The Best Feel-good Movies on Kanopy

What it's about: A warm, affecting comedy about a high school senior (Saoirse Ronan) who must navigate a loving but turbulent relationship with her strong-willed mother over the course of her eventful and poignant senior year of high school.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A father living in the forests of the Pacific Northwest with his six young kids tries to assimilate back into society.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Vampire housemates try to cope with the complexities of modern life and show a newly turned hipster some of the perks of being undead.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: An aspiring actor in Hollywood meets an enigmatic stranger by the name of Tommy Wiseau, the meeting leads the actor down a path nobody could have predicted; creating the worst movie ever made.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Two hillbillies are suspected of being killers by a group of paranoid college kids camping near the duo's West Virginian cabin. As the body count climbs, so does the fear and confusion as the college kids try to seek revenge against the pair.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Kanopy, Monsters Nightmares & Warriors Gangsters) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Sutter, a popular party animal, unexpectedly meets the introverted Aimee after waking up on a stranger's lawn. As Sutter deals with the problems in his life and Aimee plans for her future beyond school, an unexpected romance blossoms between them.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (fuboTV, Showtime & Kanopy), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Au revoir les enfants tells a heartbreaking story of friendship and devastating loss concerning two boys living in Nazi-occupied France. At a provincial Catholic boarding school, the precocious youths enjoy true camaraderie—until a secret is revealed. Based on events from writer-director Malle’s own childhood, the film is a subtle, precisely observed tale of courage, cowardice, and tragic awakening.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX, The Criterion Channel & Kanopy).

What it's about: A group of young Muslim men living in Sheffield decide to wage jihad, and they hatch an inept plan to become suicide bombers. Omar and Waj have a brief, disastrous run at a Pakistan training camp, while Faisal works on an unlikely scheme to train birds to carry bombs.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi, Plex & Vudu), stream on a subscription service (Hoopla, Kanopy & Warriors Gangsters) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: The life story of New Zealander Burt Munro, who spent years building a 1920 Indian motorcycle—a bike which helped him set the land-speed world record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Kanopy & Dox) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: The just out of college effete son of a no-nonsense steamboat captain comes to visit his father whom he's not seen since he was little.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi, PlutoTV & PopcornFlix), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Epix & Kanopy), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Google Play & Vudu).

What it's about: Despite his dedication to the junior-high students who fill his classroom, idealistic teacher Dan Dunne leads a secret life of addiction that the majority of his students will never know. But things change when a troubled student Drey makes a startling discovery of his secret life, causing a tenuous bond between the two that could either end disastrously or provide a catalyst of hope.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Hoopla, Kanopy & Cinemax), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Cinemax) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: A profile of Istanbul and its unique people, seen through the eyes of the most mysterious and beloved animal humans have ever known, the Cat.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (YouTube Premium & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Based on the international best selling book. The true feel good story of how James Bowen, a busker and recovering drug addict, had his life transformed when he met a stray ginger cat.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & Plex), stream on a subscription service (Hoopla, Kanopy & Up Faith Family) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A socially awkward teenage math prodigy finds new confidence and new friendships when he lands a spot on the British squad at the International Mathematics Olympiad.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Hoopla & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A suburban family is torn apart when fourteen-year-old Annie meets her first boyfriend online. After months of communicating via online chat and phone, Annie discovers her friend is not who he originally claimed to be. Shocked into disbelief, her parents are shattered by their daughter's actions and struggle to support her as she comes to terms with what has happened to her once innocent life.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi, PlutoTV, Peacock & 1 other), stream on a subscription service (Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Microsoft).

What it's about: Franck, a fit gay man, seeks love at a lakeside gay cruising beach. Among the mostly pudgy nude sunbathers, he befriends Henri, a depressed middle-aged bi-sexual who enjoys the quiet but accepts Franck's company. When Michel appears, Franck finally spots a man he'd like to know sexually. Unfortunately, he also spots him drowning his gay lover but opts not to tell anyone in order to consider having a relationship with this handsome yet remorseless killer.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Shudder, The Criterion Channel & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: Although living a comfortable life in Salon-de-Provence, a charming town in the South of France, Julie has been feeling depressed for a while. To please her, Philippe Abrams, a post office administrator, her husband, tries to obtain a transfer to a seaside town, on the French Riviera, at any cost. The trouble is that he is caught red-handed while trying to scam an inspector. Philippe is immediately banished to the distant unheard of town of Bergues, in the Far North of France...

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a subscription service (Kanopy) & rent or buy from $0.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: In 1980 the black Falashas in Ethiopia are recognised as genuine Jews and are secretly carried to Israel. The day before the transport the son of a Jewish mother dies. In his place and with his name (Schlomo) she takes a Christian 9-year-old boy.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi) & stream on a subscription service (Hoopla & Kanopy).

What it's about: Louise is dissatisfied with her mundane life in a bleak Parisian new-town. She rents a pied-à-terre in the city so she can experience independence.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Hoopla & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 3 services (Google Play, Prime Video & YouTube).

What it's about: A musical romantic tragedy about a famous composer who moves back to his small hometown after having had heart troubles. His search for a simple everyday life leads him into teaching the local church choir which is not easily accepted by the town yet the choir builds a great love for their teacher.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Kanopy).

