5. Groundhog Day
Living over the same day again and again is a living hell. Luckily for us, we aren’t literally doing this, and we can laugh at Phil’s misfortunes. Well, Groundhog Day is a metaphor for the 9-to-5 life we all endure, but at least we don’t deal with the exact same events repeatedly (to this extent, anyways).
Groundhog Day is imaginative and even philosophical to an extent. Part of the joy is not feeling bad for laughing at the pain Phil endures. We know Phil cannot die, so we don’t feel badly when he gets hit by a vehicle. His sarcasm turns to dry misery. Of course, the film comes around once Phil decides to live every day with heart. Life is not a test, but an opportunity to live it all again every 24 hours.
4. Bringing Up Baby
We could list every light screwball film here, because there is nothing better than a bundle of confusion and slapstick shenanigans to brighten your day. To pick one generous example that can represent them all (in some way), we can go with Bringing up Baby. Between Cary Grant’s smarmy charm and Katherine Hepburn’s sharpness, this scatterbrained rom com is so precise with its silliness.
Any film about a prized leopard could be disastrous, but this one is the perfect blend between chaos and hysteria. The center of it all is David Huxley who has to think on his feet to get out of any scenario. Bringing Up Baby really is the kind of film that could make anyone smile, especially because of its quick timing and absurd content.
3. The Princess Bride
Who didn’t grow up with this flick? As a youngling, The Princess Bride is a living fairy tale full of goofy hyperboles and genuine heart. Most of the villains are purposefully likeable, whether they join Dread Pirate Roberts on his quest or not. The challenges are preposterous to the extent of being just laughable. There are so many oddball scenes and people here, that you will cherish the film your entire life.
Revisit the film as an adult, and you’ll understand that this is a basic fairy tale that has been enhanced by a grandfather trying to make his grandson feel better. Obviously being tired of the same stories again and again, this rendition has many different touches to turn a stale, formulaic tale into a film for the ages. Want to feel better? The Princess Bride says “as you wish”.
2. City Lights
Like the screwball comedy style, slapstick comedies are also a near-guaranteed boost of happiness. To pick one film to represent these films is also nearly impossible. The difference here is that there is likely one clear winner, whereas any other contender is anyone’s game.
I promote that City Lights is the greatest film of this nature. The Tramp goes through so many problematic situations which are funny to us, but perhaps not to the Tramp. He falls in love with a blind flowergirl, and we can only hope for the best for him (especially after all of the trying times we’ve seen him go through). Once we reach the hyper-emotional climax, the film is not just uplifting, it’s overwhelmingly joyful.
1. Singin’ in the Rain
If a film could deliver the most amount of joy in cinematic history, it could very well be this one. Singin’ in the Rain is so light-hearted, uplifting and passionate, it may be impossible to not be moved during this film. The dance sequences shift between the works of performance artists and the dreams of the characters.
Either way, they’re all escapes for us. None of the characters are taken too seriously, so the ups-and-downs are all through humility. This is an even playing field, and the most amount of sadness that can be felt is through Kathy Selden. We see her struggle in a shifting time in Hollywood.
Luckily, all’s well that ends well, as we essentially find out we are watching the product of what came about from the efforts of suffering actors at the dawn of talking pictures. We end with the title of our film, and realize we have watched the heartfelt passion project of the leads. Like the title suggests, Singin’ in the Rain is all about experiencing happiness during the harshest of times, and it will likely be your guiding beacon as well.