The new year always creeps up on us faster than we expect. One minute we’re wearing shorts, the next we’re not even supposed to wear white pants: It’s a vicious cycle. The end of the year does have its merits, however. We can, for example, slow down some, spend time with loved ones, and enjoy a bit of Netflix: Here are a few series and films the Queue team recommends.
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY
Rob Reiner’s When Harry Met Sally is the gold standard in rom-coms. The film begins when two college acquaintances, Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan), have a not so “meet cute” after graduation on a cross-country ride share. They start off hating each other but over the course of the next twelve years, find themselves endlessly bumping into each other and end up loving one another for eternity. New York City should have won a Best Supporting Oscar for its contribution to the film, and its wall-to-wall iconic scenes, thanks to a razor-sharp Nora Ephron script — there’s the “I’ll have what she’s having,” featuring Sally, seated in the middle of a busy Katz’s Deli with Harry, showing how to fake an orgasm. Or my personal favorite, with Carrie Fisher as the best friend, Marie, carrying around in her purse a Rolodex (an analog artifact if there ever was one) of potential bachelors, and when one of them marries she simply dog-ears the corner and places the card back in the Rolodex then delivers the ultimate Ephron stinger: “The right man for you might be out there right now, and if you don’t grab him, someone else will, and you’ll have to spend the rest of your life knowing that someone else is married to your husband.” This year, the film was added to the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry, forever enshrined in the pantheon of cinematic and cultural history. Happy New Year’s everyone!
— Krista Smith
WEDNESDAY
Few of us have as terrifying a reason for a fresh start as the title character in Miles Millar and Alfred Gough’s Wednesday. After getting expelled for setting piranhas on the water polo team, Wednesday (played brilliantly by Jenna Ortega) begrudgingly starts school at her parents’ (Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzmán) alma mater, Nevermore Academy, much to their delight. Somehow piranhas are just the start of spooky challenges the eponymous character faces throughout the eight episodes; Wednesday soon finds herself busy solving a gruesome murder mystery, perfecting her killer dance moves, and serving unrelenting sarcasm at every turn. If only I had a trusty appendage like Thing by my side, I might able to keep some of my resolutions past the first month of the new year.
— Brookie McIlvaine
PHANTOM THREAD
Paul Thomas Anderson’s mysteriously thrilling romance follows the opulent and perfectionist fashion designer Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis), a forever bachelor, as he finds himself falling in love with local waitress Alma (Vicky Krieps). Their courtship is not uncomplicated, and Alma begins to resent Reynolds and his innate need for control at all times. This dynamic comes to a head on New Year’s Eve, when Alma proclaims, “I want to go dancing.” When Reynolds refuses to acknowledge her request, Alma leaves for a party anyway, leaving him alone in his empty manor, an environment he is not unfamiliar with. Left to his own devices, the designer stews and ultimately storms off to find Alma at the party, where he ends up just watching her from a distance as she dances on her own into the night, having more fun without him, amongst a raucous affair full of balloons, party dresses, papier-mâché elephants, and more. Anderson, with his hazy cinematography and a haunting score by Jonny Greenwood, reminds us that sometimes it’s best to stay home on New Year’s Eve.
—Jenny Changnon
NOTTING HILL
If “finding The One” is on your New Year’s resolution list, you may be in the mood for one of the all-time great romantic films to inspire you. Look no further than 1999’s Notting Hill. The Richard Curtis-penned rom-com brings the 90s’ two favorite singles Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts together as soulmates Will and Anna. Will is a bookseller who lives with a quirky roommate in a charming house with a blue door in Notting Hill; Anna is the biggest movie star on the planet (okay, maybe not the hardest role that Roberts has ever had to research). It’s the film with the most iconic line in romantic comedy history (“I’m just a girl . . . standing in front of a boy . . . asking him to love her.”). If only you could have Richard Curtis write your dating app message responses you might just see your resolution come true by January 2nd.
— Madeleine Saaf Welsh
SEX AND THE CITY: THE MOVIE
When it came time to reunite Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon), and Charlotte York (Kristin Davis) after their iconic series came to a close in 2004, viewers, myself included, watched 2008’s Sex and the City: The Movie with bated breath, as we were finally going to witness the happy ending to all our favorite cosmopolitan-sipping darlings’ love stories. Of course, the movie’s writer-director Michael Patrick King had other ideas, and we all know how that worked out. While the women were picking up the pieces in their respective lives — left at the altar, a cheating husband, breaking water on a sidewalk, and rediscovering independence — we’re reminded of the magic of what drew fans to the series from the beginning: the power of friendship. In a heartstring-plucking scene on New Year’s Eve, Carrie rushes downtown on the subway through the snow and icy sidewalks to be at the side of Miranda who is in the midst of an existential crisis as she questions how she got back to spending the oft-fraught with disappointment holiday alone. It’s a reminder that no matter what happens, your chosen family, if chosen correctly, will always be there to support you. And as the ladies toast their signature cocktail in honor of Samantha’s fiftieth birthday, we pan out to a final voice-over from the singular, central sex columnist — “And there, in the same city where they met as girls, four New York women entered the next phase of their lives dressed head to toe in love. And that’s the one label that never goes out of style.” What else is there to say other than goals.
