If we’re being honest, deployment can sometimes be a time to indulge in ways you usually wouldn’t. I mean, that manicure– you totally deserve it. And the bowl of ice cream in your lap? It’s better than crying in bed (and tastes better, too). One of those places we usually indulge is our TV choice. After all, you don’t need to share the remote. You don’t have to compromise. You can watch How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days back to back to back if you want to. (Which, no judgement, I may have done.)
Scroll through these movie suggestions if you need something to watch tonight. (And make sure you see the suggestions from other milspouses and milsos at the bottom!) The affiliate links go to rental links on Amazon and help keep Jo, My Gosh! running.
If you want to laugh…
- Pitch Perfect
- Bridesmaids
- Anchorman (The original, duh!)
- Magruber
- The Hangover
- The 40-Year-Old Virgin
- The LEGO Movie
- Superbad
- Dodgeball
- Role Models
- Cool Runnings
- Date Night
- Chicken Run
- Wedding Crashers
- Napoleon Dynamite
- Stepbrothers
- Men in Black
- Christmas Vacation
- Finding Nemo
- Ghostbusters
- The Princess Bride
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail
- Some Like it Hot
- Night at the Museum
- 21 Jump Street
- The Other Guys
If you want to cry…
- Little Women
- It’s a Wonderful Life
- Sleepless in Seattle
- Philadelphia
- Forrest Gump
- The Shawshank Redemption
- Life is Beautiful
- Casablanca
- My Dog Skip
- Pan’s Labyrinth
- Precious
- E.T.
- Marley & Me
- Old Yeller
- The Color Purple
- Dead Poets Society
- 12 Years a Slave
- Rent
If you want to go to a galaxy far, far away…
- Star Wars (Bonus points if you watch all of them!)
- The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
- Harry Potter… all of them, of course!
- The Hunger Games
- Men in Black
- The Incredibles
- Back to the Future
- The Matrix
- How to Train Your Dragon
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- The Maze Runner
- The Divergent series
- Big Fish
If you want to indulge…
- Gone With the Wind
- Singin’ in the Rain
- Every Toy Story Ever.
- Up
- The Lion King
- The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- Lawrence of Arabia
- Frozen
- The Wizard of Oz
- Jaws
- The King’s Speech
- Beauty and the Beast
- Ben-Hur
- Fried Green Tomatoes
- Hocus Pocus
- Eat Pray Love
If you’re feeling lonely…
- Magic Mike
- Every Nicholas Sparks movie ever (even though I hate them all!)
- Remember the Titans (Oh, Denzel…)
- Cool Hand Luke
- The Sting
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Yes, I obviously have a thing for Robert Redford and Paul Newman…)
- Rebel Without a Cause
- Pride and Prejudice
- Wuthering Heights
- Atonement
- Charlie St. Cloud
- Their Eyes Were Watching God
- Titanic
If you just want to watch stuff blow up…
- The Dark Knight
- Fight Club
- The Departed
- Braveheart
- X-Men
- Jurassic Park
- National Treasure
- Captain America
- The Avengers
- The Indiana Jones series
- Armegeddeon
- The Expendables
- The A-Team
- Iron Man
- American Gangster
Suggested by other milspouses and milsos…
- “Twilight Saga… Ssshhhh!” -Edith
- “10 Things I hate about you and Dirty Dancing are my two guilty pleasures.” -Heather from Only Passionate Curiosity
- “Little Women, Love Actually, Harry Potter, most comedic movies to keep me laughing. And usually movies I had watched first before we met. Then I don’t connect it to a date or something.” -Tracy
- ” I like to watch real tearjerkers when I’ve hit my deployment wall for the emotional release. Steel Magnolias is an oldie but a tear-jerking goodie!”- Jodi from Back on Land
- “PS I love you! Always my favorite!” -Miranda
- “Dear John is a favorite!” -Amy
- “I’m an Audrey Hepburn girl. Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Roman Holiday…”-Rayna
- “Catch and Release.” -Lauren
