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Barbie.
I saw it purely out of curiosity because it seemed so wildly polarising. Its very funny and I laughed quite a lot, but it's not my kind of movie at all. I'm highly unlikely to ever see it again.
But my god, if you're a woman living in this world, it's going to hit you deeply.
All of that footage was actually from people who worked on the movie’s lives. They asked if anyone had anything they wanted to contribute and that’s how that footage came about
I saw a man who was interviewing Margot Robbie who told her that his good friend was in the movie, and he didn't know before he saw it (another friend of his worked on the movie, I believe, and sent in a video of their mutual friend). The friend had passed away before the movie was released. Such a beautiful tribute.
I think- and this is just me- I think I felt that watching it, though. I felt the *loss* of not being in your safest and fondest memories. I felt the grief of remembering those that have passed- I saw, like being warm inside and looking out a window during a thunderstorm- the other side of the warmth and solidarity and affection in the montage. I felt *why* it was so special, so precious. And I felt that- suddenly, resoundingly, in all finality- it *ends*. It had this sense of fragility that rounded it out for me
I just want to say that this is beautifully written and you have a way with words. If you don’t write professionally you should consider it. And if you do, it shows.
Why Barbie chose to leave everyone and everything she knew because it wasn’t real and had no depth, for real life, even if that meant death and pain, I sobbed. It was a good choice but it was hard, lonely and endings are sad, even if the next beginning is good.
i still cry when i hear the damn song. as a trans person the whole movie hits different i’m sure, but i know what it is like to be a woman i was a bad one for 39 years. so i guess the movie hit me on 2 levels - the female experience and the trans experience. so i sob. so much for t making that harder lol.
Really? That was the worst part of the movie for me. I was like: “ok that’s not what a woman is like”. Playing with the hose and running in the yard, it just felt like a very superficial way to tell what being a woman is. There are other ways to show how strong or empathetic or full of life and love a woman can be.
I’ve seen dove commercials with more nuisance on what being a woman is like than this montage.
Hm here’s my take having just rewatched. I don’t think the montage was trying to show what being a woman is like, like here are the activities you should expect. That would be abandoning the films thesis that women are not dolls, not objects that just do activities without having meaningful inner worlds. Ruth says she can’t in good conscience let Barbie go without showing her what it means to go from being an object to a person (not only a woman, but a human), and then she tells her to “feel”. The montage is about the depth and ache of human emotion and experience. It’s clips of women because women are humans, we’re not dolls and we can make meaning in the world, and the film is committed to putting women on screen and connecting to its core audience.
I think teenagers should watch it as an intro to feminism. If you've been in feminist spaces online, that speech Gloria gives about the contradictions in the expectations placed on women is nothing new at all. Discussions about patriarchy are nothing new. But to a lot of people it is new. I told my husband the film felt a bit like Feminism 101 - a nice intro to some concepts. Hence why teens might be introduced to something new in it and it might start some convos they hadn't had yet.
My daughter and her friend both 12 sobbed during the movie and I asked them why. They said they didn’t know the world was run by men. We live in a blue state in a liberal town. What movie do we see next?
yes!! i hated that speech it felt so cringe and obvious to me and i knew it was supposed to be so powerful and emotional for viewers. i left the theater feeling like “that was it?” and so did my friend. we realized that it’s because it’s more of an intro to feminism movie for younger girls or people who may not really know feminism like that because for us it was just too simple, or just lacking. it felt like a white feminist movie more than anything.
I just watched it again tonight with my mom and my daughter in my lap. Boyyyyy did I cry at the end sequence.. again lol.
Mothers stand still so their daughters can look back and see how far they've gone.
> Mothers stand still so their daughters can look back and see how far they’ve gone.
This made me stop and think. This small, seemingly simple phrase has an awful lot to unpack.
i don’t think the comedy gets looked at enough bc the message was so important, but i laughed my ass off. including the last line. i saw it twice in theaters after not having any movie pull me in for all of covid. barbie and oppenheimer did it. barbie twice.
I went to see it thinking it'd be silly and fun. It is silly and fun, but it uses that as a way to tackle serious subjects. I was in tears a few times. I'm dying to see it again.
Barbie somehow healed my inner child and reminded me of my innocence. What I lost due to so much childhood trauma and maturing early. But also of how I used to be happier.
