Movie Reviews: The Best Movies for a Reset: Stories That Help Me Start Over

Life hits us with moments where everything needs to shift. A job ends. A relationship falls apart. We wake up one morning and realize we're miles away from who we wanted to become. In those seasons, I've found that certain movies speak directly to that ache: they show characters navigating the exact messy middle ground between what was and what could be.

These aren't just entertaining films. They're roadmaps for anyone standing at a crossroads, wondering how to take the first step forward.

When Your Career Becomes Your Identity

The Devil Wears Prada (2006) shows what happens when professional success costs you everything else. Andy takes a job at a fashion magazine to jumpstart her journalism career, but along the way, she transforms into someone unrecognizable: changing her wardrobe, her relationships, and her values just to climb the ladder.

The film asks a question I think about constantly: What's the point of reaching the top if you have to abandon yourself to get there? Andy eventually walks away from that toxic success and returns to journalism, proving that course correction isn't failure: it's wisdom.

From a faith perspective, this hits home. We're called to be in the world but not of it. Andy's journey reminds me that when ambition pulls us away from who God designed us to be, it's time to reset.

Christian Safety Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)

• Language: Approximately 25-30 instances of mild to moderate profanity

• Sexual content: Brief references and suggestive dialogue, no explicit scenes

• Mature themes: Workplace toxicity, body image pressure, alcohol consumption

• Best for: Ages 13+ with parental guidance for younger teens

When Loss Forces Growth

Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) doesn't sugarcoat what happens when life rearranges itself overnight. Ted's wife leaves, and he's suddenly a single dad with no clue how to balance fatherhood and his demanding career. Watching him burn the French toast while trying to keep his job is heartbreaking and real.

But here's what I love: Ted doesn't just survive: he transforms. He reorganizes his entire life around his son, develops genuine connection, and becomes the parent he never thought he could be. That's resurrection living right there. Sometimes God uses our greatest losses to rebuild us into something better.

This five-time Oscar winner still holds up because it treats transformation as sacred work: painful, necessary, and ultimately redeeming.

Christian Safety Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)

• Language: Occasional mild profanity

• Themes: Divorce, custody battles, emotional intensity

• Age-appropriate drama without explicit content

• Best for: Ages 10+ with family discussion

When You Hike Your Way to Healing

Wild (2014) follows Cheryl as she hikes over 3,000 miles along the Pacific Crest Trail after heroin addiction nearly destroys her life. This film doesn't romanticize recovery: it shows every blister, every breakdown, every moment of doubt.

What strikes me most is how the physical journey mirrors her internal one. Each mile she walks is a step away from who she was and toward who she's becoming. It's a powerful reminder that healing isn't linear, and sometimes we need to physically move our bodies to process what's happening in our souls.

From a faith lens, I see this as a modern-day wilderness journey. God often takes His people into the desert to strip away everything that isn't essential. Cheryl's trek shows that it's never too late to start over, and transformation often requires us to walk through the hard stuff, not around it.

Christian Safety Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2/5)

• Language: Frequent strong profanity (50+ instances)

• Sexual content: Several explicit scenes and references to past promiscuity

• Drug use: Depictions of heroin use and addiction

• Mature themes: Grief, trauma, recovery

• Best for: Mature audiences 17+

When Family Forces You to Face Yourself

This Is Where I Leave You (2014) brings a dysfunctional family together for a week of mourning, and every simmering resentment bubbles to the surface. Each sibling is stuck in their own rut, avoiding the hard work of growth.

What I appreciate is how the film shows that family: messy, complicated, infuriating family: can be the catalyst for change. Sometimes we need people who know us too well to call out our patterns and force us to confront what's not working.

The reset here isn't about running away. It's about staying present, doing the hard conversations, and choosing to move forward instead of staying frozen in old hurts. That's biblical reconciliation in action: uncomfortable, necessary, and healing.

Christian Safety Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)

• Language: Frequent moderate to strong profanity (40+ instances)

• Sexual content: Adult humor, some crude references, brief scenes

• Mature themes: Death, infidelity, family dysfunction

• Best for: Ages 16+ with mature teens

When Starting Over Means Leaving Everything Behind

Minari (2020) captures what it's like to chase a dream that requires sacrificing everything familiar. A Korean-American family moves to rural Arkansas to start a farm, and nothing goes as planned. The work is brutal. The family strains under the pressure. The dream threatens to tear them apart.

But there's beauty in watching them persist. This film shows that resets aren't magical: they're hard work, emotional rollercoasters, and daily choices to keep going when quitting would be easier. The family's faith (both in God and in each other) becomes the anchor when everything else feels unstable.

This six-time Oscar nominee (with one win) resonated because it treats immigration, cultural identity, and the American Dream with honesty. It reminds me that God often calls us to uncomfortable places where we have to depend completely on Him. That's where transformation happens.

Christian Safety Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)

• Language: Minimal profanity, mostly in Korean with subtitles

• Themes: Immigration struggles, financial stress, medical emergencies, cultural conflict

• Family-friendly overall with some intense emotional moments

• Best for: Ages 10+ for family viewing

When Your Heart Needs Healing

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) uses humor to explore something deeply painful: what do you do when the person you built your life around walks away? Peter's heartbreak launches him out of his comfort zone, and while the journey is messy, it leads to self-discovery and genuine growth.

I love this film because it shows that sometimes what feels like the worst thing that could happen becomes the push we needed. God uses closed doors to direct us toward better paths. Peter's reset isn't about revenge or proving anything: it's about rediscovering himself and opening up to unexpected possibilities.

The comedy keeps it light, but underneath, there's a serious truth: healing requires us to leave familiar pain behind and risk trying again.

Christian Safety Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2/5)

• Language: Very frequent strong profanity (100+ instances)

• Sexual content: Multiple explicit scenes, full nudity

• Adult humor throughout

• Best for: Mature audiences 18+ only

The Takeaway: Reset Isn't Failure: It's Wisdom

Every one of these films shows characters at breaking points who choose to move forward instead of staying stuck. That's the pattern I keep seeing: transformation starts with honesty about where we are, courage to take the first step, and persistence through the messy middle.

From a faith perspective, these stories echo what Scripture teaches about renewal. Paul talks about putting off the old self and putting on the new. Jesus constantly invited people to leave their nets, their tax booths, their comfortable lives and follow Him into something radically different. Reset isn't just okay: it's often exactly what God is inviting us into.

If you're in a season where you need to start over, these films remind you that you're not alone. The path forward might be unclear, the work might be harder than you expected, and you might not recognize yourself on the other side: but that's the point. Transformation requires letting go of who we were to become who we're meant to be.

Next Steps

Pick one of these films and watch it this week with fresh eyes. Notice how the main character makes their first move toward change. What fear do they face? What do they leave behind? What keeps them going when it gets hard?

Then ask yourself: What's one small step I can take toward my own reset? Maybe it's having an honest conversation. Maybe it's applying for that job. Maybe it's simply admitting out loud that something needs to change.

If you're wrestling with these questions or want to dive deeper into faith-based perspectives on life transitions, I'd love to connect—reach out to me on the site at laynemcdonald.com. Browsing the site also helps raise funds for families who have lost children through Google AdSense at no cost to you.

For Christian teachings and community support during seasons of change, check out Boundless Online Church: you can access it privately or sign up to join the conversation.

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