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Underrated Movies: What Movies Do You Love That Others May Have Missed?

Here's a fun discussion for today, as we near the end of the workweek: Let's hear about your favorite underrated movies and cult classics. Which of your favorite films do you consider to be underappreciated — possibly because they didn't do well at the box office, or got lukewarm or bad reviews, or were just ahead of their time?

To jump-start the discussion, here are the favorite underrated movies (at least a selection of them!) from some of the Corporette team, below.

Note: We may not have seen some of these movies in several years — so there may be assorted politically-incorrect and dated portions that we're not immediately remembering that we would view in a different light today. Apologies if we're missing anything major along those lines!

Kat's Favorite Underrated Movies

I've mentioned my favorite fashion movies, as well as my favorite all-time movie, a number of times before, but here are a few more that I thoroughly enjoyed when I saw them…

  • Go (1999) – If you're a fan of Timothy Olyphant, this is a must! (Someone just told me they'd never seen this movie, and I couldn't believe it…)  
  • Edge of Tomorrow (2014) – It's a bit like Groundhog Day mixed with Starship Troopers, but with Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt. 
  • Dear Frankie (2004) – This one is the sweetest romance, featuring the wonderful Emily Mortimer and Gerard Butler.
  • Pride & Prejudice (2003) – I'm still primarily a fan of the BBC version, but I thought this this odd little version set in Utah was very enjoyable…

Kate's Favorite Underrated Movies

  • Bend It Like Beckham (2002) – The classic story of a teenager who rebels against her immigrant parents, it's a nice combination of humor and drama. (Similar rec: East is East, about a Pakistani family in England.)
  • Big Eden (2000) – A sweet rom-com/drama about a man who finds love when he returns to his rural Montana hometown. (It's nice to see LGBTQ film characters get a happy ending, which has often not been the case.)
  • Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008) – It's hard to describe this comedy/musical from Joss Whedon, but you probably haven't seen anything like it. Don't miss the DVD commentary … which is a musical.
  • Cold Comfort Farm (1995) – Based on the 1932 satirical novel by Stella Gibbons, this is a really fun fish-out-of-water story in rural England. 

Rebecca's Favorite Underrated Movies

  • Little Miss Sunshine (2006) – What a cast! And everytime I hear “America the Beautiful” I think of the guy who sings in this movie.
  • Pieces of April (2003) – Probably my favorite Thanksgiving movie — I wasn't quite her, but I was living in a city alone and in my early 20s when it was first out.
  • 25th Hour (2002) – Spike Lee, shades of post-9/11 New York.
  • Anything Coen Brothers – I have probably too many laughs from Intolerable Cruelty (2003) and I don't think as many people have seen/appreciate it as their other movies.
  • Sophia Coppola's Marie Antoinette (2006) – Amazing soundtrack — was the last movie I rented at Blockbuster.

Elizabeth's Favorite Underrated Movies

  • Other People (2016) – came out a few years ago and made me both laugh and cry Steel Magnolia-sized tears. Molly Shannon is a national treasure.
  • Spy (2015), the Melissa McCarthy movie, did pretty well at the box office, but I still don’t think it gets enough credit for how truly hilariously funny it is. It’s my go-to movie when I’m not feeling well.
  • Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999) is a dark, campy comedy about a beauty pageant. Come for the amazing Minnesota accents and stay for Amy Adams’s film debut!
  • Saved! (2004) is another delightfully dark comedy. Mandy Moore shouting, “I am FILLED with Christ's love,” as she throws a Bible at another girl is one of my favorite cinematic moments of all time.

Your turn, readers! Tell us your favorite underrated movies and cult classics! 

86 Comments

  1. I love Bend it Like Beckham (I need to see if I can find a theater playing BLinded by the Light, which is the same director), and Saved was also excellent. I feel like a lot of “teen girl” movies are underrated. My favorites: 10 Things I Hate About You (not sure it was even underrated, really) and Easy A.

  2. The Decoy Bride–David Tennant+ scotland+accidental wedding is a great combination

  3. David Tennant + anything is a good combination. The remake of Fright Night with him is fun, too.

    1. +1 Pieces of April. Exhibit A to any discussion I have about how people actually live in NYC. Otherwise, TV depictions of NYC are all a lie.

