Spring Screening
watch this: feel alive
It’s spring — a time when the world around us wakes up from winter, and sunshine and warmer temps breathe new life into everything — including us.
While the warmer, sunnier era of spring takes its sweet time to arrive (at least outside my window), I’m spending my time working, writing, cleaning and organizing, rearranging my furniture, dog-sitting, and watching lots of TV and movies, as usual. True to form, my viewing habits are eclectic, and they include everything from The Great British Baking Show to The Pitt to true crime documentaries, but I’m also watching movies and series to help me welcome the spring season and the hopeful, life-affirming spirit it brings.
However, it wouldn’t be a list of film and TV recommendations from me if there wasn’t a little bit of sad to go with the happy. I tried to write a post with lighter, more sunshine-y movies (I really did, you guys) — but at the last minute, I scrapped that draft and started over. You could say I turned over a new leaf for a fresh start.
Spring movies to me are not just about floral fields, pastel colours, budding romances, and lush gardens — although there are many great movies out there to choose from that fit those bills.
Spring is a time when we come alive, so when I think of movies and series that remind me of spring, I think about what it feels like to be alive. And life, like spring, is not just about the pretty, hopeful things like a bright green seedling bursting out of the soil, the warm sun rising to meet us, or a daffodil starting to bloom. Being alive is about getting through the dirty, hard, emotional stuff, too.
So, with that in mind, I’m recommending two films and one TV series for you to consider watching as you wake up from winter, feel the sun on your face, and burst through the soil to remember that you’re alive.
Just a word of warning that there are some emotional and potentially triggering scenes in Dying for Sex and The Biggest Little Farm. Please take care. Light spoilers ahead.
DYING FOR SEX
In this new, 8-part dramedy miniseries, Michelle Williams plays Molly Kochan, a woman who receives life-altering medical news and thus decides to leave her unhappy 15-year marriage to go on a fearless journey of sexual exploration and self-discovery. Dying for Sex (2025) is funny, tragic, kinky, profound — and based on a true story. It first began as a podcast by the same name, in which the real Molly Kochan shared her story with her best friend, actress Nikki Boyer, who is played by Jenny Slate in the series.
Created by Elizabeth Meriwether (New Girl, The Dropout) and Kim Rosenstock (New Girl, GLOW), and directed by Shannon Murphy (Killing Eve) and Chris Teague (Only Murders in the Building), the series blends together scenes that show us deeply faithful acts of friendship, comedic and cathartic moments of sex, and traumatic recollections of childhood.
Molly’s bucketlist is about sexual exploration and healing through pleasure, and as she pursues this goal, she has a team of guides who support her medically, emotionally, financially, and logistically — including Sonya, her social worker, who is played beautifully by Esco Jouléy; and Nikki, her best friend, played by Slate, who balances comedy and tragedy quite well in this role. Williams’ Molly is the type of character any actress would love to play - she’s complex and flawed, and she is living life and facing death with fearless abandon.
As I sped through this series, I went from laughing out loud to sobbing to drooling over how hot Rob Delaney is (holy smokes!), and wishing for more Jay Duplass scenes (simply because Jay Duplass is a great actor.) Williams approaches the role of Molly with emotion, audacity, and sex-positive confidence, and as she does with so many of her roles (she’s a phenomenal actress), she delivers an excellent performance.
Dying for Sex is indeed about a woman who is dying — but it’s also about a woman who is finally living. I bet the real Molly would love it.
Where to stream: Disney+
If you like this, you might also like: My Life Without Me, The Big C, 50/50.
Did you know: Rob Delaney, an actor, comedian, and writer, who delivers a soulful performance as “Neighbor Guy”, had his own real-life experience with grief when he lost his 2-year-old son to brain cancer, which he wrote about in his memoir, A Heart that Works.
THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM
The Biggest Little Farm (2018) uses gorgeous cinematography and gentle, emotional, and sometimes humourous narration to tell the story of John and Molly Chester and their family farm in California, Apricot Lane Farms.
