It’s almost Christmastime, and now is typically the time for most people to panic. Have all the presents been bought? Has all the work been completed before your break? And if you’re part of the McCallister family, did you remember to bring all your children with you when you left for Christmas vacation? (Probably not.)
I’m here to tell you to chill out. Breathe, relax, and treat yourself to a good movie or two. But why go to the movie theater when you can stay at home and take advantage of your Max subscription? The streamer has hundreds of movies, and the following three are criminally underrated and worth your time.
We also have guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
Single White Female (1992)
The early ’90s were dominated by erotic thrillers, and one of the best was Single White Female. After catching her boyfriend having an affair with his ex-wife, chic yet vulnerable software designer Allie Jones (Bridget Fonda) kicks him to the curb and places an ad for a single white female roommate to co-habit her ridiculously great New York City apartment. She eventually chooses Hedra Carlson (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a shy, mumbly woman who likes wearing hats and at first helps Allie get over her breakup.
Things slowly turn sinister as Hedra becomes possessive, manipulative, and deadly. Soon, Hedra is copying Allie, from her clothes to her crimson bob to even her ex. Who is Hedra, really? Why does she like going to sex clubs at night? And how can Allie detach herself from someone who doesn’t want to let go?
The premise has fueled dozens of cheap Lifetime thrillers, but what makes Single White Female special is the stylish direction by Barbet Schroeder (the man loves his blues and grays), the icy, creepy score by Howard Shore, and the terrific performances by Fonda and Leigh. The film ends like a slasher, and while that’s disappointing, it doesn’t discredit all that came before it. Watch it, and if you have a roommate, keep him or her away from your cute puppy.
Single White Female is streaming on Max.
Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
Ignore the horrible title — Mona Lisa Smile is a peppy middlebrow drama that’s practically extinct nowadays, and it’s more entertaining and surprising than you might think. The story is pure Dead Poet’s Society hokum, with less poetry and more talk about art. That’s because a new Art History professor, Katherine Ann Watson (Julia Roberts), has arrived to shake things up at the all-female Wellesley College.
She finds resistance at first, particularly with Betty Warren (Kirsten Dunst), a snobby senior student who is hellbent on becoming the perfect wife and mother. But through Katherine’s lectures about art, especially modern artists like Rothko and Pollock, and what it means to her young students, Betty and several others re-think what they want in life.
Mona Lisa Smile zigs when you expect it to zag, and yes, even though this is a traditional “maverick teacher who inspires her students” tale, it’s told with efficiency and intelligence. Roberts is solid as the vaguely bohemian professor, and Dunst is deliciously nasty as Betty. Look for a fresh-faced and bespectacled Ebon Moss-Bachrach as a geeky suitor and cherish Marcia Gay Harden’s specific performance as a helpful spinster who is set in her ways.
Mona Lisa Smile is streaming on Max.
Sweet Dreams (1985)
Music biopics are back in style again. Earlier this year, Bob Marley: One Love was a winter hit, and soon, we’ll get the Bob Dylan movie A Complete Unknown with Timothée Chalamet, Elle Fanning, and Edward Norton. But the genre has always been popular with audiences and critics alike, and one of the better ones is Karl Reisz’s Sweet Dreams, which chronicles the short life of country singer Patsy Cline.
Jessica Lange plays Cline, and you can see why she was nominated for an Academy Award in 1986. She breathes vital life into the singer, and doesn’t make her an untouchable icon like others do in the genre. (I’m not naming names.) Her Patsy is moody, disagreeable, and tempestuous; that’s especially true whenever she’s in the same room with Charlie Dick (Ed Harris), who would eventually become her husband. Harris is just as good as Lange, and the two share a dynamite chemistry that sells you on their bond.
The ending is, of course, inevitable, but no less shattering. Sweet Dreams makes you feel the full weight of what Charlie, and by extension us, all lost when Cline passed away, but it also makes you appreciate the music she left behind. That’s the mark and measure of not only a great artist but a great musical biopic as well. (Do yourself a favor and listen to Cline’s great Sweet Dreams song. It still casts a woozy spell.)
Sweet Dreams is streaming on Max.