Credit: Netflix

The sweater weather didn’t just vanish on its own; it left the chat with the designated season of rom-coms on its coattails. But since the June arrival arc is packed with fresh entries from the genre, thanks to Office Romance and Voicemails for Isabelle, Netflix viewers are now busy warming up for what’s to come with a trip down memory lane to a 2005 Cameron Diaz rom-com, In Her Shoes.

In the week ending May 24th, the forgotten romantic comedy directed by Curtis Hanson, amassed 5.1million views and cracked into the most popular movies chart at eighth. And the buzz alone is enough to underscore why it’s worth revisiting even after all this time.

The surprise rise of the comedy drama, In Her Shoes, comes down to a classic case of what the Internet universally calls the “Netflix Effect.” The most straightforward reason for the sudden spike is, of course, its streaming availability. The movie was added to several major international libraries on May 19th, and whenever a nostalgic, star-studded studio film hits Netflix shelves, it almost instantly becomes a favourite for streaming algorithms.

In a streaming landscape heavily dominated by intense true-crime movies, documentaries, and high-concept sci-fi, there’s always a massive appetite for easy-to-digest, emotionally resonant mid-2000s dramedies. While In Her Shoes features peak-era Diaz, also appearing in the movie are Toni Collette and the legendary Shirley MacLaine.

While In Her Shoes might be a romantic comedy, the comedic impetus is far heavier, raw, and relatable. The film follows two fiercely different sisters – Maggie, a free-spirited party girl and Rose, a strait-laced defence attorney – who have a major fallout before finding their long-lost grandmother.

The mix of messy family dynamics, personal growth, and a beautiful late-career performance by MacLaine makes the movie the prime candidate for easy viewing. In case you’re worried about whether it’s worth retracing after all these years, well, frankly, In Her Shoes has aged much better than the vast majority of comedies and dramas from that era.

When it originally came out, it was marketed as a glossy “chick flick” that people thought was disposable. However, watching it today reveals a deeply mature, patient, and melancholic character study that Hollywood rarely makes anymore.

So, if you’re ready to give old Hollywood a chance to brighten your day, In Her Shoes is the only pick you should go for right now on Netflix.