The Chesters’ story is joyful and inspiring, and it celebrates the pure beauty of nature, animals, family, and community — but it doesn’t gloss over the hardships that come with life as farmers. This documentary will take you on an emotional ride up to hope, down to grief, and back up to joy and gratitude. If you’re a dog lover (or an animal lover, really), get your Kleenexes ready.
Directed by John Chester, who co-wrote the film with Mark Monroe (Jim Henson: Idea Man), The Biggest Little Farm combines beautiful nature cinematography and the educational qualities of a National Geographic special with the heartfelt storytelling of a classic family story. The film doesn’t shy away from sharing the realities of farm life and the environmental challenges facing our planet, and it will also make you fall in love with the Chesters and their animals, as well as gain greater appreciation for the food on your plate.
Where to stream: CBC Gem1
If you like this, you might also like: Chef’s Table, Babe, Kiss the Ground, A Dog’s Purpose
Did you know: The Apricot Lane Farms website has a really cool illustrated and interactive farm map that makes it easy (and amazing) to see everything they do on the farm.
VAL
If you grew up in the ‘80s, you’re paying attention to entertainment news, or you’re following me on Instagram, you may have heard by now that actor Val Kilmer died last week at age 65. He was a passionate, creative, intense, and sometimes misunderstood actor who played over 100 roles in his lifetime. You might know him as Iceman from Top Gun, Jim Morrison from The Doors, or Doc Holliday in Tombstone, but as you’ll see in his excellent documentary, Val, there’s so much more to know about Val Kilmer.
A creative, personal documentary, Val (2021) is a captivating, sad, funny, touching, and real portrait of this talented multidisciplinary artist. Narrated superbly by his son, Jack, the film tells Val’s life story, featuring themes of art, expression, family, truth, love, and pain. Watching it made me feel grateful, reflective, inspired, and nostalgic.
Something I didn’t know about Val before watching this documentary was that he was constantly filming the world around him, both to the delight and the annoyance of those around him. He saw the world through the lens of a camera, but more so through the lens of an artist, who captured images, wrote, made art, and performed in plays and films to make sense of the world and express himself fully.
Upon hearing the news of his passing, I wrote a little tribute to him on my Instagram account:
Funny, soulful, dramatic, and intense — Val Kilmer was a truly gifted actor. He played iconic characters like Jim Morrison, Doc Holliday, and Batman; went toe to toe with acting legends like Brando, De Niro, Sam Shepard, Robert Downey Jr., and Tom Cruise; and he had the acting chops to play the hero, the romantic lead, the scientist, the villain, and many other complex characters. On screen, he oozed with charisma. For me, it all started with Real Genius. I probably wasn’t even 10 years old, and I fell in love with his smart-funny character, Chris Knight in this ‘80s comedy. Some of the jokes in the film might not fly today, but if you can, make some popcorn and go watch that movie — it’s awesome. After that, I was transfixed by his perfectly cocky and charismatic role as Ice Man in Top Gun, his brilliant portrayal of Jim Morrison in The Doors, and his iconic performance in Tombstone, in which he played Doc Holliday. Quite simply, he was made for the silver screen. Bravo, Val. Rest easy.
One of the best things about cinema is that it preserves people on screen for us to revisit again and again after they’re gone. Watching this movie made me wish I had more home video of my own, but it also inspired me to think about how I might capture the essence of my life and the lives of my loved ones in creative ways moving forward. As it says in the tagline of the film, “The life you live is the story you tell”, and Val’s story was told beautifully.
Where to stream: Amazon Prime Video
If you like this, you might also like: Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story; Pamela, A Love Story; movies starring Val Kilmer ;)
Did you know: Every frame of this film was shot by Val Kilmer.
What have you been watching lately?
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Streaming and rental sources listed are limited to the services and websites I subscribe to and/or have access to (in Canada) at the time of publishing. Feel free to search your streaming and cable services for these titles.
Canadian readers: I seriously recommend checking out CBC Gem. It’s free (with ads), and you have to sign in via Google or Apple or create an account, but there are a lot of good movies and TV series on the site.
Thanks for the great recommendations! The only one I've seen is the Val Kilmer doc, and I agree - I loved it!