# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![DrForrester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@DrForrester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrForrester)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/41 "2020-03-31T19:48:56Z")
It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World - [IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057193/) - the first “chase” movie I’d seen. Wonderfully silly stuff. Loads of cameos Joe vs The Volcano - [IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099892/) - It’s not nearly as well known as it deserves. Leaves you with a lot to think about, but is very light. Probably the most emotionally intense part is a wedding towards the end. The Zero Effect - [IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120906/) - It’s a detective story without good guys or bad guys. They’re just a bunch … of guys … and the greatest detective the world has ever known. Vastly, vastly underappreciated Muppets from Space - [IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0158811/) - My personal favorite of all of the Muppets films. If you’re a Muppets person & haven’t seen this one, you really should. Monty Python and the Holy Grail - [IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071853/) - Another genre, totally hysterical from the start to the very strange ending. Plus, you’ll learn much more about [African Swallows](http://style.org/unladenswallow/)than you’d imagined going into the film. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/42 "2020-03-31T19:55:21Z")
_Bed of Roses_ (1933) Always-cool Constance Bennett and wisecrackin’, scene-stealin’ Pert Kelton are two whores looking to “rook umpchays” on a New Orleans-bound riverboat in fast-paced pre-Code comedy filled with sleazy innuendo. _All Through the Night_ (1942) Ambiguously criminal Bogart and his comic crew (including Jackie Gleason) take on Nazi Fifth Columnists after a local cheesecake baker is clipped. Great cast, incredible double talk scene and a climax prefiguring the 2000 attack on the U.S.S Cole. _Went the Day Well?_ (1942) Nazis infiltrate a small Brit town, eventually taking over before being met with some resourceful and extremely violent resistance by the most unlikely of townsfolk. WWII morale-raiser based on Graham Greene short story. _Champagne for Caesar_ (1950) _His Kind of Woman_ (1951) Vincent Price in two of his best and most underappreciated comedic performances. _Princess of the Nile_ (1954) Debra Paget gets in and out of baths and rivers a lot, and more than holds her own with a scimitar in this escapist hokum with a good supporting cast (including Jack Elam, Lee Van Cleef and Honey Harlowe). _The Magic Serpent_ (1966) Outlandish Japanese fantasy. _A Stolen Airship_ (1967) Kids steal an airship, hang with Captain Nemo and have sundry other adventures in Mystimation! _The Vultures_ (1984) Riff on _Kelly’s Heroes_. _Sharkskin Man and Peach Hip Girl_ (1998) Japanese crime comedy with several eccentric characters and a satisfying pay-off. _SLC Punk!_ (1998) Punks in Utah become extinct. Well-written comedy. _Taxi_ (1998) Ace cab driver in gimmick-laden cab tries to catch the Mercedes gang. Action, thrills, comedy, car stunts, etc…. _Adrenaline Drive_ (1999) A shy, timid nurse and a meek rental car clerk gain possession of a briefcase of blood-soaked money. The rest is chase and escape…. (from IMDB) Note that this is a parody. _Kamikaze Girls_ (2004) The unlikely friendship between two 17 year old girls, one a tough biker chick, the other a would-be fashion designer obsessed by the Rococo period, is told with a great deal of humor, imagination and style (at times evoking _Amelie_). ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/43 "2020-03-31T20:00:44Z")
Not sure if it counts as a heavy theme, but there’s Buried on Sunday. A Canadian film from 1992, it’s on Youtube here: > [@](#): > > The film stars Paul Gross as Augustus Knickel, the mayor of Solomon Gundy, a fictional island off the coast of Nova Scotia. The community is in an economic crisis due to the cod fishing moratorium, but finds its fortunes transformed when an AWOL Russian nuclear submarine surfaces at the island. With only four remaining crewmen, including the former missile programming officer-turned-prisoner (Tommy Sexton) on board, Knickel buys the submarine, discovers a cache of tactical missiles, and subsequently declares the island an independent nuclear power. Kind of a post-cold-war, pre-9/11 screwball comedy about nuclear extortion and the collapse of the Canadian fisheries. ---
