One of the Most Emotionally Devastating Movies of All Time Is Heading to Netflix

If December is for anything, it is for a rewatch of Home Alone, director Chris Columbus and writer John Hughes' festive favorite starring Macaulay Culkin as the cunning Kevin McCallister, as he is accidentally left home alone and must face off against a pair of burglars on Christmas Eve. Bursting with memorable performances, unforgettable moments, and the true essence of the holiday spirit, Home Alone is a certified classic and firmly places Culkin as a regular face in millions of households every December.

However, thanks to Netflix, Culkin can now make another appearance in your home in January 2026, as his tear-jerking drama My Girl officially joins the platform next month. Also starring Anna Chlumsky, Dan Aykroyd, and Jamie Lee Curtis, this family favorite certainly isn't for the faint of heart, for one moment in particular is utterly devastating for even the coldest-hearted viewer. During its box office run in 1991, My Girl returned $58 million in domestic revenue, enough to more than triple the film's reported $16.5 million budget. For anyone who has yet to see My Girl, a synopsis for the movie reads:

"Tomboy Vada Sultenfuss (Anna Chlumsky) has good reason to be morbid: her mother died giving birth to her, and her father (Dan Aykroyd) operates a funeral service out of their home. The other kids think she's a freak, and it certainly doesn't help that her best friend, Thomas J. Sennett (Macaulay Culkin), is a boy. To make matters worse, Vada is desperately in love with her English teacher, Mr. Bixler (Griffin Dunne). What's an 11-year-old girl to do?"

'My Girl' Received Mixed Reviews

Although the film is beloved by several generations of audiences, My Girl didn't open to blanket praise from critics; it received a mixed response. For example, on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film only has a 57% approval rating, with the consensus reading, "My Girl has a mostly sweet story and a pair of appealing young leads, but it's largely undone by its aggressively tearjerking ending." In contrast to this, famed critic Roger Ebert awarded the movie a near-perfect 3.5/4 stars, saying, "The beauty in this film is in its directness. There are some obligatory scenes. But there are also some very original and touching ones. This is a movie that has its heart in the right place."

My Girl is streaming on Netflix as of January 1, 2026. Make sure to stay tuned to Collider for more streaming stories.

Release Date

November 27, 1991

Runtime

103 minutes

Director

Howard Zieff

Writers

Laurice Elehwany