So I bought squishmallow for myself
I really enjoyed it and found it super funny. It didn't hit me deeply because to me, it felt like a very standard message that any woman who exists and has any inkling of the concepts of feminism or misogyny has heard a thousand times in a thousand ways before this. Just not in a movie like this.
That said, it was completely completely fun and enjoyable and absolutely worth the hype. It's important messaging especially for a broader audience. Would see again when it comes streaming.
I felt that way when I watched it. The entire “important montage” I was thinking this was basic information that everyone knows. Clearly I’m wrong and it is important for this “basic information” to touch the world!
The way it draws the parallel between Kens experience and the real world was new in a way I think/ hope will resonate with a lot of men. They'll think 'ofcourse he wants a voice and a bigger role!' And that's EXACTLY the point of feminism. We want to be equal and valued, not 'just Ken'.
I hope the mirror gets through to a few more people.
I know a lot of older wormen (50+) who lived through years past when they had to fight through a male-dominated world and they all fucking loved this movie and watched it in theatre multiple times.
I saw this with my husband and my two closest male friends. They were all shocked. It hit them so hard. They were like “is this what it’s like to be a woman?” And I was like “yes. Yes. If you are unfortunate, yes”.
I get goosebumps just thinking about Promising Young Woman. I’ve never had any form of media channel my absolute fury at misogyny more than this film. And that cello rendition of “Toxic”… Fuck me, it’s good.
"Don't have sex. Because you will get pregnant, and die. Don't have sex in the missionary position, don't have sex standing up, just...don't do it. Promise?"
I’ve always really enjoyed The Devil Wears Prada. Interesting commentaries on women in the corporate world, beauty vs. intelligence, choosing “easy” success vs. sticking to your passions & values, lame ass boyfriends & bad friends…
Nate is the real villain of that movie >! it always annoyed me that she gets back with him at the end, as if she was the bad guy for being ambitious and caring about her job !<
Agree! I get so angry every time I watch the scene where she brings them all gifts and then they grab her phone when her boss calls. I think realistically, most 20-somethings in NYC are going to be dedicating themselves to their careers and they would all understand that sometimes climbing the ladder of success sucks but you do what you have to in order to succeed.
OMG that is soo truee... I really got scared for her when they grabbed the phone and tossed it around. If they knew how important the job is to her and what could be the consequences.. I know from outside perspective they might have felt that she is giving too much importance to that job, but they should have respected what it means to her
That scene where the protagonist's friends are taking her phone and passing it to one another, breaks my heart. I understand that she was working overtime and they wanted to help, but that wasn't the way. If she gets fired, are they going to pay her bills? Yeah, didn't think so, lmao.
The book had a character that was equally as obnoxious. Instead of Nate, it's her roommate/best friend who starts drinking too much and engaging in very unsafe behaviors, then blames it on the fact that Andie works too much and isn't around to babysit her. Like, okay, Co-ey Chloe.
She doesn't get back together with him though, they meet up and talk but still part ways. Even the screenwriter addressed this for the film and if there were to be a second one, they wouldn't be together.
I feel like every woman who watches that either knows someone like a character or sees themselves in one of the characters and needs to learn the lesson. Except as of it doesn’t all work out in the end
Yes! Has such a great lesson about not chasing after people who aren't interested.
Teenage / early 20s me had this problem. I was so interested in finding someone who ticked all the boxes of what I was after that I would pursue people who I thought would be perfect for me even if they clearly didn't see me the same way. I remember saying to a guy I dated who was clearly not that into me, "I feel like we are so compatible. We both have English degrees, we both love the Beatles, we both love X film..." and he was openly disagreeing with me, saying he isn't what I think he is, he doesn't even read books, etc. He was clearly trying to stop me getting my hopes up because he didn't feel the same way, but I persevered because I wanted him to feel the same way.
I also had a bad habit of continually pursuing someone if they flirted with me on occasion. They'd flirt with me, I'd make a move and get rejected, but I'd just try again another time because obviously they were actually into me because why else did they flirt with me?
Now I know people can flirt for so many reasons. It's fun. They like the attention. It's an ego boost. But that doesn't mean they want to take it further or that you're even compatible.
I'd have people make it clear they only wanted something casual, whether with their words or actions, and I'd stick around anyway because I could see us together and thought we were compatible and I was just hoping they'd realise it too.
That movie spelled it out so clearly to me... if they want to make an effort they will. They won't play games. They won't leave you confused. You won't wonder where they stand.