**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, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/44 "2020-03-31T20:14:35Z")
Arthur. I honestly don’t remember a whole lot about it other than it was really good, and as much as it pains me to say it, because I don’t like him, the remake with Russel Brand was very good as well. Though that could be because he sounds drunk to begin with. The original or the (2007) remake of Death at a Funeral. Noises Off! It’s rare to see this many huge stars in one, what I assume was a, low budget movie. It’s slapsticky, along the same lines as Clue. The original Sleuth with Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier. The remake of Gaslight with Ingrid Bergman The Third Man All About Eve, but I’m not sure that counts as lighthearted. Some Like It Hot ---
**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, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/45 "2020-03-31T20:19:03Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > … > > _Went the Day Well?_ (1942) > Nazis infiltrate a small Brit town, eventually taking over before being met with some resourceful and extremely violent resistance by the most unlikely of townsfolk. WWII morale-raiser based on Graham Greene short story… Yes, and interestingly, it correctly predicted that Hitler would not survive the war. Not too lighthearted, though! > [@Joey\_P](#): > > …The Third Man… Another excellent movie, also not lighthearted. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/46 "2020-03-31T20:23:24Z")
These are my favorite lighthearted movies that I own on DVD: American Dreamer - a very funny romantic spy spoof caper with JoBeth Williams and Tom Conti The American President - Cinderella, with Annette Bening as journalist Syndey Ellen and Michael Douglas as the Prince (the U.S. President) Author, Author - A change of pace for Al Pacino, as a playwright taking care of five children. It’s my favorite Pacino role, but expect heartwarming rather than menacing. Fools Rush In - a culture clash romantic comedy with Matthew Perry and Salma Hayek in Las Vegas Meet the Parents/Meet the Fockers - The first has DeNiro having way too much fun sending himself up, and the second takes it up a notch adding Hoffman and Streisand If Shakespeare works for you, my favorite feel good movie of all time is Kenneth Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing. I always recommend it with quote I overheard from a young girl walking out of the theater, “Why can’t real life be like that?” And my annual Easter movie - Easter Parade, with Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, and the music of Irving Berlin Now I have my own shelter-in-place watchlist. ---
**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, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/47 "2020-03-31T20:27:55Z")
_Groundhog Day,_ although everyone’s probably seen it by now. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/48 "2020-03-31T20:30:55Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > \*_Hunt For The Wilderpeople_. Taika Waititi’s masterpiece, based on a book by celebrated NZ author Barry Crump. Seconded. I have yet to find a person who didn’t like this movie. It spans all ages and all tastes. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/49 "2020-03-31T20:42:57Z")
This is a good opportunity to check out some classic silent comedies. Just about anything from Keaton, Lloyd, and Chaplin. And some of the unsung heroes like Harry Langdon and Roscoe Arbuckle. ---
**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, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/50 "2020-03-31T20:50:26Z")
A Certain Movie has been mentioned 5 times in this thread already. Although two are the same post repeated. What if we are stuck in self-isolation, living the same day over and over? “What is Lake Titicaca?” ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/51 "2020-03-31T21:52:28Z")
My favorite light-hearted movie is Beat The Devil. It’s a sort of spoof of The Maltese Falcon and similar flicks. If you think you’d enjoy “the adventures of a motley crew of swindlers and ne’er-do-wells trying to claim land rich in uranium deposits in Kenya as they wait in a small Italian port to travel aboard a tramp steamer en route to Mombas,” then you should like it. Oh also… directed by John Huston. Screenplay by Huston and Truman Capote. Starring Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Jennifer Jones, Robert Morley and Gina Lollabrigida. And it’s easily available everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/52 "2020-03-31T21:58:44Z")
_Groundhog Day,_ although everyone’s probably seen it by now. ---
