Chick Flick Reflections

My new blogger friend Danyelle--see Queen of the Clan blog link--has a contest running at the moment to discover the best 'chick flick'. She asked for suggestions, put them in poll form, and will have her husband watch the top three poll choices to determine the #1 Chick Flick.

(Which sounds really fun--me being a "chick" and loving "flicks"--but I'm not sure her husband is a good choice for picking the top chick flick movie. No offense. He is, by definition, a HUSBAND. Definitely not a chick. So in reality, he might actually choose the movie that is LESS chick-flick like. More watchable for a guy. Not that there is anything wrong with that...:) )

So, in order to expand a little wisdom to the guys for them to fully appreciate the 'chick flick', and what it is exactly that draw women to wanting to watch those movies again and again, I am going to point out some pivotal scenes in some of my favorite movies and try to explain why I like them. I'm not going to be so general as to assume ALL 'chicks' like these scenes the same way and for the same reasons that I do, but it is probably safe to say that most will agree with part of my judgement.

Let me start with 'The Lake House'. Mainly because this is the movie that my husband just doesn't 'get'. This is the movie that, when leaving the theater I overheard more than a dozen different men muttering to themselves something along the lines of "What was that? Did you get any of that movie? What a piece of..." Men with dazed expressions of confusion and the rolling of eyes at each other as their women (most of them anyway) smiled and told each other that they liked the movie. The men didn't understand the draw. The women ignored Keanu Reeve's acting ability and just soaked up the romance.

In the Lake House, there is one scene that clinches it all for me. The one scene that I will happily ignore the moans of my husband as I choose to watch my DVD again. It is the scene where Keanu goes to the party he knows Sandra will be attending. He sits with her on the back porch, knowing exactly who she is and she has no idea how their lives will become intertwined in the next two years. The scene when they end up dancing alone in the moonlight--fighting attraction, but giving in to a marvelous first kiss. [sigh] So romantic. It is what makes dancing so appealing. Being close. Feeling attracted--and attractive. I sometimes think all of us wish we had a little bit of Sandra Bullock in us. Or maybe we wish flashes of Keanu would be seen in our husbands. Not the bad acting parts--:) --but the going out and making the girl feel wanted. Like there is no one else in the world--no other place he'd rather be, than to be with his girl.

My 2nd movie to discuss would be 'Just Like Heaven'. My husband mockingly tells me that the criteria for a chick flick that I enjoy is only that it has some weird medical phenomenon. The Lake House has the goofy 2 year seperation thing, Just Like Heaven has the girl in a coma, While You Were Sleeping has another coma...there is a pattern, I will admit that much.

Just Like Heaven appeals because I think it shows more of the guy doing whatever he can for the girl. I mean, seriously...he steals her body for pete's sake. (No asking who Pete is....you punny people). He is willing to seem extreme, insane, and he is willing to sacrifice everything to save her.

With While You Were Sleeping, the guy is willing to step aside and let the girl marry his brother if that will bring her happiness. Even at the expense of his own.

Romantic comedy chick flicks are really easy to break down. A regular romantic comedy becomes a chick flick when you have the hero love the girl for who she is, love her in spite of obstacles and differences, love her enough to be willing to let her go. But in the end, true love prevails.

To make it a romantic comedy for guys to enjoy, all they do is add shooting and car chases. Men are much more simple than women. Give a guy a bag of popcorn and a movie like Sahara, and both of you are happy.

Of course, if you give a guy a bag of popcorn, a box of Milk Duds, and a large soda...okay, and a double bacon cheeseburger and large order of fries....he'll probably even sit through 'Pride and Prejudice' with you. :)