Rain is in the forecast, so you’re gonna need a back-up plan. Here are our favorite Netflix offerings for a patriotic day on the couch. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll feel like a true American.
FORREST GUMP
Oh, just an epic drama/romance/comedy about some of the 20th century’s most important American events. If you can’t spend the 4th “in our nation’s capital,” then you must spend it with Tom Hanks as Forrest, Forrest Gump and celebrate this classic (which was released almost exactly 20 years ago, on July 6, 1994).
MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON
An idealistic, small-town fella (played by Jimmy Stewart) finds himself fighting corrupt politics in Washington. The film was added to the National Film Registry in 1989. Is that American enough for you?!
THE WEST WING
Yeah, “House of Cards” is pretty great. But this Sorkin series is the original political drama. Pick your favorite season or just start from the beginning and enjoy seven years in the White House with the Bartlett administration.
RUDY
Football + an underdog story = #America. Get inspired!
MAJOR LEAGUE
If you’re looking for something a little goofy, crack open a Bud Light Lime and enjoy some time with Charlie Sheen and America’s favorite pasttime.
A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
More baseball! More Tom Hanks! Celebrate the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, created during World War II. This is another flick on the list that made the National Film Registry, so you can count it as a quasi history lesson.
G.I. JOE
A real American hero, fighting for freedom. Pretend it’s #tbt and check out streaming episodes from 1983 and 1986.
WE WERE SOLDIERS
This is a (much) more serious look at war, about the Battle of Ia Drang in November 1965. Mel Gibson plays Lt. Col. Hal Moore, who led his battalion during the weeklong battle and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
THE CIVIL WAR
This Ken Burns documentary is for the real American history buffs out there. It took more time to put together the mini-series than was spent fighting the War Between the States, so pay attention (and put aside 10 hours… it’s worth it).