What it's about: In the late 1970s, when a mentally handicapped teenager is abandoned, a gay couple takes him in and becomes the family he's never had. But once the unconventional living arrangement is discovered by authorities, the men must fight the legal system to adopt the child.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Fandor, Hoopla & 1 other) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: Charts the troubled teenage years of students Yuichi Hasumi and Shusuke Hoshino, exploring the shifting and complex power dynamics of their relationship against the backdrop of Yuichi's love for the dreamy and abstract music of fictional pop star Lily Chou-Chou.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a subscription service (Hoopla & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: Jake is a quiet, sensitive middle schooler with dreams of being an artist. He meets the affably brash Tony at his grandfather's funeral, and the unlikely pair soon hit it off. The budding friendship is put at risk, however, when a rent dispute between Jake's father, Brian, and Tony's mother, Leonor, threatens to become contentious.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu, Hoopla & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Set in the year 2024 in post-apocalyptic America, 18-year old Vic and his telepathic dog, Blood, are scavengers in the desolate wilderness ravaged by World War IV, where survivors must battle for food, shelter, and sexual companionship in the desert-like wasteland. Vic and Blood eke out a meager existence, foraging for food and fighting gangs of cutthroats.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi, PlutoTV, Vudu & 3 others), stream on a subscription service (Hoopla, Kanopy & Shout Factory TV) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 2 services (Prime Video & Microsoft).

What it's about: Four couples meet for Sunday brunch only to discover they are stuck in a house together as the world may be about to end.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Hulu & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Peter Winter is a young schizophrenic who is desperately trying to get his daughter back from her adoptive family. He attempts to function in a world that, for him, is filled with strange voices, electrical noise, disconcerting images, and jarringly sudden emotional shifts. During his quest, he runs afoul of the law and an ongoing murder investigation.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (The Criterion Channel & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Prime Video).

What it's about: A man planning to commit suicide hires a taxi driver to take him to his jumping-off point.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Kanopy) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A young woman who dreams of being a children's author makes an unlikely friendship with a cantankerous, rich old widower.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi, PlutoTV & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Hector is a quirky psychiatrist who has become increasingly tired of his humdrum life. As he tells his girlfriend, Clara, he feels like a fraud: he hasn’t really tasted life, and yet he’s offering advice to patients who are just not getting any happier. So Hector decides to break out of his deluded and routine driven life. Armed with buckets of courage and child-like curiosity, he embarks on a global quest in hopes of uncovering the elusive secret formula for true happiness. And so begins a larger than life adventure with riotously funny results.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Hoopla & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Morvern Callar wakes on Christmas morning to discover that her troubled boyfriend has died by suicide, leaving behind the unpublished manuscript to his first novel and a sum of money intended to pay for his burial. Instead, Morvern attempts to use both to reinvent her life.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Kanopy).

What it's about: A reporter and a blind retired journalist try to solve a series of murders. The crimes are connected to experiments by a pharmaceutical company in secret research. The two end up becoming targets of the killer.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Shudder & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A recent widow invites her husband's troubled best friend to live with her and her two children. As he gradually turns his life around, he helps the family cope and confront their loss.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Three years after his wife, acclaimed photographer Isabelle Reed, dies in a car crash, Gene keeps everyday life going with his shy teenage son, Conrad. A planned exhibition of Isabelle’s photographs prompts Gene's older son, Jonah, to return to the house he grew up in - and for the first time in a very long time, the father and the two brothers are living under the same roof.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Plex), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Xavier is a 40-year-old father of two who still finds life very complicated. When the mother of his children moves to New York, he can't bear them growing up far away from him and so he decides to move there as well.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Kanopy) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: On a trip to Big Sur, two friends, both actresses, try to reconnect with one another. Once alone, the women's suppressed jealousies and deep-seated resentments begin to rise, causing them to lose their grasp on not only the true nature of their relationship, but also their identities.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Plex, Vudu, PopcornFlix & 1 other), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, The Criterion Channel & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: El Bola, a 12 year old boy a.k.a. "Pellet" is a 12 year old boy raised in a violent and sordid environment. Embarrassed by his family life, he avoids becoming close to classmates. The arrival of a new boy at school changes his attitude towards his classmates, and friendship. The heart of the story is the change in El Bola's life, at almost all levels, after befriending this new classmate. Written by ElianaM

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Kanopy) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Prime Video).

What it's about: A tale of the World War I love affair, begun in Italy, between American ambulance driver Lt. Frederic Henry and British nurse Catherine Barkley. Eventually separated by Frederic's transfer, tremendous challenges and difficult decisions face each as the war rages on.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Epix, Hoopla & 3 others), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: Two friends named Gerry become lost in the desert after taking a wrong turn. Their attempts to find their way home only lead them into further trouble.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi, PlutoTV, Peacock & 2 others), stream on a subscription service (Hoopla & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: A woman discovers her husband has another family in another city.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Epix, Fandor & 1 other), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: The world is closing in on Greta Driscoll. On the cusp of turning fifteen she can't bear to leave her childhood, it contains all the things that give her comfort in this incomprehensible new world. She floats in a bubble of loserdom with her only friend Elliott, until her parents throw her a surprise 15th birthday party and she's flung into a parallel place; a world that's weirdly erotic, a little bit violent and thoroughly ludicrous - only there can she find herself.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Kanopy & Sundance Now) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: The story of the women on the KLM flight that won the 1953 Air Race from London to Christchurch, New Zealand.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Hoopla & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: A fisherman and a rising lawyer who grew up as brothers fall in love with the same woman.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Kanopy).

What it's about: Kati and Steffi have been best friends since they were six. Now they're both 17 and enjoying the ups and downs of becoming adults together. While Kati's parents are religious and conservative, but argue constantly, Steffi comes from what appears to be a harmonious and liberal family. But the girls discover how quickly their attractive world can fall apart when, at a hip nightclub, they happen to see Steffi's father in the arms of another woman. Steffi is shocked, her trust in her small perfect world shaken to the core. She can only think of one thing: revenge.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Kanopy).

What it's about: Two teenage best friends growing up in a forgotten British seaside town. When a mysterious new girl comes between them the friendship is torn apart and their lives are changed forever.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Hoopla & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $0.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).