# In praise of chick flicks **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 16, 2006, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-chick-flicks/369016 "2006-08-16T22:14:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-chick-flicks/369016/21 "2006-08-17T03:39:21Z")
I’m a girl and I’ve enjoyed some male-centered action movies in the past. What’s that? That’s not weird or taboo? Identify or perish? Bah. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-chick-flicks/369016/22 "2006-08-17T03:58:11Z")
**Roxanne** with Steve Martin is an oddly overlooked jewel in this genre. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-chick-flicks/369016/23 "2006-08-17T04:12:39Z")
[QUOTE=kawaiitentaclebeast] Tsui Hark’s _Green Snake_(well, it has chicks in it, anyway), [/QUOTE] FANTASTIC that someone mentioned that film! My husband and I love it. I never would have thought of it as a chick flick though. My husband likes chick flicks more than I do, if they’re good. He likes movies like **Notting Hill, Four Weddings and A Funeral, About A Boy, Titanic** (which I like too, but not as much) and I like movies like Hong Kong action films and Ahnold’s beat-'em-up movies like Terminator and Commando (which he likes too). We’re pretty compatible most of the time, though I like heavy dirgy dramas and he doesn’t. Give me **The Ice Storm** or **Dogville** and I’m a happy puppy, but not him. He doesn’t like it when a movie wallows in seeing bad things happen to good people. I really want him to see **Steel Magnolias** (I love that movie) but I don’t know if he could take what happens to Julia Roberts’ character. I agree with the comment about **Shakespeare In Love** and the Oscars, but not Crash. I’m a **Brokeback Mountain** fangirl, all the way. **Roxanne** rules! ---
**Author:** ![Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Throatwarbler_Mangrove)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-chick-flicks/369016/24 "2006-08-17T05:15:30Z")
> [@](#): > > I never would have thought of it as a chick flick though. Why not? It’s a love story first and foremost. I guess it helps if you’re already familiar with the [folk legend on which it was based](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madame_White_Snake). ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-chick-flicks/369016/25 "2006-08-17T13:59:48Z")
Glad to see a few other hormonally challenged chick flick fans coming out of the closet. This thread began a few years ago around the family dinner table. My wife and I have 2 girls and a boy. We generally rent movies to watch as a family just about every week. As you might imagine, when it came down to a vote, my son and I saw far fewer action flicks than we might have preferred. One night, the girls were lobbying for some romantic comedy or another, and my wife asked me if I would mind renting it. My youngest daughter felt free to answer for me, piping up, “Dad likes chick flicks!” It became a bit of a tagline around our house, but over the years I discovered that I actually DO enjoy a good many chick flicks. Now some of you guys are trying to take my OP all highbrow, tossing out classic oldtimey titles, and discussing the “truth” of emotion in a film. I’m not talking about film or art here. I’m talking about movies. 90 minutes of escapism and enjoyment. Also, my appreciation for chick flicks does not extend to “weepers” or “portraits of strong women” like Steel Magnolias, Titanic, Fried Green Tomatoes. A lot of what I was talking about were mentioned above. Love Actually, About a Boy, 4 Weddings, Mean Girls, Bend It, Bride and Prejudice, 10 Things I Hate … great fun snuggled up on the couch with my family on a Friday night. How can I dislike Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts as actors, but if you put Blinky and Lips Skeletor together in Notting Hill, I’m entertained? Sure, at its best film can change your life. But I’ll often settle for being entertained. And romantic comedies do the trick for this American male. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-chick-flicks/369016/26 "2006-08-17T14:09:26Z")
[QUOTE=Xema] I typically stay away from them, but I found **Strictly Ballroom** curiously appealing. [/QUOTE] My brother and I, both straight and fully grown, got very teary-eyed at the end of that one. I think the cleverness of the movie is that it could be about _anything_; it just tells a common human story of triumph over adversity (even if it is a pastiche). I also liked **Muriel’s Wedding**. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-chick-flicks/369016/27 "2006-08-17T14:12:23Z")
