# Chick Flicks **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 25, 2002, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chick-flicks/138591 "2002-11-25T03:24:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lucwarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@lucwarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lucwarm)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chick-flicks/138591/1 "2002-11-25T03:24:55Z")
So I get home, and Mrs. Lucwarm is watching “Runaway Bride” on TV. Yechhh. But whats really freakin’ annoying is that when she walks in and I’m watching the Man Show, or some Hip-Hop music video, she gets all offended. Well guess what? Chick-flicks are porn for women and they’re just as offensive to me. Ok, on preview I realize that the above rant isn’t terribly coherent or sensical. But I’m gonna hit submit anyway ‘cuz those chick-flicks are so freakin’ annoying. ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chick-flicks/138591/2 "2002-11-25T03:52:09Z")
Okay. Tell ya what? Try to make it more coherent and “sensical” and I’ll reply, cause, I admit, I hope it makes more sense the next time around. How, exactly, are “chick-flicks” equivalent to the Man show, and why do you get offended at her watching chick flicks, and why does she get offended at you watching hip-hop videos? Are you watching them to check out the girls? Cause then it’s something ENTIRELY different. ---
**Author:** ![lucwarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@lucwarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lucwarm)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chick-flicks/138591/3 "2002-11-25T04:02:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LaurAnge \* > **Okay. Tell ya what? Try to make it more coherent and “sensical” and I’ll reply, cause, I admit, I hope it makes more sense the next time around.** Gah. Chick-flicks annoy me. That is all. \*\* > [@](#): > > Are you watching them to check out the girls? \*\* Yep. ---
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chick-flicks/138591/4 "2002-11-25T04:03:13Z")
Sappy, cloying movies with unoriginal plots are boring and Julia Roberts is the antichrist. The Man Show’s target audience is not men. It’s the crucial “idiot” demographic. Everything on television is shit except… no, wait… Sorry, Everything on television is shit. ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chick-flicks/138591/5 "2002-11-25T04:03:56Z")
Okay. Is she watching them to check out the guys? No? Then the comparison is invalid. Why are they annoying, exactly? ---
**Author:** ![glarGH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/76d3ee/32.png) [@glarGH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glarGH)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chick-flicks/138591/6 "2002-11-25T04:08:26Z")
ugh. Chick Flicks suck. I don’t watch em for the story. I don’t watch em for the guys. I sure AS HELL don’t watch em for Julia Roberts. BLECCH. If I wanted sappy, I got a big bottle of real maple syrup in my cabinet. Its funny. My SO watches more chick movies than I do (Wedding Planner, The Sweetest Thing, You’ve Got Mail etc.) for some unknown reason. Poor lad. ---
**Author:** ![lucwarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@lucwarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lucwarm)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chick-flicks/138591/7 "2002-11-25T04:10:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cuauhtemoc \* > \*\* > > The Man Show’s target audience is not men. It’s the crucial “idiot” demographic. > > \*\* Hey, if enjoying “Girls on Trampolines” makes me an idiot, then praise the Lord and pass the lead paint chips. ---
**Author:** ![glarGH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/76d3ee/32.png) [@glarGH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glarGH)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chick-flicks/138591/8 "2002-11-25T04:18:02Z")
> [@](#): > > The Man Show’s target audience is not men. It’s the crucial “idiot” demographic. HEY!!! I like the Man Show… Forklift WEdgY Rules!!! ---
**Author:** ![Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dread_pirate_jimbo/32/3897_2.png) [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dread_Pirate_Jimbo)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chick-flicks/138591/9 "2002-11-25T04:18:52Z")
For the most part, I find Hollywoood formula movies to be bland, paint-by-numbers, unoriginal, and insulting to movie viewers. “Chick flicks” happen to fall into that category (as do “action” movies, “horror” movies, etc…). Chick flicks have bad, clichéd dialogue, bad, clichéd acting, and bad, clichéd characters, all wrapped up in a bad, clichéd storyline. By 15 minutes in, I can usually predict the ending of any one of these films, right down to who falls for who, when, where, and what their dialogue will be when they reveal their true feelings to each other. They are mass-produced pablum which will invariably attract enough viewership to turn a decent profit, but will rarely rise up to the level of greatness. I personally would prefer to see anything that challenges me even a little, makes me think, makes me discuss the story, themes, characters. And of course, if you can make me laugh until my stomach hurts, I’ll be your fan forever. I got more entertainment value out of Peter Sellers in _The Party_ than I would out of any dozen chick flicks that come out in any given year. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chick-flicks/138591/10 "2002-11-25T04:32:59Z")
Maybe you should just stick to reading. That’s what I want to do when I want to think. Movies are for mindless entertainment. Good times. ---
