No one likes failing at something. Whether it’s as small as nailing a complex cake recipe or it’s big enough to impact work, study or even our personal lives, failing just really sucks – plain and simple. We’re not here to try and convince you otherwise, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t use past failures as future learning experiences.  

Some of our favourite movies deal with this very topic, and we reckon that watching a couple of them can help you find failure’s silver lining – or at the very least, distract you from your own disappointments, even for just a little bit.  

BRIDESMAIDS When we first met our protagonist Annie, played by Kristen Wiig, she’s already in a bit of a bad state. Her baking business was crushed in the 2008 economic crash (does this technically mean that this is a period piece?), and she’s also been dealt a blow in her personal life – her much more successful best friend is getting married while she’s stuck in a ‘situationship’ with a man who treats her like an object. Things keep getting worse for Annie and she experiences even more failure, but watching her finally take control of her own life is more than satisfying. We do hope that we never get to experience the many rock bottoms that Annie does, but we can at least take comfort knowing that if she can make it through, then we all can.

ROMY AND MICHELE’S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION is a camp buddy-comedy starring Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow as Romy and Michele respectively, who (you guessed it) return to meet their high school peers for a reunion. The plot revolves around the two fashionistas trying to gain their former classmates' respect by lying about their lives in order to make them appear more successful, which doesn’t really go to plan. The main takeaways of the film are: embrace your weirdness; life really does get better after high school; and your real friends will always have your back – even when you’re at your lowest.

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE This film is really just a love letter to failure and the ‘losers’ in life who may feel like they’re being outshined by someone smarter or prettier than them, but should get up on that damn stage and dance anyway. Little Miss Sunshine is led by its incredible ensemble cast featuring Paul Dano, Steve Carell, Aussie queen Toni Collette and more, and each character experiences some level of failure throughout the film. It’s honestly a very heart-warming movie and it’s hard not to tear up at least once, so tissues are a bit of a must. 

MURIEL’S WEDDING In the great pantheon of Aussie films, Muriel’s Wedding still holds up as one of the very best. Also starring Toni Colette, this film follows the awkward and ABBA-obsessed Muriel Heslop as she attempts to make her own place in the world, despite almost everyone else around her trying to cut her down. We follow Muriel as she tries to carve out a life that was expected of her, before deciding to live life on her own terms. Moral of the story – don’t try and be someone else, live your own truth and you’ll be a lot happier for it.

I, TONYA Widely known as one of Margot Robbie’s best performances, this film is all about the infamous and disgraced figure skater, Tonya Harding. We watch Tonya experience the highest highs of her career, like being the first American athlete to land a triple axel (which is now a banned move in competitions since it’s so risky), as well as the lowest moments of her professional and personal life. Viewers bear witness to the extreme lengths Tonya is willing to go to in order to achieve her level of perfection, and how it all crumbles down. Despite this, Tonya is never depicted as weak and keeps on fighting – literally and metaphorically.