# Two girls and a guy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 18, 2016, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-girls-and-a-guy/757685 "2016-06-18T12:57:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-girls-and-a-guy/757685/1 "2016-06-18T12:57:18Z")
So I just watched the movie _10 Cloverfield Lane_, which is about two guys, a girl and a fallout shelter. Just the other day I was watching _Ex Machina_, which is about two guys and a female AI. Which made me wonder: “Two guys and a girl” type triangular formations are easy to find, from _Singin’ in the Rain_ to _Star Wars_. But are there any with two girls and a guy? As you may or may not know, my knowledge of this popular culture stuff is rather spotty and eclectic, so I may well be missing some very well-known and obvious examples. But I did have a quick rummage through my list of favorite movies that I keep on IMDb, and the only example I found in there was _The Baader Meinhof Complex_, which is two girls, a guy and a terrorist organization. So, that’s one, but I can’t think of any others off the top of my head. Any ideas? All examples are welcome, BTW, not just recent movies. Maybe I’m forgetting some from, say, Shakespeare. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-girls-and-a-guy/757685/2 "2016-06-18T13:02:05Z")
I guess I’ll get the obvious one out of the way. > **[Two Girls and a Guy (1997) - IMDb](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0124179/)** > > Two Girls and a Guy: Directed by James Toback. With Natasha Gregson Wagner, Heather Graham, Angel David, Frederique Van Der Wal. Two girls wait outside a young actor's door and find out he's had them both as "only" girlfriend the last ten months.... ---
**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 18, 2016, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-girls-and-a-guy/757685/3 "2016-06-18T13:32:36Z")
_Three’s Company_: > **[Three's Company (TV Series 1976–1984) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075596/)** > > Three's Company: Created by Don Nicholl, Michael Ross, Bernard West. With John Ritter, Joyce DeWitt, Richard Kline, Don Knotts. The misadventures of two women and one man living in one apartment and their neighbors. _Two Women and One Man_: > **[Two Women and One Man (Short 1912) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0339829/)** > > Two Women and One Man: Directed by Horace Vinton. With Frank Smiley, Mabel Miller. Blanche Belmont is deeply in love with Herbert Lord and has every reason to believe that her affection is reciprocated. Blanche is a woman with a past and when Herbert... Here’s a bunch of love triangle movies, some of which are two girls and a guy: > **[The Best Love Triangles In Movie History](https://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/g1174/movie-love-triangles/)** > > From Gone With the Wind to Mean Girls, these are cinema's most fraught love triangles. Raj, Emily, and Claire on _The Big Bang Theory_ If you Google for “two woman one man” you get porn. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-girls-and-a-guy/757685/4 "2016-06-18T13:42:43Z")
[\* Bringing Up Baby\*](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bringing_Up_Baby). [\* What’s Up, Doc?\*](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/What's_Up,_Doc%3F_(1972_film)) (though this was highly influenced by \* Bringing Up Baby\* ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-girls-and-a-guy/757685/5 "2016-06-18T13:44:29Z")
Movies that aren’t love triangles are more interesting to me, but darned if I’ve thought of one yet. But I did come up with Vicky Cristina Barcelona. > **[Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0497465/)** > > Vicky Cristina Barcelona: Directed by Woody Allen. With Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, Christopher Evan Welch, Chris Messina. Two friends on a summer holiday in Spain become enamored with the same painter, unaware that his ex-wife, with whom he... ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-girls-and-a-guy/757685/6 "2016-06-18T14:25:39Z")
Archie comics. Movies: Fatal Attraction, Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Single White Female, Poison Ivy, Strictly Ballroom, Gone with the Wind, The Women… ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-girls-and-a-guy/757685/7 "2016-06-18T15:18:58Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > Which made me wonder: “Two guys and a girl” type triangular formations are easy to find, from _Singin’ in the Rain_ to _Star Wars_. But are there any with two girls and a guy? Are you looking for stories where the two women and one man are a sort of team, or anything that has two major female characters and one major male character? There have already been several examples of love triangle plots, including some where the rival woman was such a minor character that I don’t even remember what she was like, but stories where the three characters are all on the same side (even if there is romantic tension or rivalry as well) do seem less common. The first example that springs to mind for me is _Xena: Warrior Princess_, which was largely about the adventures of the two-woman Xena and Gabrielle team but they were often joined by a male comic relief character named Joxer. They occasionally teamed up with other male characters (including Hercules and Iolaus from the _Hercules: The Legendary Journeys_ TV series for a two-woman, two-man team), but I assume you’re looking for examples that lasted more than an episode or two. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-girls-and-a-guy/757685/8 "2016-06-18T15:34:32Z")
It’s interesting. I’ve seen stories with two girls and a guy and stories with two guys and a girl. But it seems that both of them center on the guys. You either have the story of two guys competing for the same girl or the story of a guy having to choose between two girls. Either way, the guys are the protagonists and the girls are the passive characters. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-girls-and-a-guy/757685/9 "2016-06-18T16:15:30Z")
[Three in the Attic](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063693/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) is three girls, one guy. With a lost [Chad & Jeremy song](https://youtu.be/QgJK6anyh9Y)! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-girls-and-a-guy/757685/10 "2016-06-18T16:29:32Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > It’s interesting. I’ve seen stories with two girls and a guy and stories with two guys and a girl. But it seems that both of them center on the guys. You either have the story of two guys competing for the same girl or the story of a guy having to choose between two girls. Either way, the guys are the protagonists and the girls are the passive characters. Yeah, well, Buffy and Willow kicked ass, and Xander was also there. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-girls-and-a-guy/757685/11 "2016-06-18T17:10:26Z")
