# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/21 "2020-03-31T15:33:34Z")
OK, work with me here. Trust me. Oscar, featuring Sylvester Stallone. No, really. Directed by John Landis it’s an astonishingly funny screwball comedy - loosely based on The Marriage of Figaro - that gives Stallone a lot of room to play the straight man having the worst morning of his life. Put in a baby Marisa Tomei, Chaz Pamentari, Peter Riegart and cameos from Don Ameche and Kirk Douglas (and a host of great character actors) and you’ve got non-stop laughs for two hours. Stallone plays largely against type and really nails it. It’s the one of his comedies that really hits on all cylinders. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/22 "2020-03-31T15:52:41Z")
_Man’s Favorite Sport?_ – Rock Hudson as a fishing expert (who doesn’t know how to fish) competes in a big tournament with reporter Paula Prentiss along for the adventure. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/23 "2020-03-31T15:53:51Z")
_Groundhog Day,_ although everyone’s probably seen it by now. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/24 "2020-03-31T16:19:02Z")
The Thin Man series is well worth viewing, not so much for the detective stories but for the interaction between William Powell and Myrna Loy. There’s a half dozen of them and you can stream all six from Amazon for less than a twenty dollar bill. ---
**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, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/25 "2020-03-31T16:32:18Z")
There were a couple of what I call “Cold War comedies”, which is how I lump together Stripes and Spies Like Us, both starring SNL alumni and both of which are fun. Also, I saw Wayne’s World on cable the other day, although I don’t know if the OP thinks that’s too stupid or juvenile. And an oldie but a goodie; Breaking Away from about 1980 is an excellent movie. ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/26 "2020-03-31T16:58:34Z")
One of the most recent movies I saw that I feel meets your criteria is Knives Out. It’s a homage to and in the style of an Agatha Christie mystery but is wicked funny despite being a very clever example of the genre. I loved it and saw it twice in the cinema. It’s got a timeless sense of being exceptionally well crafted, yet is very fresh too. There’s a somewhat serious underpinning of class issues in the way the family treats their employees but the movie works as a delightful guilty pleasure too. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/27 "2020-03-31T17:32:05Z")
I personally prefer _Moonrise Kingdom_ to _Grand Budapest Hotel_ - and it’s lighter and more upbeat too, with a wonderful happy ending. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/28 "2020-03-31T17:39:34Z")
A lot of my favorites have been mentioned but my \*very \*favorites are. . . **My Cousin Vinny**. I vaguley remember some kerfuffle about Marisa Tomei winning an Oscar for it . . .she absolutely deserves it. I own this one and still watch it if it’s on cable. My professors in my paralegal studies all seemed to mention it with high regard. **The Full Monty** I’m partial to British films but anybody can appreciate this one. It’s not overly sentimental yet the final scene never fails to bring me to tears.Now I think I’m going to rewatch it tonight. **Trading Places** Eddie Murphy and Dan Akroyd at their best. **Heaven Can Wait** A sweet romantic comedy with Warren Beatty and Julie Christy as potential lovers. The best parts are those that feature Charles Grodin and Dyan Canon as they plot to get rid of Canon’s husband. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/29 "2020-03-31T17:41:33Z")
The American Astronaut (no synopsis can do this bizarre movie justice; one of only a handful of musicals that I like) Head (the Monkees and more; another musical that doesn’t suck) Rubber (about a murderous psychic tire) Shoot 'Em Up (action/comedy with Clive Owen, Monica Bellucci and Paul Giamatti) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/30 "2020-03-31T17:41:50Z")
I will warmly second the recommendations for \*Galaxy Quest Grand Budapest Hotel School of Rock Groundhog Day Amelie The Princess Bride Toy Story \* and add _You’ve Got Mail_ - charming romance from the dawn of the Internet Age _Big Night_ - two Italian brothers try to save their restaurant with a grand dinner for a visiting star _Dirty Rotten Scoundrels_ - Michael Caine and Steve Martin in a near-perfect conman comedy _Airplane!_ - classic spoof of disaster movies _Trading Places_ - Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd shine in a very funny revenge comedy _The Incredibles_ - great Pixar family action/adventure movie about… a superhero family! ---