- “I pull out all my Jane Austen’s – the million hour long A&E Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion. Then for added fun I’ll end it with a viewing of The Jane Austen Book Club!” -Rheanna from Cammo Style Love
- “Musicals! The king and I, sound of music, etc!” -Becca
- “Disney movies especially The Little Mermaid and Mulan. Dirty Dancing and any Cary Grant movies; also Casablanca.” -Aracely from Faith Hope & Love Life
- “Mine was P.S. I love you and how to lose a guy in ten days.” -Lisa
- “I’m a Disney girl. Any Classic Disney helps me escape reality for a bit…Beauty and the Beast is my favorite!” -Erin from Many Kind Regards
- “All of lifetime movie network. Can you really pick just one movie from there? I think not.” Krista from Army Wife Style
- “Dear John or anything by Nicholas Sparks. I know… I know! Sometimes you need a good cry!” Mallory from My Camo Painted Canvas
- “Any movie my husband makes fun of me for and refuses to watch – Dirty Dancing, Love Actually, and pretty much every chick flick that comes out on DVD while he is gone. No action movies for me!” Kara from More Ramblings of a Marine Wife
- “City of Angels, Operation Petticoat, Mister Roberts. I actually like to watch stuff that he likes to watch (except Shawshank. Dear God. No more Shawshank!).” -Kelly from Wooden Anchor Soaps
- “I go back to my inner teenage years when we go through a deployment and pull out embarrassingly awesome chick flicks like The Princess Diaries (1 and 2) and The Prince and Me (the first, not the sequel), and good ol’ romantic comedies like Dirty Dancing, You’ve Got Mail, The Proposal, Leap Year, Nottinghill (or anything with Julia Roberts in it).” -Jessica from Jessica Lynn Writes
- “shhh….any teeny bopper dance flick (think StepUp and yes even the bad ones) – or a cheesy romantic comedy.” -Judy from The Direction Diva
- “I’ll put in movies like The Hangover, Liar, Liar, and Pitch Perfect. ” -Amber from Airing My Dirty Laundry
- “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” -Heather
What movies are your go-to choices for deployment? And why do you love them?
P.S. Looking for more deployment resources? Here are 32 Reasons You’re Going to Rock this Deployment + 51 Tips fro Deployment, Homecoming, & Everything In Between.
10 Responses
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Oooh, good one! I haven’t see it in ages!
A Very Long Engagement! It’s a french film about a young woman in WWI France searching for her Fiance who went missing after he was supposed to be executed for trying to get sent home (After shooting his hand). It’s a mystery, got some comedy, emotional, its such a good movie!
If you’ve ever seen Amelie (with Audrey Tautou, also from The Da Vinci Code), it’s similarly made, with the silly close ups and flashbacks and the comedy lines.WATCH IT!
HOOK!! I’ve Fallin asleep to it almost every night since my boyfriends been gone. Its one of those classic feel good movies, that brings me back to my childhood. It also helps to ease those racing thoughts after a long day, while I turn in for yet a nother lonely night :-)
The Longest Ride! It’s absolutely perfect! Nicholas Sparks outdid himself!
Not sure if there is a list of movies NOT to watch, but I decided it would be a good idea to watch Dear John while my husband is gone. Worst. Idea. Ever! LOL. Cried nonstop and then for the rest of the night. However, if you are wanting a movie that can give you a good cry with what you’re going through, that’s the one!!! :)
Classics & Musicals
Gigi, Guys & Dolls, Moulin Rouge, My Fair Lady, Phantom of the Opera, Pillow Talk, Let’s Make Love, Down with Love, The Other Wife, The Bachelor and the Bobby Sockser,
Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, Emma, Memoirs of a Trisha,
Ok I could go on and on lol… Don’t forget to get lost in the world of Marvel ;)
Geisha not Trisha… sheesh this phone