Classic Movies to Watch For Fathers Day

When a young girl proves she can intuit business tips for her overworked father, he suddenly has a lot more time to play and listen to her. The dad who’s too busy to hang out with his kid is a pretty common trope, but Eddie Murphy takes that story and infuses it with honest energy, love, and humor.

The relationship between a grown man and his own father is at the heart of this Kevin Costner flick, and it’s got plenty of romantic notions about baseball and America that never come off too saccharine.

Perfect for any dad looking for something to watch with a small child “Finding Nemo” is a go-to animated classic in which father and son both have to fight to be reunited.

Inject a little Wes Anderson energy into your holiday with “The Royal Tenenbaums,” a movie all about a father who is likely worse than any real-world dad you know, but who ultimately earns some redemption and affection.

Adam Sandler actually plays a pretty convincing young dad in this 1999 classic about a guy who finds out he’s got a son. It’s got plenty of toilet humor, but also plenty of heartfelt moments

Sport is a vehicle for a lot of father-child bonding, so it makes a great backdrop to this Spike Lee flick starring Denzel Washington and Ray Allen. It’s not a typical, light-hearted, feel-good pick, but it’s worth watching for any adult parent and child.

This is on the more feel-good side of sports movies, “The Game Plan” puts Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in an uncomfortable position as a tough NFL player who just found out he’s a father to a little girl. She upends his life and makes him a better person — but the movie is really a vehicle for seeing The Rock covered in bubbles and getting cute with a kid.

In real life, anyone would love to have Steve Martin for a father, but he causes (and runs into) a lot of problems as the unwilling father of a 22-year-old bride. Diane Keaton also turns in a fabulous performance as the mother of the bride.

Sure it’s not your typical father-child bonding movie, but “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” hits a lot of the sentimental parental notes in an action-packed Marvel package. It’s a genuine tear-jerker, not to mention a fantastic ride.

Proving the lengths to which some dads will go for their kids, “Mrs. Doubtfire” is an utter classic among fans of all ages. No one can outdo Robbin Wiliams.

If you are or have got a dad who appreciates a good cry, boot up Will Smith’s “The Pursuit of Happyness.” The film, inspired by a true story of a single father trying to make ends meet for his son, is a not too gentle reminder about the trials and victories of fatherhood.

An ode to all the awkward conversations dads have to have with their kids, “Definitely, Maybe” is almost like a movie version of “How I Met Your Mother” except with Ryan Reynolds, Rachel Weisz, Isla Fisher, and Elizabeth Banks.

“The Parent Trap” launched Lindsay Lohan into the acting stratosphere, but it also gave us Dennis Quaid as the kind-hearted California dad of our dreams. You can just fast forward through the bits focused on Natasha Richardson.

Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway star in this Christopher Nolan sci-fi film about a NASA pilot who travels through a wormhole to discover which of three possible planets could be Earth’s new home when it becomes uninhabitable, and the reckoning with his own past that he must face in the time-tangled journey.

Dad doesn’t want anything except to make lasting family memories on a road trip and day at the most hyped-up amusement park. Chevy Chase stars in this hilarious family classic from National Lampoon.

Liam Neeson stars in this full-throttle revenge film about a former government operative trying to rescue his daughter after she has been kidnapped by international traffickers during a trip to Paris.