chop chop

July 21, 2007 8:58 PM

My friend knows nothing about chick flicks - please help him.......

There we were,
chopping large blocks of wood in the forest with my friend -
When he suddenly told me he didnt know very much about movies - he had only started watching them again after years - and he know even less about films that are generally watchable by women - all he knows is that if j-lo is in it, this may be acceptable to the lady in his life but j-lo is busy working on her perfume empire at the moment, so he's asking you all for help - he doesnt have a clue what to rent for his girlfriend !

posted by sgt.serenity to media & arts (26 comments total)

If only there was a way for him to find out what she likes.
posted by rhizome at 9:16 PM on July 21, 2007 [10 favorites]

The IMDB's Top Titles as Rated by Female Users has some good suggestions: Rear Window, Casablanca, Amélie Poulain, Eternal Sunshine, Princess Bride, Forrest Gump...
posted by stereo at 9:17 PM on July 21, 2007

Seconding rhizome, but the second and third Google results for "Chick Flick", a Wikipedia entry and a completely arbitrary listing of the 50 greatest chick flicks may also be of use.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:51 PM on July 21, 2007 [1 favorite]

Does he know for a fact that his girlfriend likes chick flicks or is he assuming? Amelie and the like might bore her to tears and he'll mistakenly think she was enjoying the movie.
posted by who squared at 9:52 PM on July 21, 2007

I don't really think J-Lo is really indicative of a quality chick-flick.
posted by delmoi at 9:53 PM on July 21, 2007

Seconding rhizome.

Even still, the ultimate chick filcks in my opinion are:
Love Actually
and
The Notebook.

Also, while it's not really a chick flick, most girls love Gone With The Wind.
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew at 9:53 PM on July 21, 2007

The lady in my life is loves Edward Penishands. YMMV.
posted by sanko at 9:57 PM on July 21, 2007

"Chick flick" is a movie genre a guy wouldn't usually want to be seen watching alone. However, men secretly enjoy some of said flicks.

The last "chick flick" I came across that seemed to have pretty widespread guy approval was The Devil Wears Prada, if only for the awesome Miranda Priestly character. How can anyone not love Meryl Streep playing a frosty bitch?
posted by Xere at 9:59 PM on July 21, 2007

Yeah pretty much anything with Johnny Depp will get him laid later on provided the room is dark.
posted by any major dude at 10:00 PM on July 21, 2007 [1 favorite]

Love Actually is the ur-chick flick in my opinion. I watch it when I'm depressed, even, and I'm not the kind of girl who watches movies when I get sad.
posted by MadamM at 10:03 PM on July 21, 2007

As the majority population of the globe, women have different tastes and interests. There are no movies which are watchable by men but not by women. I suppose you might want to hold off on renting "RAPE MOVIE 4: THE RAPINATING" until the third date, but who knows, maybe she's already a big fan.

However, if you do know for sure that she likes Jennifer Lopez movies, take a look at the genres that she's been in. She's been in lots of romantic comedies, so you might want to look there first. But she's also done a biopic (Selena), thrillers (Enough) and horror (The Cell). If you can narrow down what particular roles she likes Jennifer Lopez in, that might help.
posted by lemuria at 10:20 PM on July 21, 2007 [1 favorite]

Check out movies with Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon and Doris Day.

Tell him to rent Beaches and the First Wives Club with Bette Midler.
posted by HotPatatta at 10:54 PM on July 21, 2007

Steel Magnolias
Dirty Dancing
Ghost
Working Girl

Also, Die Hard isn't a chick flick, but I haven't met a woman yet who hasn't swooned over Alan Rickman's portrayal of the oh-so-evil-yet-suave villain.
posted by Oriole Adams at 11:08 PM on July 21, 2007

Real chicks watch Million Dollar Baby.
posted by idiotfactory at 11:59 PM on July 21, 2007

Stereotypical chick flick essentials: glamorous and/or improbable jobs, ridiculously large and impecably decorated apartments, a benign rivalry of some kind (career or romantic), cute and unthreatening men, trite pop soundtrack. See Bridget Jones' Diary, The Holiday, The Devil Wears Prada, Music & Lyrics, Must Love Dogs, While You Were Sleeping.

