# Are there any chick flicks that feature a poor man as the love interest? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 21, 2015, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-chick-flicks-that-feature-a-poor-man-as-the-love-interest/723052 "2015-06-21T03:00:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-chick-flicks-that-feature-a-poor-man-as-the-love-interest/723052/41 "2015-06-21T17:07:38Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > If we count animation (and I agree they’re not really chick flicks) then _Shrek_ is another example. And The Aristocats. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-chick-flicks-that-feature-a-poor-man-as-the-love-interest/723052/42 "2015-06-21T17:10:25Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > _Marty_ – I’m not sure how poor he is – he’s a butcher so he’s not super-rich – but he’s also fat and ugly. ‘Ma, sooner or later, there comes a point in a man’s life when he’s gotta face some facts. And one fact I gotta face is that, whatever it is that women like, I ain’t got it.’ ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-chick-flicks-that-feature-a-poor-man-as-the-love-interest/723052/43 "2015-06-21T17:44:06Z")
The relationship between Malcolm Reynolds and Inara Sara in _Firefly_ qualifies, and all the chicks I know watched the series, so there’s that. ---
**Author:** ![adhemar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@adhemar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhemar)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-chick-flicks-that-feature-a-poor-man-as-the-love-interest/723052/44 "2015-06-21T18:04:15Z")
How to Marry a millionaire. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-chick-flicks-that-feature-a-poor-man-as-the-love-interest/723052/45 "2015-06-21T18:15:24Z")
Gee, it seems to me that the opposite is the type specimen. That is, the typical romance is the good but poor guy who is up against a rich man vying for the heroine’s affections. Of course the good-hearted poor guy wins over the rich pig. Sheesh! ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-chick-flicks-that-feature-a-poor-man-as-the-love-interest/723052/46 "2015-06-21T18:40:38Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Jane Austen’s _Mansfield Park_ has been adapted as a movie, and features a poor heroine who rejects a rich, sexy “bad boy” suitor in favor of a country clergyman with a modest income. Several of Austen’s other heroines marry men in similar situations, although her wealthiest romantic hero (Mr. Darcy of _Pride and Prejudice_) is probably also the most popular. Ugh, I _hate_ Edmund Bertram, that stuffy, gossiping, moralistic twit. Perfect match for Fanny “Mary Sue” Price. In any of Austen’s better novels, Edmund would have been considered the Mr. Collins (_Pride and Prejudice_)/ Mr. Elton (_Emma_) character – the vicar who’s high-minded and hypocritical, and eventually exposed and despised for being so. Edmund _loves_ whispering to Fanny about the imperfections in everyone around him, and is quick to ignore her once the rich, beautiful Mary catches his eye. Austen has to turn Mary into a little monster by having her say things no normal woman would say (“I hope your older brother dies so you can be the heir”) in order for Edmund to realize, duh, Mary kinda sucks. Henry has a classic redemption arc, but Austen apparently didn’t believe in redemption and _had_ to make him revert, to the vast detriment of the book. At least the two insufferable protagonists truly belong together. Sorry for the digression; _Mansfield Park_ is the only Austen I cannot abide. What the heck, after writing all of her other classics, even Jane Austen’s entitled to a dud. Back on topic: IMHO, as you mentioned, this is a trope that Austen’s done before (and much better). The best hero along those lines in Austen is Edward Ferrars in _Sense and Sensibility_ (seen in the resulting fantastic “chick flick” film written by/starring Emma Thompson). I also think Edward is also in a more legitimately poor state than (annoyingly similarly named) Edmund Bertram, since Edmund is a favorite of his wealthy father and despite being only a second son, is almost certain to inherit a decent sum upon his father’s death. Edward Ferrars, OTOH, is cut off completely from his family’s money when he does the Right Thing and angers his mother, and the only way he got his humble country living was thanks to Colonel Brandon’s largesse. Also, if you compare the heroines in both cases–Elinor in _S&S_ and Fanny in _MP_–both Elinor and Fanny are marrying higher up than their