Netflix started May by releasing one of its biggest titles of the month: The Four Seasons. The Tina Fey and Steve Carell series is a remake of a forgotten 1981 movie, and reviews so far have been pretty good.
Some of us, however, don’t have time for an eight-episode show about marriage. That’s OK because Netflix has plenty of two-hour movies to stream this weekend.
Watch With Us has selected three underrated movies that have enough stars and entertainment value to ward off boredom and the blues. From rom-coms to sports flicks, these movies have a little something for everyone.
‘The Five-Year Engagement’ (2012)
Tom (Jason Segel) and Violet (Emily Blunt) love each other, so it’s not a surprise that they became engaged so quickly. But actually getting married proves to be easier said than done. Violet’s fledgling academic career forces them to move from California to Michigan, which causes Tom to give up a position as head chef at a fancy San Francisco restaurant. As the years pass, their engagement soon feels like a prison sentence. Can they find a way to love each other the way they did at the beginning of their five-year engagement?
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This super-sized rom-com (it’s 124 minutes) is imperfect, but it still boasts great chemistry between leads Segel and Blunt as well as supporting actors Alison Brie and Chris Pratt, who play another couple who quickly marry and have children, much to Tom and Violet’s annoyance. The Five-Year Engagement takes a somewhat sobering look at romance and shows that some happily ever afters aren’t as perfect as we’d like them to be.
The Five-Year Engagement is streaming on Netflix.
‘The Sugarland Express’ (1974)
Almost everyone has seen a Steven Spielberg movie, but few have watched his first full-length feature, The Sugarland Express. Released one year before his blockbuster breakthrough, Jaws, the movie is about two deadbeat parents, Lou Jean and Clovis (Goldie Hawn and William Atherton), who kidnap a sheriff in a feeble attempt to reunite with their child. Their criminal act sparks a media circus, with reporters and curious onlookers joining a growing number of cops and Texas Rangers following the outlaw couple as they ride across the Lone Star state.
Made at the high point of 1970s American cinema, The Sugarland Express is a bit like Bonnie and Clyde, only less violent and more comedic. The film gently satirizes America’s obsession with bad behavior and Spielberg shows rare cynicism in how he depicts the couple’s inevitable, tragic end. It’s a quiet, great movie, and one of the beloved director’s best.
The Sugarland Express is streaming on Netflix.
‘Draft Day’ (2014)
The 2025 Draft just took place a week ago, but NFL fans can keep the party going with 2014’s Draft Day. The Ivan Reitman dramedy stars Kevin Costner as Sonny Weaver Jr., the general manager of the Cleveland Browns, who must choose between accepting a trade deal for a hot football prospect everyone loves or sticking with his original choice, who is talented but untested.
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Sonny’s personal life is just as chaotic with a pregnant girlfriend from a secret relationship and a widowed mother who blames him for his father’s death. As draft day approaches, can Sonny figure out how to solve his problems and maintain his sanity?
Draft Day is a comical and somewhat sanitized look at what goes on behind the scenes at the NFL. Sports fans will love it, but those who don’t know a pigskin from a pig in a blanket will enjoy it, too. A big reason why is Costner, who turns on the movie star charm as the perpetually put-upon Sonny.
Draft Day is streaming on Netflix.
