26 Feel-Good Movies on Netflix to Lift Your Spirits
Perhaps you're not having the best day. Or maybe you’re drained from spiraling down a social media rabbit hole. Either way, these situations call for a pint of your favorite ice cream and the best feel-good movies on Netflix.
Whether you’re a fan of cheesy rom-coms or thought-provoking dramas that leave you inspired, the streaming platform boasts an impressive library of fun titles to boost your mood. We’re talking beloved titles like Paddington, You’ve Got Mail, Midnight in Paris and more. Keep reading for 26 of the best feel-good films on Netflix.
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1. “When Harry Met Sally” (1989)
Cast: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher
Rating: R
Can men and women really just be friends? This age-old question gets explored throughout the film as college grads Harry (Crystal) and Sally (Ryan) engage in intense debates during their chance encounters over the course of a decade. Watch for Crystal and Ryan’s incredible chemistry and, of course, that infamous fake orgasm scene.
2. “Senior Year” (2022)
Cast: Rebel Wilson, Sam Richardson, Zoë Chao, Mary Holland, Justin Hartley
Rating: R
Think 17 Again, only in this case, we’re following a young woman who wakes up from a coma after a whopping 20 years and decides to head back to high school. It’s not the most original premise, but according to Stream On co-host Phil Mutz, it’ll have you in stitches. , he said, “It’s surprisingly funny. I really wanted to hate it because it’s such a played out and cliché idea. The story might be stupid, but who cares if I’m enjoying myself?”
3. “Dumplin'” (2018)
Cast: Danielle Macdonald, Jennifer Aniston, Odeya Rush
Rating: PG-13
Set in a small Texas town, Dumplin’ follows plus-size teen Willowdean "Dumplin" Dickson (Macdonald), whose mom happens to be a former beauty queen and head of the town's Miss Teen Bluebonnet pageant. When Willowdean joins the pageant in protest, she launches a major movement that revolutionizes the entire town.
4. “Always Be My Maybe” (2019)
Cast: Nathan Kahane, Erin Westerman, Randall Park, Ali Wong
Rating: PG-13
Wong and Park star as childhood friends Sasha and Marcus, who have grown apart after a short fling during their teenage years. However, when they reunite in their hometown 16 years later, they realize that they still have feelings for each other…even though one of them is taken. What could possibly go wrong?
5. “To All The Boys I've Loved Before” (2018)
Cast: Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, Janel Parrish
Rating: TV-14
Need a teen romance that’ll leave you smiling after the credits roll? Add this title to your queue ASAP. The movie follows high schooler Lara Jean (Condor), who, instead of approaching her crushes in real life, writes secret letters to her love interests with no intention of sending them. But when her sister mails them out, chaos ensues as each of her crushes begin to confront her.
6. “Set It Up” (2018)
Cast: Zoey Deutch, Glen Powell, Taye Diggs, Lucy Liu
Rating: TV-MA
While out on an errand for their nightmare bosses, two overworked assistants cross paths and come up with a brilliant idea: to set up their bosses on a date, in hopes of lightening their own loads at work. But will it pay off?
7. “The Fundamentals of Caring” (2016)
Cast: Paul Rudd, Craig Roberts, Selena Gomez
Rating: TV-MA
Rudd plays a retired writer turned caregiver for an 18-year-old named Trevor, who’s disabled. As they embark on a road trip to see the world's deepest pit, they develop a rather complicated relationship and learn a few important life lessons along the way. This heartwarming flick gives plenty of insight into what being a caregiver is like.
8. “Falling Inn Love” (2019)
Cast: Christina Milian, Adam Demos, Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman
Rating: TV-PG
Gabriela Diaz (Milian) is thrilled to learn that she has won a contest to take ownership of an Inn located in New Zealand. But when she leaves the Big Apple to see her new property, she realizes that it needs a bit of work. Enlisting the help of a charming contractor, Gabriela sets out to flip The Bellbird Valley Farm—and naturally, she falls in love during the process.
9. “Happy Gilmore” (1996)
Cast: Adam Sandler, Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen
Rating: PG-13
Arguably one of Sandler’s funniest films, Happy Gilmore follows an aspiring pro hockey player who discovers that he has a natural talent for golfing. When he learns that his grandmother is about to lose her home, he enters a golf tournament in hopes of winning enough money to save it. Expect plenty of hilarious one-liners.
10. “Paddington” (2014)
Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, Nicole Kidman
Rating: PG
Meet Paddington, an anthropomorphic bear who makes his way to London and gets taken in by a loving family. But Paddington’s troubles are far from over, because an evil museum taxidermist is determined to capture the bear and add him to her collection.
11. “Midnight In Paris” (2011)
Cast: Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Carla Bruni, Owen Wilson
Rating: PG-13
In this Oscar-winning fantasy, Wilson is Gil Pender, a screenwriter who must come to terms with some unsettling truths about his present-day life while vacationing in Paris with his fiancée. (FYI, Midnight in Paris is the highest-grossing film that Woody Allen has ever directed, and several critics have labeled it one of his best.)
12. “Just Like Heaven” (2005)
Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Mark Ruffalo
Rating: PG-13
David (Ruffalo) is in for quite a surprise when he moves into his new apartment in San Francisco. Rather than an empty home, he finds that the place is haunted by the former tenant’s ghost, who has lost most of her memories. As David launches an investigation to find out who she really is, sparks begin to fly between the unlikely pair.