own station (Fanny more so than Elinor). I see Edmund in particular as the “Prince Charming” type, considering his resources are vastly superior to Fanny’s. > [@salinqmind](#): > > Poor Jo ended up with her cultured but dirt-poor older German (though they later opened up a school for boys, somehow). Kind of hated Amy for bagging rich neighbor Laurie, she should have stayed single and endlessly ‘dating’, trying to trade up, over and over. How they open the school: Jo falls into good fortune (really, the reward of her good works toward her aunt) when she inherits Aunt March’s massive house, Plumfield, which enables Jo and Friedrich to open their school. I imagine Jo’s dad helped them out as well, not that the Marches were wealthy, but they were more comfortable than the sisters’ whining would indicate. 🙂 (Somewhat similar to the Dashwoods in _Sense and Sensibility_, it’s really just that their circumstances were vastly reduced–more so in S&S than LW; neither family is ever at risk of true poverty, though the Dashwoods do come closer before the generosity of Mrs. Dashwood’s cousin Sir John steps in to save the day.) And I love Amy! She’s a wonderful example of a feisty young woman who still has the morals of her family deeply entrenched in her, and Laurie’s turning to her after Jo’s wise refusal (although it broke most Jo/Laurie fans’ hearts, I daresay!) gave him the precise redemption arc from wastrel to sober but fun-loving young man that Austen should’ve given Henry Crawford. 🙂 > [@FairyChatMom](#): > > This wasn’t a movie but a Masterpiece Theater series _[Flambards](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flambards_%28TV_series%29)_. It’s a story about an orphaned heiress who’s supposed to marry a cousin so her inheritance can be used to restore his estate, but she falls in love with a stable boy. It’s been eons since I’ve seen it, but I think she and the stable boy got their happily-ever-after. Another _Flambards_ fan, yay! It’s actually not quite like that. The miniseries encompasses three books of the K.M. Peyton series, and in fact the first book depicts Christina as being intended for her older cousin Mark, the heir of the house–mainly because Christina’s to inherit a fuckton of money and her Uncle Russell needs the money to maintain the Flambards estate (which, like many estates of that era and later, was not self-sustaining in the least). She does have a kinship with horse trainer/tenant Dick, and he clearly loves her, but Christina’s true love is Mark’s younger brother William (who’s despised by his father for hating huntin’, ridin’ and generally being someone who gives a crap about the injustices of the world and looks forward to the future in aeroplanes). Christina ends up running off with William and eloping, happily married… until WWI arrives. It’s only in the latter part of the miniseries (depicting the third of the initial triloogy) where Christina, now widowed (sob!) chooses between wealthy Mark and poorer and still-in-love Dick, and the latter prevails. Kinda. Um… if you haven’t read the fourth book, _Flambards Divided_, which was written after the miniseries, you may want to skip this spoiler. [spoiler]Author K.M. Peyton so adored the chemistry between the actors who played Christina and Mark that she added a final book that pretty much retcons the characters. Whereas Christina was quite clearly well-matched in new husband Dick Wright as far as the original trilogy’s ending, suddenly Christina is depicted as only marginally in love with her husband, and suddenly Mark–whom Christina has only very clearly grown to like despite himself by the trilogy’s end, is now depicted as being one of Christina’s “early loves.” B.S., right? Christina never loved Mark in the slightest, except as a cousin/brother-in-law. Anyhoo, Christina’s marriage w/Dick falters because of their different stations/interests–realistic but disappointing–while Mark’s lively rakish behavior is vastly toned down and his own marriage to previously well-suited Dorothy is damaged because he prefers the country and she’s a city girl. Or something like that. In the end, the author shat on her previous characterization and shoved Mark and Christina together once they were legally able. So endgame is Christina/Mark, believe it or not, and thus the poor guy gets screwed-over for the rich one. More realistic, I suppose, but disappointing for Peyton to be so affected by the filming of her own novel.[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-chick-flicks-that-feature-a-poor-man-as-the-love-interest/723052/47 "2015-06-21T21:14:49Z")