Is **Fried Green Tomatoes** a chick flick? If it is, count me in. And I liked **Driving Miss Daisy** , **When Harry Met Sally** (of course), and sort of enjoyed that one with that hot Italian-American actress chick - the really famous one with the curly hair and the name I don’t remember but she won an undeserved Oscar for some other comedy - going to Italy to find her cheating husband. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-chick-flicks/369016/28 "2006-08-17T16:59:05Z")
_Titanic_ was okay. I saw it twice in the theater, but I don’t need to see it again. _Miss Congeniality_ was cute. And definitely _Roxanne._ I have that on DVD. It’s right next to Joan Severence in _Black Scorpion._🙂 ---
**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:** [August 17, 2006, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-chick-flicks/369016/29 "2006-08-17T18:08:10Z")
**Bend it Like Beckham** **The Jane Austen Series** Pride & Prejudice ( Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle version 1st and foremost.) Emma (Either recent version Beckinsale or Paltow.) Bride & Prejudice ( Bollywoodized. Just lovely and fun.) **Sense & Sensebility.** Musicals: **Grease** ---
**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:** [August 17, 2006, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-chick-flicks/369016/30 "2006-08-17T18:09:20Z")
**Monsoon Wedding** deserves a looksy, too for a Chickflick. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-chick-flicks/369016/31 "2006-08-17T19:30:49Z")
I have a soft spot for Kevin Kline, so **French Kiss** is on my list of good chick flicks. Even though I mostly want to slap Meg Ryan. Even though I still think Kline’s character is kinda sleazey. It managed to be romantic and not piss me off. Then again, I saw it in high school, I think. Not sure what I would think of it today. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-chick-flicks/369016/32 "2006-08-17T19:41:56Z")
I like Jabootu’s definition of “chick flick”, taken from the review of [**The Promise**](http://www.jabootu.com/images/promise.htm): > [@](#): > > Now, when I say that, I don’t just mean a romance or something similarly non-macho. I personally like all kinds of movies, including romances, if they’re done well. Now, when I say Chick Flicks, I mean something deeper. Movies designed to appeal to all that is alien to men in the female mind. That serve to reconfirm to men that women are completely insane, utterly different and, ultimately, wholly unknowable. Sort of the gender opposite of the Three Stooges. He’s got something there. Movies like **Love, Actually** and **Titanic** are romance movies, sure, but are they truly “Chick Flicks”? It seems to me that they’re missing that particular something that appeals only to the female mind and confuses men utterly. Lifetime movies, now _there_ are some chick flicks. Can’t stand those things. Like I tell my wife, though: I like movies of all types, I just usually don’t choose romance-type movies for my personal viewing. But I can be perfectly happy watching **The Truth About Cats And Dogs** or **How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days** or even **The Family Stone** , so long as it’s a decent movie. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-chick-flicks/369016/33 "2006-08-17T19:47:35Z")
[QUOTE=Shirley Ujest] **Kate & Leopold** another Jackman drool fest. Jackman is my next husband. Just so’s yanno. [/QUOTE] ..I hate to say it but …you aren’t his type… If you know what I mean. I would never consider Roxanne a chick flick. To me its heavier on the comedy scale than on the romantic one. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-chick-flicks/369016/34 "2006-08-17T19:55:25Z")
I am a big fan of the good ones – my faves are the Hugh Grant movies. Indeed, I think of them not as chick flicks, but just as good movies. I consider “chick flick” to be a term for an exploitation film, one whose intent was not to present good storytelling, but merely to take advantage of a certain consumer demographic. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-chick-flicks/369016/35 "2006-08-17T20:00:47Z")
