Since I started this column nearly three years ago, the most frequent request has been that I write about what is referred to as the "chick flick." I've always resisted.
I've always found the genre too loosely defined. What exactly constituted a chick flick? After all, Sleepless in Seattle was certainly a chick flick, but so was Thelma and Louise and the hundreds of movies that might fall in the middle ground.
I also find the very idea of the chick flick sort of offensive. By labeling it a movie for women, it all but alienates 50 percent of the audience and seems insistent that the other 50 percent get behind it. I mean, a guy might be able to get behind a good comedy, romantic or otherwise, but to admit you dig a chick flick, well, that's just emasculating. And you know what? There are going to be women out there that plain don't like (with good reason) Practical Magic. Does that make them lesser women?
So I've stayed away from the chick flick - until now. I decided to deconstruct the genre, to discover what each of these movies had in common.
The answer is this: strong women whose actions drive the plot. It seems so simple, but it's true. Sleepless in Seattle - it's about a woman with convictions about love who follows those criteria all the way to the top of the Empire State Building. Thelma and Louise - two women whose affection for each other and their newfound freedom leads them, well, off a cliff. Chick flicks don't always have a happy ending.
Using the idea of strong women driving the plot, I've come up with the following list of chick flicks that even a guy will like. Think of it as a relationship aid, a sociological experiment or, probably closer to the truth, five great movies. Here they are:
CAT BALLOU (1965): While much is made of Lee Marvin's showy double duty as the drunken gunfighter Kid Shelleen and the evil Tim Strawn, it is a young Jane Fonda, who plays the schoolmarm-turned-outlaw, who holds this ensemble, and the movie, together. At once innocent and knowing, it is a complex, and often thankless role essential to this fine satire of the Western.
ALIENS (1986): An argument might also be made for the original Alien, but it is in this sequel that Sigourney Weaver is truly able to develop, and exploit, the strength and weakness of her most famous role, Ellen Ripley. Ripley is mirrored by a female antagonist, the Queen Alien, with the actions of both leading to a final fight for their respective children.
FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL (1994): Decidedly "chicky" in its subject matter - a missed-connection romance played out against the backdrop of a few weddings and, yes, a funeral, Four Weddings stands apart from the romantic comedy pack thanks to its spectacular writing. Both depreciating and urbane, it's screenwriting that actually makes its audience feel smart. In classic romantic comedy fashion, it leaves its denouement for late in the final reel.
THE AFRICAN QUEEN (1951): At once a great romance, a stellar adventure, a textbook on film acting and a treatise on the possibilities of cinema, The African Queen is one of a very few full-package movies. Much of its magic stems from its stars, Humphrey Bogart and, more important, Katharine Hepburn, who plays a strong, stubborn and beautifully human missionary whose perseverance alone drives the story, and the boat, through the hazards of Africa.
HIS GIRL FRIDAY (1940): It takes a lot to keep up with Cary Grant, particularly when he is in form, as he is in this screwball classic. But Rosalind Russell, playing his whip-smart, wisecracking cohort, keeps up and even steals every scene. It's a portrait of a career woman that is not only empowering but also wildly entertaining.
Reach Steven Uhles at (706) 823-3626 or steven.uhles@augustachronicle.com
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