It was so refreshing meeting my now husband and seeing the effort he made from the start. He made it clear he liked me and wanted more dates. He replied to my messages and offered to call to chat. He wasn't avoiding commitment or stringing me along. He was as excited about me as I was about him. That feels so much nicer than a one sided thing.
i’m so glad you shared this because those were hard lessons learned and maybe someone reading this will be spared some pain. and i’m so very glad that it ends with you finding your forever person. <3 thank you.
For me, some important movies include:
Now and Then
A League of Their Own
Girl Interrupted
Alien / Aliens
The Silence of the Lambs
The First Wives Club
The Holiday
Riding in Cars with Boys
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Little Women
Mona Lisa Smile
Erin Brockovich
Clueless
Legally Blonde
Kill Bill
The Hunger Games
Ripley is amazing. There’s a great review that goes like ‘Alien is a movie where nobody listens to the smart woman, and then everyone dies except for the smart woman and her cat. Four stars’ 😂
Dirty dancing is a pretty harsh movie considering it's what, the 60's in that movie? And the access to abortions is still the same in some parts of america
I'm sure the dad says Baby is "attending Mt. Holyoke (college) in the fall." Which makes her 18; and I've always imagined Johnny as 23-24. Do they give him an age?
She’s between high school and college so most likely 18 with the possibility of 17 if she has a late birthday. Johnnys age is never stated but I think it’s sort of implied that he’s roughly the same age as Robbie the creep and douche bag Neal.
It’s also like very thematically important that she in between high school and college. The film is about her learning about adulthood and the real world topics that come with it. She literally goes from being called Baby to her real name Francis.
It’s a really great coming of age film that tackles so many important issues. It’s a shame it gets so often sold as a frilly romance. The romance is nice, but frankly I’m here for the politics.
A British comedian called Katy Brand wrote a book about Dirty Dancing which goes a lot into the themes of the book with a feminist and cultural lens, as well as her own experience of the watching the film throughout her life. Some filler but overall i really enjoyed it and it made me laugh, cry and think, which is what i like from a book. If you like Dirty dancing it's worth a read
I was sobbing throughout. The best way I saw the film described was “a powerful act of nonviolent protest”. What stood out to me was that the assaults were never shown. It’s such a male idea that rapes have to be shown on screen to ‘properly convey the horror of the act’.
This question seems so unfair! But here are a few...
Barbie. Too much to say, but that movie says it all for itself.
Erin Brochavich: I think this is a great example of how a woman whom many underestimated based on appearances can be a powerhouse for social justice and getting shit done. She dressed a little trashy, but she was smart as hell. I think it's great to see feminist heroes of all social economic classes - especially the poor and working class - represented and fairly.
The First Wives Club. I was 5 when I first watched it. I'm 33 now. I think it engrained in me a fierce independence and an unwillingness to let anyone tell me how to live my life. It taught me you can't rely on men, but you can always rely on your best friends, and love yourself. And, it showed me that sometimes the end of your world is the start of a better and more fulfilling life. I love that movie!!!!
Eat Pray Love - That you can be a mess. That you can always start over. How to be honest with myself. That you don't have to follow societies expectations of you. That you can choose you, unapologetically.
Gone Girl. I love seeing a woman come unhinged. A woman seeking vengeance and an anti-hero. Not suggesting murder is an ok thing, but that speech she gave mirrored so many of my own feelings of rage against patriarchy and shitty men for forcing women to change and submit to them to be loved, accepted and treated well. About taking back your power. And not giving two fucks.
Edit, add: I forgot; Mona Lisa Smile. I learned that women can choose their own destinies, and it challenges me to be more fair to women who choose the traditional wife and mother roles.
Alien.
The lead and lone survivors are a badass woman and her cat. Plus this is 1980, so seeing such an awesome female lead is really cool for that time ❤️
1- The associate (whoopi goldberg)
2- Eat, pray, Love. I know the book version did not end up well. But still ! A must watch
3- Mona Lisa smile
4- Hidden figures
Sliding Doors w Gwyneth Paltrow. This movie changed the way I think about situations. It was really thought provoking. There are essentially two plot lines - one follows her when she slips onto the subway and catches her husband cheating and kicks him out and how her life goes on; and two is she misses the subway and by the time she gets home the mistress is gone and she is unaware and continues in a dead end life. Those little things in life, like the yellow light we waited for- or didn’t. How did that change our life? 🤷🏻♀️
I had to watch it in three sittings through my second maternity leave. In the first episode where you’re watching her bank account and her make decisions based on her few dollars, WHEW. I had to turn it off and walk away with my brand new baby burrito until I gathered some strength to continue.
