Since I wrote that post about Bridget I've been trying to think of movies about women & their personal relationships that have satisfying, happy endings which don't hinge on getting a guy (or reconciling with a father). I've been able to come up with Muriel's Wedding (a total fave), and my friend M. has suggested Walking and Talking (which I haven't seen) and another one, the name of which I may have already forgotten or may be Me As I Am or something like that. (Obviously I haven't seen that one either).
SURELY there must be others out there. Let's make a virtual film fest out of it -- bring on the suggestions and reviews!
Thursday, December 21, 2006
The I'm Fine Film Fest for Single Gals
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13 comments:
Erin Brockovich... A League of Their Own... Titanic... Private Benjamin (I *think*)... My Best Friend's Wedding.
Good question! I'll keep thinking.
Related: The Mo Movie Measure
Double Happiness, with Sandra Oh.
the pelican brief
Erin Brockovich is a good one, and I love anything with Sandra Oh (and I haven't seen Double Happiness!). But I call foul on Titanic. She only doesn't have the guy at the end because he dies. Tragically. In order to save her. Can we make a clause that says the guy can't have died tragically trying to save her? Or had to go underground or into the witness protection program or something equally self-sacrificing and heroic and that's the only reason they're not together?
Don't discount movies where the protagonist is a younger female. Whale Rider, National Velvet...these are the movies little girls could grow up seeing.
I'm also a fan of Music of the Heart - may not be revolutionary, but I like that it goes in the opposite direction of the "i'm independent and got a man!" movies.
(I wish I could say "Contact", but the movie successfully simplifies the books message, which was about 25 years ahead of its time, into "woman gets man")
Oh, god, I LOVED Contact, but I totally agree about what they did to Sagan's marvelous plot...
You know, one of my all-time favorite female characters was Marge in the movie Fargo.
Yes, I know, she's happily married (and pregnant) throughout the film. But what I love about it is that her marriage is comfortably in the background. What we focus on during the course of the film is Marge's ability to solve the crime. She doesn't even have the baby during the film--I remember at the time that Gene Siskel couldn't think of another pregnant film character who didn't give birth during the film.
More on topic: Elizabeth, with Kate Blanchett, is lovely.
I'm not sure this is a 'role model movie', but you might check out Bandits, and underrated Clyde-and-Bonnie-and-Clyde movie that starts out as a silly love-triangle but ends up with the central character asserting herself in a way that means she gets what she wants or everybody loses...
Absolutely the best movie I know that is about women's relationships that don't hinge on men -- "Antonia's Line" (the original name in Belgian could be also translated as just "Antonia" or as "The Family Antonia"). This 1995 movie is just gorgeous. Now, if you are an older movies flick kind of gal, I love the old Judy Holliday movies. Read my blog post about a Judy Holliday holiday film fest I did for myself once. It's the '50s and '60s, so there are men involved, but they are super smart chick flicks for their time.
How did I ever forget about Antonia's Line? Possibly the best film I've ever ever seen. Everyone, go see it right now - and remind me next time to watch Antonia whenever I have a craving for Bridget.
Thanks for all the suggestions (and keep 'em coming). I'm going to get 'em all in my Netflix queue and report back in January. Feel free to do the same...
Oh, and she's really evil, but I love The Last Seduction with Linda Fiorentino.
Me Without You. It's a dysfunctional best-friendship movie. There are boys in it (and, ok, an ending that could conceivably be described as "girl gets boy"), but the movie is just SO not about that--and it's SOOOOO good--that i think it fits here.
*word* on antonia's line. and my best friend's wedding.
Under the Tuscan Sun. She makes it on her own and discovers friends she would have never looked at before. A guy shows up at the very end but only after she's happy on her own
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