I, too, am a “typical guy” who likes his share of violent films, westerns, horror, kung-fu, sophomoric comedy, etc. But there something about romantic dramas, even some melodrama, that gets me all welled up and leaky. Films like [**The Classic**](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0348568/) and [**Il Mare**](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0282599/) bring out the romantic in me. For melodrama, [\*\*A Moment to Remember \*\* (scroll down for my review)](http://www.dvdspot.com/dvd.php?d=1887222414) had me all torn up (in a good way). It does seem like the OP has romantic comedies or historical dramas in mind. I can’t really help you much there. Although [**My Sassy Girl**](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0293715/) is a good rom-com. Is [**L.A. Story**](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0102250/) a chick flick? Or does that have too much Steve Martin silliness to count? (Either way, I loved it) If you can accept a romance without the comedy, I \*strongly \* suggest [**Comrades, Almost a Love Story** (scroll down for my review)](http://www.dvdspot.com/dvd.php?d=1986247077). Wonderful, wonderful film that yes, makes the tears come out. Add a fantasy element and try [**The Bride with White Hair**](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0106342/). A moving story of star-crossed lovers. Plus you get an evil cult and people getting their heads chopped off. (Ok, maybe its not a “chick flick” but I got all emotional watching it!) ---
**Author:** ![Achren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@Achren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achren)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-chick-flicks/369016/36 "2006-08-17T20:04:43Z")
As a woman, Lifetime movies tell me that “women are completely insane, utterly different and, ultimately, wholly unknowable”. They’re like the MST3k movies - only good for mocking. ---
**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:** [August 17, 2006, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-chick-flicks/369016/37 "2006-08-17T22:03:47Z")
[QUOTE=Push You Down] ..I hate to say it but …you aren’t his type… If you know what I mean. [/QUOTE] I don’t care. It doesn’t matter. La la la la la la 😃 ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-chick-flicks/369016/38 "2006-08-17T23:45:38Z")
I am an avid collector of a sub-category… **teen flicks**. _10 Things I Hate About You_ was probably the high point of the genre for me though Clueless, Save the Last Dance, Bring it On, The Prince & Me, Better off Dead, Breakfast Club and all the typical 80s ones are also great examples. I tend to favour the mid-90s offerings, though, since that’s when _I_ went to high school. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2006, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-chick-flicks/369016/39 "2006-08-18T00:46:29Z")
[QUOTE=Ukulele Ike] Back in my book publishing days, I edited a seriously hard-boiled writer of thrillers and private eye novels who also happened to be a huge movie buff. We used to swap stories and recommendations of \*films noirs \* and other manly entertainments over cigars and whiskey. One day he referenced some Bette Davis flick – _The Letter_, probably – and I admitted that I’d never spent much time with the Grand Ladies of the Silver Screen. He punched me in the nose, then sent me out to rent Greta Garbo’s [Queen Christina](http://imdb.com/title/tt0024481/) (1933). Great stuff…and now I regularly pick up films with Crawford, Davis, Garbo, and all the other biggies. My favorite is probably [Maedchen in Uniform](http://imdb.com/title/tt0022183/) (1931) – all-female cast; written, directed, produced by women – subject matter: sexual discovery at a girls’ boarding school. Can’t get much more of a “chick flick” than that. [/QUOTE] I’m gonna disagree with you on this. Crawford, Davis, Garbo, Swanson, and the other biggies never acted in chick flics. They were big-shouldered broads, and could carry a movie. Meg Ryan, Sandra Bullock, Reese Witherspoon, those are chicks. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2006, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-chick-flicks/369016/40 "2006-08-18T00:53:54Z")
[QUOTE=anu-la1979] I am an avid collector of a sub-category… **teen flicks**. _10 Things I Hate About You_ was probably the high point of the genre for me though Clueless, Save the Last Dance, Bring it On, The Prince & Me, Better off Dead, Breakfast Club and all the typical 80s ones are also great examples. I tend to favour the mid-90s offerings, though, since that’s when _I_ went to high school. [/QUOTE] Completely ashamed to admit it, but am a complete sucker for teen romantic comedies. What a Girl Wants, Chasing Liberty… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-chick-flicks/369016.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-chick-flicks/369016.md?page=3)