Are Chick Flicks a Doomed Genre?

September 22, 2009 — 8 Comments

I blame my cousin for this, because she watched Love Happens. Yes, she actually paid to watch Love Happens, which currently has a 16% freshness rate over at Rotten Tomatoes, and OMG I just checked a 0% from Top Critics hahahaha.

Buahahaha. Sorry, I’m still laughing.

Anyway… it reminded me about an Inside the Gold post, in which K was having trouble writing a review for Made of Honor.

Mostly, I was just getting angry about it for reasons I couldn’t understand… then it hit me. There was nothing original about the film. There was so little effort or originality that went into it, that I started to get upset that the film was even made.

That was followed by a request of Chick Flicks – of course, I added a bunch. Good and Bad, and the Guilty Pleasures, because that’s what was asked… which brings me back to now. I just got to see (500) Days of Summer, which you could say it’s one of those “hipster” films, but in reality it’s a romantic comedy. The movie is good, I liked it a lot… in fact, I can’t wait to get it on DVD xD It’s a not-a-love-story, and it’s sort of a chick flick, I think – and it’s good. So I don’t think it’s a doomed genre, there’s just a lot of crap around the genre for you to take seriously the really good ones.

In reality, Action films should suffer from the same. There’s a lot of crap action films out there that outnumber the really good action films. You can just say “oh, it’s another mindless action film.” but it still has a better tone to it than saying “it’s a chick flick.” – that simply sounds negative, without having the intention to.

I made a list of films by themes, and one of them was the “chick-centric” theme – it contained some really good films with female protagonists as mothers, daughters, granddaughters, friends, neighbors, girls, young women and women… etc, etc. – and from the 3 different themes I put together, “chick-centric” was the only one with no votes at all. So we do have a trigger that makes us think the word “chick” immediately means bad PMS mood swings, put your panties up in a bunch, and make your ovaries ache for that brooding-but-charming or geeky-but-charming hunk.

With female-centric films such as Linda, Linda, Linda – or Rachel Getting Married, One Million Yen Girl, The Guitar, Il y a Longtemps que Je t’Aime, Whale Rider, Hana & Alice… Hula Girls, Swing Girls, Kamikaze Girls~~~ or Romantic Dramas and Romantic Comedies like Shunji Iwai’s Love Letter. Perhaps American Chick Flicks should think of moving away from the frivolous girl meets boy, boy meets girl and they fall in love forever and always stories that they love to tell over and over again, and actually focus on another aspect of their protagonists lives.

A group of friends trying to make it to the school rock festival, a young woman trying to get one million Yen, a woman who just found out she’s about to die, a mother that comes out of jail, a girl trying to follow tradition in the opposite direction. Two friends who are growing up and perhaps growing apart, a group of girls trying to save their town, another group of girls who find something special in their lives, and two girls who find friendship in each other… etc, etc etc.

8 responses to Are Chick Flicks a Doomed Genre?

  1. Ugh Ikr?
    I saw “He is not into you” and I wanted to kamikaze the plane. It lacked originality and seeing Jennifer Aniston doing the same roll, with the same facial expression and same tone of voice. Major buzz kill.
    Thank god for Ginnifer! Such a cutie, such a lovely face. She saved the movie for me.
    But yeah, the typical Hollywood “chick-flick” we have been fed needs to die!
    I am tired of all the sucky movies! “27 dresses”, “The ugly truth”
    Sandra Bullock and Meg Ryan were the tue pioneers of the genre and they made the genre work. This new yoga loving, diet freaking startlets of today lack that effortless charm that a chick flick needs!

  2. “kamikaze the plane”
    will grant you a security check next time u travel xD
    LOL

    I know right? Jennifer Aniston’s turn time and time again with the same face, same situation and all the neurotic female bonding-not-a-bonding~ I was sad to see Jennifer Connelly so crazy in a desperate way.

    Also, Hollywood should stay away from remaking romantic comedies from other countries… I’m looking at YOU, My Sassy Girl remakers~~~ xD

    I also saw Nana. Disregarding Miyazaki Aoi fans who rave about her performance there (I actually liked Nakashima Mika better, as a character) – it gave me (and my dad, for that matter) loads of gay vibe xD The Nanas should get together! xD

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