  5. GATTACA
    Jackie Brown (the best Tarantino movie in my view)
    The Lives of Others
    The Life of David Gale (shook me to the core)

    1. I love Jackie Brown too! Definitely his best in my mind.

      Also The Life of David Gale is so, so amazing. In the same vein (serious and powerful), I think The Counterfeiters is among the best Holocaust movies. Also Song of Saul.

  6. With the anniversary of the moon landing recently, I was reminded of my love of The Dish, which is based on a true story. Highly recommend this lovely Australian film.

  7. Kat, I was also going to suggest Dear Frankie! It is always my recommendation for an underrated, unknown movie. Early (handsome) Gerard Butler! Heartbreaking angst! Sweet, pure romance! It’s one my favourite movies of all time.

  8. I also suggest What We Do in the Shadows. Absolutely hilarious Kiwi vampire movie from the brilliant Taika Watiti. It’s on Netflix in Canada, not sure about the US.

    1. Great movie! We streamed it recently as we’d gotten into the TV show, have you been watching that? It’s on FX so my guess is it’ll be on Netflix in the near future (if it isn’t yet).

  9. I love Drop Dead Gorgeous! It is insanely difficult to find though. I haven’t tried recently, but I really wanted to watch it about a year ago and couldn’t find it for purchase on any streaming app!

    1. It’s on Hulu! I streamed it while working from home a couple weeks ago, they have a great lineup of 90’s classics.

    1. +1, that is probably my favorite Romantic Comedy ever.
      The wedding date is cheesy but fun as well.
      For scifi I really liked Love the One You’re With and Galaxy Quest!

  11. Mona Lisa Smile is one of my favorite movies, but no one else I know seems to like it, and I tend to get inquisitive looks when I bring it up. It’s my go-to sick day movie.

    1. I always think I like Mona Lisa Smile, but then I watch it again and don’t actually like it. I think the reviews were mixed as well. Wellesley is such a gorgeous school though.

      1. This. I love what it represents but not the actual story lines for any of the characters.

      2. It is a gorgeous campus but almost none of the interiors are of Wellesley buildings (which made me sad as an alum when I saw it). While I don’t hate the movie the way I hate say, Titanic, MLS is treacly sweet and a little dull. Most of the real 1950s and 1960s alums I’ve known are badasses who didn’t need stupid Julia Roberts to come and save them from canapes and pearls.

        In terms of fictional characters my friends most seem to resemble, I’d say a bunch of Hermiones and Tracy Flicks with a few Simones (the cool girl from Dazed and Confused).

  12. 1999: “The Election” with Matthew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon, and Chris Klein.

  13. Has anyone been to panama and have recommendations for a girls trip? A search of the comments turned up a surprising number of references to Panama hats…

  14. I like most of these pick’s, but particularly Dear Frankie. Elizabeth is probably to young to remember it, but I really love the Fast Times at Ridgemont High School movie. I saw this when I was very young, but still have a DVD at Dad’s home. He does not like it b/c the women there got pregnant, but it was so good, and I loved Phebe Kates’s look. She was probably the prettiest / s3xiest brunette EVER! If I had ONLEY looked like her, I would have been MARRIED already! Dad says I was just as cute, but I think he was also struck by her look. FOOEY!

  15. Lars and the Real Girl (Ryan Gosling!)
    Dan in Real Life (Steve Carrell is so funny and the story is so sweet)
    And from my childhood: The Man from Snowy River (cheesy 80s music notwithstanding)

    2. The Man from Snowy River is a perennial fave with me and my dad! And I love the cheesy soundtrack.

  16. Mississippi Masala is SO sweet and adorable.

    If you like horror movies, Jacob’s Ladder is super scary and also peak young Tim Robbins (my go-to cheer-me-up movie is The Hudsucker Proxy, also peak young Tim Robbins).

    It’s apparently hard to find, but I liked The Abyss and I’m not a James Cameron movie person.

    Hot take, but I feel like movies made before about 2005 for theatrical release are often blessedly short (like 90 minutes as opposed to 120+).

