We saw some pretty great movies this year, nearly half of which starred Allison Janney. But with so many releases vying for our attention, it was a given that several must-see titles slipped through unnoticed. Here are a few lesser-known notables we caught in 2016, from affecting teen dramas to sweetly moving comedies to sing-along-worthy musicals.
Other People
After breaking up with his boyfriend, a successful-enough New York City comedy writer (played by Fargo star Jesse Plemons) returns to Sacramento to help take care of his cancer-stricken mother (Molly Shannon). That might sound like a set-up straight out of winsome-indie hell, or maybe a Fox Searchlight pitch meeting. But writer-director Chris Kelly’s cagily funny gem never loses itself in mucky mawkishness or too-easy uplift, dwelling instead on the smaller, stranger, more sneakily beautiful moments that tend to accompany grief. And Plemons and Shannon small-screen scene-stealers turned ace character-actorshave never been better. Brian Raftery
Sing Street
A breakout hit at Sundance, Sing Street sputtered when it was released in the US this springa shame, as it’s the kind of good-cheer generator that most of us could have used at one point during the past year. Set in Dublin in 1985,the newly Golden Globe-nominated musical-drama follows a group of working-class teenagers who attempt to irk their schoolmasterand maybe win over a girl or twoby forming a Duran Duran-duplicating new-wave band and writing one of this year’s best songs. It’s a little bit John Hughes, a wee bit John Taylor, and a whole lot of smile-stoking fun. Brian Raftery
The Edge of Seventeen
Look, if you’re the kind of person who keeps an eye out for dark, coming-of-age dramedies, this one probably isn’t on your Missed list. But if you weren’t looking for it, Edge of Seventeen definitely flew under the radar. And that’s too bad; it’s fantastic. Anchored by some note-perfect performances from Hailee Steinfeld and Woody Harrelson, writer/director Kelly Fremon Craig’s film is serious without being bleak and funny without being goofyboth qualities that are rare in teen movies. It reminds you of what it’s like to be in high schoolin all the best and worst ways. Angela Watercutter
Krisha
Honestly, it’s kind of hard to explainKrisha, let alone explain why it’s amazing. The movie is essentially set up like an emotional/psychological time-bomb. Krisha (Krisha Fairchild), a woman with some troubling substance abuse issues, goes home for Thanksgiving after being away from her famity for 10 years and from the second she walks up to the house, you just know this isn’t going to go well. That may sound rote, but writer-director Trey Edward Shults(who cast his own aunt in the title role) builds the family tension in a way that makesthe movie hard to turn away fromand you won’t be able to do so until the credits roll. Angela Watercutter
The Fits
The Fitsstarts out as a movie about an 11-year-old girl named Toni who becomes fascinated with a local dance troupe. She’s a tomboy and doesn’t quite fit in with them, but she’s determined. Then everything goes sideways when the other young women in the troupe start suffering from fainting spells and violent spasms. The mystery then becomes trying to decipher what’s happening to all the girlsToni encounters. If you liked the strange vibe ofIt Follows, thenThe Fits is up your alley. And watching newcomerRoyalty Hightower (Toni) carry the movie all the way through is magic. Angela Watercutter
Don’t Think Twice
ForThe Commune, an improv troupe in New York City whose members have worked and lived together for years, success is always just around the cornerat least until one of them (Keegan-Michael Key)nabs a spot on anetwork TV sketch show. That’s when the joking stops andthe tension finally boils over.Mike Birbiglia (Sleepwalk With Me), a standup comic with improv chops of his own, wrote and directed this love letter to failure, friendship, and the most reviled performance formsince a cappella. Thanks to acast of vets(Key, Chris Gethard,Tami Sagher) and regular funny-ass people (Kate Micucci, Gillian Jacobs), the improv rings as true as the scripted bits, and theambition as palpable as the desperation. The best small-scale comedy of the year. Peter Rubin
Stretch & Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives
If you livedin NYC in the 90s, unsigned hype didn’t get discovered in the pages ofThe Source,but in the cramped studio from whichDJ Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Garcia broadcast their late-night hip-hop show on Columbia University’s radio station. Nas, Jay Z, Biggie, and dozens of otherrap legends all came ontheshow before they had dealsand they all left with buzz. Garcia himself wrote and directedthis loving look back, full ofjawdropping archival materialthat in some cases has goneunheard for more than 20 years. Ithit a few festivals late last year, butcame to Showtime in April, and is now on Netflix. Run, don’t walk. Peter Rubin
Christine
Christine is based on the true (and tragic) story of Christine Chubbuck, a Florida TV reporter who killed herself on-air in the 1970s. If that makes Antonio Campos’ movie sound heart-wrenching, it is. But it’s also riveting, thanks largely to a wonderful performance by Rebecca Hall in the title role. At times darkly funny, and always gripping, Christine is hard to ignore. Angela Watercutter
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