Isolation Watchlist

Lockdown and working from home mean more free time! We’ve all seen Tiger King by now, so what now? I used this chance to watch new movies I’ve been putting off as well as rewatching old classics. So, I decided to share my list of movies and TV shows with you guys in case you’re ever not sure what to check out.

Great comedies:

• The Muppets (2011) and Muppets: Most Wanted (2014) / No worries if you’ve never watched the Muppets before, no previous knowledge needed. These hilarious movies are very meta, very weird and contain numerous catchy musical numbers. Starring Jason Segel, Tina Fey, Ty Burrell, Ricky Gervais.
• What We Do In The Shadows (2015) / One of the best of the past few years. A mockumentary about a group of vampires living in modern day New Zealand.

The Dream of the 90s is alive:

• SLC Punk! (1998) / Punks living in Salt Lake City in the mid-80s. Matthew Lillard plays Stevo, a punk facing an existential crisis. 
• Go! (1999) / The aftermath of a drug deal told from three perspectives. Fun, trippy and intense, featuring a great cast including Timothy Oliphant, Katie Holmes, Taye Diggs, Breckin Meyer.
• Empire Records (1995) / A group of youths working at a record store try and prevent it from becoming a mega-chain. Starring Liv Tyler, Renee Zellweger, Ethan Embry.
• Mallrats (1995) / An ode to a forgotten icon – the mall. Starring Jason Lee, Shannen Doherty, Ben Affleck, Michael Rooker, and Stan Lee. 
• Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion (1997) / Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow shine in this wacky representation of 90s valley girls. 

Dark comedies: 

• Female Trouble (1974) / A campy movie directed by the king of bad-taste John Waters and starring the drag icon Divine. Unlike anything you’ve ever watched before probably!
• Heathers (1988) / Winona Ryder and Christian Slater in all their glory. A dark and macabre vision of 80s teens. 
• Jawbreaker (1999) / An underrated gem that I see as a spiritual successor to the previously mentioned Heathers. 
• Sugar & Spice (2001) / Bank robbing cheerleaders. Need I say more? 

And now for a couple of television suggestions as well:

• Web Therapy (2011 – 2015) / Lisa Kudrow plays an incapable, conniving psychologist that does her therapy online over Skype. The show stands out for its unusual format as every episode is told over the computer screen, through video calls and such. Who would have thought that this show would be more relevant now than ever before? The show features guest appearances by a bunch of famous faces including Meryl Streep, Gwyneth Paltrow, Billy Crystal and everyone from the Friends cast except Jennifer Aniston. 
• The Comeback (2005, 2014) / Another Kudrow vehicle. This time she plays a has been TV star that’s trying to have a comeback which includes a reality show about her life. 
• Twin Peaks (1990-1991, 1992, 2017) / An FBI agent comes to a small town to investigate the murder of a local prom queen only to discover a seedy underworld, not visible on the surface. A must watch if you haven’t. This influential and iconic David Lynch show from the 90s revolutionized television when it first aired. It’s quirky and fun, equally hilarious as it’s scary. After a two-season run and a prequel movie, the show was brought back for season 3 in 2017 by Showtime. 
• Arrested Development (2003-2006, 2013, 2018-2019) / The first three seasons of this show about a dysfunctional rich family are among the best of any sitcom ever in my opinion. They brought the show back for a 4^th and 5^th season, which were a bit meh, but the show is worth a watch for the first three!