And the winner is…

Actually, there are two winners, a runner-up and an honorable mention.

The honorable mention goes to Sethro. I love his answer because I never would have gone there:

The respective stars of the movies were all headliners in their own television shows...
Doris Day (With Six You Get Eggroll): The Doris Day Show
Bruce Willis (Look Who's Talking): Moonlighting
Kirstie Alley (Look Who's Talking): Cheers
Lucille Ball (Yours, Mine, and Ours): I Love Lucy
uh...Brian Keith (The Parent Trap): Hardcastle and McCormick

The runner-up is Pele, who was defeated by insider knowledge:

I agree with the single parent theme. But I also know that your favorite family is the Addams Family. And that one doesn't fit - they are, however, dysfunctional.

KJ, self-described "long time lurker," not to be confused with regular commenter and friend KJ, got the right answer and is the co-winner:

Everyone becomes one big happy family in the end, with parents getting together/back together.

Jo wins too. She had the first comment and hit the nail on the head:

My guess is that the theme has something to do with children from single parent homes and how their parents get hooked up. Cuz all of them are like that except for Cheaper, which you only thought was "ok".

Only Pele lives close enough to go to the movie and she has refused to accompany me. The other winners live far away. However if Sethro, Jo or KJ come to DC, I will take you to the movie of my choice. It probably won't be Yours, Mine and Ours since I can't imagine it will be in theaters much longer, but I'm sure I can come up with something equally horrific.

I find it hilarious that it was only while listing those films that I realized that there was a darn good reason why I liked them. I almost included The Sound of Music because I was obsessed with it as a child and it totally fits. As most of you know, my parents had an unhappy marriage and were divorced when I was little. And then reconciled. And then divorced. I have two half-brothers from my dad's first marriage and two stepsisters from my dad's third (current and final) marriage. I have had problems getting along with both parents, I used to hate my stepmother, and I hated one of my stepsisters for years. I've always wanted to be closer to my brothers. I've never felt fully accepted by my eldest brother. My family is unhappy in it's own special way, though these days we are pretty mellow and there is not much fighting or angst. I don't hate anyone anymore and I'm only occasionally annoyed at my eldest brother. Maybe we're just too old and tired for that stuff. I mean, when the baby (me) is in her mid-30's it's probably time everyone started growing up. But, the appeal of these films, and similar tv shows, is that somehow these wacky blended families make it work. The are meant to be together, they find happiness and the kids all love each other. Or, in the case of The Parent Trap it was all a big misunderstanding and true love conquers all. And I always wanted a twin sister.

Grateful for: the fantasy.