13. “Forrest Gump” (1994)
Cast: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise
Rating: PG-13
It's the film that not only gave us iconic lines like “Life is like a box of chocolates,” but it also snagged an impressive six Academy Awards, including one for Best Picture. Revisit one of Hanks’s best roles as the optimistic, but slow-witted Forrest Gump, who leads an extraordinary life that influences several historical events, from the Vietnam War to the Watergate Scandal.
14. “Love, Guaranteed” (2020)
Cast: Rachael Leigh Cook, Damon Wayans Jr., Caitlin Howden
Rating: TV-PG
Cook stars as Susan, a lawyer who reluctantly takes on a high-profile case to save her struggling law firm. Her client is a charming young bachelor who wants to sue a dating website that guarantees true love. Unfortunately for Susan, the case is even more stressful than she anticipated. And her romantic chemistry with her client doesn’t make things any easier…
15. “Tall Girl” (2019)
Cast: Ava Michelle, Luke Eisner, Griffin Gluck, Anjelika Washington, Sabrina Carpenter
Rating: PG-13
Jodi (Michelle), AKA the tallest kid at school, has always been insecure about her height. But when she meets and falls for a charming foreign exchange student (who’s even taller than she is), she gets pulled into a love triangle that turns her world upside-down.
16. “Along For the Ride” (2022)
Cast: Emma Pasarow, Belmont Cameli, Kate Bosworth
Rating: PG-13
Obsessed with cheesy romances? Well, meet your match. Based on Sarah Dessen’s novel of the same name, Along for the Ride tells the story of 18-year-old insomniac Auden (Pasarow). When she meets a BMXer named Eli (Cameli), he challenges her to embark on an adventure that involves doing all the “kid things” she missed out on.
17. “The Royal Treatment” (2022)
Cast: Laura Marano, Mena Massoud
Rating: TV-PG
New York-based hairdresser Izzy (Marano) gets the opportunity of a lifetime when she signs on to work a royal wedding. The only problem? There’s undeniable chemistry between her and the groom, who seems hesitant to tie the knot. Will he choose duty or follow his heart?
18. “Little Big Mouth” (2021)
Cast: Nay Maps, Amanda du-Pont, James Borthwick
Rating: TV-14
This underrated South African gem follows a musician who’s down on his luck after he gets kicked out of his band and his home. Fortunately for him, a kind bookkeeper offers to let him stay with her and her son. But as their relationship grows, her little boy is determined to drive them apart.
19. “Crazy, Stupid, Love” (2011)
Cast: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone
Rating: PG-13
Michael Scott Steve Carell is Cal, a heartbroken husband whose wife suddenly asks him for a divorce. At a loss, he attempts to navigate his new life as a single man. When playboy Jacob Palmer (Gosling) comes to the rescue, he tries to teach Cal a thing or two about picking up women.
20. “The Half of It” (2020)
Cast: Leah Lewis, Daniel Diemer, Alexxis Lemire
Rating: PG-13
When straight-A student Ellie Chu (Lewis) agrees to help a jock win the heart of his crush, she not only develops an unlikely friendship with him, but she also starts to fall for the girl he likes. Yes, it sounds like almost every other teen movie you’ve seen, but this one has a rather compelling twist and explores what it truly means to navigate love and friendships.
21. “Afterlife of the Party” (2021)
Cast: Victoria Justice, Midori Francis, Timothy Renouf
Rating: TV-PG
Party girl Cassie (Justice) is having the time of her life while celebrating her birthday. That is, until she suddenly dies and discovers that she can’t enter the "Afterlife Party in Heaven." To make this happen, she must help people on earth as a guardian angel before her time runs out.
22. “Love Hard” (2021)
Cast: Nina Dobrev, Jimmy O. Yang, Darren Barnet
Rating: TV-MA
Dobrev takes center stage as Natalie, an L.A. columnist who meets and falls for her dream guy on a dating website. However, when she decides to pay him a surprise visit for the holidays, she discovers that she’s been catfished. Talk about awkward.
23. “A Perfect Pairing” (2022)
Cast: Victoria Justice, Adam Demos, Luca Asta Sardelis
Rating: TV-14
Nickelodeon alum Victoria Justice channels her inner Tori Vega in this Hallmark-style rom-com, which follows an ambitious wine executive as she sets out to launch her own company. But to do so, she must travel to Australia to land her first potential client—and the trip proves to be quite different from what she expected.
24. “Something’s Gotta Give” (2003)
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Keanu Reeves
Rating: PG-13
Awkwardness and hilarity ensue when Erica (Keaton), a middle-aged playwright, catches her daughter’s 63-year-old boyfriend in her Hamptons beach house. When he suffers a heart attack and spends more time around Erica, he finds himself falling for the writer, even though they’re total opposites.
25. “The Adam Project” (2022)
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner, Walker Scobell
Rating: PG-13
When 12-year-old Adam Reed (Scobell) finds a mysterious pilot hiding out in his garage, he’s shocked to learn that it’s his future self. Adult Adam (Reynolds) reveals that he’s on a secret mission to save the planet and enlists young Adam’s help, but it proves to be quite the challenge, given that the pair can’t seem to get along.
26. “You’ve Got Mail” (1998)
Cast: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Parker Posey
Rating: PG
We can’t resist a nostalgic rom-com with lovable and charming characters. You've Got Mail follows a small bookstore owner and her business rival, who runs a mega shop across the street. Though they can’t stand each other in real life, the two meet anonymously online and fall head over heels for one another. Can they overcome their mutual dislike?
