Do you have Memorial Day off but still haven’t made any concrete plans to spend that extra time?
Watch With Us has a suggestion — you should watch some films on streamers like Netflix and Hulu to begin the summer season on the right note.
If you need some good suggestions, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve curated a list of easy-to-watch movies that are perfect for unwinding and relaxing.
From the rom-com Wild Mountain Thyme, starring Emily Blunt and Jamie Dornan, to a ‘90s comedy featuring Christina Applegate, these films are certain to provide an equal amount of entertainment and escapism.
‘Wild Mountain Thyme’ (2020)
Emily Blunt is currently conquering movie theaters worldwide with her sharp supporting performance in The Devil Wears Prada 2, but many people haven’t seen one of her best films. There’s a good reason for that — Wild Mountain Thyme came out during COVID-19. But that’s what streaming and a holiday weekend are for — to catch up on under-the-radar films you may have missed the first time around.
Blunt stars as Rosemary, an Irish woman who’s been in love with her next-door neighbor, Anthony (Jamie Dornan), since they were kids. He doesn’t seem into her as she’s into him, so when another suitor, the brash American Adam (Jon Hamm), comes along, she seriously considers a relationship with him. But unbeknownst to her, Anthony loves Rosemary, but he harbors a strange secret that prevents him from acting on his feelings.
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Filmed on location among the lush green hills of the Irish countryside, Wild Mountain Thyme is an old-school romance with a classic friends-turned-lovers narrative that made similar movies like When Harry Met Sally and Annie Hall rom-com staples. Written and directed by Moonstruck’s John Patrick Shanley, this film boasts one of the most attractive couples in movie history and a bizarre climactic twist that sets it apart from pretty much every other love story you’ve ever seen. If you’re eager to fall in love this Memorial Day weekend, or watch fictional people swoon onscreen, watch Wild Mountain Thyme.
Wild Mountain Thyme is streaming on Netflix and Disney+.
‘Don’t Tell Mom the Baysitter’s Dead’ (1991)
Sue Ellen (Christina Applegate) is your average California teen who is looking forward to a summer filled with road trips to the beach and lounging around the local mall. But when her mom travels to Australia with her rich boyfriend, she leaves her and her four siblings with Mrs. Sturak (Eda Reiss Marin), a cranky old babysitter whom everyone immediately loathes.
When Mrs. Sturak unexpectedly dies, Sue Ellen has to act as the household’s de facto guardian by getting a job, paying the bills and making sure the house doesn’t burn down. She’s surprisingly good at playing a grown-up, but Sue Ellen is still only 17 years old, and the pressures of being a stand-in mom to her brothers and sister and starting a romance with hot dog delivery boy Bryan (Josh Charles) eventually take their toll. Will Sue Ellen’s summer of freedom turn into a winter prison when her cover is blown by a jealous co-worker?
The epitome of a breezy summer movie, Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter is Dead is a wish-fulfillment fantasy for every child who thinks they know more than the adults running their lives. Sue Ellen all too easily gets a job at a fashion company, where she kills it as a designer with no experience at all, while she also steps into her mother role and improves everybody’s lives, including her own. This is a very ‘90s film, right down to the loud, colorful prints Sue Ellen wears to work and the rock and house music that dominates the soundtrack, but its jokes still land, and it has a surprisingly sweet heart.
Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead is streaming on Hulu.
‘Pretty Woman’ (1990)
$3,000. That’s the price Edward (Richard Gere) and Vivian (Julia Roberts) agree on as they negotiate their strange new week-long relationship. He’s a handsome finance bro who needs to spend time with a woman without any emotional connections, while she’s a neophyte sex worker with a bad Carol Channing wig and a million-dollar smile. Their relationship is purely sexual and transactional, but as the week progresses, Richard introduces Vivian to his wealthy world filled with polo matches and opera concerts. She’s enamored, but so is Richard, and they find themselves falling for each other. That’s not supposed to happen, but can these two lonely souls open themselves up to real, lasting love?
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There’s a reason why Pretty Woman became one of the most popular movies on Netflix earlier this month when the streamer added it in May. 36 years after its release, it remains a timeless love story, even if it involves prostitution and a very uncomfortable scene involving sexual assault. Roberts is incandescent as the wise but naive Vivian, while Gere is terrific as a smooth operator who hides a wounded soul. The chemistry these two generate is playful, sexy and fun — you really want them to live happily ever after. Props to the film’s terrific supporting cast, which includes Laura San Giacomo as Vivian’s proudly profane best friend, Kit.
Pretty Woman is streaming on Netflix.