Les Miserables… ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-girls-and-a-guy/757685/12 "2016-06-18T17:19:46Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Are you looking for stories where the two women and one man are a sort of team, or anything that has two major female characters and one major male character? I guess, ideally, that I mean anything that can be described along the lines of “two girls and a guy doing X / being X / in an X / and an X”. Again, I can think of lots of examples right away where it’s the other way around, with two guys and a girl. Harry Potter is about two guys and a girl doing magic. _Bande à part_ is two guys and a girl [being French and kooky](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1MKUJN7vUk&feature=youtu.be&t=24). _Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place_ is about what it says on the tin. And, although neither is the titular character, _House M.D._ has a team of two guys and a girl working for a grumpy doctor. So, anything like that, but with two girls and a guy instead. I suppose _Three’s Company_, as mentioned upthread, fits perfectly: Two girls and a guy in an apartment. ---
**Author:** ![Goofus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7feea3/32.png) [@Goofus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Goofus)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-girls-and-a-guy/757685/13 "2016-06-18T17:26:35Z")
_Tangled_: A girl tries to see a light show, a guy tries to help her, and a second girl tries to stop her. ---
**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:** [June 18, 2016, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-girls-and-a-guy/757685/14 "2016-06-18T17:37:02Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Are you looking for stories where the two women and one man are a sort of team … ? A big part of the issue in situations like this is that being “the girl” in traditional male-centered society is itself considered a defining character trait. So, in a team, you can have the tough guy, the nerdy guy, and _the girl_. For example, in the “Five Man Band” trope — [The Chick - TV Tropes](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheChick) — the five team members are the Leader, the Lancer, the Smart Guy, the Big Guy, and the Chick. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-girls-and-a-guy/757685/15 "2016-06-18T17:49:00Z")
> [@Goofus](#): > > _Tangled_: A girl tries to see a light show, a guy tries to help her, and a second girl tries to stop her. Frozen too. A girl goes crazy and her sister tries to help, and so does a guy with his reindeer. Anne of Green Gables is Anne, Diana and Gilbert. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-girls-and-a-guy/757685/16 "2016-06-18T21:04:41Z")
Lizzie McGuire was primarily her and her two friends Miranda (female) and Gordo (male). I think a lot of Disney sitcoms were like this. That’s So Raven had a similar cast, and so did Hannah Montana IIRC, but I didn’t really watch those so I don’t remember the details. I think it largely depends on the lead character in a lot of cases. It’s not uncommon to have one woman and one man in the supporting roles for a trio cast, it’s just whether the lead is male or female that determines which way the gender imbalance goes. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2016, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-girls-and-a-guy/757685/17 "2016-06-19T00:32:20Z")
There are certainly going to be lots of counter-examples, but the fact that two guys and a girl pre-dominate, I think can be explained by the tagline from _The Mod Squad_: “One black, one white, one blonde.” Men are the default sex (not biologically, but sociologically, and in literature), and “woman” is one variation on “man.” So there are actually lots of examples where you have even bigger groups of men, and just one woman. In fact, in any group of TV, movie, or book characters, you will nearly always have more men than women. There will be a great variety of men, but the “variety” among the women will usually be one of a few different sets of opposites: blonde & brunette (with fairly interchangeable personalities); whore and virgin; “one of the boys” & ball-busting bitch; extra-smart & really dumb; androgynous & sex kitten. The last two are combined a lot (cf: Velma & Daphne on _Scooby-doo_). You sometimes get “perfect & loser,” but that’s a lot less common (cf: Ripley and the character whose name I can’t remember played by Veronica Cartwright in _Alien_; Ripley and the women in _Aliens_ were an example of “one of the boys” & ball-busting bitch). Rarely do you see women with sui generis personalities, unless they have lots of superficial, cutesy quirks, which is actually a type all it’s own, and not really sui generis at all, when you get right down to it; it’s sometimes a man, but more often a woman: cf: Garcia on _Criminal Minds_. One of the things that interests me most, though, is that when you get one woman in a fairly large group of men, she is often the most normal one. Cf: Elaine on _Seinfeld_– not without faults, but the most normal of all the weirdos on the show. Also, MTM was often the most together person on her show when she was interacting with the men, and in her personal life was part of a “perfect/loser” dynamic with Rhoda. _The Big Bang Theory_ has an interesting dynamic. Penny started out at just “the woman,” then when Amy was introduced, we had “Smart and Dumb.” Later they morphed into Smart & Dumb as well as Whore & Virgin. Meanwhile, Bernadette comes onto the show as “the normal one,” something you usually don’t get except when she’s the only woman. ---
**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 19, 2016, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-girls-and-a-guy/757685/18 "2016-06-19T01:36:34Z")
Another example of two women and one man is a movie I just saw, _Maggie’s Plan_. ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2016, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-girls-and-a-guy/757685/19 "2016-06-19T01:52:58Z")
MFF movies are practically their own genre, really. or so I’ve been told. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_John_Marcej)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2016, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-girls-and-a-guy/757685/20 "2016-06-19T03:55:51Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > It’s interesting. I’ve seen stories with two girls and a guy and stories with two guys and a girl. But it seems that both of them center on the guys. You either have the story of two guys competing for the same girl or the story of a guy having to choose between two girls. Either way, the guys are the protagonists and the girls are the passive characters. Oddly enough when I read the OP the first movie that popped into my head was one I thought was pretty mediocre, 1992’s _ **Death Becomes Her** _, which is a MFF film where the female characters are the protagonists. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-girls-and-a-guy/757685.md?page=2)