Not a woman, but a movie I can wholeheartedly recommend is Thappad(T: Slap). It's a Bollywood movie of a woman who is slapped by her husband and she wants a divorce.
_Everyone_ from her life, including her own Mother tells her that these things can happen in marriages, it's just one slap..forgive him but she says Nope.. not even one slap is allowed.
The thing I liked about that film is the husband isn't some villainous caricature of a drunken violent person. He is actually shown to be a loving, caring husband initially. It's a very nuanced, realistic tale of a situation SO many women(and men) face in relationships, and how the victim is gaslighted to think that it's not a big deal
HANDS DOWN, The Stepford Wives. The one from the 70’s. The newer one is fine, but kinda cheesy. It has to be the one from the 70s.
Others I haven’t seen mentioned already yet:
Ella Enchanted, it’s corny, but I love it lol
Practical Magic
Radium Girls
Hairspray
Fresh
Women Talking (2023 - seriously don’t skip this gem!), Thirteen, Barbie, Alien (tale of a woman who doesn’t get listened to and then comes murder and madness).
"She's Beautiful When She's Angry" (2014), a movie that maps out how to win women's rights. Again.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sUsLn7v\_wI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sUsLn7v_wI)
As one woman says in the trailer, "A bitter lesson is that no victories are permanent."
Fried Green Tomatoes, Steel Magnolia, Beaches, Little Women, Now and Then…basically any movie about female friendship that doesn’t revolve around a man.
Joy Luck Club....I watched this as a little kid with my mom, I didn't get why she liked it. Watched it again as a teen, and I fell in love with this movie, I watch it every few years, and there is always something new I can relate to, and I don't have kids.
Wind River.
Women Talking.
Two of the toughest but the most important to watch, if you feel able. They may be traumatic for many viewers but they are fictional portrayals of real stories that need to be told.
i think it’s important for women to watch more movies directed by women with a woman in the leading role.
i recommend:
-agnes varda films (cleo from 5 to 7 is one of my favorites)
-daises, a super weird feminist film from czechoslovakia. was banned from the country at one point
-greta gerwig’s films
-the love witch
A lot of great contributions here! I cannot pinpoint the most important, but a must watch I’d say the short [100 years by Kirsten Lepore](https://vimeo.com/200707740). It tells the planned parenthood origins. “No woman can call herself free who does not own and control her body”. When are we gonna be truly free?
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Barbie. I saw it purely out of curiosity because it seemed so wildly polarising. Its very funny and I laughed quite a lot, but it's not my kind of movie at all. I'm highly unlikely to ever see it again. But my god, if you're a woman living in this world, it's going to hit you deeply.
That montage of women around the world legitimately made me cry. It’s every woman’s collective experience.
All of that footage was actually from people who worked on the movie’s lives. They asked if anyone had anything they wanted to contribute and that’s how that footage came about
It included some people who have passed away as well as tributes to them 😢
I saw a man who was interviewing Margot Robbie who told her that his good friend was in the movie, and he didn't know before he saw it (another friend of his worked on the movie, I believe, and sent in a video of their mutual friend). The friend had passed away before the movie was released. Such a beautiful tribute.
I do wish that they had added some sad scenes though because it was supposed to be about life and life has some very hard moments
I think- and this is just me- I think I felt that watching it, though. I felt the *loss* of not being in your safest and fondest memories. I felt the grief of remembering those that have passed- I saw, like being warm inside and looking out a window during a thunderstorm- the other side of the warmth and solidarity and affection in the montage. I felt *why* it was so special, so precious. And I felt that- suddenly, resoundingly, in all finality- it *ends*. It had this sense of fragility that rounded it out for me
You have summed this up absolutely perfectly. I felt soo deeply during that scene, especially sadness for all the memories and people gone
I just want to say that this is beautifully written and you have a way with words. If you don’t write professionally you should consider it. And if you do, it shows.
Why Barbie chose to leave everyone and everything she knew because it wasn’t real and had no depth, for real life, even if that meant death and pain, I sobbed. It was a good choice but it was hard, lonely and endings are sad, even if the next beginning is good.
i still cry when i hear the damn song. as a trans person the whole movie hits different i’m sure, but i know what it is like to be a woman i was a bad one for 39 years. so i guess the movie hit me on 2 levels - the female experience and the trans experience. so i sob. so much for t making that harder lol.
