The Starz Channel on Amazon Prime Has The Best Comfort Movies

There has been no medical advancement in the 21st century that has done more for sick people than the streaming-TV revolution. While once upon a time being laid up with illness meant acquainting yourself with the pleasures of daytime TV or late-night infomercials (depending on what hours your ailment kept you up), nowadays the infirm have a whole universe of streaming options at their disposal to keep them company while they get well. Now the only question is where to go for your comfort viewing of choice.

Based on purely recent anecdotal evidence, I’m going to tell you this: there is no better one-stop destination for comfort movies than the Starz channel on Amazon Prime. In general, the Starz channel on Prime has been the best-kept secret in streaming for years, at only $8.99 a month, you get access to not only Starz’s original programming — Outlander! American Gods! Power! — but also their feature-film library which is lowkey the best in the business.

This is particularly true when it comes to the genre of Comfort Movies. While an imprecise genre to be sure, you know a comfort movie when you see it. They’re those movies you’ve already watched a dozen times and yet don’t hesitate to watch again. They’re the movies you can idly tweet about and trust that your friends will pick up on it when you complain about Dottie dropping the ball on purpose at the end of A League of Their Own. They’re the movies that remind you of curling up on the couch with your parents or your siblings or your best friends. They’re the chicken soup for your movie-loving soul. And when I wandered onto the Starz channel as I was laid up with a fever this weekend, I found an absolute bounty of comfort movies.*

*Now, of course, comfort is in the eye of the beholder. For a lot of people, dumb action movies are exactly what the doctor ordered. For me, it’s feel-good comedies and capers, with the odd dance movie or Beyoncé-based erotic thriller thrown in. Obviously, your mileage may vary, but this particular list gets my highest endorsement.

The ‘Burbs: The golden age of Comedy Tom Hanks is all over the Starz channel. You can stream his Oscar nominated performance in Big, his should’ve-been-Oscar-nominated performance in A League of Their Own. But perhaps the most delightful of them all is this underrated 1989 comedy about a suburban cul-de-sac which begins to suspect its spooky-seeming new neighbors of being monsters. Come for the brilliant Hanks and Bruce Dern performances, stay for the welcome surprise of a Carrie Fisher appearance as Hanks’s beleaguered wife. [Stream on Amazon Prime via Starz]

In Her Shoes: Toni Collette and Cameron Diaz as sisters who are opposites, who both love and can’t stand each other, and who are driven apart and must be brought back together by their wayward grandmother played by Shirley MacLaine? Just try feeling worse after watching this one! [Stream on Amazon Prime via Starz]

A League of Their Own: Have I mentioned this a few times before? Best Sports Movie Ever, for one. You’ve seen this movie a dozen times before, but that only makes it better since you know the good parts that are coming up next. Don’t go anywhere, the ladies are about to sneak out to the roadhouse! [Stream on Amazon Prime via Starz]

Mrs. Doubtfire: This one is on cable literally all the time, but it’s for good reason. Robin Williams is giving one of his all-time classic comedic performances, the family story is genuinely moving, and those makeover scenes with Harvey Fierstein are stone-cold classics. [Stream on Amazon Prime via Starz]

My Best-Friend’s Wedding: One of the greatest romantic comedies of all time, featuring such classic comfort elements as: Julia Roberts, giant cell phones, multiple musical numbers, Carrie Preston and Rachel Griffiths as slatternly bridal cousins, scheming, a chase, and a fantastic ending. [Stream on Amazon Prime via Starz]

Sneakers: Not  a comedy, but a this caper has a very light touch to it. It features a total all-star cast (Robert Redford, Ben Kingsley, Mary McDonnell, Sidney Poitier, Dan Aykroyd, River Phoenix, David Strathairn), a decently ahead-of-its-time plot about government forces seeking out a codebreaker that would allow them to spy on American citizens (o_O), and the greatest Stephen Tobolowsky guest appearance this side of Groundhog Day. [Stream on Amazon Prime via Starz]

Other A+ Comfort Movies You Can Stream on the Starz Channel:

• The Family Stone: While usually reserved for Christmas, you might need to haul out the big guns with this family comedy about a family of liberal hippies who are super mean to Sarah Jessica Parker for no good reason.
• Four Weddings and a Funeral: The classic British rom-com, and the one that launched Hugh Grant in America.
• Little Miss Sunshine: Indie road comedy with a little bit of something for everyone, particularly if you’re interested in Toni Collette and/or climactic dance scenes.
• The Meddler: Susan Sarandon playing an overbearing mother to Rose Byrne results in a sweet and wise look at a woman’s life after she’s widowed.
• Obsessed: Beyoncé has to deal with Ali Larter trying to outright steal her husband, played by Idris Elba. You might be too busy screaming at the screen to get fully well.
• Ponyo: Basically, watch as many Hiyao Miyazaki movies as you possibly can until you start feeling better.
• Spaceballs:  Dumb Mel Brooks comedy + Star Wars? Perfect.
• Step Brothers: One of the stupidest but also weirdly sweetest comedies of this century.
• Step Up 2 The Streets: No, the entire Step Up catalog isn’t available to stream, but you make do with what you can.