Keep your heart warm fam: Peep these 3 late summer flicks on Netflix
The air is muggy and September is starting to get dangerously close.
Sometimes the only good option is to curl up on the couch and turn your brain off for a couple of hours. So let’s not think about the fact that summer is almost over and let’s watch some good ass movies instead.
1. 20th Century Women
20th Century Women is a saccharine coming of age story studying the relationship between 55-year-old Dorothea Fields (Annette Bening) and her adolescent son, Jaime (Lucas Jade Zuman).
As she sets about raising a son on her own, Dorothea employs the help of their two tenants (played by Greta Gerwig and Billy Crudup) as well as Jaime’s best friend, Julie (Ellie Fanning) in order to answer the question: “How do you be a good man? What does that even mean nowadays?”
Director Mike Mills admitted that this film, like his sophomore directorial effort Beginners, is in part a biographical take on his own upbringing. Mills, who grew up in Berkeley, California, uses this film to explore three generations of “20th-century women” (Dorothea, who grew up during the Depression, Abbie, their 24-year-old tenant recovering from cervical cancer, and the 17-year-old Julie) in a gracious thank you to those who helped raise him.
If anything, 20th Century Women is a grateful snapshot of a moment in time and the memories behind it. Set in the sunny Santa Barbra of 1979, 20th Century Women takes its time in studying every character it presents, through both their flaws and their beauty.
It’s heartwarming and funny, and definitely worth a watch.
2. Sleeping with Other People
Described by Rolling Stone as “When Harry Met Sally with assholes,” Sleeping with Other People is an adorably sardonic take on the classic Rom-Com flick.
Written and directed by Leslye Headland, Sleeping with Other People takes place years after a one-night-stand when two sex addicts reunite and attempt to maintain a platonic relationship with one another despite obvious feelings.
Starring Jason Sudeikis of SNL fame as well as Alison Brie (Mad Men), this movie has everything from rekindled love affairs to dance parties with kindergartners while rolling on molly.
Excellent for a rainy night in with some really good junk food, this movie seems to be specially curated for every hopeless romantic out there.
3. The Edge of Seventeen
Here is another coming of age movie for those who want the middle ground between Lady Bird and Book Smart. The Edge of Seventeen is the directorial debut of writer/director Kelly Fremon Craig.
The film follows Nadine (Hailee Steinfeld) as she attempts to navigate life as a junior in high school after splitting with her best (and only) friend.
Featuring a pretty fantastic performance from Woody Harrelson as a jaded US History teacher, this movie explores teenage angst, lost friendships, love, fuckboys, and the hellhole that is a high school with some achingly bittersweet heart behind it.
Let’s just say it’s not a masterpiece by any standard, but it’s a cute, funny, and refreshing take on the (usually male-centric) story about being a teenager in the 21st century.