EDITOR’S BLOG
I just curled up to watch the kind of movie no one else in my family is particularly interested in. You know the kind… "girl flicks"… romantic comedy… but NOT the kind that is all about sex and dating in high school. I want to see real relationships, real growth. Tonight I watched In Her Shoes and thought it was brilliant and sparkling. I felt the same way about The Family Stone when I watched it last month.
Smart chick flicks are movies with. . .
Smart chick flicks are movies with Susan Sarandon, Diane Keaton or Shirley MacLaine playing in a co-starring role as a woman over 50 (or over 70, like In Her Shoes). Or, they are movies with sexy, adventurous women like Goldie Hawn or daughter Kate Hudson. Susan Sarandon is both able to play a woman with grown children (The Family Stone) OR the sexy sidekick — Tell me Bull Durham isn’t the smartest sexiest movie ever.
I like smart, but keep me away from the major tear-jerkers. I don’t want to see a movie where a death in the family is the major plot line. Sarandon’s matriarchal character is dying of cancer in Family Stone, but it’s a secondary matter in the film which is mostly about the grown kids’ love relationships and funny situations that follow when they all meet at Christmas. I want to feel like I’m escaping from my own life when I turn to the chick flick… and most of us have had experience with cancer in our real lives. So, to the producers of the tear-jerkers, thanks for the effort, but not on my NIGHT OFF! I want to get lifted into the world of someone’s crazy zany sister, boyfriend, or Wedding Crasher-friend. Make me laugh, make me cry (but only briefly), but mostly, take me into the experience of what it’s like in her shoes…
What smart movies have you enjoyed?
(Tell me your favorites… Simply write in the comments below. Log in, or register. Then, click and write — you will be asked to rate this article, too.)
Have you seen Sliding Doors with Gwyneth Paltrow? She plays a British chick who has wised-up with the help of a cool Scotish guy and her street-wise friend, after a long-time relationship ends badly. (English slang is used, like "wankah" for jerk)