**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, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/53 "2020-03-31T22:05:13Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > _SLC Punk!_ (1998) > Punks in Utah become extinct. Well-written comedy. I agree this is a good movie but I don’t think it’s all that light-hearted nor is it much of a comedy. ---
**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, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/54 "2020-03-31T22:05:52Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > …The American President - Cinderella, with Annette Bening as journalist Syndey Ellen and Michael Douglas as the Prince (the U.S. President) > > … > > If Shakespeare works for you, my favorite feel good movie of all time is Kenneth Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing. I always recommend it with quote I overheard from a young girl walking out of the theater, “Why can’t real life be like that?”… Great movie, but just to nitpick a little, Being’s character Sydney Ellen Wade is a lobbyist, not a journalist. A good companion film to that, BTW - being another wonderful, witty political comedy/romance - is _Dave_, with Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver. And if you’re determined to brush up your Shakespeare, _Shakespeare in Love_ is a (mostly) lighthearted romance about the Bard and the forbidden object of his desire, with lots of Shakespearean in-jokes sprinkled throughout. Highly recommended. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/55 "2020-03-31T22:22:16Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > 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. Thanks for that… beautiful. And ahhh… that gorgeous acoustic guitar work (Mark Knopfler). My favorite soundtrack. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2020, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/56 "2020-04-01T08:21:42Z")
Topper, Topper Takes a Trip and Topper Returns. My Favorite Brunette My Favorite Blonde Passport to Pimlico Definitely Emperor’s New Groove. ---
**Author:** ![flip-68](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@flip-68](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flip-68)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2020, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/57 "2020-04-01T12:24:16Z")
another vote for Local Hero (1983) also, Witness for the Prosecution (1957) ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2020, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/58 "2020-04-01T12:48:46Z")
Here are a couple that I never hesitate to recommend for anyone: “Joyriders”, with Martin Landau and a cast of teenagers “Cheaters”, with Jeff Daniels and a cast of teenagers. “My First Mister”, with Albert Brooks and a teenage Leelee Sobieski ---
**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:** [April 1, 2020, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/59 "2020-04-01T12:59:36Z")
For something completely different, you could try _Tanna_ (2015). This is based on a true story that happened in 1983 among the remote indigenous tribal people of Vanuatu in the South Pacific, and acted (brilliantly!) entirely by those people. They still live a very traditional lifestyle. Almost the only signs of modern civilization are the occasional steel machete. But they worship Prince Philip (yes, that Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh) as a god. [Tanna (2015) Trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb3Vslnviwo) It’s well worth watching. And after about 10 minutes you don’t even notice the penis sheaths any more! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2020, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733/60 "2020-04-01T13:09:40Z")
This far in and no one’s mentioned _ **Roman Holiday** _ with Gregory Peck and the glorious Audrey Hepburn?!? :eek: :dubious: :smack: Try _ **High Society** _, the musical version of _ **The Philadelphia Story** _, with Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, and Celeste Holm. _ **Arsenic and Old Lace** _, with Cary Grant, Peter Lorre, and Raymond Massey filling in for Boris Karloff. _ **Father Goose** _, also with Cary Grant, alongside Leslie Carron. \*\*\*An American in Paris \*\*\*and _ **Singin’ in the Rain** _, both with Gene Kelly. _ **The Great Race** _, with Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Peter Falk, and the scrumptious Natalie Wood. _ **Some Like It Hot** _, with Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, and the ultrababe Marilyn Monroe. _ **Around the World in 80 Days** _, with David Niven and Shirley MacLaine. _ **Gigi** _, with Louis Jourdan, Leslie Carron, and Maurice Chevalier. _ **Pygmalion** _, with Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller. Or the musical version, _ **My Fair Lady** _, with Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn. Disney’s _ **Mary Poppins** _, with Julie Andrews and Dick van Dyke, one of my happiest childhood memories. The original _ **101 Dalmatians** _, still my favorite Disney film. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-movie-recommendations-lighthearted-but-not-stupid-juvenile/850733.md?page=4)