Feel-Good Movies to Watch

My love for movies began as a child and I love the fact that for 90-120 minutes or so, I can escape into another world full of great characters. When I was a teenager, I had a secret dream of becoming an actress. But that was then, and now I enjoy watching the great actors and actresses that fill the screen on TV or in the movies.

I’ve watched a few good movies recently and I’d like to share a couple of them with you. If you haven’t already seen them, then go out and rent one (or buy one) or both this weekend! These two movies are a few years old, but they are wonderful, heart-warming movies. And keep your Kleenex box close by because you may shed a tear or two while watching them.

First up is We Bought A Zoo, featuring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johannson. Based on the 2008 memoir of the same name, this movie tells the story of how Benjamin Mee (Damon) and his family bought a dilapidated zoo, managed by Head Zookeeper Kelly Foster (Johansson), and together they work with a handful of dedicated workers to prepare the zoo to reopen to the public. You can check out the full details at IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1389137/).

Benjamin is a single father, raising two children – a 14-year-old-son and a 7-year-old daughter. In the movie, his wife is already deceased, which is one of the differences between the movie and “real life”, but I won’t go into the differences between the movie and the book. You can Google it and read more about Benjamin Mee if you want.

In the movie, Benjamin and his son, Dylan, have a strained relationship ever since the death of his mother. Mee’s daughter, Rosie, is thrilled with the fact that “we bought a zoo”, but Dylan is less than happy. But eventually father and son come together and Benjamin shares a powerful message with his son.

Benjamin Mee: You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it.

It is a heart-warming comedy-drama, with both funny and sad parts (you’ll need a box of Kleenex close by). It also shares the love story between Benjamin and his late wife, Katherine. At the end of the movie, Benjamin finally takes his children to the restaurant where he first met his wife and told them about the beginning of their love story (cue the Kleenex again).

Benjamin Mee: Why would an amazing woman like you even talk to someone like me?
Katherine Mee: Why not?

You’ll also find yourself wanting to visit the real zoo, the Dartmoor Zoological Park, located in Devon, England.

The next movie I watched is also inspired by true events. The Vow, featuring Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams, tells the story of Leo and Paige, a young couple who had been married for just a short time when an automobile accident puts Paige in a coma and she awakes with severe memory loss (or severe brain trauma). Leo then faces the challenge of trying to make his wife fall back in love with him. For more details, check it out on IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1606389/).

The beginning of the movie shows the automobile accident in which Paige is thrown through the front car window. In a voice-over, Leo talks about how “moments of impact help in finding who we are.” The movie then shows how Leo and Paige met. The past and present are interwoven throughout the movie, showing scenes of  how they courted,  proposed, and married.

Paige: I hope that one day I can love you the way you love me.
Leo: You figured it out once. You’ll do it again.

You’ll find yourself silently cheering  on a heart-broken Leo and hoping that Paige’s memory comes back and that she realizes how much she was in love with Leo.

The real-life couple this movie is based on – Kim and Krickitt Carpenter – are devout Christians and they took their vows seriously. It has been said that it was their love for God that ultimately saved their marriage. Their Christianity and their love for God was not featured in the movie, which I’m sure was a bit of a disappointment to the Carpenters.

Here are the vows from the movie:

Paige: I vow to help you love life, to always hold you with tenderness and to have the patience that love demands, to speak when words are needed and to share the silence when they are not and to live within the warmth of your heart and always call it home.
Leo: I vow to fiercely love you in all your forms, now and forever. I promise to never forget that this is a once in a lifetime love. I vow to love you, and no matter what challenges might carry us apart, we will always find a way back to each other.

I enjoy movies based on or inspired by true events and people. It gives viewers like me a brief glimpse into the lives or events of others.

So tell me… what is one of your favorite movies based on or inspired by true events or people? I’d love to hear from you!

Yours Truly,
Vanessa