No matter how pleasant a rom-com is, they just don't engage us like a drama ever will. A well-crafted film can really drag us through an emotional experience, but it can be a little bit of hell. Fortunately, we can perfectly pair these experiences with some food and drink to get us through.
A young boy is trying to cope after the death of his mom - but he's having a rough go. After hiding from some bullies by running into an antique book store, he finds and steals a book about a fantasy land with a dying Empress being consumed by an entity called "The Nothing."
It's a solid and engaging fantasy tale. Dark as hell, however, once you realize that most of the enemies of the NeverEnding story are the monsters we struggle with as adults - depression, death, and being lost to time like you never existed.
Pairs excellently with: Chili Mac ‘n Cheese for your adult inner child and a blanket to hide under.
The extremely conservative, ice-queen girlfriend is brought home for the most awkward extended-family Christmas visit ever - especially after she convinces her sister to come stay with her for emotional and moral support.
We all love those kind of fish-out-of-water movies where tension creates humorous situations, and things end up getting shaken up for the better but... in this movie sometimes awkward is just awkward, and things only get shaken up for the worse.
Pairs excellently with: Meatloaf Grilled Cheese to provide some actual comfort when nothing else is right now. And your favourite red wine to try to produce some temporary amnesia.
A widdowed mom and her daughter try to find joy and relationships over 10 years of life - and at the same time, try to survive loving each other.
We all know that love can sometimes be super complicated, especially when homes are blended and parent-child relationships aren't exactly healthy. This film celebrates that sometimes nobody gets what they want or deserve, in all its super-complicatedness... and that's about as okay as we can make life. And now I'm going to stare at a wall and contemplate this revelation.
Pairs excellently with: A bottle of chilled chardonnay and Italian Spicy Sausage Penne Bake to burn out that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach. Except, this recipe now serves 1 instead of 8.
Two women become fast friends as girls and celebrate all the ups and downs together - even when things get strained after they both fall in love with the same man. After decades of hot-and-cold in their relationship, the two finally discover the true meaning of friendship.
Like many flicks of the 80s, it relies heavily on Hollywood cheese: stereotypes, cliches and tropes. It's a feel-good sisterhood movie about how you can always trust your best girlfriend above all, but you might end up with some trust issues. But you still love the ride.
Pairs excellently with: Cheesy Twice-Baked Poutine Potatoes and a couple gallons of Turtles ice cream. Because cheese and Beaches (do you see what I did there).
Six small-town women in Louisiana rule from the beauty parlour, the kingdom of gossip. They might be delicate, but when it comes to real life situations like love and loss, they're made of steel.
Clairee, Drum, and Ouiser are pure comedic gold. And just when you think everything is glorious, then the movie comes up and SUCKERPUNCHES YOU RIGHT IN THE GUT. AND YOU'LL BE SAD AND ANGRY ENOUGH TO HIT SOMETHING. BUT THEN YOU WANT TO CHEER 5 MINUTES LATER. I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT. YES! NO! YES! GIVE ME MORE.
Pairs perfectly with: 30 Second Sangria, which you will need to make several of to take the edge off.
In a post-apocalyptic wasteland of America where the sun no longer shines, a dad and his son are trying to survive out of a shopping cart long enough to find food, security, and people who aren't out to kill them and rob them.
The flame that's supposed to be the light of hope for humanity in this film is there, but it's small, cold, and dim. That won't stop you from rooting for the underdog.
Pairs perfectly with: a Screwdriver vodka drink in a pitcher, the How-to Guide for Becoming a Prepper, and The World's Best Chocolate Cake Recipe to induce happy chocolate comas.
Holly and Gerry are happily married and blissfully in love… until Gerry get a brain tumour and dies. And then on her birthday she gets the first of many letters he wrote her before he died to help her "move on" in life.
I think the plot synopsis here sums it up well enough. Is it normal to have a love-hate relationship with triumphant tragedies?
Pairs excellently with: That bulk pack of tissues from the grocery store and Boozy hot chocolate. And Awesome Chocolate Crazy Cake. And Cake Waffle Ice Cream Sandwiches. Yes, all three of them at the same time.
Sara Goldfarb and her son Harry both have dreams of greatness and zest for life. But she's obsessed with losing weight and becomes addicted to diet pills, and he becomes addicted to heroin, and we're seeing life through the eyes of addicts.
You're incredibly high, unbearably low, and wondering what the heck is going on. It's an astonishing and amazing but grueling cinematic rollercoaster experience that will leave you a little worse for wear and possibly sucking your thumb.
Pairs well with: Rum & Coconut Oil Caramelized Bananas. And more rum. And more ice cream. And maybe a friend or two to help ground you in what is actually reality.
Jude's marriage opens the door to an inapproriate love affair that society shuns him for and causes problems with their children.
It's the classic cautionary tale, except the lesson is more like a rabbit hole, and you're sitting there biting your fingers wondering how much punishment Jude's going to have to take just because he fell in love with the wrong woman.
Pairs well with: A book by Sigmund Freud and straight-up tequila, because there might be no sleeping otherwise.
Happily married couple meets horrible tragedy when husband and kids killed in a car accident. And that's only the beginning of their story.
Imagine everything that destroyed you about the last 3 minutes of UP!'s intro story and then extend it for another 1 hour, 50 minutes. There's a happy (?) love story ending but you'll probably still go into the bathroom, turn on the shower, and stare at the wall trying to stave off the worst existential crisis of your life.
Pairs excellently with: Roasted Marshmallow Ice Cream to represent some heavenly clouds in your mouth, a couple bottles of vodka, and the national suicide hotline.
A grizzled old tough bastard of a boxing trainer is talked into into taking a young woman boxer - a poor transplant from working-class Missouri - under his wing, and they both change as a result.
This is the movie that made both my husband and his father cry. You won't stand a chance. Just let it flow.
Pairs excellently with: Snackalicious Baked Pizza Pockets, because you will need to keep one hand free for tissues and wine.
Anne is one of those people who usually speaks to others in memes, pop culture references, and SAT words. On those occasions she can be understood at all, she likes to entertain others with a sense of humour usually described by friends as “hilarious—once you get to know her.”
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