Club Benefits
I might often find myself writing about the latest dark thrillers on Netflix, but I do have a softer side, and that’s why I’m regularly on the hunt for charming, feel-good movies added to the world’s most popular streaming service as well. Fortunately, these tend to be introduced at a good clip, too.
This week is no exception, with a couple of 2000s favorites and a new original movie based on a popular novel. Subscribers will have plenty of heart-warming picks to choose from. These movies are the perfect antidote to a difficult day, offering guaranteed laughs and perhaps even a tear or two. These movies can be turned to whenever you need a reliable mood-booster.
Article continues belowBest feel-good movies on Netflix this week
‘13 Going on 30’ (2004)
![13 GOING ON 30 [2004] – Official Trailer (HD) - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_pmFp2W65Fs/maxresdefault.jpg)
A true 2000s romantic-comedy classic, “13 Going on 30” has become a comforting favorite over the years. It’s never really left the public affection, with iconic scenes being adapted into memes, and stars Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo still get asked about it in interviews to this day. Garner recently revealed that Ruffalo almost quit the movie after rehearsals for the “Thriller” dance scene went poorly. As a rhythmically challenged person myself, I wouldn’t have blamed Ruffalo if he had!
Opening in the 1980s, Jenna Rink is a 13-year-old eager to grow up. After being humiliated by the popular clique at her birthday party, she wishes to be “thirty and flirty and thriving.” Thanks to some magic wishing dust, she wakes up as her 30-year-old self in 2004, now working as a fashion magazine editor. What follows is a magical romance between Jenna and her former childhood best friend, Matty (Ruffalo), and she also learns that being all grown up comes with its own set of problems and challenges.
Watch "13 Going on 30" on Netflix now
‘Meet the Parents’ (2000)
Netflix just added another 2000s comedy classic as part of its huge library update at the start of the month: “Meet the Parents.” I’d recommend watching this movie anytime, but now feels particularly appropriate because the fourth installment in the franchise is due to hit movie theaters later this year. Oh, and Netflix also added its two sequels, “Meet the Fockers” and “Little Fockers,” at the same time, and while the former is good fun, the latter is an easy skip.
“Meet the Parents” is a movie that will have you relishing your own in-laws, because no matter how bad they might be, they surely can’t be as challenging as the ultra-stern Jack Burns (Robert De Niro). Ben Stiller plays Greg Focker, a nurse in Chicago, whose trip to meet his girlfriend’s parents turns into a complete nightmare thanks to a string of awkward moments and hilarious missteps. The 2000s movie also stars Blythe Danner, Teri Polo and Owen Wilson.
Watch "Meet the Parents" on Netflix now
‘Remarkably Bright Creatures’ (2026)
“Remarkably Bright Creatures” is Netflix’s big new original movie this week, and it’s based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Selby Van Pelt. It stars Sally Field and Lewis Pullman, and if the trailer is any indication, it’s going to get the tears flowing, while also warming your heart. Plus, the use of a Noah Kahan track in the trailer is an easy way to win me over. I’m predicting this drama will make a play for the No. 1 spot over the weekend.
Field plays Tova, an elderly widower working at a local aquarium, who finds a much-needed solace in the unexpected form of an octopus. Meanwhile, she also develops a connection with a wayward young man, Cameron (Pullman), who has arrived in town in search of his absentee father. Working together, they investigate a mystery and are reminded that the world can be bleak, but the people (and ocean creatures) we meet make life worth while.
Watch "Remarkably Bright Creatures" on Netflix starting May 8
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