Underrated and Overlooked: The 11 Best 2023 Movies That Flew Under The Radar

Many smart, correct people have already highlighted the excellence of this British rom-com. That includes Decider’s Karen Kemmerle, who went to bat for the film for Decider’s Best Movies of 2023 list, calling it “funny and heartfelt.” Still, not enough people know about this little indie, which stars David Jonsson and Vivian Oparah as two strangers—both recently separated from their significant others—who spend the day together. The film got a quiet release on Hulu in the U.S., and despite the critical acclaim, didn’t manage to break through to mainstream audiences. It’s not too late to remedy that!

Where to watch Rye Lane

You probably haven’t heard of this Michael Cera-led indie, which was quietly released on digital after a limited theatrical run. Written and directed by Dustin Guy Defa, this quiet and affect family drama finds three adult siblings reunited when the oldest, Eric (Cera), returns to his hometown for what was intended to be a short visit. When Eric’s insatiable competitive drive prompts him to extend his trip, he finds himself confronting his strained relationship with his two sisters (played by Hannah Gross and Sophia Lillis). It’s a relationship that, as Cera told Decider’s Raven Brunner in a recent interview, “slowly reveals itself to be containing a great ocean of warmth and love between them.” It’s quirky, heartfelt, and moving, and features another stand-out performance from Sophia Lillis, who also crushed it in the Dungeons & Dragons movie earlier this year. Give it a watch!

Where to watch The Adults

In September, Netflix released what I felt was the streamer’s best original romantic comedy in years, and yet I hardly saw anyone talking about Love at First Sight. Haley Lu Richardson and Ben Hardy ooze chemistry as strangers who sit next to each other on a 6-hour flight to London. Between the actors’ chemistry and the characters’ authenticity, this simple, straightforward romance transformed into something special. If you want to treat yourself to solid, fun, easy-to-watch romance, you can’t go wrong with this film.

Where to watch Love at First Sight

If I was 14 years old when Nimona was released, I would have made it my entire personality. And maybe there are some teens out there obsessing over this film adaptation of the popular 2015 graphic novel by ND Stevenson. But as far as I could tell, Nimona didn’t get nearly the attention it deserves. That’s a shame, because Nimona is a totally metal and totally queer adventure. Chloë Grace Moretz stars as the voice of Nimona, a shapeshifter who teams up with a disgraced knight (voiced by Riz Ahmed), because she’s determined to exact revenge on the rigged society that deemed her a “monster.” Between the dope soundtrack, gorgeous animation, and empowering message, you’ll come away from Nimona ready to burn it all down, in the best way. Maybe we’ll see it reach cult classic status in the coming years.

Where to watch Nimona

Every year, HBO releases a handful of really good documentaries that fly under the radar, and 2023 was no exception.  If you’ve ever watched a documentary about the trans community directed by someone on the outside (like, say, Paris is Burning), then The Stroll is a must-watch, if only for the chance to hear the history of the trans sex workers in New York City told by the people who lived it. Kristen Lovell, who co-directed the film with Zackary Drucker, worked as a sex worker in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District for years, and she gathered her friends and former co-workers to archive their history in a way that’s fascinating, heartbreaking, and impossible to look away from.

Where to watch The Stroll

Maybe it’s due to the timing of the film’s April release, but the latest Kelly Reichardt film—a quietly hilarious character study starring Michelle Williams—isn’t getting nearly the same level of critical and awards buzz as Reichardt’s last film, First Cow. As much as I loved that cow, for me, Showing Up was even more affecting. Freed from the chains of playing “the wife,” Williams sinks her teeth into this flawed, selfish character: an artist who must learn that being kind and present is the most significant contribution we can make to this world. If the world was just, Williams would be an Oscar frontrunner for this, not The Fabelmans. 

Where to watch Showing Up

If you love rock documentaries and you haven’t yet watched this HBO Little Richard doc, you need to remedy that immediately. Little Richard was a complicated man, and Lisa Cortés’s unique documentary doesn’t shy away from the messy parts of his story. Featuring compelling historians who know their stuff, this is a crucial correction of rock ‘n roll history, and the role Black, queer artists had in a genre that is often perceived as belonging to old, white men. Sadly the film didn’t get the attention it deserved, but it deserves to become a music doc staple.

Where to watch Little Richard: I Am Everything

This laugh-out-loud funny, R-rated comedy was overshadowed by the release of No Hard Feelings in theaters at the same time, but I implore you to make some time to watch Joy Ride at home. Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, and Sabrina Wu are a hilarious foursome, as friends (and frenemies) who find themselves stranded in China. The characters are lovable and distinct, the jokes are funny, and the performances are on point. It also features arguably the funniest sex scene of the year. Don’t sleep on Joy Ride.

Where to watch Joy Ride

It doesn’t seem likely that Annette Bening will get her long-overdue Oscar from NYAD, an Academy-bait Netflix movie that’s gotten somewhat lost in the shuffle this year. (May December stole the thunder!) But even though NYAD hits on every feel-good, sports drama cliché you can think of, I loved it. That’s largely thanks to Bening and Jodie Foster, who star respectively as the real-life swimmer Diana Nyad and her coach, Bonnie Stoll. The movie tells the true story of Nyad, a long-distance swimmer who achieved her life’s dream of swimming from Havana, Cuba to Key West, Florida in 2013 when she was 64 years old. But the real story is the relationship between Nyad and Stoll. It’s not a sexual relationship, but it’s undeniably a love story—including a romantic speech from Foster that will stick with me for years. In a world where older actresses are relegated to playing moms of 30-somethings, it was a breath of fresh air to see these two masters delve into these rich, complicated, and flawed characters.

Where to watch NYAD

Gael García Bernal delivered arguably his best performance to date in this uplifting biopic about Cassandro, the “exotico” character created by Saúl Armendáriz, one of Mexico’s first famous gay luchador wrestlers. But a streaming release paired with the fact that it’s partially in Spanish prevented Cassandro from becoming the hit it should have been. Bernal throws himself into the character completely, and his tender compassion will have you in tears. There’s still time for Academy members to watch this one and nominate Bernal. Just saying.

Where to watch Cassandro

In my humble opinion, no 2023 movie has been more egregiously underrated than Rustin, the Netflix biopic about Bayard Rustin, an openly gay civil rights leader. If Bradley Cooper gets an Oscar nomination for his prosthetic-reliant portrayal of queer composer Leonard Bernstein, but Colman Domingo gets zilch for his grounded, authentic performance as Rustin—whose contribution to the work of Martin Luther King Jr. and the 1963 March on Washington has been downplayed for years, in part due to his sexuality—there is simply no justice in this world. Directed by Tony-winner George C. Wolfe, Rustin offers a well-researched, nuanced look at the civil rights movement not often seen in Hollywood movies. In a year where biopics dominated the screen, Rustin ought to be up there on best-of lists next to Oppenheimer.

Where to watch Rustin