You know when you desperately need a pick-me-up, and the wrong movie might truly send you careening off the deep end? What hopefully inspirational movie to stick on after dinner becomes a very weighty choice indeed. Never fear, though, because we understand the extra importance that cinematic vibes curation acquires on days like these.
What are we looking for, folks? Joie de vivre, unmatched joie de vivre. Here are the 15 best inspirational movies, available to stream now, that feel like a dose of motivation aimed straight at the serotonin centre. Films that will inspire you to run forth into the warm embrace of life, chasing art, chasing passion, chasing love; films that feel like pure and delightful hits of adrenaline that blast the scales of existential ennui from your eyes. The movies are good. Life is good.
The 15 best inspirational movies of all time
15. Whip It (2009)
Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut asks the universal question: What if you’re a teenage girl from a conservative small town who just wants to get pummelled into the ground by a bunch of women in roller skates? Elliot Page stars as a teenager on the precipice of adulthood, torn between keeping the peace with her overbearing pageant mom and breaking free and actually figuring out who she really is. On the way, she discovers roller derby, as well as the community of badass women who make up its roster. If you’re ever feeling stuck on a track that’s fast becoming harder to get off, Whip It will reinforce that you can always find someone to clothesline you onto the ground and push you in the direction.
