Nostalgia is high during social distancing, especially if you’re at your family home. Here’s a list of the best movies to watch when you’re feeling nostalgic, from tear-jerkers to a lighthearted “chick flick” from the early 2000’s. If all else fails, there’s always Gossip Girl to re-watch.  

1. The Outsiders 

Reading The Outsiders was a defining moment in my early teens that changed the way I felt about literature.  Even the class clowns of eighth grade English doted on the film and only half-ironically wrote “stay gold” in our yearbooks as we graduated middle school. 

With sunsets, drive-ins, and young love, the movie adaptation enhances the nostalgia of the tragic story. The soundtrack adds bluesy and soulful elements, as it includes songs by Elvis, Van Morrison, and Stevie Wonder. The cast successfully brings the brotherly band of characters to life, especially Matt Dillon with his heart-wrenching portrayal of Dally. 

Few movies can encapsulate nostalgic moments like the famous scene where Ponyboy reads Johnny’s letter with the line, “Nothing gold can stay.” While the movie sometimes gets criticized for being too sentimental, I think it recreates the heightened feelings of adolescent-hood and simply has the signature corniness and punch that defines most 80’s movies. I mean, what’s more 80’s than a fight scene with Patrick Swayze in it?

Sad scale: 10

2. Dead Poets Society  

This dark academia film starring Robin Williams reminds us of what’s really important in life, which is appropriate for this time of reflection. Williams plays Mr. Keating, who says, “We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race, and the human race is filled with passion. Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life, but poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.” 

Keating brings passion to the classroom and rejects the stuffy textbooks of the elite boarding school, even telling his class to rip out pages from it. He instead encourages them all to be dedicated to “sucking the marrow out of life.” Keating’s teaching methods are unorthodox, as he stands on desks to “see things from another point of view.” I love the moment when he tells the timid Todd Anderson, played by Ethan Hawke, to yell the word “Gawp” and has him create a poem on the spot inspired by the picture of Walt Whitman hung up in the classroom. 

While the students are initially skeptical and impartial to these efforts, they grow into these lessons and become profoundly impacted by them in their personal lives. My favorite scene is when they stand on top of their desks and exclaim, “O Captain, my Captain.” 

A terrible loss occurs in this movie that shows how tragic it is when parents don’t support their children’s dreams. However, the message is a hopeful one that is deeply rooted in humanity. This movie makes me nostalgic about teachers that have changed my life and reminds me of how the virus has highlighted the importance of the arts and poetry.  

Sad Scale: 8 

3. Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette is the most visually appealing movie I’ve seen. Its indulgent texture is something I love to revisit by listening to the soundtrack while driving and having the movie playing in the background when I’m writing. The diverse playlist, ranging from opuses to The Cure, gives the movie a modern twist and a sense of immediacy. 

Kirsten Dunst nails Marie Antoinette’s evasiveness and mystery (clearly a Scorpio). She portrays Marie as having good intentions with a fun and vibrant aura, which keeps her from being a one-dimensional character or the villain that history portrays her as. Most of her communication is non-verbal and subtle—almost like she’s letting the audience in on a secret—so I get something different from the movie every time I watch it. The viewer gets glimpses of who Marie was as they’re lulled into the world that lies behind her fortress of champagne towers and towering bouffants. 

Behind increasing silence, mounting expectations, and the repetitive scenes that show her daily activities blending together (which hits pretty close to home right now), you can feel the weight of her strained married life as well as the momentary sense of freedom she gains through opulence and endless partying. One of my favorite nostalgic scenes in any movie is when she runs through the halls of Versailles with angst after the man she’s in love with leaves for war and “What Ever Happened” by The Strokes plays in the background. This movie pulls at your heart-strings, as Marie is nostalgic for experiences she’s never had. It is simultaneously fulfilling and hollow, while being mesmerizing throughout. 

Sad scale: 6 

4. Sabrina (1954)

This classic black and white film, starring Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, is a commentary on romanticism and nostalgia itself. Hepburn plays Sabrina Fairchild, who Bogart’s character, Linus, describes as “the last of the romantics.” While he initially uses this quality to deceive her, he later finds himself falling in love. 

