3 Netflix Movies I Can’t Wait to Watch This Weekend (November 7-9): ‘Life of the Party’ and More

Netflix’s November programming schedule is packed full of new releases like Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein with Jacob Elordi, but the streamer has also added a slew of older releases to its library.

Watch With Us is here to shine a spotlight on three underrated Netflix films you should watch this weekend.

From the charming comedy Life of the Party with Melissa McCarthy to the powerful drama Just Mercy with Michael B. Jordan, these movies differ in content but all share the same high quality that makes them worth watching.

‘Life of the Party’ (2018)

Deanna Martin (Melissa McCarthy) needs some good news. After dropping off her daughter, Maddie (Molly Gordon), at college, her husband, Dan (Matt Walsh), told her he’s leaving her to be with another woman. Depressed, she decides to join Maddie at school — as a fellow undergraduate. Soon, Deanna ingratiates herself into Maddie’s social circle and becomes the life of the party, but is her pursuit of happiness taking away from her daughter’s?

Life of the Party was a minor hit when it was released in 2018, and it has gained newfound popularity since it was added to Netflix at the beginning of the month. It’s not hard to understand why — the story is essentially a ripoff of the beloved ‘80s classic Back to School, and the cast is full of appealing comedy veterans and newcomers. Of course, the movie belongs to McCarthy, who has a talent for playing lovable underdogs you love to root for. It’s hard to hate on a movie that uses a Christina Aguilera concert as a major plot point.

Life of the Party is streaming on Netflix.

‘Just Mercy’ (2019)

Recent Harvard Law grad Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) wants to help those in need, which is why he visits Alabama’s state prison to aid death row inmates who are appealing their convictions. Bryan soon discovers that one inmate, Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), was falsely convicted due to questionable testimony and seeks to have his case retried. But he has to battle a system that’s rigged against people like Walter and overcome his own inexperience as a criminal lawyer.

Just Mercy is a standard courtroom drama where the heroes and villains are clearly identified for the audience, and the outcome of the case is never really in doubt. But it’s told well, and both Jordan and Foxx shine as two men from opposite sides of the social spectrum who have more in common than they realize. The fact-based story is incredible, and after watching Just Mercy, you’ll want to know more about McMillian’s case.

Just Mercy is streaming on Netflix.

‘The Patriot’ (2000)

The Patriot sounds like an SNL skit — it’s an action movie set during the Revolutionary War starring two very Australian actors as all-American rebels and directed by the guy who just made Independence Day and Godzilla. But for the most part, The Patriot works, if only because of its compelling father/son story at the center of its chaos.

Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) is already a war veteran when English troops invade the rebellious American colonies, so he’s reluctant to get involved in the conflict. His eldest son, Gabriel (Heath Ledger), feels differently and crosses paths with the sadistic Colonel William Tavington (Jason Isaacs), who takes too much glee in killing his American enemies. When Gabriel’s life is threatened by Gabriel’s troops, Benjamin has no choice but to join the war effort to save his son.

The Patriot is hammy and full of rah-rah, stars-and-stripes nationalism you’d expect from a film called The Patriot, but the action sequences are rousing, and it faithfully depicts a late 18th-century period that’s seldom featured in big-budget movies. Gibson and Ledger are convincing as a father and son who don’t always see eye to eye, but share the same love and respect for each other as they do for their young country.

The Patriot is streaming on Netflix.