Try watching a movie this holiday season that will remind you that living in an eclectic, eccentric, sometimes emotionally messy, all-over-the-place family can be pretty darn funny and beautiful.
- My favorite wacky family feel-good movie is Little Miss Sunshine
. I own it (in fact, Kathy and the kids gave it to me for my birthday) so now I can pull it out whenever I want a little wacky family movie therapy.
- The original Yours, Mine and Ours is also worth checking out. It’s about a widow and a widower, both with very large families, who court and marry. Think Brady Bunch, but a little more poignant and starring Lucille Ball.
- My Family and Other Animals is about a single-parent family in the 1930’s that moves from England to a Greek island as seen from the perspective of the youngest son who can’t seem to stop collecting animals. (The book this movie is based on is even more warm and wonderful.)
- I liked The Family Stone, although lots of people hated it, and it’s debatable as to whether the end makes you feel good or not, so take this recommendation with a grain of salt.
- About a Boy is the story of a rich, idle guy who doesn’t want a serious relationship and who starts dating single moms thinking they’ll be easy targets, but who ends up transforming and being transformed by the people he meets, and being folded into their families.
Tags: blended families, holiday tips, single parent families, stepfamilies
Posted in Holidays, Movies, TV & music
One of my most twisted traits is that, when I’m depressed, I invariably watch the most depressing movie I can find. For many years this was “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” with Liz Taylor and Richard Burton. It still brings tears to my eyes — but in awe of its incredibly amazing writing. I have found that art — in whatever form it truly and deeply moves you — is the single most profound cure for any kind of psychic pain. See a movie, walk in nature, read your favorite poetry. Whatever it is, let the universe soothe you through its magic.