What to Watch When Feeling Nostalgic – Sample Article by Zoie Fetzer

Childhoods and memories may be vastly different between you and the girl in front of you in Target, but chances are some of the nostalgic comfort movies you turn to overlap one way or another. Here are the top three movies I recommend for a night in with your favorite take out.

3. “The Princess Diaries” 

Third on this comfort watch list is a no-brainer. The Princess Diaries, released in 2001, is based on a novel series by Meg Cabot. The story follows Mia Thermopolis as she discovers her royal heritage and struggles to balance it with her mellow San Francisco life. From living in an old firehouse with her artsy mother, a best friend’s brother with only eyes for her, and a queen for a grandmother, Mia finds out who is really there for her. And who isn’t. Starring Anne Hathaway as Mia, Julie Andrews as Queen Clarisse Renaldi, and Sandra Oh as Mia’s vice principal, this is a timeless classic when you need an hour and fifty-one minutes of pure coming-of-age bliss. The Princess Diaries is currently streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. 

2. “Mrs. Doubtfire”

Are we surprised that Robin Williams made it onto the comfort movie list? No, no we are not. A touching story of a father doing anything to see his kids does not really come off as funny. Add a fake British accent, bosom prosthetics, and a startling amount of musical montages and you have a real winner on your hands. Another hit by director Chris Columbus, this 1993 cult-classic follows Robin Williams as Daniel Hillard, a man who is so focused on his whimsical, though semi-failing, acting career he begins to neglect the un-fun side of being a husband and a father. Sally Field stars alongside Williams as his ex-wife, Miranda, who decides that their three kids need more structure than an in-house zoo birthday party (no joke). In order to see his kids as a father the court deems “too unstable for custody”, Daniel decides to take on a persona as a British nanny, his biggest acting gig to date. From watching his ex-wife begin to date to seeing how his kids genuinely felt about him, he is thrown for loop after loop. Watch this comedic emotional masterpiece on Disney+, Hulu, and Netflix. 

1. “Clueless” 

This 1995, star-stacked classic will always be at the top of my comfort list. I may have been born in 2002, but watching Clueless on VHS on my little box TV is burned into my developmental memories. From Alicia Silverstone as our main damsel Cher, to Paul Rudd the love interest / step brother Josh (stay with me here!), to Brittany Murphy as the “new girl project” Tai, we are only scratching the surface of familiar faces you would see in this timeless movie. Cher is the top skirt at her preppy high school set in Beverly Hills, getting anything and everything she ever wanted. She is complete with a rich father, an impeccable fashion sense, and a ride-or-die best friend that only emboldens her in her “take what I want” attitude. Cher and her bestie Dionne decide to take a new girl, Tai, under their wing as a challenge, to see if they can use their powers to make this nobody a hottie. While in her pursuit, Cher’s step-brother Josh seems to be the only one in protest of her behavior. When Tai’s popularity gets out of hand, Cher begins to see what she created and in extension, the reflection of how horrible she really was. The 90’s nostalgia compacts with the teenage struggle of understanding who you really are, keeping your interest for the entire hour and a half without even trying. Get your snack and plaid ready to watch this movie on Paramount+ and YouTube TV. It is also available for rent on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and Google Play.

If you have any other comfort movies you feel desperately need to be shared with the community here at Collider, please leave a comment. Hopefully you have a cozy night planned to enjoy one of these three classics! 

P.S. A petition to bring back 90’s and early 00’s movies back will be passed around the class, please do your part.

“Violence seemed to be his natural state of being, at odds with his nimble movements. My scream bounced off the stone walls of my holding cell, layering over itself and reverberating back again as my body bowed away from the chair. Even the bloodthirsty rats scattered, no longer waiting in line for a bite. Hot tears marked my dirty face but I refused to sob, gritting my teeth until they felt like they would crack. My wrists instinctively strained at the unforgiving rope, damn near dislocating my shoulders from their sockets. He lowered himself, his mouth now at my ear, the new growth of his beard catching strands of my hair. I kept my jaw locked despite its protest, desperate to keep myself grounded.” (The Thief’s Penance by Zoie Fetzer)

“His intensity, his commitment, his obscurity, his convictions. All these things render me no better than a masochistic moth, flying closer to the flame I know will consume my very body. True romantics, hopeless or not, cannot resist a man tragically devout to his passion. The hopeless ones wish to be the muse, the vortex of the chaos, the eye of the storm. Rarely is one a light that can sustain an artist for long. Begging to be inspiration is soliciting an eventual decay and burnout of identity.” (Little South of Ordinary by Zoie Fetzer)