10 Best Movies on Netflix Right Now for September 2021

10 Best Movies on Netflix Right Now for September 2021

September is when the kids go back to school and the weather starts to cool off, but one thing is for certain — it’s still the right time to watch movies. Whether you watch them at the end of a long day or week or you set up a great weekend movie night with the kids, there’s no bad time to watch a movie. But what movie? Here are my recommendations of 10 more Netflix movies to start your September viewing pleasure.

(Side note: Okay, I’ll say it again. I don’t watch horror movies and lately, with all the drama that is real-life, I’m sticking with the more lighthearted stuff for awhile. Enjoy!)

10 Best Movies on Netflix Right Now for September 2021 List

Fun Animation for All Ages: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

Directors: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
Writers: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
The Cast: Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan and Neil Patrick Harris

This adorable movie, which debuted in 2009, focuses on aspiring scientist Flint Lockwood (voiced by Bill Nader) who lives in Swallow Falls, an island whose economy depends on sardines. When the rest of the world decides that sardines aren’t the tastiest food, Flint invests the FLDSMDFR, otherwise known as the Flint Lockwood Diatonic Super Mutating Dynamic Food Replicator. It’s meant to turn water into food, but unfortunately things begin to backfire. First, it doesn’t really work, but when it does, watch out! And since a movie can’t be that simple, let’s just say there are mutating cheeseburgers and a tornado made out of spaghetti. When will it end? 

This is a movie that parents won’t sit through achingly when watching it with their kids. It’s fun! When you’re done with this one, keep going and binge Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 and the entire season of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs — all on Netflix. I’m hungry already.

An Iconic Throwback: The Big Lebowski

Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Writers: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
The Cast: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore

Dude! Before there was No Country for Old Men (2007), Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018), the Coen brothers had one movie that would become an iconic classic — The Big Lebowski. This hilarious 1998 movie is a comedy that features Jeff Bridges as “The Dude” Lebowski, the victim of mistaken identity — there is a millionaire with the same name. But when the millionaire’s wife is kidnapped, Dude is brought in to try and get her released. That is, until Walter (played by John Goodman) decides that he wants to keep the ransom money.

Come on…it’s the Coen brothers, so you shouldn’t expect more than goofy and raunchy, so pick your audience for this one wisely. But when you’re done, you’ll be quoting movies from the lines such as “Sooner or later you are going to have to face the fact that you’re a moron.”

Find Out What the Fuss Was All About: Downton Abbey

Director: Michael Engler
Writer: Julian Fellowes
The Cast: Hugh Bonneville; Jim Carter; Michelle Dockery; Elizabeth McGovern; Maggie Smith;; Imelda Staunton;
Penelope Wilton

Full disclosure: I have never seen one episode of the uber-popular Downton Abbey TV show on PBS (I’ll see myself out). One of my friends was obsessed with the British drama, but I couldn’t get into it at the time. So I decided to give the feature film a chance just to see if it would be something I’d enjoy. My friend told me that I didn’t need to see the series to understand the movie and that the movie would wrap up the TV show in a nice neat bow. Boy, was she right. The movie is based in the 1920s and focuses on Robert and Cora Crawley, the Earl and Countess of Grantham, who get a letter that King George V and Queen Mary will visit Downton Abbey during a royal tour through Yorkshire.

Royalty is coming! The prep for the visit is intense and of course it’s not without its obstacles. I loved this movie! First, in the beginning, the writers did a great job of taking you through the history of the show so that you were all caught up and could enjoy what you were about to see. Even though Downton Abbey is considered a drama, there are many, many funny moments in the film, the storylines are great and the characters are enjoyable to watch. The only downside is that it didn’t necessarily make me want to sit through all the seasons of the show, but for a movie night, I give this one a major thumbs up.

If You Need a Good Cry: Five Feet Apart

Director: Justin Baldoni
Writers: Mikki Daughtry, Tobias Iaconis
The Cast: Haley Lu Richardson, Cole Sprouse, Moisés Arias

After being on a hit TV telenovela like Jane the Virgin, it makes sense that Justin Baldoni knows how to tell a story that pulls on our heartstrings. His directorial debut was with this feature film, Five Feet Apart, which follows Stella Grant (played by Haley Lu Richardson), a cystic fibrosis patient who documents her story on social media to cope with her illness. In the hospital, she meets Will Newman (played impressively by Cole Sprouse). The catch is that while both patients are getting treatment, they are supposed to stay five feet apart from each other to prevent the catching of any bacteria that could kill them. Once a friend of Stella’s dies, she realizes that she does not want to stay inside the hospital. Both she and Will chance their health to see outside. Although the movie opened to mixed reviews in the theaters, and it does fall into the category of formulaic teen romance, I thought it was well done and Richardson’s performance was stellar. It’s also important to note that the movie peeks into a world where staying feet apart is a matter of life and death.

