Movies I Can Watch Over and Over

These are movies that I really like and in some cases love. I own these movies because I know that anytime I need a pick-me-up, one of these movies will do it for me. That's not to say I just watch these movies over and over; in fact, some of these I haven't seen in a while. Still, this is the first batch of movies I would recommend to anyone who needs a break from the real world. Most of you will already have seen these movies so I'm not going to give you a plot summary on each. Just go out and rent them if you haven't seen them yet!

What's strange about Groundhog Day is that watching it one time feels as if I've watched it 10 times already because of the plot mechanism. But I've always been a sucker for those parallel universe stories, and even though this movie doesn't call it that, it's essentially what it is. It's charming, funny, and has a lesson about love. Of course, [spoiler alert] I thought it a bit funny that Phil (played by Murray), who is the only one who knows that he's repeating the same day over and over, is trying to get Rita (played by McDowell) into bed, and he manages to break the repetitive spell only when he succeeds. I don't think the message was supposed to be, get a girl to go to bed with you if you want to have an epiphany, it was supposed to be about being selfless and loving. Oh, well...I still like the movie!

This romantic comedy starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore is a bit like Groundhog Day in reverse. Drew plays Lucy, who, because of a car accident, forgets everything that happened the previous day, in essence frozen in time the day of her accident. Adam plays Henry, who falls for Lucy. This movie is sweet and interesting and moves along nicely.

When we have guests who want to see a comedy and they haven't seen Rat Race, we'll usually pop it in. It's a crowd pleaser, very funny and very silly, an updated version of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World (but not the same story). Most of the actors are well known as in Mad, and there are some real laugh out loud moments.

An instant classic, Airplane is very silly too and very funny. I love word plays and this movie has plenty, along with the sight gags, the absurd situations, and the fact that it's a parody of all those airliner crisis movies of the 70s. The sequel was not as good (as sequels often aren't). I haven't seen this one in a while but I will have to watch it a again soon - I remember it fondly.

Blast from the Past is not as well known but is a real charmer. It has Brendan Fraser, Alicia Silverstone, Christopher Walken and Sissy Spacek (the latter two as Brendan's parents). Christopher plays a genius who back in 1960 prepared for the worst and built a huge bomb shelter that would last 35 years (or so). After all that time, the locks finally come undone and they can venture out into the world. Brendan's character was not even born when his parents went into the shelter, and this fish out of water story is a real charmer. It's very funny and touching.

The Big Hit too is not one that's well known but it too is very funny. Only slightly violent, it just made me laugh out loud so many times that I knew I was hooked and would be able to watch this movie over and over. Mark Wahlberg leads an all-star cast and it has romantic elements but it's mostly about the intrigue of mob relations. Again, it's really funny - believe me!

Broken Arrow is not a comedy. It's drama and suspense and revenge and intrigue and ... well, you get it. Still, it's not heavy-handed and it's just a very enjoyable to watch, even after you've seen it once and know how it's going to end.



This is a real classic and almost everyone has seen it. Great acting, great adventure, great humor, great romance. it's just a great movie. We saw this originally in the theater and we've watched it several times since.