Thick, creamy, tomato-basil soup for the soul

Because, let's face it, it's way better than chicken.

I was in 5th grade, it was some time in either October or November--in the height of college football season--and I was invited to a friend's house to watch a game. I don't really remember any of us caring about the score so much, as we were all 9 and 10-year-old girls, but I remember that their tv room had one of those exercise bikes with the handles that go back and forth as you ride (supposedly to tone your arms?). Anyway, I was chatting with one of my friends, and non-chalantly put my foot on one of the pedals without really thinking about it. As the pedal came down, one of the handles automatically came back and caught the center-adjusty thing on one of their shutters and snapped it in half. The party came to a screeching hault as my friend's mom saw the broken shutter with a look of horror on her face, and yelled at me in front of all my friends, "When you go to someone else's house, you don't touch a darn (but she used the real word to me) thing!", and in no time she was packing us all in the car to take us home because I had, and I quote, "lost my manners".

I felt horrible. I was mortified (although looking back, probably not as much as my friend whose mom said those things to me). And when I got home, it was to any empty house because my parents had expected me to be at the party. And so I sat down on our couch and cried, thinking I was going to be in a lot of trouble, thinking my parents were going to have pay a ton of money to fix their shutter. I turned on the tv and Ace Ventura 2: Pet Detective was on HBO. And after a few minutes I stopped crying. And after a few more, I actually started laughing... a lot (High-ho Silver, awaaaaaayyyy!). And after the movie was over, my parents came home and I explained everything to them. My sweet mom hugged and comforted me while my dad had a nice little 'chat' with my friend's mom over the phone. Afterwards he wiped a tear from my cheek and let me know that all was well.

I tell this story because even to this day, Ace Venture 2 holds a special little place in my heart for making me laugh that night, and bringing me out of the depths of my childhood despair. It's not my favorite movie of all time, not by a long shot. And yes, it is low-brow, yes it is slapstick, but parts of it still make me laugh really hard. My sister and I may have even been quoting it to each other in whispers when we were watching a Broadway production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang just last year. There are certain movies, books and TV shows that just make me feel better, like a steaming cup of tomato-basil soup for my soul. They are nostalgic and cathartic in a sense. And even though I've seen them countless times, like my dad, they seem let my psyche know that all is well.

what are some of your favorites?