# What chick flicks are also good movies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 14, 2009, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chick-flicks-are-also-good-movies/510039 "2009-09-14T15:40:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chick-flicks-are-also-good-movies/510039/41 "2009-09-15T02:36:00Z")
> [@Cat\_Fight](#): > > **Groundhog Day** is always great, especially for mixed groups, in terms of gender and taste. It’s pretty much a sappy romance, but it’s funny enough (and stars a guy), so lots of people let that slide. Uh… **Groundhog Day** is by no means anything as limited as a “sappy romance”. It’s a brilliant film about the perfectibility of the human spirit. I’m serious. While it didn’t get any respect in the US, it won a BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay. Read the [IMDB comments](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/usercomments) and watch it a few more times to really get it. There’s a reason there’s 44 pages of comments. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chick-flicks-are-also-good-movies/510039/42 "2009-09-15T02:39:01Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > Heh. > > I’d second **Amelie** and **About A Boy**. Me too. I also liked the so-far-unmentioned [Sliding Doors](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120148/). ---
**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:** [September 15, 2009, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chick-flicks-are-also-good-movies/510039/43 "2009-09-15T02:44:40Z")
The other night my old ladies at church forced me to watch _Babette’s Feast._ I enjoyed every minute, though it might’ve been because I could say, “She’s just like my grandma,” while they said, “She’s just like my mother.” Without recent (as in “from the past century or two”) immigrant, especially Northern European, family members it might be too subtle for you. ETA: Note that the good food only came at the end. Prior to that you were fed a diet of what Grandma didn’t try to feed you because, unless you grew up eating it, it was disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chick-flicks-are-also-good-movies/510039/44 "2009-09-15T03:35:04Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > RealityChuck beat me to **[Love Actually](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/)**, so can I also recommend these other Richard Curtis titles: [**Four Weddings and a Funeral**](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109831/) and [**Notting Hill**](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0125439/). I know slagging Julia Roberts has become a national sport, but she really is good in the latter film. Heh, three I waas going to suggest as well. 🙂 > [@Giltathriel](#): > > I have to say, I hate Notting Hill. I just cannot deal with that much awkwardness in my entertainment. I sympathize – awkward humour does seem a staple of rom-com, and not something I enjoy. There’s probably going to be a little in any of these films… it’s just a matter of how much. Adding to the High Grant offerings, I very much enjoyed [Music and Lyrics](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758766/); it helps to have seen 80s music the first time around. (Although be warned – there is one particularly awkward scene, that I’ll skip if watching alone) 🙂 I’m surprised no one has suggested [Mamma Mia!](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0795421/)yet. ---
**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:** [September 15, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chick-flicks-are-also-good-movies/510039/45 "2009-09-15T03:41:35Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Uh… **Groundhog Day** is by no means anything as limited as a “sappy romance”. It’s a brilliant film about the perfectibility of the human spirit. I’m serious. While it didn’t get any respect in the US, it won a BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay. Read the [IMDB comments](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/usercomments) and watch it a few more times to really get it. There’s a reason there’s 44 pages of comments. I believe you. It’s one of my favorite films of all time, but it is romance and it does get quite sappy towards the end. I don’t think those things are mutually exclusive. Like I said, I’m not exactly sure what makes a chick flick different from a rom com, or how much ‘rom’ a com must have to be one. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chick-flicks-are-also-good-movies/510039/46 "2009-09-15T03:49:53Z")
> [@Apollyon](#): > > Adding to the High Grant offerings, I very much enjoyed [Music and Lyrics](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758766/); it helps to have seen 80s music the first time around. (Although be warned – there is one particularly awkward scene, that I’ll skip if watching alone) 🙂 Haven’t seen that one, but I also liked Notting Hill. Well, I thought Julia Roberts was an ice bitch and that he should have dumped her, but other than that. I enjoyed Hugh Grant in Four Weddings as well, also nice to see him playing “evil” in Bridget Jones’s Diary. ---
**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:** [September 15, 2009, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chick-flicks-are-also-good-movies/510039/47 "2009-09-15T04:26:11Z")
First movie to get off this thread is [Possession](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0256276/), the 2002 Gwyneth Paltrow film. Set in England, it’s about two scholars (British woman and American guy) who are investigating a secret love affair between their respective Victorian era poets of interest. So it’s got two romantic stories, one modern, one historical, going on at the same time. Easy to watch and not at all pretentious. ---
**Author:** ![Flip\_Pancake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f1d935/32.png) [@Flip\_Pancake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flip_Pancake)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chick-flicks-are-also-good-movies/510039/48 "2009-09-15T05:06:54Z")
_Dirty Dancing_, in memory of Patrick Swayze. Sigh. ---
**Author:** ![Flip\_Pancake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f1d935/32.png) [@Flip\_Pancake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flip_Pancake)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chick-flicks-are-also-good-movies/510039/49 "2009-09-15T05:13:26Z")
> [@Apollyon](#): > > Adding to the High Grant offerings, I very much enjoyed [Music and Lyrics](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758766/); it helps to have seen 80s music the first time around. (Although be warned – there is one particularly awkward scene, that I’ll skip if watching alone) 🙂 I love _Music and Lyrics_. Which scene is this? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chick-flicks-are-also-good-movies/510039/50 "2009-09-15T05:31:46Z")
