So you've had a bad day. Whether it's a relationship, your boss, or your best friend that's giving you the blues, sometimes all you want to do is lie on the couch, watch the perfect movie for your mood, and forget that any of it ever happened. If you’ve tried all of these mood-boosting tricks and just can't quite seem to pull yourself out of your dark hole of despair, you have full permission to make yourself a bowl of popcorn, open your Netflix queue and assume the horizontal position.
According to a study by the Chicago Tribune, funny movies have actually been scientifically proven to cheer you up because "laughter can offer you distance from your problems and enhance your sense of well-being." Anyone who has ever watched Tina Fey and Amy Poehler host The Golden Globes or Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon on SNL can agree; laughing puts you in a good mood. These nine movies, with their notable leading ladies and laugh-out-loud humor, are guaranteed to give you momentary, if not permanent, reprieve from whatever it is that's bothering you. And, hey, even if they don't completely solve your problems, laughing and eating outrageous amounts of popcorn and/or cheese and/or Chipotle and/or everything else in your house is always encouraged in my book.
1. When You Just Got Dumped — Legally Blonde
If you just ended a relationship and need to deal with it, this movie is for you. Elle Woods is the ultimate dump-ee success story. She goes from sobbing and flinging a half-eaten box of chocolates at her TV (we’ve all been there) to Valedictorian of Harvard Law School in 97 short minutes. Watching her pull herself together will make you want to put down the Ben and Jerry’s, get off the couch and crush it.
2. When you're trying to fight the "Sunday Scaries" — The Hangover
No physical or moral hangover will ever be quite as epic as these guys’. No matter what you did last night, at least you didn’t steal a tiger from Mike Tyson. Or a baby from your stripper/wife.
3. When you seriously need a new job — Horrible Bosses
Let’s be honest: We’ve all had days when we literally want to kill our bosses. Watching this band of idiots try to actually pull it off is satisfying enough to get you to go back to work for at least one more day. Plus, sex-obsessed, brunette Jennifer Aniston will have you dying laughing and wondering how Brad Pitt ever could have let her go.
4. When your roommate is driving you insane — Baby Mama
As bad as your roommate may be, there is no way she is as difficult to live with as Amy Poehler's character in B aby Mama . Watch the movie, remind your roommate to take out the trash and buy some toilet paper, and agree never to pee in the sink or use the coffee table as a chewing-gum disposal area. Problems, solved.
5. When literally everything is falling apart — Bridget Jones's Diary
Bridget Jones is an absolute freaking mess. Who could forget the scene where she shows up to a garden party with her parents dressed as a Playboy Bunny? The secondhand embarrassment you feel for the poor girl throughout the entire movie is so, so real. It’s perfect for those days when nothing quite seems to be going right, because if Bridget Jones can get it together enough to land her dream job and end up with Colin Firth, there is hope for you yet.
6. When your friends are on your nerves — Mean Girls
Nothing quite makes you appreciate your #girlgang quite like watching Cady Heron try to destroy Regina George with Kalteen bars and peppermint scented foot cream. I think we can all agree, though, that Aaron Samuels does, in fact, look sexy with his hair pushed back.
7. When you're the only single friend — Bridesmaids
Watching Melissa McCarthy for 2 hours is enough to turn any bad mood around. Watching Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wigg, Maya Rudolph, and Rose Byrne in that scene will remind you that there really are worse things in the world than being single (like, for example, pooping in your wedding dress in the middle of the street or dating a guy like Jon Hamm's character). Besides, being single is pretty great.
8. When you've lost all hope in love — How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
This is the ultimate feel-good romantic comedy, and is something we all really need to see after being traumatized by the Ben Affleck/Jennifer Garner Split. Despite the odds stacked against them, Matthew McConnoughey and Kate Hudson somehow make it work. Now, they just need to end up together in #IRL, and all will be right in the world.
9. When you just need to laugh (and, potentially, sing) — Pitch Perfect
If simply laying on the couch watching a movie isn't cutting it, throw on Pitch Perfect and sing your little heart out. Getting up and dancing during the finale medley is optional, but encouraged.
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