Feeling the need to be inspired? Here is a list of the most motivational movies to get you ready to stand up to your family, win the big game and for some of you, save the world.
Bend it Like Beckham
“Lesbian? Her birthday's in March. I thought she was a Pisces.”
Plot: This pick has nothing to do with the fact that Jessminder (played by a perfectly vulnerable and stubborn Parminder Nagra) gets to make out with the gorgeous blue-eyed Irishman (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). This is about an Indian girl so passionate about soccer that she has her family convinced that she’s a lesbian, almost ruins her sister's wedding and has her gay best friend pose as her fiancé.
Moral of the Story: Be true to yourself and what you love and you will be happy.
Why this should get you motivated: She wound up with Jonathan Rhys Meyers, enough said. Seriously though, even her strict household didn’t keep her from fighting for what she wants more than anything… what’s your excuse?
The Hunger Games
“May the odds be ever in your favor."
Now before you roll your eyes, let me explain…
Plot: Katniss Everdeen, a short-tempered teenager in a dystopian future knows two things for certain: She can shoot an arrow and she loves her younger sister. After volunteering to replace her younger sister in the annual blood bath of sacrifice (put in place by the corrupt government), she starts to understand that there are things bigger than herself. She, and her mockingjay pin, become a symbol for the revolution.
So if Jennifer Lawrence’s insane stunts didn’t have you on the edge of your seat, her courage and determination should have you more than motivated to run that extra mile... just pretend Tracker Jackers are after you!
Moral of the Story: Fighting for what you believe in may get you in major trouble with the powers that be… just read Catching Fire and you’ll see what I mean. That said, sometimes causing a stir is what a society needs to right a deep wrong.
Why this should get you motivated: Katniss was sixteen when she had to fend for herself in the woods while trying to survive against 23 people trying to kill her…. What did you do at that age?
Freedom Writers
“You are the heroes. You are heroes every day.”
Plot: Freedom Writers is a tale about how one teacher (Hilary Swank) improved the lives of twenty-five students who were previously destined for failure.
Moral of the story: One teacher really is able to positively affect the futures of kids by inspiring them to reach their full potential. The students in the movie broke the mold and will do the same for their children and future generations.
Why this should get you motivated: If you’re currently in education or you're considering a career in education, then this movie will help you realize that you have a bigger role in your students' lives than you might realize.
See the next three motivational movies >>
Header image credit: Lions Gate Entertainment, HUNGER GAMES. Photo credit: Murray Close
The Sandlot
“Remember kid, there's heroes and there's legends. Heroes get remembered but legends never die, follow your heart kid, and you'll never go wrong.”
Plot: Smalls, the new kid on the block raised by his single mother, knows nothing about sports, let alone how to bond with the boys that play them. His new stepfather even has a hard time connecting with him because of it. After being invited to complete a baseball team by kind, cool-kid Benny “The Rocket”, Smalls starts a journey of self-discovery and brotherhood.
Moral of the Story: Make friends with the cool nice kid and you’ll be a sports announcer.
Better Moral of the Store: You have to face your fears to achieve success... and the chance to become a hero.
Why this should get you motivated: Smalls became a hero after facing his fears, so what's stopping you?
Pay it forward
“Are you saying you'll flunk us if we don't change the world?” “Well, no. But you might just scrape by with a C.”
Plot: If the ending of this tearjerker doesn’t have you running to the nearest homeless shelter to give up your car, then you need to get your morals checked out. Haley Joel Osment's simple plan to do three good deeds, after an assignment from his teacher (Kevin Spacey), ripples throughout the country, leaving everyone a little affected.
Moral of the story: You’re never too young to change the world.
Why this should get you motivated: If this young boy could do that much with just three nice deeds, then doing one nice things doesn’t seem so hard, does it?
Slum Dog Millionaire
“This is our destiny."
Plot: Take the heart from a classic Disney movie and the suspense from a Bourne action flick and you’ve got yourself the amazing tale of Jamal, a young boy from the slums of Mumbai, who goes on to compete in Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, using experiences from his past to answer the questions.
Moral of the Story: Good things happen to good people… eventually.
Why this should get you motivated: The more stories you have in your life, the better chance you will have to answer random questions on a game show. And hey, maybe it will end in a Bollywood number like this did. Or, maybe they'll just be experiences that will help you pave the road to success on your own. Either way, get out there and start experiencing life!
See the last two motivational movies >>
Header image credit: Lions Gate Entertainment, HUNGER GAMES. Photo credit: Murray Close
Little Giants
‘They've got your names on the back.” “So the guys at the morgue can identify the bodies.”
Plot: Yes, this is a hilarious underdog story about the two feuding O’Shea brothers (Ed O’Neil and Rick Moranis) who put their little league football teams against each other for monumental prizes. But what makes this movie motivational is the supporting lead, Danny O’Shea’s daughter, Becky “The Icebox”. All she wanted to do was play football, and she was good too, until she realized that cute guys, like the new kid Junior, wanted cheerleaders like her perky cousin. Through some internal struggles and some poor lipstick choices, she finally comes into her own and decides what she needs to do.
Moral of the story: Do what you love, not what you think society wants you to do.
Why this should get you motivated: Becky got the guy in the end and didn’t have to wear the pom-poms to get him… in fact she kicked the other team's butt to get him to notice her. Girl power!
A League of Their Own
“There’s No Crying in Baseball!”
Plot: During World War II the U.S. is in dyer need of any distraction from the devastation abroad: cue the first, and last, roundup of an all-female Major League Baseball team. Lead by captain and catcher Dottie (Geena Davis), and the team’s washed up coach (Tom Hanks), the Rockford Peaches are able to show the world what they’re made of.
Moral of the Story: Women can do exactly what men can do… in skirts.
Why this should get you motivated: These women did something that was so unheard of in that time. It gave women empowerment. Don't let their efforts go to waste!
Header image credit: Lions Gate Entertainment, HUNGER GAMES. Photo credit: Murray Close
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