Let’s face it, adulting is rough, and sometimes we just need a little break from all of it. And it’s at this time that we wish to be young again and live a responsibility-free life – a time where we can be unhinged with little to no repercussions. Thinking about it now, many things happened 10 or 20 years ago that wouldn’t work by today’s standards.
This is especially true for the film industry. Which explains why filmmakers don’t do it like they used to. However, much like photos, video media are an easy way to transport ourselves back to the past. If you can’t decide on what to watch, then here are a few classic – but unhinged – shows and films that will help put some pep in your step and a smile on your face. We are excluding Friends and How I Met Your Mother, as those are automatic winners.
The Office (US Version)
To some extent, in the deepest recesses of our intrusive thoughts, we wish our office was chaotic – to add a little razzle-dazzle to our daily lives. However, if it’s anything like the sitcom, The Office, it’s best that we just watch it from a distance. The Office is a mockumentary series that started in the UK, but it’s the US version that takes the limelight and has been the starting point for other prominent actors we see today, like John Krasinski.
The story largely follows a group of regular office workers when the space they work in is anything but normal, thanks to the escalating escapades, ranging from setting the office on fire to probably even kidnapping a pizza guy. Despite all that, there are still scenes that tug on the heartstrings here and there sprinkled in, making it a one-of-a-kind series that became the basis for other sitcoms like it.
Mean Girls
High school can either be the best or worst years of your life, but in Mean Girls, it’s both. Mean Girls follows Cady Heron, a girl home-schooled by her scientist parents in Africa, as she explores the tangled cliques and taboos in an American high school. This dark comedy was heavily influenced by another film – the equally dark 80s cult favourite, Heathers, but with a much more upbeat execution and ending. Even with the change of a few key beats and opting for a much more lighthearted route, this film doesn’t pull its punches with the dirty jokes and outright black humour that capitalise on stereotypes commonly seen in other forms of media.
Malcolm In The Middle
Nothing sparks more chaos than family; we’re stuck with them, so we might as well go swinging, and nothing encapsulates that idea more than Malcolm in the Middle. This sitcom is a dark comedy that follows a dysfunctional lower-middle-class family in their everyday lives, often viewed through the eyes of an 11-year-old boy genius, Malcolm. The family’s lives frequently devolve into chaos due to their largely dysfunctional personalities and hijinks. This is one of the better comedy sitcoms that still holds up to date, and a show that is also sorely missed.
Megamind
As a film company, DreamWorks is perhaps the only animation studio that can go toe-to-toe with Disney and still come out on top, which says a lot, especially if you don’t make as many films as the big mouse himself. One of the films that has stood the test of time despite only having one film is Megamind, a film that puts a unique spin on DC’s Superman origin story.
Even though it’s aimed at young audiences, there are things that adults watching the film would definitely enjoy. This witty comedy film also boasts some philosophical moments, like the difference between nice and kind and the definition of good and evil. Not only that, there’s a TV series in the works right now, slated for 2024, and we hope that it lives up to the standards set by this film.
Monty Python & The Holy Grail
This is definitely the oldest and oddest entry on this list, but one that holds up surprisingly well even by today’s standards. Monty Python was actually a British comedy troupe whose influence reaches far and wide, to the point where they were even compared to The Beatles. Despite being their first “proper” feature film, Monty Python and the Holy Grail was a smashing success and the second-best comedy of all time in the ABC special Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time.
If you haven’t guessed it yet, the story is based on the legend of King Arthur, with a special twist that is enough to take anyone for a ride, enough to even make cold-hearted people cackle. It is the film that launched many iconic memes that we see or reference to this day, and it’s a must-watch for those who have yet to view it.