—Ryan G. Smith
EASY-BAKE BATTLE: THE HOME COOKING COMPETITION
There are plenty of pain points around New Year’s Eve planning: What are you gonna wear? How much champagne should you buy? WHO ARE YOU GONNA KISS? The menu shouldn’t be stressful. Check out Easy-Bake Battle: The Home Cooking Competition hosted by the tasty snack Antoni Porowski for some tips on how to make delicious food without the stress. (Thank you, Rachael Ray and Sandra Lee for your heroic trailblazing.) In Season 1, they do a New Year’s Eve challenge where each of the three contestants has 30 minutes to produce three different passed appetizer options. That’s NINE easy options for your fete. You’re welcome.
—Blaine Zuckerman
SOMEONE GREAT
Three years ago, I scrolled through Twitter and tapped into the latest viral moment. It was a clip from the 2019 Netflix rom-com Someone Great. In the clip, Jenny, played by Gina Rodriguez, danced in her NYC apartment with her best friend, chanting, “Why men great till they gotta be great,” an iconic line from Lizzo’s massive hit record, “Truth Hurts.” The song and scene went on to define an era in music and film.
Pop music prophet Lizzo rapped — and grief-stricken Jenny lip-synced — about heartbreak and disappointment like an incantation that soothed the internet. It was a cherished reminder that misfortune often ushers in a new slate of opportunity and, sometimes, a little magic. Years later, Someone Great is still great, which is why I revisit the film every year, often around New Year’s Eve. I’m a sucker for a “new beginnings” narrative.
— Chris McPherson
ENOLA HOLMES 2
What better way to kick off the new year than borrowing a little inspiration from Millie Bobby Brown’s intrepid, upbeat sleuth? Even when the odds are stacked against her — and they so often are — Sherlock’s enterprising younger sister never gives up (it’s just the sort of stick-to-itiveness required to make good on all those resolutions). The sequel to 2020’s hit sees Enola having a tough time making a go of it operating her own detective agency, until a young girl arrives seeking help finding her missing sister. Inspired by the real-world history of the famous Match Girls’ strike of 1888, the case takes Enola all across London, including a stop at her brother’s iconic Baker Street address, where she begins to realize that perhaps having a partner on her side might be exactly what she needs to broaden her horizons. Adventure, self-actualization, personal growth — three key ingredients for any successful new year.
—Gina McIntyre
THE HOUSE
Rather than gussy ourselves up for a night on the town on New Year’s Eve, some of us, the Wednesday Addamses of the world, prefer to curl up next to a roaring fireplace in complete solitude to reread Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle for the umpteenth time. Immersing oneself in a gothic story, with all of the genre’s dark social commentary, is the best way I know of to slow down, take account of the past year, and realign priorities for the one to come. The House, a collection of three stop-motion tales that chronicle the macabre past, present, and future of a house, embodies the gothic novel onscreen. Each of the lusciously creepy stories was developed by a different set of animators and features distinct characters — humans, rats, and cats — but all consider our role in society in meaningful ways. As if that weren’t enough, the ensemble of voice characters includes Mia Goth, Helena Bonham Carter, Will Sharpe, and Jarvis Cocker. If dead trees in a snow-covered field are your aesthetic or if you’re in the mood for particularly well-done stop-motion after viewing Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, consider The House.
—Miranda Tsang
FROM SCRATCH
From Scratch is a sentimental romance that explores what it means to love and be loved. Based on Tembi Locke’s memoir of the same name, this series follows Texan artist Amy, played by Zoe Saldaña, as she studies in Italy and falls for Italian chef Lino (Eugenio Mastrandrea). Lino follows Amy back to L.A., where they begin their lives together and figure out the struggles of early adulthood. There could have been a version of this series that only focused on the whirlwind nature of Amy and Lino’s romance and the realities faced by two people from entirely different cultures and backgrounds doing their best to make their new lives work. Instead, From Scratch focuses on the struggles and the small moments in between, and on the grief (and growth) of caring for a terminally ill loved one. The series highlights the beauty and bittersweet moments of love. If you’re in the mood to indulge your emotions, this series will provide the weepy hug that you need.
—Morgan Johnson
BULLET TRAIN
Ready to start the new year off with a bang? Bullet Train might be just the ticket. Packed to the brim with non-stop action, epic fight sequences, and plenty of laughs, it’s an adrenaline-fueled ride that will send you sailing into the new year. Brad Pitt plays Ladybug, an amiable assassin who’s determined to carry out his job peacefully after having one too many assignments go wrong. But when his handler tasks him with retrieving a mysterious briefcase aboard a bullet train, his plans to remain non-violent are quickly derailed by a lineup of deadly opponents. Pitt stars opposite Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, and Hiroyuki Sanada. But keep an eye out for more famous faces to make appearances along the way!
—Isabel Aurichio
LAST CHANCE U: BASKETBALL
There’s something about the drama of a sports documentary that feels particularly inspiring in its exhilaration. Yet as much as I loved The Last Dance, the 10-part documentary that recounts Michael Jordan’s final season with the Chicago Bulls and the team’s journey to win their sixth championship, Last Chance U: Basketball offers something that’s just as thrilling albeit somewhat more humble. While the rewards are nowhere near an NBA championship title, for coach John Mosley and the East Los Angeles Huskies the stakes feel even higher. We follow the real-world circumstances and moments of misfortune that have landed these once-promising players in a junior college basketball program: Some of them failed too many courses at top-tier Division One universities while others are just starting out against daunting odds. Regardless of the direction of their trajectory, each player on the team carries a story that’s sobering in its determination and grace. The second season of Last Chance U: Basketball is a solid option for New Year’s viewing if you’re seeking some motivation and gratitude to start off the year.
—Deidre Dyer