300 Days of Summer and Ghost Town are great chick flicks for guys to watch. Both are funny and entertaining. Ghost town consists of a lot of sharp british wit and 300 Days of Summer is filmed with some actual cinematic skill. I think they both rated well on the Tomato Meter. ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chick-flicks-are-also-good-movies/510039/51 "2009-09-15T07:50:14Z")
Does **10 Things I Hate About You** count as a chick flick or is it just a 90s teen pic? It’s well written, funny, the lead actors are all talented (Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Larisa Oleynik are the main couples), and there’s good music. Save **Love Actually** for a day closer to Christmas; it is such a Christmas movie, but in a good way. ---
**Author:** ![maplekiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@maplekiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maplekiwi)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chick-flicks-are-also-good-movies/510039/52 "2009-09-15T09:01:04Z")
> [@Apollyon](#): > > ]Music and Lyrics; it helps to have seen 80s music the first time around. (Although be warned – there is one particularly awkward scene, that I’ll skip if watching alone) 🙂 > > I’m surprised no one has suggested [Mamma Mia!](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0795421/)yet. I’m not - its a terrible film! Great scenery though. I didn’t like Music & Lyrics either - very affected. & I don’t like Hugh Grant. But the 80s style music video it opens with is great! ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chick-flicks-are-also-good-movies/510039/53 "2009-09-15T09:08:10Z")
[Stardust](http://www.imdb.com/find?s=all&q=stardust&x=23&y=16) is wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chick-flicks-are-also-good-movies/510039/54 "2009-09-15T22:33:39Z")
> [@Flip\_Pancake](#): > > I love _Music and Lyrics_. Which scene is this? \ Restaurant & Sloan. Way to awkward for me. Everything else in the movie I could enjoy though. > [@maplekiwi](#): > > I’m not - [Mamma Mia is] a terrible film! Great scenery though. I will admit to not enjoying it the first time I saw it… just wasn’t in the right mood, and Bronson’s singing (in particular) grated. But having rewatched it several times (mostly for the music) I can appreciate it as a feel good fantasy. I’m not a big fan of Meryl Streep but I think she did a damn fine job in that movie. > [@maplekiwi](#): > > I didn’t like Music & Lyrics either - very affected. & I don’t like Hugh Grant. But the 80s style music video it opens with is great! Ah well, I seem to have a soft spot for Hugh Grant (no idea why) and have several of his rom-com flicks, and I think Drew Barrymore has a fine talent for physical comedy. But yes, the music video is just perfect! 🙂 Also I’m just the right age to have seen Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Flock of Seagulls, etc, etc the first time around and can really appreciate the 80s nostalgia. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chick-flicks-are-also-good-movies/510039/55 "2009-09-15T22:53:16Z")
[Gregory’s Girl](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082477/) is a nice quirky Scottish teen romance, by the same guy who did _Local Hero_. There’s always _Titanic_, which I thought was pretty well made, although it’s critically unacclaimed. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chick-flicks-are-also-good-movies/510039/56 "2009-09-16T00:34:16Z")
> [@Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](#): > > Another romantic SF movie that’s not quite as chick-flicky: [The Fountain](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0414993/). The Fountain is most definitely not a chick flick. It’s a Darren Aronofsky movie, which should tell you that it’s complicated, angsty, and weird. It’s also an amazing movie that I loved very much, but not something I’d pop popcorn and watch with the girls in my PJs. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chick-flicks-are-also-good-movies/510039/57 "2009-09-16T00:50:28Z")
[_Live Nude Girls._](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_Nude_Girls_(film)) Trust me, you won’t be sorry. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chick-flicks-are-also-good-movies/510039/58 "2009-09-16T02:39:30Z")
I’ve always liked _Down With Love_, which is very droll. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chick-flicks-are-also-good-movies/510039/59 "2009-09-16T03:13:33Z")
I’ll second a bunch already mentioned, specifically: _Love Actually The Truth about Cats and Dogs The Joy Luck Club Four Weddings and a Funeral Notting Hill About A Boy Stranger Than Fiction Sliding Doors_ and add my newest favorite chick flick, _The Holiday_, with Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz. Like _Love, Actually_, it might be better being saved for a time closer to Christmas. And add the two I always add to these threads: [Chocolat](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0241303/), with Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche. [A Life Less Ordinary](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119535/), with Cameron Diaz and Ewan McGregor. Great chick flicks, and two of my all-time favorite movies. Neither one is specifically a chick flick. _A Life Less Ordinary_ has lots of shoot-em-ups and a car chase for the guys. 😃 ---
**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:** [September 16, 2009, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chick-flicks-are-also-good-movies/510039/60 "2009-09-16T04:28:23Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > [_Live Nude Girls._](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_Nude_Girls_(film)) Trust me, you won’t be sorry. You realize that statement requires the film to contain live nude girls, and I’m not seeing it without assurance that it contains live nude girls. I ignored the exposition in Titanic, except when Ms Winslet was naked, but appreciated both the shipwreck and that Cameron, acknowledging the state of CGI at the time, made the real stuff look a bit CGI. It all fit together better. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chick-flicks-are-also-good-movies/510039.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chick-flicks-are-also-good-movies/510039.md?page=4)