The romantic scenes are bittersweet, as the audience knows that Linus is manipulating Sabrina. Still, it isn’t hard to see behind his cold demeanor down to the feelings he’s repressing. Although he makes assertions like, “I always make it a point to have control,” he lets his guard down as the movie progresses and is softened by her emotional nature. 

One of my favorite scenes is when Sabrina and Linus go boating and discuss sentimentality, which is prompted by Sabrina expressing that Paris is made for lovers. Linus responds by saying, “Maybe that’s why I stayed there for only thirty five minutes.”

He brings up a past heartbreak and asks, “Sabrina, do you find it hard to believe someone might want to blot out everything, for sentimental reasons?” This line reminds us that romanticism is what almost destroyed Sabrina and Linus during their past heartbreaks, but it’s also what saved Sabrina. Sentiment and nostalgia is what carries people through tough times, even though it’s painful. Sabrina is strong because she refuses to look away. 

I also love their dance scene, which is followed by the car ride where Sabrina sings “La Vie En Rose,” which translates into seeing life through rose-colored glasses. She developed this trait during her trip to Paris, which is made apparent in her stylish clothes and poodle, as well as her newfound confidence and capacity to dream larger. Her father, a chauffer for Linus and David Larabee, had always told Sabrina not to reach for the moon. Before going to Paris, she agreed with him. After returning from Paris, she said, “The moon is reaching for me.”

My overall favorite scene and movie quote is when Sabrina sits at her desk in Paris to write a letter to her father and says, “I have learned how to live. How to be in the world and of the world, and not just stand aside and watch. And I will never, ever run away from life. Or from love, either.”

Sabrina is filled with satire and wraps up with a happy ending, which carries the romantic and hopeful tone throughout the sad moments. The movie is a beautiful reminder to keep your heart open, even after disappointment and heartbreak. 

Sad scale: 4 

5. Legally Blonde

Thanks to Legally Blonde, I had a feminist awakening at the age of five.  Thanks to my mom’s good taste in movies, I have nostalgic memories of laughing with her while recreating the iconic “bend and snap” scene. This fun movie brings out the more positive emotions associated with nostalgia, as many millennials and Gen Z-ers saw Reese Witherspoon’s character, Elle Woods, as a role model growing up. 

Elle is a kind-hearted and ambitious sorority girl who decides to apply to Harvard Law School after a breakup. She doesn’t allow any doubt to creep in: “I don’t need a back-up,” she says, “I’m going to Harvard.”

With her hilarious admissions video scene, she defies society’s expectations and embraces everything about herself that others would see as vapid and unintelligent due to her femininity. I love when her ex, Warner, spots her at Harvard for the first time. He asks, “You got into Harvard Law?” She responds by saying, “What, like it’s hard?” 

The cast includes Selma Blair as Vivian Kensington, Warner’s new girlfriend, Holland Taylor as Professor Stromwell, and Jennifer Coolidge as Paulette.

Though Elle got off on the wrong foot with Professor Stromwell, she later expresses support for Elle when she considers quitting the internship due to Professor Callahan’s inappropriate advances, saying, “If you’re going to let one stupid prick ruin your life, you’re not the girl I thought you were.” 

The court scene where Elle runs Callahan out and wins the case through her knowledge of hair care is my favorite, besides the nostalgic graduation scene where Elle gives her speech as the valedictorian. Vivian breaks up with Warner and becomes best friends with Elle, which shows her denial of internalized misogyny that says other women are your competition. 

This uplifting movie is a reminder to use rejection as motivation and to believe in yourself enough to work towards your goals when the odds are stacked against you. It also speaks of the importance of sisterhood in difficult times and its ability in helping you to overcome obstacles. This is great to brush up on before the premiere of the sequel, Legally Blonde 3!  

Sad scale: 2

Kelly Canaday loves to practice chess moves and envision a utopia. Her work has been featured in NPR Interviews, Into The Void, Twist in Time, The Writers’ Cafe Magazine, Poetica Publishing’s Mizmor Anthology, and The Sagebrush Review. She has upcoming publications in Saw Palm and Blood Orange.

This article was edited by EIC Kailah Figueroa.