I have seen very few shows and movies with a warm center of genuine kindness. But I’m happy to the point of joyfulness whenever I do, so, naturally, I’m looking for recommendations of your favorite shows or movies (or books) where the characters may be stupid, profane, dishonest, or immoral, but they treat each other kindly. I’m looking for examples that are not sappy (I do realize that perceptions of sap differ).
Bored to Death is the perfect example of this. When Richard Antrem finds out that George is sleeping with his wife, he pushes him around a little bit but then asks him to go for a drink. Jonathan’s feud with Lewis Green is certainly fueled by hate, but it’s there maybe to balance out all the sweetness happening everywhere else on the show. Kind of like how everyone treats Jerry like shit on Parks and Rec (another excellent example).
A few more examples:
[ul]
[li]The Extra Man - another Jonathan Ames creation[/li][li]The Cosby Show - sometimes sappy, I’ll admit[/li][li]Tom McCarthy’s movies: The Station Agent, The Visitor, and Win Win[/li][/ul]
I think *Raising Hope *fits your criteria. The Chance family argues a lot, yes, but you get the sense that they genuinely care about each other through it all.
Also, for a film example, The 40-year-old Virgin. It may be a raunchy sex comedy on the surface, but everybody is truly trying to help Andy in their own way, and the end result is a very sweet and touching relationship.
I’d also say How I Met Your Mother. They are always messing with one another, but sometimes those are the best friendships. The show’s ethos, particularly its notion of love, seems to be fundamentally sweet and innocent.
Lars and the Real Girl. When a disturbed young man develops an imagined relationship with a realistic sex doll, his entire town conspires to help him, instead of ridiculing him or dismissing him as a pervert. It’s a bit bizarre, but it’s a heartwarming movie.
They’re just a couple of morons trying to make it in a crazy world, pass history, and not get sent to military school. Bill & Ted ultimately triumph because they really try to be nice to everyone, and hurt no one. And their philosophy, “Be Excellent to One Another” ends up changing the world for the better.
When my wife and I first got together, we didn’t have a lot of money, we had bad jobs and we lived in the ghetto, and we were pregnant. My wife was a CPS teacher across the street and would come home and watch 7th Heaven every day. She really liked how everyone was just so nice to each other.
I didn’t like it that much myself, but I could certainly appreciate what she needed there.
A British show called “Jam & Jerusalem”. Centered around a group of women in a small village. Everyone is ultimately caring towards each other even if they don’t particularly like each other.
I haven’t seen the televised versions of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, but if they are anything like the books, they should fit into this category.
I want to third, or fourth, Raising Hope. Such a sweet show. You should really check it out. I re-watch episodes when I’m feeling down. It’s on netflix.
The not-particularly-well-regarded-around-here Leverage, also–the team is basically a family. There are squabbles and sniping, but at the end of the day, everyone cares about everyone else.
I don’t know if I entirely agree with you. While yes the sappiness and uplifting are there, I would say that there is some bullying and mean characters- there are clearly people we don’t like. Most of them are redeemed, but this is definitely a story of a girl growing up under unusual circumstances and trying her best and succeeding rather than a straight happy story.
I don’t know if you’re into anime or not, but three series spring to mind; “Kanon”, “Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day” and “Clannad” are about as sweet and heart-warming as anythings I’ve ever seen.
My Neighbor Totoro. It has such a low level of conflict that I’ve heard people argue that there’s no plot. Can’t agree, but there are no villians and it’s just full of wonders.
