Movies On Netflix Right Now That'll Give You The Feels

In the 1993 Nora Ephron film Sleepless in Seattle there's a memorable scene during which Rita Wilson's character tearfully explains the plot of An Affair to Remember. At dinner with friends, she emotes over the climactic ending when Cary Grant's character, Nickie, understands why Deborah Kerr's Terry never showed up at the top of the Empire State building. Rita was exhibiting what's become known as getting "all the feels." It's the tears of joy when Darius and Nina kiss in the rain at the end of Love Jones. It's Jerry McGuire's definitive "You complete me." It's Lloyd Dobler being cemented into romantic movie history when he holds up the boombox, playing the song he and Diane Court first made love to. And, at times, it's the sadness of a beloved character's passing. Emma's wave goodbye to her mother in Term of Endearment. M'Lynn's sobbing rage after her daughter's funeral in Steel Magnolias. Fortunately for moviegoers who love getting all the feels, Netflix is stocked with tearjerkers. Here are some of the mushy movies now streaming.

The Half of It is a 2020 Netflix original with a ton of soul. Written and directed by Alice Wu, the teen rom-com is a modern take on the classic Cyrano de Bergerac story. In the '80s the movie Roxanne also updated the story, right down to the elongated nose of the main character, played by Steve Martin. But in The Half of It, an elongated nose isn't what makes the protagonist feel out of place: Ellie Chu is a Chinese-American school nerd, living in a small town with her father, a train engineer, who doesn't speak English well enough to land a better job. Ellie is also gay. When an awkward jock named Paul decides he's in love with Aster, the well-rounded pretty girl, he hires Ellie to help him express his affections through letters and text messages. Ellie has made a lucrative business of writing papers for her classmates, so she doesn't think much of the task. But when Ellie develops romantic feelings for Aster, damaging her new friendship with Paul, all the complicated feels ooze in a really compelling way. Leah Lewis is disarming as Ellie Chu. Her soft raspy voice is poetic and sweet as she instructs Daniel Diemer's Paul on the path of intellectual love. No stranger to Asian-American queer love stories, Alice Wu also wrote and directed the 2004 rom-com Saving Face.

Since her 2015 Golden Globe win for Best Actress in a Television Comedy for Jane the Virgin, Gina Rodriguez has been pretty versatile in her film roles. She was the tough soldier Anya in 2018's Annihilation, and the unassuming makeup artist Gloria in 2019's Miss Bala. In 2019 she also starred in the Netflix original romcom Someone Great. Playing Jenny Young, Rodriguez suffers through her break up with longtime boyfriend Nate, played by the super talented LaKeith Stanfield. She's leaving NYC for an exciting new career, but can't seem to move past the heavy emotions of her broken heart. Her best friends step in to give her one last night of partying, but running into her ex — who's not as emotionally distraught over the breakup — kills her fun. She wanders the city in deep introspection about her past and her future, ultimately coming to terms with how to move on.

Can two people amicably divorce? 2019's Marriage Story attempts to answer that question by taking the audience deep into the end of Charlie and Nicole's marriage. Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson play the artsy couple on the brink of a tumultuous dissolution. Raising their son Henry in New York, the actor and theater director are seemingly happy, but Charlie has made several hurtful mistakes and Nicole wants out. She moves across the country to Los Angeles, which puts an emotional, logistical, and financial burden on Charlie. Charlie breaks down after a lengthy, vicious argument with Nicole, and later belts out a bittersweet show tune in a bar. Noah Baumbach brilliantly wrote and directed this semi-autobiographical movie, which earned several Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations.

Ismail Merchant and James Ivory are the production team behind several classic English adaptations, including 1985's A Room With a View and 1993's The Remains of the Day. A period piece like 1992's Howards End doesn't seem like a match for the modern term "all the feels," but the E.M. Forster adaptation tugs heavy on the heartstrings, and takes the audience on a shocking rollercoaster. Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson star as Henry Wilcox and Margaret Schlegel, an unlikely pair on opposite sides of the English class system who quietly fall in love and marry. A loyal companion of Henry's late wife Ruth, Margaret makes an impression on the Wilcox clan, both good and not so good. Secret affairs, shameful pasts, an unwed mother, and even murder are fused into the plot of this epic drama. Because it's such a popular and engaging story, a 2017 remake premiered as a limited series on Starz. Oscar winner Kenneth Lonergan lent his writing skills to four episodes of the series.

Reconnecting with the one that got away is a dream for some and a nightmare for others. Love could blossom and last an eternity, or a teen romance could be tarnished by adult drama. In the hilarious Netflix romcom Always Be My Maybe, Ali Wong plays Sasha, a successful restaurateur who moves back home when her relationship ends. She runs into her childhood friend and first hookup, Marcus, played by Randall Park. As kids the two did not part on good terms, so neither is too excited about this chance meeting. Over time they put the pieces of their friendship back together and fall in love, but the differences in their career paths threaten the success of their relationship. Though the movie title is a play on the title of Mariah Carey's hit song "Always Be My Baby," the R&B star doesn't make a cameo. There is, however, a raucous appearance by Keanu Reeves which serves as a highlight of the movie.

2013's The Spectacular Now features A-list actors before their stars truly shined, and veteran actors in surprising turns. Miles Teller plays Sutter, a high school senior who masks his insecurities with alcohol and a smart mouth. Brie Larson plays Cassidy, Sutter's former girlfriend. After the breakup, Sutter turns his attention to Aimee, played by Shailene Woodley. Aimee is way too sweet for Sutter and so blinded by love she can't see how much of a train wreck he truly is. Jennifer Jason Leigh plays Sutter's mom, Sara, who he blames for making his father leave — until Sutter and Aimee drive hours to reconnect with his father, and he realizes his father's alcohol problem is the real reason he's been absent from his life. At first, Sutter decides to accept his fate as a small-town drunk, and loses Aimee — but true to romantic drama form, he wakes up, gets himself together, and goes on a journey to get her back.