There probably isn’t a certified doctor who would prescribe a feel-good movie to lift your spirits, but sometimes it really helps. Feel-good movies are a subgenre that ranges from comedies to dramas. The secret to their success is that the main characters overcome their anxieties, their personal roadblocks, and all other obstacles to achieve their goals. Who doesn’t want to follow that example?
Netflix doesn’t have a very robust selection of feel-good movies, but it does have some very good ones. As it happens, this month’s new additions, Race and The World’s Fastest Indian, are both true stories that share some common elements with each other. Neither film was made for Netflix, so they may not stick around for long. But for now, they have a prime place among the best feel-good movies on Netflix.
Need more recommendations? Then check out the best new movies to stream this week, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
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Race (2016)
56%
7.1/10Imagine being so good at a sport that you set records at the Olympics and take home the gold. Jesse Owens (Stephan James) did more than that in 1936. He came to Germany during the Nazi reign and proved that their racial superiority myths were just that. Plus, he did it in front of Hitler. Race doesn’t pick up Owens’ story there, but it does get to it.
This biopic demonstrates that Owens’ biggest battle wasn’t at the Olympics; it was back at home as he trained relentlessly to become a world-class athlete while dealing with racism in his own country. Ted Lasso‘s Jason Sudeikis co-stars as Larry Snyder, the former competitive runner who helps train Owens, while Game of Thrones‘ Carice van Houten has a small role as Nazi propaganda filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl. And even Leni is impressed by Owens’ accomplishments, much to the disdain of Joseph Goebbels (Barnaby Metschurat).
The World's Fastest Indian (2005)
68%
7.8/10The title of The World’s Fastest Indian is a little misleading, as it’s not referring to the main character, Burt Munro. Rather, it’s Munro’s customized Indian Scout motorcycle that made him a folk legend in his native New Zealand. For this feature film, The Silence of the Lambs‘ Anthony Hopkins plays Burt as an elderly thrill-seeker who has already done all he can in his home country. What he really wants is to show off his bike’s speed on an American racetrack.
After suffering a heart attack, Burt is even more determined to fulfill his life’s dream. After making the journey to America, Burt faces a number of complications that could have ended badly. Instead, he perseveres and moves closer to his goal of achieving speeds that few others have.
Aloha (2015)
40%
5.4/10Aloha created a lot of flak for writer and director Cameron Crowe because he cast Emma Stone as Allison Ng, a woman who laments that she’s a quarter Chinese and a quarter Hawaiian. Stone’s appearance doesn’t reflect her character’s heritage, which is a big part of her character in this breezy rom-com that features Bradley Cooper as Brian Gilcrest, a military contractor who needs Allison’s help in brokering a deal with the local residents.
Allison is very into the spiritual side of Hawaiian culture, and Brian starts to fall for her pretty quickly. The complication for Brian is that his ex-girlfriend, Tracy Woodside (Rachel McAdams), is also nearby. And his old romantic feelings for her are also resurfacing, especially when she’s having marriage problems with her husband, John Woodside (John Krasinski).
Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018)
85%
8.3/10It would take a stone-cold heart to remain unmoved by a man like Fred Rogers. For decades, he was the host of the beloved PBS children’s program Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which he used to gently teach kids how to be kind and generous people.
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? is a behind-the-scenes look into Rogers’ show, as well as an intimate portrait of the man himself. Fred Rogers practiced what he preached, and he dedicated his life to educational programming for children. This is a very moving film, and it only makes us wish that Mister Rogers was still with us. The world could surely use more men like him.
Matilda (1996)
72%
7.0/10Danny DeVito threw himself into the first cinematic adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Matilda. DeVito not only directed the film, he cast himself as Harry Wormwood, and his then wife, Rhea Perlman, as Harry’s wife, Zinnia, the less-than-proud parents of Matilda Wormwood (Mara Wilson).
Matilda is a very bright six-year-old girl who has to fight to get an education, which earns her the attention of a kind teacher, Jennifer Honey (Embeth Davidtz). Matilda’s determination also makes the school’s evil principal, Agatha Trunchbull (Pam Ferris), target her. But Matilda has a big secret: She’s telekinetic and the power of her mind can make almost anything happen. Now, Matilda is ready to use that gift to create the life she’s always wanted.
The Long Game (2024)
65%
6.6/10Does Dennis Quaid star in anything anymore that isn’t an inspiring drama of some kind? Because he’s been in a lot of those in the last few years. Quaid may have the top credit in The Long Game, but he’s actually second banana to Jay Hernandez in this true story. In Texas during the ‘50s, anti-Mexican bias is so prevalent that even the superintendent of schools, JB Peña (Hernandez), is denied admission to a golf club despite his good buddy, Frank (Quaid), vouching for him.
When JB’s ambition is denied, he turns his attention to a group of young Mexican-American caddies who are so eager to learn how to play golf that they built their own mini golf course. This inspires JB, and later Frank, to help guide the teenagers and give them the lessons they need to succeed in golf and in life.
The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)
70%
7.6/10The most heartwarming thing about The Peanut Butter Falcon is the emotional bond that develops between two misfits: Tyler (Shia LaBeouf) and Zak (Zack Gottsagen), neither of whom knew each other before they both ran away from their lives in the hope of finding something better. Since Zak has Down Syndrome, Tyler becomes like an older brother to him. Tyler even tries to help Zak realize his ambition of becoming a professional wrestler.
Zak’s caregiver, Eleanor (Madame Web‘s Dakota Johnson), is supposed to bring him back to his assisted living facility. But because she actually does care about Zak’s well-being, Eleanor decides to stay with Tyler and see Zak’s dreams come to fruition.
Love at First Sight (2023)
55%
6.8/10Do you believe in love at first sight? It’s hard enough to find any person who will return your love, much less make an instant connection. But it does make for some fun romantic comedies. Netflix’s Love At First Sight centers on Hadley Sullivan (The White Lotus‘ Haley Lu Richardson) and Oliver Jones (Ben Hardy), a pair of strangers who meet at an airport and spend time together before getting on a long flight to London.
Fate steps in to give the two a push towards love by moving Oliver into the vacant seat next to Hadley during the flight. From there, it’s pure love right until the duo lose track of each other in customs. Hadley realizes that they may have had something special, and the only question is simple: How far will she go to find Oliver again?
The Greatest Night in Pop (2024)
69%
7.9/10There’s something almost quaint about the idea of the biggest music stars in the world coming together to record a charity song to combat a famine in Africa. But it really happened in 1985 with the recording of We Are the World. Some of those superstars, including Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Ray Charles, Kenny Rogers, and Harry Belafonte, are no longer with us.
One of the best Netflix movies of 2024 so far, The Greatest Night in Pop features an intimate look at the chaotic recording session that brought all these acts into the same room. Some participants, including Bruce Springsteen and Lionel Richie, participate in new interviews as they share their memories of the night they spent together almost 40 years ago.
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023)
The Speed Cubers (2020)
Your Place or Mine (2023)
The Redeem Team (2022)
76%
7.4/10Hustle (2022)
68%
7.3/10The Harder They Fall (2021)
68%
6.6/10Wine Country (2019)
56%
5.4/10The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019)
68%
7.6/10The Half of It (2020)
74%
6.9/10Dumplin' (2018)
53%
6.5/10Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)
50%
6.5/10Concrete Cowboy (2020)
67%
6.3/10The Fundamentals of Caring (2016)
55%
7.3/10Set It Up (2018)
62%
6.5/10Work It (2020)
58%
6.1/10The Princess Switch (2018)
6/10Always Be My Maybe (2019)
64%
6.8/10To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018)
64%
7/10