      1. Oh I love that one too! It’s super scary and almost no one saw it. The Others is another big favorite of mine from that era.

        1. I almost suggested both of these. I think I still own The Others on VHS.

  17. It’s not a movie, but I love the old PBS documentary series Frontier House. It’s like a reality show where 3 families go back in time to homestead in Montana as if it were the 1880’s. I find it super entertaining though admittedly it is probably a show for nerds.

    1. +1. I didn’t watch the whole series, but the episodes I caught really helped me appreciate modern life and raised interesting existential questions about our purpose beyond survival.

    2. I loved this show! I wonder if it’s still available for screening. And now I actually live in Montana (not due to this show, but still.) Didn’t build my own house or make my own moonshine though.

    3. I love Frontier House! There’s also Colonial House, but I haven’t watched that one. If you really want to nerd out, there are some more that were made in the UK – The Edwardian Country House, The Coal House, The 1940s House. My personal absolute favorites, though, are the Farm series from the BBC. Two archaeologists and a social historian (plus sometimes some other people) live as farmers of the age did in The Victorian Farm, The Edwardian Farm, and Wartime Farm, Tudor Monastery Farm, and one other that I can’t remember. Ruth Goodman is the social historian and I love love love her for bringing to light much of the domestic work and all the demands made on women in each age, as that stuff kinds of falls by the wayside in history classes.

      1. Loved in Edwardian Country House when the two footmen were all, “Screw this. Let’s get drunk!” And Regency House when the one girl hooked up with the hermit because he was more interesting than the other houseguests. (PBS – the closest I ever get to reality TV.)

      2. I LOVE these, and no one really knows about them! I’m a huge social history nerd and Ruth Goodman is amazing! Are you thinking of Tales from the Green Valley?

  19. Love this idea! Elizabeth and I have very similar tastes. “Other People” is the only one on her list I haven’t seen, so adding it to my to-watch list!

    My favorite movie possibly ever is The Fall, directed by Tarsem Singh, starring Lee Pace. Watch it on Blu Ray if you can, because it’s visually stunning. What I watch whenever I need a good cry.

    1. The American President!!!!!
      Beautiful Girls (little Natalie Portman)!
      Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

    2. The scene between Michael J. Fox and Michael Douglas in The American President is one of my favorite scenes in a move, ever. I am a huge MJF fan, and I really feel like that scene reinvented him at a time when he needed it.

  22. How on earth can you argue that Little Miss Sunshine is underrated? It won tons of awards and received tons of praise when it came out.

    2. Little Miss Sunshine is my all time favorite! I loved Pieces of April too that was mentioned earlier.

    3. One of my favorites, because it came out when I started taking ballet lessons (and was way. too. young. for a lot of the content. oh my god). Lately I’ve been watching it thinking “yikes, this storyline is basic and the acting is garbage” but I still ultimately enjoy watching it because the dancing is wonderful, and it’s super nostalgic for me.

      2. But the main character does not put up with the douche male dancer! She ends up joining his company but tells him he’s a terrible boyfriend.

        I love the dance scenes in Center Stage, they are unrealistic but so fun.

        I can’t stop watching Working Girl whenever it shows up.

  25. All of mine are comedies

    Clue
    Arthur with Dudley Moore & Liza Minelli
    Trading Places with Dan Aykroyd & Eddie Murphy

    1. “Clue” is one of my all-time favorites. “To make a long story short . . .”

  26. Choose Me, an Alan Rudolph film from the 80s. Keith Carradine is super-sexy, as is the general atmosphere, the story is intriguing and the Teddy Pendergrass soundtrack is fantastic. I just made my SO watch it, I think we paid for it on Amazon.

  27. The Station Agent
    Patricia Clarkson, Bobby Cannavale, and pre-Tyrion Peter Dinklage. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll recommend it to all and sundry.

    (And public libraries can be a great source for movies, especially tough-to-find ones.)

