What to stream this weekend: Michelle Obama's Netflix doc 'Becoming,' musical 'Valley Girl' remake

Theaters are still closed, but new streaming movies are coming to entertain you and your family during socially distanced times.

This weekend, there are documentaries about former first lady Michelle Obama and a biosphere, a musical for those who adore the 1980s, a dramatic teamup for Annette Bening and Bill Nighy, and a couple of projects set down South. And if you're in the mood for giving back, Lionsgate is rolling out its latest Friday night movie livestream, the Keanu Reeves action extravaganza "John Wick" (9 EDT/6 PDT), hosted by Jamie Lee Curtis and raising money for theater employees affected by the coronavirus crisis.

Here's a rundown of new movies hitting streaming this Friday for every cinematic taste:

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If you’re yearning for an Obama on your TV again: ‘Becoming’

Michelle Obama’s brother calls her “the most popular person in the world,” and after watching the insightful and uplifting new Netflix documentary "Becoming," it’s easy to figure out why. The former first lady is seen as inspirational role model and super-cool woman as cameras follow her on the 34-city tour that accompanied her 2018 memoir. The best parts are the candid moments with her daughters and Secret Service agents, plus the times Obama hilariously keeps her mom from touching her book cake and playing the “Peanuts” theme on her childhood piano. Obama also discusses the pressure she and husband Barack felt trying to do everything perfectly while in the White House and sees hope in figuring out what’s next: “My life is starting to be mine again.”

Where to watch: Netflix

If you’re missing Trapper Keepers and neon leotards: ‘Valley Girl’

The ‘80s cult classic "Valley Girl" – which launched the career of young Nicolas Cage as a leading man – gets a clever, quasi-jukebox musical remake set in the Reagan era. Jessica Rothe (from the “Happy Death Day” movies) stars as Julie, a well-off high school senior from San Fernando Valley, C who has big dreams and finds love with Randy (Josh Whitehouse), a punk rocker frequenting the Sunset Strip. The “Romeo and Juliet” narrative is plenty predictable but the retro numbers (including a tights-clad medley of “Material Girl,” “Just Can’t Get Enough” and “Tainted Love” set in an aerobics studio) are rad and Rothe’s performance is downright infectious.

Where to watch: iTunes, Vudu, Fandango Now

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If you’ve always wanted a sequel to ‘Almost Famous’: ‘How to Build a Girl’

A standout from “Lady Bird” and “Booksmart,” Beanie Feldstein goes back to school as a teenage Brit in "How to Build a Girl," the quasi-autobiographical dramedy written by journalist Caitlin Moran. Johanna (Feldstein) is a 16-year-old from a working-class family who decides to try out for a position as a rock critic and falls into a hedonistic lifestyle as a self-centered, love-to-hate personality. The film relies on familiar coming-of-age beats, though offers a cool fantastical spin as the pictures of her artistic “gods” come to life on her wall, including Sigmund Freud (Michael Sheen), Elizabeth Taylor (Lily Allen) and Cleopatra (Jameela Jamil).

Where to watch: iTunes, Vudu, Fandango Now

If you’re down with a different kind of love story: ‘Clementine’

Set in the Pacific Northwest, Lara Jean Gallagher's drama finds Karen (Otmara Marrero) breaking into her estranged ex’s lake house and meeting a young teenage girl named Lana (Sydney Sweeney) who lives nearby. Neither is supposed to be there, yet they strike up a mutual infatuation that pulls them closer together. Although the excellent “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” was much better delving into similar themes, the part psychological, part coming-of-age slow-burn ”Clementine” builds to intriguing reveals and Marrero and Sweeney have magnetic chemistry.

Where to watch: Virtual cinemas

If you want a Southern-fried treat: ‘Arkansas’

Clark Duke (who you may know from “Hot Tub Time Machine” and TV’s “Greek” and “The Office”) takes the director’s chair for the first time in this down-home noir about two young drug dealers Kyle (Liam Hemsworth) and Swin (Duke) working for a mysterious backwoods kingpin named Frog (Vince Vaughn). Kyle and Swin pass themselves off as park rangers while they do their criminal misdeeds but also try to live somewhat normal lives, though mistakes soon put themselves on the radar of their boss. There are Tarantino-esque vibes aplenty with flashbacks, dark humor and a cadre of oddballs played by John Malkovich, Michael Kenneth Williams, Vivica A. Fox and Eden Brolin (whose dad is Josh Brolin).

Where to watch: iTunes, Vudu, Fandango Now

If you want another Southern-fried treat: 'Walkaway Joe'

While not exactly “The Hustler” or “The Color of Money,” this new pool-hall flick mines some serious father-son drama/ in the story of two generations of cueball artists. Cal McCarthy (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is a talented pool player but a deadbeat dad, and when he heads down to New Orleans for a big tournament, his teen son Dallas (Julian Feder) runs away from home and hitches a ride with a Winnebago-driving loner named Joe (David Strathairn) to bring his dad back. It’s a fairly formulaic melodrama, though Strathairn turns in a notable role as a man with a dog, kung fu skills and some demons of his own.

Where to watch: iTunes, Vudu, Fandango Now

If you’re in the mood for a relationship meltdown: ‘Hope Gap’

William Nicholson, the co-writer of “Gladiator” and “Les Miserables,” directs this contemplative, meandering family drama set in a small sea town. Quiet history teacher Edward (Nighy) decides to leave his wife of 29 years, writer Grace (Bening), for another woman, sending Grace into an angry and depressive spiral and putting their adult son Jamie (Josh O’Connor) right in the middle of their intense separation. While character development is sorely lacking, Nighy and Bening offer up their own masterclass in polite, restrained fury.

Where to watch: iTunes, Vudu, Fandango Now

If you’re OK watching a documentary about other people stuck inside: ‘Spaceship Earth’

A grand experiment for humanity’s future or a publicity stunt by a theatrical cult? The 1991 Biosphere 2 mission, where eight avant-garde scientists were locked in a man-made, Earth-like ecosystem for two years, is the truly bonkers subject of this compelling documentary. The movie tracks the central group from its origins in the late ‘60s as free-thinking San Francisco hippies concerned about climate change to the infamous event that became a worldwide phenomenon – one marked by mismanagement, betrayal, cutting corners and breaking rules. If staying at home is driving you nuts, this stranger-than-fiction cautionary tale might make you feel a teensy bit better about it.

Where to watch: Hulu, iTunes, Fandango Now

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Michelle Obama doc, 'Valley Girl,' more movies to stream this weekend