Chick flick heroines: Sandra Bullock, Kate Winslet, Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz. Chick flick dudes: Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, John Cusack.

No J-Lo; most chicks don't consider her "one of us" (essential to chick flick success is relatability) and she is kind of a terrible actress.

Plus, chicks really do occasionally like dude movies too.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 4:16 AM on July 22, 2007

er.....i've had a chat with my log chopping chum who says his girlfriend thought 'amelie' wasn't very good.......
posted by sgt.serenity at 5:07 AM on July 22, 2007

I was dragged to the still-in-theaters Evening a couple of weeks ago and found it to be the most chickiest flick that ever flicked chicks.

Lots of talking about feelings, hugging, a wedding and a never fogotten long lost love. I turned to my dragger about halfway through and said, "There's really no chance of anything blowing up in this movie is there?" Sadly, there was not. There was a violent death, though, so I got that.

I thought the movie was boring, plodding and predictable. The chick I went with loved it and said I just didn't get it. I'm pretty sure that's the chick flick dynamic right there.

Cyrano disclaimer: Many chicks, when you diss their flicks, will accuse you of not liking movies that have "feelings," which is utter bullshit. I'll watch Shakespeare in Love or Breakfast at Tiffany's any night you want. I don't have a problem with feelings; I have a problem with boring, plodding and predicatable ones.

Oh, and "Holy fuck! Did you see that shit blow up right there!?!" is also a "feeling."
posted by Cyrano at 6:58 AM on July 22, 2007 [1 favorite]

I have yet to hear a girl of my acquaintance say that they didn't enjoy The Notebook. I have also yet to hear one say that they didn't cry during or after it.
posted by djgh at 11:15 AM on July 22, 2007

I have yet to hear a girl of my acquaintance say that they didn't enjoy The Notebook. I have also yet to hear one say that they didn't cry during or after it.

Hi, I am a female who did not cry during The Notebook. My guy and I rented it because we thought it would be funny.

Older/classic romantic comedies and the like might be good choices that guys would find watchable. Think Audrey Hepburn in just about anything, anything with Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, also The Philadelphia Story, all those Rock Hudson-Doris Day ones (especially Pillow Talk), The Shop Around The Corner (which is the original version of You've Got Mail). Pretty much anything Frank Capra directed, or George Cukor. This doesn't help if either party is one of those people who don't watch B&W movies, but if they are, I can't help them.

But, you know, every woman is different. Maybe she's just a big J-Lo fan?
posted by SoftRain at 12:51 PM on July 22, 2007

MEAN GIRLS
Well, maybe not for this occasion. BUT FOR EVERY OCCASION.
posted by tmcw at 1:36 PM on July 22, 2007

just adding myself to the list of girls who watched the Notebook and did not cry. i thought it was beyond cheesy, and quite frankly, stupid.
posted by gursky at 1:39 PM on July 22, 2007

A Fine Romance: The new comedy of the sexes in the New Yorker looks at rom coms and prompted reactions from Emdashes and James Wolcott.
posted by kirkaracha at 3:23 PM on July 22, 2007

ok - notebook !
posted by sgt.serenity at 4:11 PM on July 22, 2007

Ever After!
posted by lundman at 6:29 PM on July 22, 2007

Decent chick flicks not yet mentioned: About a Boy, Legally Blonde (the sequel sucks), Clueless, Miss Congeniality. Oh, and from the Wikipedia link, As Good As It Gets (only borderline "chick flick" if you ask me). One in theaters now is Once. (It's not pure "chick flick" since it's a bit less cheesy and happily-ever-after. But it's good -- a few scenes are mixed up in my subconscious with dreams I've had or books I've read.)
posted by salvia at 12:06 AM on July 23, 2007

In Her Shoes is a good 'chickflick'. Also, it's a good movie (despite the fact that it features lots of shoes). And I'm a chick (but my shoes are horrible).
posted by h00py at 3:39 AM on July 23, 2007