In the Mood for Holiday Inspiration: Holiday in the Wild

Director: Ernie Barbarash
Writers: Neal H. Dobrofsky, Tippi Dobrofsky
The Cast: Rob Lowe, Kristin Davis, Fezile Mpela

I am a sucker for movies where a woman overcomes a personal tragedy, if you will, by taking the most transformative trip of her life. My favorite movie in the world like this is Under the Tuscan Sun and there is also Last Holiday, with Queen Latifah. Let’s not forget that even The Holiday, with Jack Black and Kate Winslet, had the same premise. So, of course, I watched Holiday in the Wild. The premise is the same. Kristin Davis plays Kate who gets dumped by her husband on the night before she is supposed to leave for an African safari. Instead of wallowing at home, Kate goes on the trip where she falls in love with…working with elephants. Okay, she falls for an elephant conservationist too, played by Rob Lowe. It’s romantic and sweet and could really do without the love story, but it fits and doesn’t take away from the strength to move forward that Kate finds on the trip.

Another Inspirational Movie: Queen

Director: Vikas Bahl
Writer: Anvita Dutt Guptan
The Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Rajkummar Rao, Lisa Haydon
Stop me if you’ve heard this before. Another relationship. Another man dumping a woman, Rani, the night before something big — in this case her wedding — so she takes off on the honeymoon she was supposed to have. Love it. In this 2013 Indian Hindi movie, Rani — who is from New Delhi — takes a life-changing trip where she finds friends and a whole new life. Now, this is my kind of movie and I think it will be yours too.

Must-See Documentary: Garth Brooks: The Road I’m On

The Cast: Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood
Another full disclosure: I have been a huge Garth Brooks fan for years. His music has been a constant in my life and, like many fans, it has gotten me through many ups and downs in my life. So even though I have seen many reports on the life and career of the GOAT, This is a great documentary about the journey of his career and how humble he is about his success.

Goofy Fun: The Wrong Missy

Director: Tyler Spindel
Writers: Chris Pappas, Kevin Barnett
The Cast: David Spade, Lauren Lapkus, Nick Swardson

Some movies you should just go into with the lowest of expectations. This way, if you laugh, it’s a pleasant surprise. That is how you should view The Wrong Missy, produced by Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions. If you watch this movie expecting the best comedy of all time, you’ll be sadly disappointed. But if you’re looking for stupid fun, then tune in. Surprisingly, it’s not David Spade who provides the laughs, but his co-star Lauren Lapkus. This 2020 movie follows Tim, who has a torturous blind date with Missy and escapes from the restaurant’s window. Tim later meets another Melissa and when he needs to attend a work retreat sends a text asking her to be his guest. The problem is he texted the wrong Missy and his former torturous date makes an absolutely chaotic — and absolutely hilarious —  situation for Tim at the retreat.

Feed Your Wanderlust: Expedition Happiness

Director: Felix Starck
The Cast: Selima Taibi, Felix Starck
If you can’t quite travel the way you want to yet, the next best thing is to feed your wanderlust through Netflix until you can get back out there again. That being said, I discovered German director Felix Starck through his first documentary, Pedal The World, where he started out on a biking expedition with a friend and ended up going solo. Travelers who embark on such an adventure have a spot in my viewing habits and Pedal The World didn’t disappoint. After that documentary, I came across Expedition Happiness, his second documentary and the first that he did with then-girlfriend Selima Taibi, where they travel in a remodeled bus. Waking up to some of the most breathtaking views in the United States is nothing short of awe-inspiring and if you came away with nothing other than wanting to see beautiful vistas too, then it was worth the time to watch it.

If You Haven’t Seen It Yet: Legally Blonde

Director: Robert Luketic
Writer: Karen McCullah Lutz, Kirsten Smith
The Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair, Matthew Davis, Victor Garber, Jennifer Coolidge

Okay, here me out. Yes, you can watch Legally Blonde on cable television probably once a week, but if you are one of the few people who haven’t seen this Reese Witherspoon classic that launched her career ‘yet’, this is the perfect time to do it, sans commercials. Reese plays Elle Woods, a sorority girl who is in love with Warner Huntington III. Anticipating a marriage proposal, Elle ends up getting dumped because Warner thinks she’s too…blonde? Elle sets out to win him back by applying — and getting in — to Harvard University — a feat in itself — to try and win Warner back. Fortunately, for Elle, her life ends up going in a totally different direction.

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