It seems everybody in the world saw Deadpool & Wolverine last weekend. The Marvel movie made gobs of money, even though it was rated R and had more of the same multiverse hijinks that dragged down Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Not everyone likes superheroes in spandex or chimichangas, though. For those looking for something a bit different, you’ve come to the right place. We found three underrated but very good movies on Netflix that are guaranteed to entertain you this weekend. One is a new release starring respected actors saying the most awful things to each other, while the other two are older titles that have stood the test of time.
Wicked Little Letters (2024)
Wicked Little Letters only came out in the U.S. this past spring, and it’s already in danger of being forgotten about. That’s a pity, as movies like this one — the small charming English retro film — just don’t get made as much as they used to.
Featuring a stellar cast that includes Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Timothy Spall, and Eileen Atkins, Wicked Little Letters concerns a brewing scandal in the sleepy seaside resort town of Littlehampton. Someone has been sending Edith (Colman), the town’s uppity spinster, nasty messages through the mail. She immediately suspects Rose, who is considered an outsider due to her Irish background and lack of a husband and father to her child. It doesn’t help that the two women were once close, but are now estranged.
When Edith formally accuses Rose, she sets off a chain of events that not only exposes her own secrets but threatens to tear her idyllic town apart. If you’re fan of picturesque scenery, watching old men wear funny hats, accents, and hearing Colman say some of the nastiest profanities the English language has produced, then Wicked Little Letters is for you.
Wicked Little Letters is streaming on Netflix.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
Henry Cavill’s career is fascinating. Yes, he won the coveted role of Superman in 2013’s Man of Steel, but like most of the DCEU, that gift ended up being a curse. The English actor also lost out on several key roles over the years, including James Bond. That’s one reason why director Guy Ritchie‘s sly throwback The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is so fun to watch. It allows Cavill to show off his innate charm and humor in a spy movie that prioritizes surface-level pleasures.
Based on the hit 1960s TV series on the same name, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. concerns the uneasy Cold War alliance between CIA agent Napoleon Solo (Cavill) and KGB agent Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer). They must aid Gaby Teller (Alicia Vikander), whose nuclear scientist father has been kidnapped by Nazi sympathizers to help build a secret nuclear bomb. The plot is deliberately absurd and vague, but it doesn’t matter as the movie’s primary attraction is to watch the three impossibly pretty leads try to outwit, and romance, each other.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is streaming on Netflix.
Muriel’s Wedding (1994)
You’d think a rom-com featuring the songs of ABBA would be as frothy and fun as sloppily singing Waterloo on karaoke night. And sure, Muriel’s Wedding is charming and carefree, especially in the first half when it focuses on Muriel, a gawky young Australian woman, and her burgeoning friendship with the sexually outrageous Rhonda. Both Muriel and Rhonda team up to find love, or maybe just a shag or two, and what’s more irresistible than that?
But what makes Muriel’s Wedding so special, and why it carries so much power all these years later, is how willing it is to go to dark places. Muriel’s life isn’t perfect, and as we meet more of her family, we understand just why she wants to get married so badly. As played by then-unknown Toni Collette, Muriel gradually emerges as a multi-faceted character we truly care about. And when the movie’s over, you’ll never hear ABBA the same way again.
Muriel’s Wedding is streaming on Netflix.
