As we await the end of an election that feels like it’s lasted years, how about a little distraction?
A hundred years ago, when our country found itself in the similarly dire straits of the Great Depression, Americans caught a glimmer of joy in the films of Shirley Temple. With her pudgy cheeks and bouncy curls, Temple served as the silver screen’s most reliable antidepressant, wielding the darnedest ability to put a smile on people’s faces no matter what they were going through. When she grew up and retired from acting in 1950, at the age of 22, Hollywood never really replaced her—but they didn’t need to. America was gliding into its glory years, not far off from the Camelot era, and the future seemed bright.
Cut to the present, and Temple, bless her little heart, doesn’t quite do it anymore. The unease of the 2024 election requires something stronger than cute song-and-dance routines. For escapist entertainment, we must look to full-on fantasies set in otherworldly places or bygone eras—films with a bit of camp, a lot of absurdity, and perhaps a song or two. Below, 15 films to watch—after you vote!—if you want to be anywhere else but here.
Dune: Part One, 2021, and Dune Part Two, 2024
Starring Timothée Chalamet and Rebecca Ferguson, this epic adaptation invites you to traverse the desert planet of Arrakis. With stunning visuals and intricate world-building, Dune presents a breathtaking tale of political intrigue and cosmic destiny. All the while, you’ll experience the world that provided Zendaya with so much inspiration as she dressed for her many Dune red carpet moments.
Labyrinth, 1986
What do you get when Jim Henson (director, famed puppeteer, inventor of the Muppets) collaborates on a film with George Lucas (king of the sci-fi franchise) and David Bowie (glam rock god)? A film as ridiculous as you’d expect. Bowie is a singing goblin, a young Jennifer Connelly dresses up like Alice in Wonderland, and the 1980s are at their absolute campiest.
The Princess Bride, 1987
It’s a happily-ever-after-type tale of courtly love, but it’s also far from a cliché. Rob Reiner’s film stars a youthful Robin Wright as the beauteous maiden in distress waiting for her beloved Westley (Cary Elwes) to save her from a wicked prince. In the meantime, there’s lots of deadpanning, quirky dialogue, and kitschy costuming to amuse.
Moulin Rouge!, 2001
The film makes such a statement that its title needed its own punctuation. To watch this Baz Luhrmann classic is to transport yourself to bohemian, turn-of-the-19th-century Paris, where everything is possible and everybody cancans at the Moulin Rouge. The music is extremely enjoyable (a veritable mash-up of all your favorite songs), and Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor dazzle with their good looks, vocal cords, and threads from Catherine Martin—Luhrmann’s wife and longtime collaborator.
What a Way to Go!, 1964
You’ll find reprieve in yet another exclamation-pointed film. The movie unfolds like a kaleidoscope of ostrich feathers, Champagne bubbles, and men: As Louisa May Foster, star Shirley MacLaine goes through six husbands, played by Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Dean Martin, Gene Kelly, Bob Cummings, and Dick Van Dyke. They all die, but through it all MacLaine wears the most bizarre fashion concoctions courtesy of the legendary Edith Head. There’s really nothing not to like.
Auntie Mame, 1958
Here, Rosalind Russell plays a monied bohemian socialite reveling in the roaring ’20s. The fun and games don’t stop when she becomes a guardian to her nephew, Patrick. Though her over-the-top apartment isn’t conventionally suitable for raising children, Patrick turns out to be a fine young man, learning that snobbery is just as bad as ignorance. In costumes by Orry-Kelly, Auntie Mame is fashioned as the role model we all need.
Xanadu, 1980
Ever wonder what film inspired critics to launch the Razzie Awards? Wonder no further—it was Xanadu. With this in mind, don’t expect a cinematic masterpiece; but do expect Olivia Newton-John in a pair of roller skates and second-skin spandex and a fantastically incoherent plot set betwixt and between planet Earth and the realm of the gods. Newton-John’s “Magic” is sung, Gene Kelly dances, and the special effects are delightful.
Barbarella, 1968
Jane Fonda shot to sex-symbol status because of Barbarella. As a scantily clad (sometimes in chain mail Paco Rabanne) space-traveling secret agent, Fonda as Barbarella is on a mission to save the galaxy from a deadly weapon that could wipe out humanity. As the story goes on, Barbarella beds many, is attacked by hummingbirds, and becomes trapped in a chamber meant to induce a fatal orgasm. In fact, you really can make this stuff up!
Death Becomes Her, 1992
Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, Isabella Rossellini—need we say more? In this film, Streep and Hawn don some of the most outrageously glamorous fashions of the late ’70s into the ’80s. (The film spans dozens of years.) As both vie for the attention of the same man, things take a turn for the batty when Streep meets Rossellini, who gives her a potion for eternal youth. Hawn gets in on it too, and soon both are immortal and spending the latter half of the film trying to kill each other to no avail. It’s movie magic—and headed to Broadway later this year.
Rocky Horror Picture Show, 1975
In this cult classic, based on a 1973 stage production of the same name, a young couple’s car breaks down on a rainy night near an imposing castle. When the pair enter it looking for help, they realize that the castle is hosting an outlandish Transylvanian convention with a garter-belted Dr. Frank-N-Furter as the master of ceremonies. He’s a scientist who has produced a Frankenstein-like being called Rocky. It all culminates in a cabaret show with snappy songs and caked-on makeup.
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, 1994
Two drag queens (played by Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce) and a transgender woman (Terence Stamp) set out in a van (christened Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) across the Australian outback to reach a gig. Priscilla breaks down, and the trio—constantly outfitted in an explosion of feathers and sequins—finds adventure along the way. Although not a perfect movie, it is considered one of the first mainstream films to bring drag queens to the forefront. It’s a classic road-trip-gone-wrong flick, but it’s also anything but.
Across the Universe, 2007
The Beatles’ songs are brought to life in this musical film starring Evan Rachel Wood and Jim Sturgess. The film unfolds like a lush psychedelic trip through the 1960s, magically weaving in the Beatles’ greatest hits (as though written for the movie) with no mention of the culture-making musical group itself.
Marie Antoinette, 2006
Sofia Coppola’s retelling of the queen who let them eat cake is as indulgent as a lick of sugary icing. The Strokes can be heard as Kirsten Dunst, playing the young monarch, bounds through Versailles, indulging on macarons, Manolo Blahnik shoes, and a handsome young cavalryman (Jamie Dornan).
The Fifth Element, 1997
Jean-Paul Gaultier’s most beloved contribution to cinema is The Fifth Element. (He cited Barbarella as a main source of inspiration in his costume design.) Set in the far future, it features Chris Tucker, Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, and a Gatorade-orange-tressed Milla Jovovich, all on opposing sides to save/obliterate planet Earth. It’s a film to remind us all that, no matter the space or time, the world always seems like it’s falling apart.
Purple Rain, 1984
Purple Rain is a semi-autobiographical film about a Prince-like pop star played by Prince and set to Prince’s music. In it, Prince wears lots of purple and sings his way through the ups and downs of his climb to stardom.
Anna Karenina, 2012
It’s impossible to do Tolstoy justice in a film. Knowing this, why not indulge in a bit of Anna Karenina? The film progresses with the cadence of live theater—swift entrances and exits into new backdrops made to look like a stage. The film’s antiheroine is played by Keira Knightley, who just might take your breath away with her historically inaccurate gowns bedecked with Tiffany and Chanel accessories. She has Count Vronsky wrapped around her little finger, and around her neck, some serious jewels. It’s divine.
