5 Best Slice-of-Life Movies On Epix

Staff & contributors

Art imitates life, and so it is with cinema that depitcs the mundanity of everyday life. Slip away from your to-do-list and inhabit another character's everyday universe with our roun-dup of the best slice of life movies to stream.

Find the best slice-of-life movies to watch, from our mood category. Like everything on agoodmovietowatch, these slice-of-life movies are highly-rated by both viewers and critics.

On the one hand, American Fiction is a razor-sharp satire that pokes fun at the hypocrisy of the literary and entertainment industry. It's only when Monk (Wright), a genius but esoteric writer, decides to pander and give in to what publishers have come to expect from Black authors (that is: trauma porn) that he is finally celebrated for his work. But on the other hand, the film is also a tender family drama. Monk sells out, as it were, partly because he’s fascinated by the stupidity of decision-makers and supposed intellectuals, but mostly because he needs to pay for his ailing mother’s care. His relationship with his siblings and deceased father likewise informs much of his character, and they complicate what could’ve been just an intellectual approach to a social issue. This is an educational and entertaining film, yes, one that looks at the complex intersection between identity, craft, and profit. But it’s also an empathetic film, told with a big heart and a surprisingly light touch.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Adam Brody, Alexander Pobutsky, Bates Wilder, Becki Dennis, Carmen Cusack, Celeste Oliva, David De Beck, Dustin Tucker, Erika Alexander, Greta Quispe, Issa Rae, J. C. MacKenzie, Jeffrey Wright, Jenn Harris, John Ales, John Ortiz, Kate Avallone, Keith David, Leslie Uggams, Michael Cyril Creighton, Michael Jibrin, Michael Malvesti, Miriam Shor, Myra Lucretia Taylor, Neal Lerner, Okieriete Onaodowan, Patrick Fischler, Raymond Anthony Thomas, Skyler Wright, Sterling K. Brown, Tracee Ellis Ross

Director: Cord Jefferson

Rating: R

Cheerfully outrageous yet heartwarmingly tender, the Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert was ahead of its time, daring to dive into drag and transexuality, when the rest of the world was still coming around to accepting homosexuality. On the bus which the title is named after, two drag queens and a trans woman have a road trip, that does have some difficult moments, when they drive through intolerant towns, but overall, becomes quite lovely, as the three forge a bond through drag, witty, sarcastic quips and sharing vulnerable moments. While all three leads are portrayed by cis men, and the role of Bob’s Filipino wife feels slightly stereotypical, overall, The Adventures of Priscilla is a grand ol’ time, a joyful film about finding family in a world where tolerance wasn’t a guarantee.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Bill Hunter, Guy Pearce, Hugo Weaving, Kenneth Radley, Rebel Penfold-Russell, Sarah Chadwick, Terence Stamp

Director: Stephan Elliott

Rating: R

Crushes seem much more important when you’re young, and when you and your sibling share one, it easily alters your dynamic, with the jealousy, comparison, and the insecurity it can foster. The Man in the Moon tackles this childhood crush with care. Writer Jenny Wingfield and director Robert Mulligan characterize each kid with consideration befitting their ages, with an understanding of the different priorities they would have with a three year age gap, the feelings they would have, and the misunderstandings they would have with each other. And this all works because of Reese Witherspoon, who even then held a screen presence that made her into a star.

Genre: Drama, Family, Romance

Actor: Bentley Mitchum, Dennis Letts, Emily Warfield, Ernie Lively, Gail Strickland, Jason London, Reese Witherspoon, Sam Waterston, Tess Harper

Director: Robert Mulligan

Rating: PG-13

The entirety of Pieces of April takes place on Thanksgiving Day, a busy holiday meant to bring loved ones together. Sure enough, April, the eldest Burns daughter, takes great pains to prepare a nice dinner for her visiting family. But we soon learn that she is motivated less by excitement than by dread: she's long been estranged, disowned even, by her uptight mother, Joy, who is only agreeing to come because she's sick with cancer. April seems to be on a reluctant mission to fix their fraught relationship, but pesky (albeit funny) mishaps, both on her and Joy's end, keep getting in the way. Shot digitally and very closely with hand-held cameras, Pieces of April looks as intimate as it feels. It's a snapshot of an era and of a particular family dynamic, one that relatably relies on both love and scorn to keep going. It's an excellent, honest, and underrated gem of a movie.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family

Actor: Adrian Martinez, Alice Drummond, Alison Pill, Anney Giobbe, Armando Riesco, Birdie M. Hale, Derek Luke, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Jamari Richardson, John Gallagher Jr., Katie Holmes, Leila Danette, Lillias White, Oliver Platt, Patricia Clarkson, Rusty De Wees, Sally Leung Bayer, Sean Hayes, Sisqó, Stephen Chen, Susan Bruce, Vitali Baganov

Director: Peter Hedges

Rating: PG-13

While better known for Pride & Prejudice, Emma, and Sense & Sensibility, Jane Austen wrote Mansfield Park, a novel that garnered differing critical interpretations, but still intrigued readers even today. The 1999 film adaptation does capture some of the original novel’s ideas, such as Fanny’s modesty, the Cinderella-like submissiveness as means for survival, and the quiet strength to remain as herself, but it also expands on certain elements that were mostly only alluded to in the original, such as the elements pulled from Jane Austen’s actual life and her own sympathies for anti-slavery. While the film isn’t fully faithful to the original novel and should be considered its own, Mansfield Park does retain some of the essentials that makes it distinctly Austen.

Genre: Drama, Romance

Actor: Alessandro Nivola, Amelia Warner, Anna Popplewell, Bruce Byron, Charles Edwards, Danny Worters, Elizabeth Earl, Embeth Davidtz, Frances O'Connor, Gordon Reid, Hannah Taylor-Gordon, Harold Pinter, Hilton McRae, Hugh Bonneville, James Purefoy, Jonny Lee Miller, Justine Waddell, Lindsay Duncan, Philip Sarson, Sheila Gish, Sophia Myles, Victoria Hamilton

Director: Patricia Rozema

Rating: PG-13