I saw this post by Cup of Jo that recommended movies to watch with your family. The main criteria she gave were avoiding sex scenes and swearing – basically, anything that you would be uncomfortable watching with your parents (or grandparents!). However, I thought the list fell short of meeting those very two objectives! (See: Burn After Reading). So, I decided to make my own list – of movies that would ACTUALLY be appropriate for a family gathering.

I will say that some of these movies still have some moments that might be uncomfortable, however, they are short and not explicit. I can vouch that I have watched (almost all of) these with my parents (some of them many, many times) and wouldn’t feel bad doing so again. In addition, I have included a few other movies similar to each of my top picks.

P.S. If you’re looking for holiday movies, check out my ultimate Christmas movie list 🙂

My list…

Drama:

• The Prestige
  Similar: A Beautiful Mind, Good Will Hunting
  
• Shawshank Redemption
  Similar: Forrest Gump, the Intouchables
• Mr. Holland’s Opus
  Similar: West Side Story, Grease, Amadeus, The Sound of Music
• Joy
  Similar: The Blind Side, Inside Out, Jaws
• The Great Gatsby
  Similar: Pride & Prejudice, the Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Fairy Tales:

• The Wizard of Oz
  Similar: Oz the Great and Powerful, Alice in Wonderland (with Johnny Depp), Mary Poppins
• Harry Potter
  Similar: The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, Percy Jackson & The Olympians
  
• Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
  Similar: The Lorax, The Imaginarium of Dr. Paranassus
• Hook
  The Princess Bride, Shrek, A Little Princess
• The Chronicles of Narnia
  The Golden Compass, Stardust, The Neverending Story

Comedies:

• Young Frankenstein
  Similar: Robin Hood Men In Tights, Clue, The Cat in the Hat (with Mike Myers)
  
• Uncle Buck
  Similar: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, Cool Runnings, Mrs. Doubtfire, Heavyweights
  
• So I Married an Axe Murderer
  Similar: Wayne’s World, Napolean Dynamite, Liar Liar
  
• Fantastic Mr. Fox
  Similar: The BFG, The Emperor’s New Groove, Madagascar
• Zootopia
  Similar: Wreck it Ralph, Despicable Me, The Muppets

Romantic Comedies:

• Sweet Home Alabama
  Similar: 27 Dresses, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton
• Hitch
  Similar: You’ve Got Mail, Yes Man, Father of the Bride
• The Proposal
  10 Things I Hate About You, License to Wed
• Date Night
  Similar: Did You Hear About the Morgans?, The Bounty Hunter
• Bewitched
  Similar: Life As We Know It, Marley and Me, Midnight in Paris

Sci Fi:

• Tomorrowland
  Similar: Blade Runner, The Giver, Back to the Future, The Fifth Element
  
• Star Wars
  Similar: Star Trek, Ender’s Game
• Interstellar
  Similar: Gravity, the Martian, 2001
• Inception
  Similar: The Matrix, The Island, Minority Report
• Men in Black
  Similar: Ghostbusters, Back to the Future 2, Planet of the Apes

Action/Adventure:

• Mission Impossible
  Similar: Jason Bourne, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Lego Movie
• AntMan
  Similar: Captain America, Hancock, The Fantastic Four
• Duplicity
  Similar: The Adjustment Bureau, Now You See Me
• The Tourist
  Similar: Knight and Day, Mr. and Mrs. Smith
• Ocean’s 11
  Similar: The Italian Job, National Treasure

Enjoy family movie time! What would you add to the list?

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