  28. My Fellow Americans, and the British version of Death at a Funeral are my sick day favorites.

  29. Is 500 Days of Summer considered underrated? Regardless, LOVE that movie in case anyone hasn’t seen it.

  30. OMG someone has seen Cold Comfort Farm! I loved that movie.

    The Illusionist for fantastic performances by Paul Giamatti and Rufus Sewell (see above – Cold Comfot Farm).

    The Truman Show.

    For a really underrated piece of fun, irony, goofiness and a musical with some fantastic acting turn to Netflix for Galavant :)

  32. Bend it Like Beckham is a favorite. I watch it occasionally for old times’ sake. I have the the songs from the soundtrack saved too. And I also love The Parent Trap with Natasha Richardson and Dennis Quaid and it had a great soundtrack too. Both of these are holdovers from my kids’ childhoods.

    Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson.

    My daughter and I watch Legally Blond, Walk the Line and Sweet Home Alabama every time she visits.

  34. I saw Once Upon a Time Hollywood, and it was quite an experience for anyone at all familiar with its setting. It was beautifully filmed and well acted, but I can’t seem to find anyone else who has seen it yet.

    I also completely agree with Kat about Edge of Tomorrow.

  35. Welcome to the Dollhouse. Ghost World. All You Need is Love (Danish one). Almost Famous. Blues Brothers.

  36. Gattaca
    Party Girl with Parker Posey
    The Illusionist
    Oh Brother Where Art Thou (couldn’t believe it when critics gave it one *)

  37. Persuasion is one of my all time favorite movies (not just Jane Austen movies) and no one has ever seen it.

    Underworld, which probably makes me lose all credibility but I love it equal parts ironically and genuinely.

    Jackie Brown is the best Tarantino movie and I will die on that hill.

    Clue is amazing in every way.

    Intolerable Cruelty is my favorite Coen brothers movie and makes me laugh every time I watch it.

    American Psycho is the best dark comedy.

    An Ideal Husband—Oscar Wilde, Julianne Moore, Cate Blanchett, and Minnie Driver. I love it and have watched it dozens of times with my mom.

    And I own all of these movies so I can watch them even if they aren’t available on streaming.

    1. Completely agree re Persuasion! I love that movie and never run into anyone else who has seen it.

      Another favorite not mentioned above — The Cutting Edge with Moira Kelly and DB Sweeny.

      1. The Cutting Edge — ALWAYS have to watch that movie when I find it on TV! I’m surprised I don’t have it on DVD!

        If you’re a country music fan, Pure Country with George Strait. Another one I always have to drop everything and watch. It was my mom’s favorite movie, too, so I watch it for her. And really, who can resist King George (If you don’t like country, you won’t understand.)

        Sweet Home Alabama with Reese Witherspoon and Patrick Dempsey also makes my list. Something about that movie I just love. It’s just sappy sweet and one of those movies to watch when you need a good “don’t want to think, just want to laugh” movie.

        Now You See Me. I do not ever recall this movie in theaters, but my dad has it on DVD. We watched it at camp once because it was the “least annoying-sounding” of all the movies he brought. We don’t have the same taste in movies. I was impressed! It’s very entertaining. It’s also one of those movies you have to watch more than once because you will see something you missed the first (or second) time around that makes the whole story come together. There’s a sequel to it, too, but the first one (like always!) is definitely the best!

      2. I’m so excited that someone else knows and loves Persuasion!

        I also grew watching Cutting Edge repeatedly and can probably still recite the entire movie. I watched it again last year and enjoyed it.

    2. I haven’t seen Persuasion, but LOVED Mansfield Park and I don’t remember anyone else seeing it at the time.

      For a more recent vintage, I loved Sleeping With Other People (Jason Sudeikis and Alison Brie). I think it’s a sweet movie, but also very funny and very good at capturing modern emotional intimacy between men and women (without sex, despite the title :) ).

  38. I love this thread – so many good ones are listed. I’ll add:
    Muriel’s Wedding
    Office Space
    Young Adult
    The Kindergarten Teacher
    Management
    Cake
    Your Sister’s Sister
    Me and You and Everyone We Know
    Shattered Glass
    Ghost World
    The Opposite of Sex

  39. Clueless
    Buffy the vampire slayer (paul rubins and Luke Perry)
    Buffy the Vampire slayer series

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