Rewatchable movies we’ll never get tired of

The concept of a comfort show is incredibly common in the streaming era. It’s something we can put on in the background as we work around the house and keep ourselves entertained, without any real investment. We know the show by heart, so we can understand what’s happening even as we’re distracted.

It’s a concept that rings true for movies as well. Normally, we go with sitcoms because there’s way more hours of content available, but sometimes, we’re only looking for a few hours’ worth of background noise to keep us entertained. Or, we just want something to put on while we sit on the couch when we need a pick-me-up.

So, with that in mind, here are some of the most rewatchable movies we’ll never get tired of.

Groundhog Day

Seeing as, at the time of originally writing this, Groundhog Day recently happened, this seems like the most logical place to start.

Groundhog Day is a perfect movie from beginning to end. Bill Murray lets his comedic chops shine as he realizes what he can get away with while stuck in a timeloop, but there’s also something satisfying about the face turn he takes as Phil Connors that always warms my heart.

One of my favorite traditions has been AMC’s 24-hour Groundhog Day marathon of the film. You better believe it was on in my household throughout the day, and you better believe I was quoting it non-stop.

Jurassic Park

Is it weird to say that I don’t necessarily appreciate Jurassic Park as a work of art as much as I should?

We all love and appreciate the CGI, which still holds up remarkably well today, but the one thing that Jurassic Park arguably does best is its pacing. The story is so perfectly laid out, with not a single moment of boredom or filler. Each scene comes in, does its job, leaves an impact on both the narrative as a whole and the viewer, and then moves on before overstaying its welcome.

We look back at Jurassic Park as an achievement in visual effects, but it also deserves the same praise for its editing.

The Departed

The same is true with honestly just about any Martin Scorsese film, but I want to give The Departed its flowers over something like The Wolf of Wall Street.

It would be so easy for a film like this to not have the same impact on subsequent rewatches, but, like Jurassic Park, it’s just so well edited and paced that its 151-minute runtime flies by.

Yes, there are some moments, especially on rewatches, that make you wonder why they’re in the final cut, but they’re drowned out by the sharp, witty dialogue, subtle humor that you missed on the first or second viewings, and incredible tension that hooked you from the very beginning.

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Minority Report

Let’s throw it back to Spielberg one more time, because if we’re talking about well-edited movies, we have to bring up Minority Report.

It’s nowhere near as innovative or revolutionary as Jurassic Park. However, Minority Report still does an excellent job with its sci-fi premise and futuristic setting, delivering pure movie magic that others can only dream of. Are the twists and turns in the story a little predictable? Sure, but we’re not here for that. We’re here because, as the movie loves to remind us, everybody loves.

And if there’s one thing Tom Cruise loves doing, it’s running.

Mission: Impossible

Ironically, you can argue this is the Mission: Impossible film that Tom Cruise does the least amount of running in, yet it’s the one that I enjoy the most.

That’s not to say that the others (aside from the second, of course) are bad. Fallout and Rogue Nation are simply incredible action movies with no rivals. There’s something about the original, though, that keeps me coming back for more.

A big reason is due to the era it comes from. This was the 90s, and even though Die Hard had paved the way for intelligent action movies in the prior decade, most films weren’t following that formula. Mission: Impossible delivers all the action, tension, and over-the-top drama I could ever want from a spy film.

Home Alone

You just knew that we’d have to include Christmas movies on the list. While it would be easy to include A Christmas Story here, I’m actually going to give the nod to the original Home Alone instead.

Here’s why: we already know, going into the film, that we’re ultimately here for the third and final act, when Harry and Marv attempt to break into the McAllister house. Everything is building up to that moment. That’s the main attraction, but we’re still watching the entire movie anyway.

There’s not a wasted motion in this film; everything has a purpose, everything builds to those climactic moments, and everything is as fun and enjoyable as the first time we watched it.

Best in Show

As we all know, Catherine O’Hara is far more than just Mrs. McAllister. Recently, we know and love her from working alongside Eugene Levy on Schitts’ Creek. That wasn’t the first time the two paired up together, though.

The Christopher Guest mockumentary comedy follows an ensemble cast as they prepare for the Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show. The film follows several dog owners, all vying to do what it takes to take home Best in Show. As you’d expect, the strength of that ensemble cast, through their improvisational talents and the writing talents of Guest, results in a film that’s so packed with jokes that you’ll need to watch the film several times over to catch them all.

The Big Lebowski

Yes, everyone has their favorite quotes from the movie that they love to recite, but there’s something else that helps make The Big Lebowski so rewatchable, and it’s The Dude himself.

One thing I like to do is look at the film and its characters from different angles as I watch it. Sometimes, I picture The Dude as a genius who is one step ahead of the game but unable to put all the pieces together. Other times, I see The Dude as, to be blunt, an idiot. It always paints the story in a completely different light, and that’s part of the movie’s magic. There are so many different interpretations that subsequent viewings are that much more fun.

Back to the Future

Yes, we have indeed seen this one before, and it remains a classic.

Back to the Future is pure movie magic, capturing the right balance of imagination, adventure, and humor all into one package. We know all the lines by heart, we know how the story ends, but we can never get tired of watching Marty play matchmaker for his parents in 1955.

I’m a sucker for the entire trilogy, but there’s just something about the original that makes it a perfect movie from beginning to end. It’s honestly hard to explain, so I’d recommend everyone else watch it and see for themselves.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

It’s a testament to how great these films are that, despite the failure of The Hobbit trilogy, they’re still timeless classics that we spend 12+ hours watching on a regular basis.

Most films suffer from the bloat of a Director’s Cut or Extended Edition, but not The Lord of the Rings. Of course, it helps when the source material is jam-packed with so much enjoyable content that there are still things missing.

Even if these things were five hours long, I could never get tired of them. I’ll gladly watch them every year, along with the millions of other fans who do so.