# Seeking movie recommendations - lighthearted (but not stupid/juvenile) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 31, 2020, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733 "2020-03-31T11:03:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/1 "2020-03-31T11:03:27Z")
In other words, quality movies with no heavy themes. Profanity ok if not gratuitous. No restriction on year released. No sci-fi, heavy drama, horror, juvenile comedies. Animated ok. Black and white ok. Not “Pandemic”, not “Outbreak”. 🙂 Bonus points if you can make a case for your rec. Thanks! mmm ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/2 "2020-03-31T11:09:34Z")
Clue. Because it’s Clue. Real Genius. Val Kilmer. Hello. Val Kilmer. Galaxy Quest. By Grabthor’s Hammer…It’s hilarious. Back to the Beach. Frankie and Annette 20 years later. And Annette can handle anything. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/3 "2020-03-31T11:12:59Z")
- Singin’ in the Rain\* Any Busby Berkely musical. They got us through the Depression; they’ll get us through this. Anything from Aaredman Animations. _Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon_ is on Netflix. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/4 "2020-03-31T11:54:31Z")
Serial Mom from John Waters 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/5 "2020-03-31T12:44:36Z")
_Eddie the Eagle_. A more modern take on _Cool Runnings_. _Hunt For The Wilderpeople_. Taika Waititi’s masterpiece, based on a book by celebrated NZ author Barry Crump. _The Grand Budapest Hotel_. Wes Anderson being Wes Anderson, but he is very good at that. _Mr Bean’s Holiday_. Not as bad as it sounds, it’s actually one of my favourite comedies. _School Of Rock_. Jack Black playing himself, Mike White also playing himself, Sarah Silverman not playing herself. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/6 "2020-03-31T12:44:41Z")
Amélie O Brother, Where Art Thou? The Grand Budapest Hotel ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/7 "2020-03-31T12:57:40Z")
That one with the talking pig. No, not The Net…umm, Babe! ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/8 "2020-03-31T12:57:51Z")
We’ve been re-watching some older comedies lately:\* Young Frankenstein, Big, Four Weddings and a Funeral, When Harry Met Sally, Groundhog Day\*, etc. All good to very good. Last weekend we watched _You’ve Got Mail_. Now _this_ was the perfect movie for the times! Really good even if the ending is somewhat sappy. Great cast. Hey, just chat with people online, what a concept! Plus the fun of seeing how in 1998 the threat to small bookstores were the big chains. Pow, pow, pow. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/9 "2020-03-31T13:02:09Z")
If B&W is OK, watch some of the old screwball comedies. They were just fun, and didn’t have morals, but they were sophisticated. No fart jokes. OK, one belch joke in the lot, but it’s not so gross, and it’s executed by Carole Lombard. Here’s a list of some of the best: **Bringing up Baby** (this has a hilarious scene where Katharine Hepburn’s shoe actually broke, and instead of stopping the cameras, she improvised a scene, and it was so funny, they used it in the final cut) **My Favorite Wife His Girl Friday** **The Awful Truth Ninotchka** (tagline: “GARBO LAUGHS!” and she does, and it’s beautiful) **You Can’t Take It with You** **Nothing Sacred** (this is in color, and it one of the first all-color films) **The Philadelphia Story** (this has minor moments where characters indulge in self-examination, but don’t worry, it’s still a comedy) ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/10 "2020-03-31T13:04:25Z")
I recently watched “Earth Girls are Easy” to take my mind off the outside world. Even started a silly SD thread about it, which I won’t bother linking to here. It may not pass your ‘stupid/juvenile’ threshold, but if you have any 80’s nostalgia, it’s like a concentrated, bottled essence of 80’s tropes. It’s on Amazon Prime. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/11 "2020-03-31T13:49:32Z")
Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil. While it might fall under the horror category, it’s not scary, just a bit gory in parts. It hits the line of being funny, almost stupid. Think Shaun of the Dead. I’m pretty sure it’s on Netflix. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/12 "2020-03-31T14:04:43Z")
I’ll second _Amelie_. It’s the feel-goodiest movie ever made. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/13 "2020-03-31T14:17:02Z")
The Princess Bride Field of Dreams +1 for Babe. It’s the Citizen Kane of Talking Pig Movies! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/14 "2020-03-31T14:34:23Z")
Honestly any question like this should start with letting us know which streaming services or cable channels you have access to. Because most movies (TV shows as well) are available at only a limited number of places, and it does no good to suggest a movie that, for example, is exclusively available at Netflix if you only have an Amazon Prime account. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/15 "2020-03-31T15:04:41Z")
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen What About Bob? Chef - takes a little while to get going but it’s a cute movie once Dustin Hoffman is off the screen. Delicatessen - in French with subs. Despite the dark setting and subtext, it’s fairly lighthearted and very enjoyable. Her Alibi - starring Tom Selleck. Has a real “made-for-TV” feel to it even though it was a theatrical release. In any case, maybe just me, and to be fair it was not well-reviewed, but I found it entertaining. Defending Your Life - another theatrical film that feels like it was made for TV. It’s about death and the afterlife but it never gets heavy. My Blue Heaven - some of Steve Martin’s best work IMO. Surprisingly quotable. Coming to America - Eddie Murphy at the peak of his powers. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/16 "2020-03-31T15:07:58Z")
> [@solost](#): > > I recently watched “Earth Girls are Easy” to take my mind off the outside world. Even started a silly SD thread about it, which I won’t bother linking to here. It may not pass your ‘stupid/juvenile’ threshold, but if you have any 80’s nostalgia, it’s like a concentrated, bottled essence of 80’s tropes. It’s on Amazon Prime. That’s a great movie. I’ll add in: Hot Tub Time Machine Pineapple Express Bridesmaids The Hangover > [@DCnDC](#): > > Coming to America - Eddie Murphy at the peak of his powers. Beverly Hills Cop is right up there as well. ---
**Author:** ![jerez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@jerez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerez)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/17 "2020-03-31T15:08:57Z")
After Hours The Milagro Beanfield War ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/18 "2020-03-31T15:17:13Z")
Bridget Jones’s Diary Legally Blonde And another rec for Amelie ---
**Author:** ![jerez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@jerez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerez)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/19 "2020-03-31T15:21:47Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > …Black and white ok… Ah, then **Bringing up Baby** (1938), with Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. And for animation, if you haven’t seen **Toy Story** (I’ve heard that at least two from the franchise are good) and **Up** , you’re in for a nice suprise. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/20 "2020-03-31T15:24:02Z")
My Favorite Year. My Man Godfrey. Trouble in Paradise. To Be or Not to Be (1942 version w/Jack Benny and Carole Lombard). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733.md?page=2)