Flying in the face of my intellectual, cultural snobbery, I love chick flicks. I don't cry or anything. I just get giddy enough to keep me man-free for another week or so. Tonight my roommate and I subjected ourselves to the latest Hilary Duff offering--a step beyond your average chick flick. It was badly acted, with a predictable plot, and not one good kissing scene. So in honor of our terrible girls night out, I'm going to list 10 chick flicks every girl should see and every guy should know. Trust me.
1. I'm not sure why this one is coming first, but Win a Date with Tad Hamilton is a great chick flick, for one very good reason: Topher Grace. His character is witty, spiky-haired, and just geeky enough to be adorable. The high point? When Topher's character Pete tells Rosalee (Kate Bosworth) that he's in love with her. Perfect.
2. About a Boy. Based on the novel by Nick Hornby (which I admittedly still need to read), this movie features more than Hugh Grant with a decent hair cut. The style, the music, the acting are all brilliant. And it's one most guys can suffer through.
3. "I gave her my heart and she gave me a pen." Fact: I will say yes to the first guy who proposes to me by holding a stereo above his head playing "In Your Eyes." I may have to later reconsider my answer when I'm not completely bowled over by his homage to Say Anything, but still. Lloyd Dobbler just might be the perfect man.
4. While we're talking 80s movies, I'm going to throw in Pretty in Pink for one reason: Duckie. Enough said.
5. My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Maybe it's just applicable in cultures who hold these types of weddings dominated by the culture, but MBFGW is admirable for having two attractive but not perfect leads. Seriously, men do fall in love with women who wear a size 8. . . or a size 12.
6. Mr. Darcy. I mean, Pride and Prejudice. You can take the one with Colin Firth, with Laurence Olivier, or even with Orlando Seale, but Darcy is Darcy. My dear friend Jane wrote quite possibly the most infuriating, endearing man known to women and we love her for it.
7. Running a close second to Mr. Darcy is Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing. And in addition to Benedick, you have the Prince, Claudio, and if you prefer the bad boy, Don John. But Benedick is the man for me.
8. A tie between The Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal Husband. Wilde was brilliant, and these two film versions featuring Rupert Everett are wonderful. . . even if Everett is gay. Maybe because Everett is gay.
9. The next is a random offering. You've Got Mail does not feature the most attractive men on the planet, although it does feature one of the most neurotic women on the planet in the form of Parker Posey's character. What's key here is the relationship formed first through letters and then through one man's attempts to win his email pal's affections. I dare guys to get to know the girl first. This means knowing more than her first name and phone number.
10. Number ten came too soon. I have a whole list including Runaway Bride, Notting Hill, Some Kind of Wonderful, Serendipity, Sabrina (with Audrey Hepburn), Sabrina (with Harrison Ford), Roman Holiday, and even Anne of Green Gables. And I'm sure I could toss out a few more titles.
So basically here you have the key to a woman's heart, men (and/or guys). And women, if you haven't seen any of these, let me know. We'll have to hold a movie night.
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7 comments:
Although I'm not fond of anything on your list (of the ones I've seen anyway) I have to admit I kind of liked one not on the list--"My Best Friend's Wedding" and really only for one reason: I kept thinking the whole time, I wish Julia Roberts would just leave that poor guy alone and let him get married. And she did. Good ending.
Oh, and I liked Big Fat Greek Wedding.
This poses an interesting question: how do we define chick flick? I was defining it as movies that appeal primarily to women, not necessarily romantic comedies or drama or movies with attractive men, although they are all subcategories. Under this definition, About A Boy is a chick flick, at least on the surface. I agree that it offers much more than your average CF offering, and in doing so removes itself from the traditional CF category, but this is why I recommended it.
My current favorite chick flick is Bend It Like Beckham. Not sure if it falls into the category per se, but it's got chicks, a boy, a love story and a solid heart at its core.
The only problem with Bend it Like Beckham is Kiera Knightly. She's very pretty and seems like a nice person but is not only boring but unconvincing in every role she's played...that I've seen. Even in Pirates, which I think could be considered a chick flick based on the Johnny Dep/Orlando Bloom combination.
I'm a fan of BILB. . . and I don't mind Kiera Knightley. Did you see Love Actually? Minor role, but still. And in Beckham, there is the gaunt British guy who gets the awesome line: "Jess, I'm Irish."
The actor is Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and he's really cute! Although I'm always distracted by the fact that in the movie, he walks too much like a model to really pass as a soccer coach.
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