**Author:** ![meara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@meara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meara)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chick-flicks/138591/11 "2002-11-25T05:15:45Z")
Just felt the need to chime in as a female Man Show addict. It’s usually great fun, and has even made it into my Tivo lineup. Ironically, my husband finds it obnoxious. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chick-flicks/138591/12 "2002-11-25T05:18:40Z")
Not everything on television is shit. Have you seen The Chris Isaac Show? Sure it has swearing and nudity, but the writing is in a class all of its own. Oh, and just FTR, I take offense to the term “Chick Flick”. That implies that all women like the kind of crap that is offered up in this “genre”. Some of us women actually like entertainment where we can’t recite the dialogue along with the actors the first time we see it. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chick-flicks/138591/13 "2002-11-25T05:28:59Z")
Girls like Chick Flicks, guys like Dick Flicks. And you get mad about this? ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chick-flicks/138591/14 "2002-11-25T05:33:18Z")
do what Mr. Ujest does whenever I am watching a chick flick: Say, " This scene would be sooooo much better if she were topless." The last poster said it better, anyways. ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chick-flicks/138591/15 "2002-11-25T05:56:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Neurotik \* > \*\*Maybe you should just stick to reading. That’s what I want to do when I want to think. Movies are for mindless entertainment. Good times. \*\* We never had stuff to read. We used to have to tell oral stories around a campfire. But you know, we were happy in those days, though we were hyper-intelligent. ---
**Author:** ![Jester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jester/32/8223_2.png) [@Jester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jester)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chick-flicks/138591/16 "2002-11-25T06:17:28Z")
For some reason I just got a mental picture of Julia Roberts throwing somebody into a lake of fire and saying “HAW HAW!” \ ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chick-flicks/138591/17 "2002-11-25T06:39:55Z")
Aside from the cookie-cutter plots, bad dialogue, and unashamed emotional manipulation (all of which I can live with), I think chick flicks have done a lot to perpetuate gender stereotypes and to create unrealistic expectations about relationships in both men and women. Therefore, I don’t watch them. **CrazyCatLady** does. She would never expect me to sit through “Beaches”, anything with both Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, or anything featuring multiple generations of feisty Southern women. In return, I don’t drag her to anything featuring James Bond, Jackie Chan, or a trailer with the words, “Al Pacino is Lieutenant Frank \_\_\_\_\_\_”. Dr. J ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chick-flicks/138591/18 "2002-11-25T07:06:50Z")
> [@](#): > > In return, I don’t drag her to anything featuring James Bond… Most of my women friends _love_ James Bond movies. > [@](#): > > Aside from the cookie-cutter plots, bad dialogue, and unashamed emotional manipulation (all of which I can live with), I think chick flicks have done a lot to perpetuate gender stereotypes and to create unrealistic expectations about relationships in both men and women. I agree with you about the perpetuation of stereotypes and unrealistic expectations. But those are just one kind of “chick flick.” There are some terrific movies that still seem to generally appeal to women more than men. (Movies based on Jane Austen’s novels, for example.) Or Merchant-Ivory films such as _Heat and Dust._ But there is certainly room for improvement. > [@](#): > > …or anything featuring multiple generations of feisty Southern women. Gee, I’m a feisty Southern woman. It’s a curse. I’ve become a literary chiche. (sigh) ---
**Author:** ![RexDart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b77776/32.png) [@RexDart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RexDart)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chick-flicks/138591/19 "2002-11-25T07:21:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DoctorJ \* > \*\*Aside from the cookie-cutter plots, bad dialogue, and unashamed emotional manipulation (all of which I can live with), I think chick flicks have done a lot to perpetuate gender stereotypes and to create unrealistic expectations about relationships in both men and women. > \*\* I’d say that last bit is the worst thing they’ve done, giving women expectations about relationships that are impossible to meet. I don’t know how many women actually believe in their minds that such expectations are realistic, but you can tell that the influence has taken hold in the cultural background. ---
**Author:** ![LindyHopper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@LindyHopper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LindyHopper)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chick-flicks/138591/20 "2002-11-25T07:26:33Z")
Hi, my name is **LindyHopper** , and I like chick flicks. Some of them, anyway. I’m a sucker for Meg Ryan (particularly “When Harry Met Sally” [I recently watched it again for the sixth time, and I’m fairly recently divorced], but I like “Sleepless in Seattle”, “French Kiss”, and “You’ve Got Mail” too), and I _loved_ “Steel Magnolias”. To be fair, I hate all the Julia Roberts romantic comedies; even “Something to Talk About” was fairly lame, despite the presence of Dennis Quaid and Robert Duvall. What can I say? I’m a sucker for emotional manipulation, as long as the female lead is as cute as Meg Ryan. 🙂 [sub]BTW, I’m a guy. :)[/sub] [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chick-flicks/138591.md?page=2)