What To Watch on Netflix Canada This Weekend

Was there any celebrity news story this week other than Operation Varsity Blues? The indictment of Felicity Huffman, Lori Loughlin, and other rich white people who scammed their kids into U.S. colleges dominated headlines and Twitter timelines all week. The Bachelor finale happened, Jennifer Lopez released her engagement photos, and NO ONE CARES BECAUSE RICH PEOPLE BE SCAMMIN'. I’d understand if you’re just spending your weekend obsessively following the college admissions cheating story but if you need a break from figuring out why people with all the privilege in the world didn’t just use their access, money, and connections to cheat the system legally instead of resorting to crime, here are my five picks for what to watch on Netflix this weekend.

BREAKING NEWS: Americans take college admissions very seriously. If you’re taking a break from obsessing over Operation Varsity Blues but you still can’t get enough of SATs and college prep DRAMA, I’ve got a movie for you. Candy Jar is a saccharine teen rom-com about two debate team rivals who are competing to get into the colleges of their dreams. Bennett (Jacob Latimore) and Lona (Sami Gayle) go to great lengths to sabotage each other – before falling in love – and I’m sure they’d be the MOST pissed to find out they could have lost their spots in college to the kids of scammers. Candy Jar reminds you of the kids who do work hard to get into their dream schools, and that maybe unaffordable secondary education is the real scam after all.

This is a shameless plug for our new series, Early Birds and Night Owls, a look at the morning and nighttime routines of successful people. The first Early Bird is Piper Perabo, the star of Turn Up Charlie, which hit Netflix today. Perabo costars with Idris Elba in this comedy about a down-and-out DJ (Elba) who becomes a full-time nanny. If you haven’t yet, go read Perabo’s weird bedtime ritual, then binge all of season 1 of Turn Up Charlie.

Based on how much I cried in just the trailer for Queer Eye: Season 3, it’s going to be a weepy weekend. I can’t f-cking wait. The Fab 5 are back to change lives and revolutionize the “French Tuck.” Maybe Season 3 is when Antoni finally figures out how to cook things without avocados! Snark aside, I genuinely love this show and when the world feels like a cynical dumpster fire of bad news and horrible events, the kindness these men bestow on strangers makes me feel a little better about humanity, even if it’s a bit corny. Try not to FEEL all the emotions during this “Circle of Empowerment”sneak peek of Season 3. Spoiler alert: they’re making over more women this season than ever before.

Remember the Jennifer Lopez news no one cared about because of all the rich people scamming? In honour of J-Lo’s fifth engagement, let’s revisit one of her weakest rom-coms before it leaves Netflix this month. Hey, even a weak J-Lo rom-com is better than most. I will watch J-Lo fall in love with a hot man any day of the week. The Back-Up Plan delivers on J-Lo looking great and Alex O’Loughlin looking really great and not much else but to be honest, that’s all I need. The story goes like this: Lopez plays Zoe, a single woman who wants kids so she conceives though artificial insemination, but she meets the man of her dreams on the same day. Rom-com tropes ensue. Enjoy.

If crying over five gay men doing makeovers isn’t your thing but you still want a good tear-jerker this weekend, Miss You Already is the hidden gem you’ve been waiting for. Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette play childhood best friends Jess and Milly. Their worlds are turned upside down when Milly (Collette) gets cancer and Jess (Barrymore) becomes her caregiver. There are male love interests here (Dominic Cooper, Tyson Ritter, and Paddy Considine, respectively) but the real story is about the resilience of female friendship. Collette and Barrymore give some of the best performances of their careers and in this underrated drama that will leave you in a puddle of your own tears. You’ve been warned.