On the Couch: Battling the Winter Blues

It is so not Spring yet. That groundhog should be sued for malpractice for just how not spring-y it still is outside. As a nation—nay, a hemisphere—we are still slogging through the disgustingest time of the year. We have the winter blahs. Raise you’re hand if you didn’t cry this week. Congratulations, Anne Hathaway, you’re the only one. The only way out of this mess is to stay inside and binge on unadulterated, straight-up feel-good cinema. After extensive research and surveys, I’ve compiled a greatest hits of feel-good films that will soothe your cold and soggy soul. You’ve got a lot of watching to do, folks, but you weren’t planning on leaving the house anyway.

Kissing Jessica Stein

On the one hand this film paints a picture of a woman so overwhelmed and alienated by the New York dating scene as she approaches the looming chasm of her thirties that she launches an ill-fated attempt at lesbianism. On the other—it’s so great! Jessica Stein’s awkward stab at girl dating proves that even ill advised romances can break your heart wide open and change your life for the better. This movie is my go-to, not only when I’m in the mood for a sweet, sincere New York love story, but also whenever I’m down in general. If things get really bad, I think, maybe I’ll try dating ladies for a while and see where that takes me. I’m sure the boyfriend won’t mind, right?

Mamma Mia

This one packs a seriously sunny punch. True, there is nothing more cornball than earnest, 70s Swede-pop, but who cares? It feels good to be ridiculous sometimes, and this movie is nothing if not that. It works not only because of the singing and dancing and sun-kissed cast, but also for the fact that there is a 200% chance you can sing better than Pierce Brosnan, and will never embarrass yourself as much as he did in this film. You always have that. We all have that.

Emma

I’ll admit this is one my chick-flick-ier lists (hey, I gave you some girl-on-girl, didn’t I?), but nothing soothes the modern soul better than a period comedy. Despite the fact that it stars On The Couch’s Public Enemy #1, in my darkest hours I reach for this frothy Austen adaptation. Unlike other (better) period films, this one comes free of typhoid fever, evil sisters, and dead babies. The roughest Emma gets is an awkward moment at a picnic, and I just fast-forward through that part.

The Sound of Music

Let’s get real, humanity: in your heart of hearts, this is yours and everyone’s favorite movie. Julie Andrews is the sunshine of our lives and here she gets to shine for three straight hours. Watch it with commercial breaks (the traditional screening method) and you can make a day out of Sound of Music therapy. That’s a whole day where you don’t have to go outside and live a miserable, slushy existence completely devoid of song and dance and Hitler youth cute boys.

Blazing Saddles