> [@adhemar](#): > > How to Marry a millionaire. I haven’t seen it, but isn’t it the opposite of what we’re looking for here? The women are poor and looking to marry millionaires. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-chick-flicks-that-feature-a-poor-man-as-the-love-interest/723052/48 "2015-06-21T21:47:39Z")
Fisher King. A Guy Named Joe (remade as Always). ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-chick-flicks-that-feature-a-poor-man-as-the-love-interest/723052/49 "2015-06-21T22:15:02Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > Are there any chick flicks that feature a poor man as the love interest? Roughly half of them. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-chick-flicks-that-feature-a-poor-man-as-the-love-interest/723052/50 "2015-06-21T22:44:40Z")
> [@Learjeff](#): > > Gee, it seems to me that the opposite is the type specimen. That is, the typical romance is the good but poor guy who is up against a rich man vying for the heroine’s affections. Of course the good-hearted poor guy wins over the rich pig. Sheesh! Exactly, to the extent that Thurber wrote [a wonderful fable](http://www.nexuslearning.net/books/holt_elementsoflit-3/Collection%203/princess%20and%20the%20tin%20box.htm) lampshading the trope. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-chick-flicks-that-feature-a-poor-man-as-the-love-interest/723052/51 "2015-06-21T23:45:37Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Certainly the biggest and most well known. She’s rich, he’s poor. It’s hardly a romantic comedy since he dies in the end, but it is a chick flick for the most part. She looked rich, but wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-chick-flicks-that-feature-a-poor-man-as-the-love-interest/723052/52 "2015-06-21T23:47:40Z")
_Overboard._ ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-chick-flicks-that-feature-a-poor-man-as-the-love-interest/723052/53 "2015-06-22T00:08:25Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I haven’t seen it, but isn’t it the opposite of what we’re looking for here? The women are poor and looking to marry millionaires. Welllll… They mostly end up with non-millionaires, with one exception that comes as a surprise. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-chick-flicks-that-feature-a-poor-man-as-the-love-interest/723052/54 "2015-06-22T00:34:27Z")
Two that come to mind are _Four Weddings and a Funeral_, where Ali McGraw ditched the Scottish Laird who was an MP for Hugh Grant (occupation unspecified, but judging by his car and flat, definitely not rich) and _Run Fat Boy Run_, where the female lead chooses poor boy Simon Peggy over rich guy Hank Azaria. _Notting Hill_ is another good example. ETA: I don’t know what the fact that all three of my picks are English films means. Probably something deep and probing about the English class system, masked by a light rom-com façade. Or something. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-chick-flicks-that-feature-a-poor-man-as-the-love-interest/723052/55 "2015-06-22T01:21:10Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-chick-flicks-that-feature-a-poor-man-as-the-love-interest/723052/56 "2015-06-22T02:00:36Z")
Northern Piper writes: \> . . . Ali McGraw . . . That’s an interesting error. You meant Andie MacDowell, not Ali McGraw. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-chick-flicks-that-feature-a-poor-man-as-the-love-interest/723052/57 "2015-06-22T02:19:27Z")
quite right. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-chick-flicks-that-feature-a-poor-man-as-the-love-interest/723052/58 "2015-06-22T02:43:22Z")
Interesting. Contrast erotic romances, which are ALL about average women having sex with billionaires. Preferably werewolf billionaires. Preferably preferably werewolf biker billionaires. No, I am not making this up. ---
**Author:** ![adhemar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@adhemar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhemar)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-chick-flicks-that-feature-a-poor-man-as-the-love-interest/723052/59 "2015-06-22T03:25:14Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I haven’t seen it, but isn’t it the opposite of what we’re looking for here? The women are poor and looking to marry millionaires. right but two of them end up with poor guys and the third with a guy she thinks is poor but turns out not to be. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-chick-flicks-that-feature-a-poor-man-as-the-love-interest/723052/60 "2015-06-22T04:18:18Z")
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