Spring break, that week-long mid-semester pick-me-up when you eject “regret” from your vocabulary and make “fun” into a lifestyle choice (poor or otherwise), is right around the corner.
For those planning to spend their time downing alcohol on tropical sunlit beaches, the end of spring break signals not just a return to the dreary facts of the daily grind, but the beginning of a heady, ruthless hangover requiring careful attention and frequent trips to the toilet.
Somewhere between dry heaves and miserable groans, though, you’ll probably find some free time on your hands, and what better way to jumpstart your numbed brain by watching Netflix?
So, to get past your post-spring-break fog, check out these nine new releases on Netflix in March: “Beerfest,” “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” “Jackass: Number Two,” “Gridiron Gang,” “Adventureland,” “300,” “Ghostbusters 1&2” and “The Brothers Grimm.”
Relive the Fun
Not quite ready to give up on your spring break high? These three Netflix newbies will let you take a quick trip down memory lane.
1. “Beerfest”
This 2006 comedy about two brothers who find out they must spread their grandfather’s ashes on the Thereseinweise in Munich during Oktoberfest promises loads of over-the-top gags and plenty of alcohol-charged misadventures.
The Netflix addition boasts an eclectic cast, starring everyone from Donald Sutherland and Cloris Leachman to Will Forte and Willie Nelson, and is actually, in part, an exercise in improv comedy (the director and several cast members are part of the Broken Lizard comedy troupe).
So if you’re looking for some mindless fun that will let you take a brief look back on the antics of the past week, “Beerfest” might be the film for you.
2. “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”
A classic rom-com of the 21st century, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” stars Jason Segel as Peter Bretter, a lovelorn composer who starts to spiral after his girlfriend Sarah (played by Kristen Bell) calls it quits.
In an attempt to nurse his broken heart, Peter decides to vacation in Hawaii, where, unfortunately for him, he runs into Sarah and her new boyfriend.
The tropical backdrop alone might be enough to return you to the beaches of your recently had spring break days, but the story of a man in love may also leave you wondering what could have been with that special person you may have met and never followed up on in your bacchanalian haze.
3. “Jackass: Number Two”
The “Jackass” franchise is renowned for its stupidly dangerous stunts and dangerously stupid pranks, but, hey, they only deliver what the people ask for.
And if what you’re asking for is a man to pierce his cheek with a fishhook and plunge into shark-infested waters, “Jackass: Number Two” offers you that and much, much more.
Featuring a cast of stuntmen and comedians, “Jackass: Number Two” is the “Saturday Night Live” for daredevils and thrill-seekers, and while hopefully none of your spring break capers were as death-defying as the ones found in “Jackass: Number Two,” you’ll surely be able to commiserate with the sheer asininity in one place or another.
Sober Up
If you’re looking to ground yourself in reality again, these Netflix additions will help do the trick.
4. “Gridiron Gang”
The illustrious Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stars in this sports drama based on the true story of the Kilpatrick Mustangs, a football team born out of the Kilpatrick Detention Center’s sports program in Los Angeles.
Like any good sports film, “Gridiron Gang” is rife with inspirational speeches, soaring highs, crushing lows and people learning just how tough the realities of life are — lessons that, after a week of reckless abandon, you might discover need some reinforcement.
So if you’re trying to breathe life into the vestiges of your motivation, “Gridiron Gang” will both charm and empower you into action … to finish those pesky readings at the very least.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qm8vVSUnUWs
5. “Adventureland”
In this 2009 comedy-drama, everyone’s favorite lovable bumbler, Jesse Eisenberg, plays James Brennan, a recent college graduate whose dreams of touring Europe and attending journalism school at Columbia are brought to an abrupt end after his parents reveal they won’t be able to financially support his aspirations.
Deciding he’ll try to bankroll his dreams on his own, he picks up a job at an amusement park in Pittsburgh, called “Adventureland,” where he is introduced to a wide array of eccentric coworkers and the rebellious Emily Lewin (Kristen Stewart) with whom he slowly starts falling in love.
There is perhaps no better reminder to start fulfilling your personal responsibilities like watching someone else fulfill theirs, so tune into “Adventureland” to hold your feet to the fire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfPE_MEKipM
Pure Escapism
Avoiding the shame that comes with going over the events of your spring break, but not yet prepared to deal with the real world? These new Netflix offerings will whisk you away to places and times far removed from your own.
6. “300”
“300” has arguably attained the title of cult classic over the years, spawning diet and exercise regimens to get viewers Gerard Butler’s chiseled bod, renewed interest in the Spartans and memes upon memes about the copious amounts of blood, sex and gore.
“300” is based on the 1998 graphic novel of the same name and retells the events that led to the Spartans’ victory over the Persians in the Battle of Thermopylae.
Ancient Sparta is about as far as you can get from spring break 2k18, and if regret is slowly starting to catch up with you, “300” will definitely defer that shame for a little while.
7 – 8. “Ghostbusters” 1&2
There’s nothing like kicking back and relaxing with a bowl of popcorn while you watch one of America’s most beloved film franchises: “Ghostbusters.”
Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Sigourney Weaver all make this winning iconic ’80s comedy about a group of misfit scientists hopping around New York trouncing malicious ghosts an essential piece of Americana.
And for those who really just want a while an afternoon away in honeyed nostalgia for simpler times, times free of hangovers and impending due dates, “Ghostbusters” will be as sweet and nostalgic as cookies and milk.
9. “The Brothers Grimm”
If you really want to escape the world for a few hours, a good fantasy film is a prime option.
“The Brothers Grimm,” starring Matt Damon and the late Heath Ledger, reimagines the originators of fairy tales, the Brothers Grimm, as con artists traipsing around early 19th century Germany who must reverse a curse of black magic that threatens to wash over the land.
Great visual effects, solid performances and an exhilarating pace conspire to create an all-around good time that will keep the pressures of the real world at bay, if only for a brief period of time.
