER*) makes her way to the top without dragging others down.
3. The Parent Trap (Disney+)
My favorite movie of ALL TIME. I honestly don’t know why I’m obsessed with this movie, but I am. So much so that we visited Hallie’s house in London and I even had a Parent Trap-themed bridal shower (shoutout to my bestie, Liz, and her mom for that one). You can’t go wrong with two LiLos who get separated at birth (and their divorced parents somehow ~fOrGeT~ to tell them of the others’ of their existence) and a Meredith Blake sprinkled on top. Just some classic family drama, ya know?
4. (Halloween) Halloweentown (Disney+)
My go-to movie during the Halloween season (which runs from September-October in our household) is Halloweentown! My sister and I were UB-SESSED with this movie growing up. Maybe it’s my love for Disney or Debbie Reynolds, but it’s a movie about a girl who finds out she’s a witch on her 13th birthday and follows her grandma (Debz) to Halloweentown, against her mother’s wishes of course. Now I understand my love of Halloween…
5. (Christmas) The Holiday
A CHRISTMAS CLASSIC! I love Kate Winslet and Jack Black and Cameron Diaz (I guess Jude Law ONLY in the context of this film). I also love the idea of doing a house swap with someone who lives in a wood-burning cottage in rural London.
TV Shows
6. Friends (HBO Max)
I could watch this series every day for the rest of my life. It is, in my opinion, the most quotable show in the history of shows and there isn’t a season/episode/scene that isn’t funny.
7. The Good Place (Netflix & Hulu)
We started watching this toward the end of 2019 and have watched the entire series at least 3 times since then. Not only is this show HI-LARIOUS, but it gave me a new perspective on death – which I needed during that time in my life:
Picture a wave in the ocean: you can see it measure it, its height, the way the sunlight refracts… and then it crashes on the shore and then it’s gone. But the water is still there. The wave was just a different way for the water to be for a little while. That’s one conception of death for a Buddhist. The wave returns to the ocean, where it came from, and where it’s supposed to be.
– The Good Place, Season 4, episode 13
8. Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2 (Disney+)
A surprising find during the pandemic, but I’ve watched this at least 5 times. I love any show or documentation that takes you behind the scenes of a movie – bonus points for it being Disney-related. I’ve only seen Frozen 2 once but this show made me appreciate all of the hard work that goes into making one film.
These shows help me calm down during high times of stress. In fact, I’ve watched The Holiday at least 3 times per week since Thanksgiving (and will most likely continue this ritual through the new year). Hopefully, you have your go-to movies when life gets stressful that help you relax and decompress! And if not, maybe you can consider some of my faves!
Happy watching!
Vivian