**Author:** ![Periwinkle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Periwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Periwinkle)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/31 "2020-03-31T17:52:03Z")
“High Anxiety”, a comedy by Mel Brooks with many comedic elements inspired by Alfred Hitchcock classic scenes. I love Cloris Leachman, Madeline Kahn and Harvey Korman in this. “Harvey”, with Jimmy Stewart is Elwood P. Dowd, whose best friend is an invisible (to everyone else) 6 foot rabbit. Funny and so charmingly endearing. “Mary Poppins Returns” with Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda is very entertaining fun. It also includes Emily Mortimer who was also very good and reminded me of another one I liked a lot, “The Kid”, with Bruce Willis. I’m not sure that one 100% fits your criteria as it includes a child dealing with losing his mom at a young age, but there is a very happy ending and it is overall uplifting and fun I think. “Nobody’s Fool” also has Bruce Willis, and the wonderful Paul Newman and Jessica Tandy. Fantastic performances from everyone in it, don’t miss this one if you haven’t seen it. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/32 "2020-03-31T18:31:26Z")
The Bandwagon and Silk Stockings- Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse, both awesome. (And the latter has Peter Lorre who is hilarious.) The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming - Funny stuff. ---
**Author:** ![pmwgreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@pmwgreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pmwgreen)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/33 "2020-03-31T18:40:06Z")
Emperor’s New Groove. Dudley Do-Right. Or just watch Emperor’s New Groove again. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/34 "2020-03-31T18:45:11Z")
_Groundhog Day,_ although everyone’s probably seen it by now. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/35 "2020-03-31T18:58:02Z")
romantic and lovely (and I am not a chick flick fan): \*Enchanted April \*-- some English women rent an Italian villa together _Moonstruck_ – Cher and Nic Cage in Brooklyn _Strictly Ballroom_ – ugly duckling romance in an Aussie niche sport setting hard to classify great watches: _Cold Comfort Farm_ – the Stella Gibbons classic spoof of British Rural Gothic, very funny _Beetlejuice_ – just not describable Tim Burton film _Smoke Signals_ – I love this small film about an Idaho reservation teenager who travels by bus to Arizona with his nerdy sidekick to collect his estranged father’s ashes. Includes the immortal native american song, John Wayne’s Teeth. Screenplay by Sherman Alexie. The Dish --a tiny Aussie observatory in a remote hamlet is assigned to relay the signal of the moon landing and almost botches it. Very very charming. ---
**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, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/36 "2020-03-31T19:05:59Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > The Dish --a tiny Aussie observatory in a remote hamlet is assigned to relay the signal of the moon landing and almost botches it. Very very charming. This! A truly excellent film. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/37 "2020-03-31T19:27:25Z")
Local Hero (1983) - gentle and low key, warm and unforgettable - set in Scotland. The trailer is pretty bad, though. Here’s a [clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bE347p5D60) instead. ---
**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, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/38 "2020-03-31T19:34:24Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > 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. Fair point. At my disposal: Turner Classic Movies, Netflix streaming, Netflix discs, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus. And not that anyone has suggested any, but no comic book/super hero movies either (typing Disney Plus made me think of this). Many, many good suggestions. Some I’m very familiar with including Amelie and Galaxy Quest. Several others sound promising. I will watch some and report back. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/39 "2020-03-31T19:40:26Z")
_The Gods Must Be Crazy_ (1980) - one of the few movies I’ve seen twice during its original theatrical release. ---
**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, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/40 "2020-03-31T19:47:34Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > And not that anyone has suggested any, but no comic book/super hero movies either (typing Disney Plus made me think of this). FWIW, I’m not a comic book/super hero person by any means at all. I saw Batman Returns in 1992 and one of the more recent ones and that’s about it. I have zero working knowledge of how all the different characters interact with each other when it comes to anything to do with comic books. That’s the stuff that went over my head in Big Bang Theory. Having said that, Deadpool is really good. Sure, there were a lot of inside jokes I know I missed, but it’s more of a spoof of super hero movies than anything else. A good chunk of it is Ryan Reynolds breaking the forth wall. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733.md?page=3)