Please recommend me a movie to watch with (adult) family

October 6, 2022 9:45 AM

I have family coming to my house this weekend and I'm seeking a movie we'll all enjoy. It's all adults, no kids. We have all the normal streaming services, and a good home theatre setup. Details on what we're looking for inside; thank you in advance for your help :)

There will be eight of us, ranging in age from 40-70. Six are women. One is ESL and slightly deaf. Politics range from centre-left to very left. Interests include women, people generally, nature and the physical environment, current events / current issues, and (vaguely/spottily) science and engineering.

Parameters: Recent (within the past five or so years) would be great. No romance, no weddings, no kids/young families, no coming-of-age. Nothing scary. No hurt or dead animals. We don't wanna ogle at the super-rich. Nothing super-super-earnest. "Mainstream" is fine, but it would be awesome if you can recommend something a little better -- like, a little original or quirky. Female protagonist(s) would be great.

Movies we've enjoyed together: The Martian, Wild, Gravity, Margaret, Knives Out, Dallas Buyers Club.

Movies that didn't really work for us as a group: Dune, Dark Waters, Skyfall, Dunkirk, and (surprisingly to me) Don't Look Up.

posted by Susan PG to Media & Arts (30 answers total)

A couple movies I really enjoyed recently that maybe fit your criteria?

"Everything Everywhere All At Once", although perhaps there is something like earnestness in it.

"Kimi", which is maybe only on HboMax?
posted by dis_integration at 9:53 AM on October 6, 2022 [3 favorites]

Everything Everywhere All at Once!
posted by miles per flower at 9:54 AM on October 6, 2022 [9 favorites]

Everything Everywhere All at Once
posted by Wobbuffet at 9:54 AM on October 6, 2022 [8 favorites]

I really enjoyed watching David Copperfield with my family.
posted by capnsue at 9:55 AM on October 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

+1 to everything everywhere all at once! Fantastic. Have you all seen The Arrival? We missed it because we were consumed with the political events of 2016. But finally watched it and it was great.
posted by pazazygeek at 9:58 AM on October 6, 2022 [2 favorites]

Hmmm, these might not meet your criteria 100% but a few suggestions:
1. Arrival - there is some romance and a child but most of this movie is about a woman linguist who is very good at her job. A genre jokingly referred to as "competence porn" that I really enjoy.
2. Parasite. Not uplifting but damn it's good.
3. Hustlers. I watched this last night and enjoyed it- vibe is female Goodfellas. J. Lo is magnificent.
On preview:
Yes, yes yes to Everything Everywhere All at Once!!
posted by emd3737 at 9:58 AM on October 6, 2022 [2 favorites]

Wine Country, Ocean’s 8, Murder Mystery , Molly’s game (though it perhaps edges too close to ogling the super rich)
posted by raccoon409 at 10:01 AM on October 6, 2022

Tentative rec for All the Money in the World, which is about one rich guy (and his not rich descendants), but not about ogling them (it's about J Paul Getty's refusal to pay ransom money for his kidnapped (older teenage) grandson back in the 1970s). The focus is on Michelle Williams, who plays the boy's mother/Getty's daughter-in-law, trying to negotiate this insane old man's stubbornness about letting go a dime to save his grandson. She's definitely the protagonist.
posted by praemunire at 10:16 AM on October 6, 2022

Radioactive, starring Rosamund Pike as Marie Curie, is streaming on Amazon Prime. It's on my list to watch, but I haven't seen it yet so I don't know how earnest it is.

Maybe The Favourite? I think I remember a bird hunting scene, but other than that I think it fits. It could definitely be called "quirky."

nthing Arrival.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 10:19 AM on October 6, 2022

These might miss a couple of your parameters because I have a terrible memory for details in movies.

I really enjoyed both "Little Women" and the new "Emma" but they're both probably a BIT earnest.

my whole family really enjoyed "Downsizing" despite it's lukewarm reviews.

Also maybe "Love and Monsters" - you said no romance and I think this actually fits but I don't want to say any more.

Death on the Nile was enjoyable!

I feel like if you liked Knives out you'd probably like "Bad Times at the El Royale"
posted by euphoria066 at 10:33 AM on October 6, 2022

if the sound system is good then I would recommend the "Secret Life of Walter Mitty" remake with Ben Stiller.
posted by alchemist at 10:39 AM on October 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

I love Everything Every All At Once, but it definitely depends on the audience. For example, there is a significant martial arts fight that involves a butt plug.

Arrival seems like a good suggestion.
Won't You Be My Neighbor? is a great documentary about Mr. Rogers.
Blade Runner 2049 was good scifi, even if you aren't familiar with the original movie.
I haven't seen it, but I've heard that Minari is good.
posted by past unusual at 10:40 AM on October 6, 2022

I really liked Frank, which I think fits your criteria.
posted by Bloxworth Snout at 10:40 AM on October 6, 2022

What about Hidden Figures?
posted by little mouth at 10:44 AM on October 6, 2022 [9 favorites]

Can You Ever Forgive Me? might be a fun one.

