5 Movie Night Picks for the Family

So you’ve finally gotten the family together all in one place at one time for…wait for it…Movie Night! But wait a minute. It’s one thing to go to a theater to catch a flick because it’s already rated. But at home? You’ve got to do a little research to make sure your choices are really family friendly. Melissa Locker is a writer and radio reporter in New York City. She interviews actors and filmmakers for papers and magazines such as The Guardian and Elle and can be heard each week on public radio show The Takeaway, reporting on TV and film. Locker asserts, “Movie night is long-standing tradition at my home and I love the challenge of finding a movie that we will all love, even though we all are different ages with different interests. One of my secrets is to dive into the past for old sci-fi films or animated features.” Here’s a handful of films that’ll fit the bill for everyone, young and not-so-young.


1. Bend it Like Beckham
This film is perfect for the tween (or pre-tween) soccer fan in your life. It’s filled with soccer, culture clashes, and parents and ‘tweens learning to understand each other. Foments a lot of discussion and is just plain fun to watch.


2. My Neighbor Totoro
This animated feature from master Hayao Miyazaki is about a friendly neighborhood forest God-shaped like a giant bunny-who helps two little girls through a hard time in their lives. Locker notes, “I’m a full-grown adult and it’s one of my all-time favorite movies!”


3. Godzilla
“The 1954 version is so much fun to watch with kids. It feels a little dangerous and thrilling, but is so fake that it’s not scary even for the little ones.”


4. The Iron Giant
Iron robots, little boys and adventure. But who could even guess that this movie could be such a tearjerker? It does have a happy ending but make sure you’ve got lots of Kleenex on hand for this one.


5. The Princess Bride
Locker says, “My family has watched this movie at least 20 times and no one is sick of it. There’s truly something for everyone with pirates, magic, giants, revenge, a fire swamp, and, yes, even romance.” As you wish.


Still not feeling it? Consider sing-a-long faves such as The Sound of Music and My Fair Lady. It may sound cheesy, but sing-a-longs not only help to bond you together, the act of singing releases endorphins that make you feel great. Even if you can’t sing your way out of a paper bag. You can thank us later.



Shelley Moench-Kelly, MBA, is a New England-based writer and editor whose freelance clients include Google, L’Oreal Paris and TheWeek.com.