January 10th, 2022

Movies That Motivate

Get your ass in gear. New year. New you. Assuming that we all haven’t completely fallen off of the new year’s resolutions after a couple days but may already be teetering, this week addresses the 850-lb. gorilla in the room. Yeah, the gorilla gained a 50 spot over the holidays, too. We’re mixing up the movies to get us going, remember how minuscule some of our problems can be in comparison to others and good ole get your butt up off the couch flicks.

Somewhere along the way over the past few years movies like Brittany Runs a Marathon seemingly come and go with little-to-no fanfare. In fairness, there may never have been a time when the story of a young woman looking to make big life changes including her weight and health would have ruled the box-office but this one seemingly came and went. However, this movie deserves another look from you, especially during this time of year of resolutions, decisions and setbacks. Jillian Bell toes the line of despair and heartache with grace and humor that will just make you feel better. The journey Jillian’s character goes feels authentic. Painful and real. The performance (and movie) feel like one we’d like to keep around for some time throughout this year because you know what, we’ll probably need it.

There are valid feeling this time of year. Then there those feelings we toss around the water cooler or awkward silences of Zoom meetings. For those of us who guide ourselves into the latter part of the statement, let’s all listen to Cher in Moonstruck and “Snap outta it!” because there are real things in the world to tackle, make better and true, lasting suffering. Someday our hope is for a curated film festival which looks at 2020 through the lens of movies, the lack of new releases and resuscitation of others. Just Mercy delivers a grounded performance from Michael B. Jordan and some of the most effective courtroom scenes, as well as heartbreaking prison scenes in recent memory. When we find ourselves down over the next few weeks, a movie to motivate is Just Mercy.