As my daughter packs for her first semester of college, I’ve become a little sentimental and have thought about some of the special times we’ve spent together recently. We have visited The Guggenheim Museum, The Frick Collection, the Cape May Zoo and downtown Cape May. We’ve gone out to eat, walked in parks, and, of course, done more than a little shopping together. We have also sat on the couch together watching movies.
The bulk of the movies we have viewed are those typical chick-flick, romantic comedies that the guys in our family aren’t interested in. So this simple and easy activity has become the perfect mother-daughter bonding experience for us. We’ve laughed at the same time, shed a tear or two, rolled our eyes, smiled and rhetorically commented on the plot. Here’s what we have been enjoying:
These fun-to-watch romantic comedies and dramadies will allow for a little escapism with your girl:
Eat Pray Love
Leap Year
When in Rome
Letters to Juliet
Marley & Me
Bounty Hunter
The Devil Wears Prada
Monster-in-law
Valentine’s Day
Looking for something different? Try anime. My daughter introduced me to Japanese anime feature films by legendary director Hayao Miyazaki years ago and we’ve been watching them over and over. Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli movies are known for their beautiful art, original music, and touching stories. Some of his films are more appropriate for older audiences, but the titles listed below are perfect for all ages:
My Neighbor Totoro
Ponyo
The Secret World of Arrietty
Whisper of the Heart
Kiki’s Delivery Service
Finding it difficult to agree on what to watch? You can never go wrong with five-star classics, especially when Grant, Bogart, Bergman, and Hepburn are involved. We’ve watched many, but these epic love stories are a must for any mother-daughter movie marathon:
North by Northwest
The African Queen
Casablanca
And here are a few we enjoyed that the men in your family might be willing to join in on:
Les Miserables
Akeelah and the Bee
August Rush
We’re the Millers
As summer winds down, the sun sets earlier, and you find yourself with more time indoors, consider gathering with your loved ones and popping in one of these DVDs. As entertaining as the storylines themselves can be, having that shared experience of viewing the films together can be the most memorable, fun, and meaningful part of it all.