One of the most heartwarming dramas from last year was the Prime original Uncle Frank. Set in the 1970s, it stars Paul Bettany as the eponymous character who serves as a literature professor in the same college as his free-spirited niece (Sophia Lillis). When his father passes away, Frank drives back from New York to his conservative Southern household, forced to confront demons from the past and his own closeted sexuality.
For nearly its first half, Uncle Frank takes the route to be a road film, as the uncle and niece reconnect, joined by Frank's partner (Peter Macdissi). Towards its end, the film turns into a riveting family drama. The film might not subvert these genres for all viewers, but it still uses its setting and performances to the fullest extent.
10 The Boys In The Band (2020)
Based on the play of the same name, The Boys In The Band is set in New York around the same time period as Uncle Frank. It is centered on a birthday party of a closeted gay man. With most of the narrative set in one apartment, the invited guests and the protagonist engage in merrymaking and reminiscing about the past until old wounds are reopened.
With a highly talented all-gay cast, the Netflix original film attempts to give an honest insight into the lives of its troubled characters, each harboring their insecurities.
9 Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Arguably one of the most popular and finest road films from the recent past, Little Miss Sunshine finds a dysfunctional family undertaking a road trip to get their youngest member to a beauty pageant. The film benefits greatly from raw storytelling, and an assorted cast of both seasoned and fresh performers.
Be it the ever-optimistic girl Olive (Abigail Breslin) or the suicidal scholar Frank (Steve Carrell), Little Miss Sunshine's diverse range of characters highlight the tragicomic elements of its story.
8 As Good As It Gets (1997)
As Good As It Gets might seem pretty straightforward for modern-day audiences, but it still carries enough emotion to engage viewers. Jack Nicholson stars as a paranoid, grumpy 'Scrooge' of a writer, blatantly expressing his bigotry towards his neighbor who's a gay artist (Greg Kinnear). After the latter is brutally assaulted, both are forced to confront each other while a waitress (Holly Hunter) serves as the intermediary between them. A subsequent road trip leads to an unlikely friendship between the three. On the whole, As Good As It Gets is a classic slice-of-life comedy that offers hope for a tolerant and kinder world.
7 August: Osage County (2013)
For some, family gatherings can be awkward, especially if it's just after a funeral. The dialogue-driven drama August: Osage County deals with a dysfunctional family in Oklahoma who are forced to reunite after a personal tragedy occurs. Family secrets, drug addiction, extramarital affairs, marriage and parenting troubles, a whole lot of family issues are touched upon in the film's two-hour duration.
Underlying the tragic drama is a sense of bleak deadpan humor that's brought to screen beautifully by the ensemble, with the standout performances being Meryl Streep as the outrightly impolite matriarch and Julia Roberts as her oldest daughter who inherits her mean streak.
6 Other People (2016)
Other People explores the concept of feeling like a stranger in one's own home. Jesse Plemons stars in this underrated indie feature as a struggling comedy writer who heads back to his childhood town to take care of his mother, who's suffering from cancer.
While recovering from a major breakup with his boyfriend, the protagonist also struggles with his conservative father who refuses to accept his sexuality. The film takes a mellow tone as Plemon's alienated character learns to accept the inevitable and not dwell on the past. In more ways than one, writer-director Chris Kelly poured out his most honest feelings in the film as it takes inspiration from his actual struggles and his mother's death.
5 Kodachrome (2017)
In Kodachrome, a yesteryear photographer and his estranged son embark on a journey to the last shop that still develops Kodachrome film, a long-forgotten photo development technique. A troubled family. A cynical father. A road trip/family bonding session. There are a lot of familiar tropes present in the course of the story that's bound to be of interest to aficionados of such feel-good dramedies.
At the end of it, even if Kodachrome is a fairly predictable journey, Ed Harris's vibrant lead performance is enough reason for one to give it a watch.
4 Beginners (2010)
After director Mike Mills' mother passed away, his father came out of the closet to his heterosexual son. As Mills accustomed himself to his father's newly-revealed identity and a much-younger boyfriend, the seeds of Beginners began to germinate. The heartfelt romantic comedy-drama serves as intimate documentation of the bond he shared with his late father.
Narrated in a series of interconnected flashbacks, the film dwells on Oliver (Ewan McGregor), who comes to terms with his gay father (Christopher Plummer in an Oscar-winning performance) and his honest exploration of life in his final days.
3 Green Book (2018)
Another fun twist on the road trip genre, Green Book unabashedly pulls the audience's heartstrings narrating the real-life story of an African-American musician and his Italian-American driver as they drive for an interstate series of concerts. The former is an extremely focused artist, while the latter is a tough-talking bouncer influenced by the racist ideas of his era.
Long drives, conversations on life, fried chicken, music, and the turbulent politics of segregation eventually bring the two men together for a long-lasting friendship. As Dr. Don Shirley and Tony Lip, both Mahershala Ali and Vigo Mortensen offer some of their career-best performances.
2 Towelhead (2007)
Before Uncle Frank, Alan Ball marked his directorial debut with the coming-of-age dramedy Towelhead, which dealt with issues like race and sexual awakening. Those who loved the character of Wally in Uncle Frank would be interested to know that actor Peter Macdissi makes an appearance in this film, too, although in a vastly different role as the lead character's overprotective father.
At the center of the story is 13-year-old Jasira (Summer Bishil), a Lebanese-American girl growing up around the same time as the Kuwait War of 1990-91. A poignant suburban drama capturing a troubled teenager, it should be noted that the film can be triggering for some scenes involving sexual abuse.
1 Happiest Season (2020)
A Hulu original, Happiest Season plays around Christmas film tropes and then totally subverts them to create a fresh story in the otherwise done-to-death 'holiday season' genre. In the star-studded ensemble, Mackenzie Davis stars as a woman who struggles to come out to her parents, right when her girlfriend (Kristen Stewart) visits her family during Christmas.
A lot happens in the film as a series of unfortunate events gets triggered, but no element in Clea DuVall and Mary Holland's screenplay feels stretched. The cherry on the top is, of course, Dan Levy's memorable side role. Levy gets to bring his usual Schitt's Creek charm along with providing the dramatic quotient in one of the film's most emotional scenes.
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