Everything Everywhere All at Once is a cute movie but I think it is too busy and silly for your crowd.
posted by cakelite at 10:44 AM on October 6, 2022 [2 favorites]

(I was thinking that with the constant quick-cutting EEAO might be a bit hard for the slightly deaf/ESL person to follow, but I don't want to be presumptuous.)
posted by praemunire at 10:52 AM on October 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

Came here to second the rec for Hidden Figures!
posted by panther of the pyrenees at 11:10 AM on October 6, 2022 [4 favorites]

Confess, Fletch
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 11:37 AM on October 6, 2022 [4 favorites]

It's possibly both on the nose and a little too coming-of-age, but "Coda" (on AppleTV+, possibly a service you don't have, but free trials are a thing) is actually lovely, has a female protagonist, and even has some ASL without subtitles.

Whit Stillman's Jane Austen adaptation, "Love and Friendship" (Amazon Prime) is great, and we also enjoyed his earlier "Damsels in Distress" (apparently free on "Tubi," because that is somehow a service that exists; it's available on our Blu-Ray player but not on our LG TV).

"The Old Guard" (Netflix), maybe? Marvel's "Eternals" (Disney+, obvs) is more character driven and less of the wisecracks between overlong fights that most Marvel movies seem to be now, but I don't know if that makes it more your group's thing or less.
posted by fedward at 11:37 AM on October 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

The Forty-Year-Old Version focuses on a female protagonist and is quite poignant and fun, highly recommended.
posted by veery at 12:03 PM on October 6, 2022 [2 favorites]

Seconding Forty-Year-Old Version, super fun and explores a lot of great themes! Though it does have a romantic subplot (but is by no means a "romance" film)
posted by windbox at 12:13 PM on October 6, 2022

Since you mentioned Knives Out, try The Ladykillers. It is a dark comedy similar to Knives Out.
posted by WizKid at 12:54 PM on October 6, 2022

I think Where'd You Go, Bernadette would be perfect. Strong female lead by the wonderful Cate Blanchett. It's not too heavy, not too light and it has a very cozy feel to it.

(I really thought I would love 'Everything, everywhere, all at once', but meh. Therefor, would not recommend it for a group of people.)
posted by lioness at 1:42 PM on October 6, 2022 [2 favorites]

"Nothing super-super-earnest. Mainstream" is fine, but it would be awesome if you can recommend something a little better -- like, a little original or quirky. Female protagonist(s) would be great.

Any of the films by Nicole Holofcener.
posted by ojocaliente at 2:40 PM on October 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

The 2017 Indian drama "Newton" has no or nearly no romance, is about a civil servant trying to run an election polling station under odd and difficult circumstances, and has English subtitles, in case that works for y'all. As my spouse says, "It's made with a mix of cynicism about and sincere belief in democracy. It sets up two characters on a course to romance, but doesn't actually show the romance and there's no guarantee it happens. Shorter than two hours, falls into the same "low violence, high suspense" quadrant as Dog Day Afternoon... just great stuff all around."
posted by brainwane at 5:02 PM on October 6, 2022

Strong female leads here.
Leave No Trace
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Widows
posted by conscious matter at 5:41 PM on October 6, 2022

Sir, which is an Indian (non-Bollywood) film starring Tillotama Shome is excellent, fits almost all of your criteria and the subtitles would be helpful for both your ESL and your hard-of-hearing guests. There is a romance element but it's not a rom-com, not earnest, features a female protagonist, and is an exploration of class issues, which feels timely. It's got a lot of English dialogue too. Might be a nice off-the-beaten-path choice. It's from 2018, which feels pretty recent although the pandemic has made time a flat circle and a long line simultaneously somehow.
posted by nayantara at 7:14 AM on October 7, 2022

Disregarding the first parameter, I would suggest My Cousin Vinny.
posted by yclipse at 9:33 AM on October 7, 2022

Response by poster: These are all fantastic recommendations: thank you!

I should say: I've seen EEAO and it's awesome but I think it's out for this crowd; praemunire I think you're right it's potentially too hard to follow.

I did some searching on Reddit and elsewhere and also came up with this. If you've seen any of them, please tell me if you think they might suit my crowd. And I'm open to new/additional suggestions too -- we are making a spreadsheet :)

Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Blow the Man Down
Infinitely Polar Bear
The Accountant
Vesper
posted by Susan PG at 12:58 PM on October 7, 2022

From your list I've only seen The Accountant and it was pretty dry but I liked it. It does have some violence if I recall. Another suggestion is Spotlight (might be too old though). Yes it's about sex abuse but the movie itself is focused on investigative journalism and teamwork (another competence porn movie- people doing a good job).
posted by emd3737 at 1:13 PM on October 7, 2022