I have to preface this post by saying that these are films that have comforted me over the years. I’m not saying they are good films. I’m just saying they are films I use to escape life’s little miseries, okay?

1. 10 Things I Hate About You: As a big Shakespeare fan, this is the only valid adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew. Or it’s one of the most fun, at least.

2. Clueless: As a big Jane Austen fan, this is the best adaptation of Emma. While the 2020 version is a contender, Clueless is iconic. So many people are unwittingly supportive of Jane Austen when they stan Clueless.

3. Ever After: I love fairytale film adaptations and Ever After is such a charming Cinderella story. Medieval France as a setting just let them go ham on the period costumes, and Da Vinci as the fairy godmother is something we never knew we needed.

4. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: The hijinks Ferris Bueller goes through as he cuts school with his friends are wildly entertaining. My favorite scene has to be where he ends up singing Twist N Shout on top of the float.

5. Flipped: My friends and I spent our freshman year obsessed with this movie and the book. It’s a solid YA film adaptation and as I always say, it appeals to our fantasy of falling in love with the boy who lives next door. (Unfortunately for me, my neighborhood growing up was full of old people.)

6. Marie Antoinette: Studying costumes are a huge passion of mine, but I didn’t realize how much it fascinated me until this film. The colors tell the story of Maria Antonia, Archduchess of Austria as she transforms into Marie Antoinette, Queen of France.

7. Mirror Mirror: Never liked Snow White as a story much when I was growing up, but I was pulled into this world by the costumes and Julia Roberts’ acting. The plot isn’t great and there are a lot of campy shenanigans, but it’s so entertaining.

8. Moana: I cried the first time I watched Moana in the cinemas, starting from when she rescues the baby turtle at the beginning and until she frees Te Fiti at the end. I still cried over the next ten times I watched that film.

9. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist: Back in my YA phase, this book and the film adaptation spoke to my delusional teenage self. I just really wanted to find someone equally artistic and lost as the protagonists, but all I got out of this film was the kick-ass playlist.

10. Penelope: The story of a aristocratic rich girl born with a pig’s nose and an overbearing mother was probably right up my alley. Still, it’s all about love and self-acceptance, and I am a big softie deep inside.

I guess that wraps up my list for now. I have many other favorite films that I’ve only watched once, and a list of things to watch that will keep me busy for a lifetime. Still, life is so busy and chaotic that it’s good to have some pockets of comfort to return to every now and then.