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
©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