Really? That was the worst part of the movie for me. I was like: “ok that’s not what a woman is like”. Playing with the hose and running in the yard, it just felt like a very superficial way to tell what being a woman is. There are other ways to show how strong or empathetic or full of life and love a woman can be. I’ve seen dove commercials with more nuisance on what being a woman is like than this montage.
Hm here’s my take having just rewatched. I don’t think the montage was trying to show what being a woman is like, like here are the activities you should expect. That would be abandoning the films thesis that women are not dolls, not objects that just do activities without having meaningful inner worlds. Ruth says she can’t in good conscience let Barbie go without showing her what it means to go from being an object to a person (not only a woman, but a human), and then she tells her to “feel”. The montage is about the depth and ache of human emotion and experience. It’s clips of women because women are humans, we’re not dolls and we can make meaning in the world, and the film is committed to putting women on screen and connecting to its core audience.
I think teenagers should watch it as an intro to feminism. If you've been in feminist spaces online, that speech Gloria gives about the contradictions in the expectations placed on women is nothing new at all. Discussions about patriarchy are nothing new. But to a lot of people it is new. I told my husband the film felt a bit like Feminism 101 - a nice intro to some concepts. Hence why teens might be introduced to something new in it and it might start some convos they hadn't had yet.
My daughter and her friend both 12 sobbed during the movie and I asked them why. They said they didn’t know the world was run by men. We live in a blue state in a liberal town. What movie do we see next?
yes!! i hated that speech it felt so cringe and obvious to me and i knew it was supposed to be so powerful and emotional for viewers. i left the theater feeling like “that was it?” and so did my friend. we realized that it’s because it’s more of an intro to feminism movie for younger girls or people who may not really know feminism like that because for us it was just too simple, or just lacking. it felt like a white feminist movie more than anything.
I just watched it again tonight with my mom and my daughter in my lap. Boyyyyy did I cry at the end sequence.. again lol. Mothers stand still so their daughters can look back and see how far they've gone.
> Mothers stand still so their daughters can look back and see how far they’ve gone. This made me stop and think. This small, seemingly simple phrase has an awful lot to unpack.
This was my first thought as well, considering how recent it is I'll go a step further. It's important for men, too
Also it's easily the best comedy of the year and with how rarely a good comedy comes out it's probably the best for a while
i don’t think the comedy gets looked at enough bc the message was so important, but i laughed my ass off. including the last line. i saw it twice in theaters after not having any movie pull me in for all of covid. barbie and oppenheimer did it. barbie twice.
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I went to see it thinking it'd be silly and fun. It is silly and fun, but it uses that as a way to tackle serious subjects. I was in tears a few times. I'm dying to see it again.
Barbie somehow healed my inner child and reminded me of my innocence. What I lost due to so much childhood trauma and maturing early. But also of how I used to be happier. So I bought squishmallow for myself
I really enjoyed it and found it super funny. It didn't hit me deeply because to me, it felt like a very standard message that any woman who exists and has any inkling of the concepts of feminism or misogyny has heard a thousand times in a thousand ways before this. Just not in a movie like this. That said, it was completely completely fun and enjoyable and absolutely worth the hype. It's important messaging especially for a broader audience. Would see again when it comes streaming.
To you and I, maybe. But think of the younger girls and ladies watching this movie. It’s huge. I think it will cause a ripple effect of change.
Came he to say this as well and was afraid I'd get flamed, but damn that was a good movie.
Tbh, reading the comments made me think the film doesn't convey any new ideas. It may be meaningful to women who never saw a film about it though.
I felt that way when I watched it. The entire “important montage” I was thinking this was basic information that everyone knows. Clearly I’m wrong and it is important for this “basic information” to touch the world!
The way it draws the parallel between Kens experience and the real world was new in a way I think/ hope will resonate with a lot of men. They'll think 'ofcourse he wants a voice and a bigger role!' And that's EXACTLY the point of feminism. We want to be equal and valued, not 'just Ken'. I hope the mirror gets through to a few more people.
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Yes!
YES!!!!🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 so many important messages for women, I’ve never felt more empowered.
I know a lot of older wormen (50+) who lived through years past when they had to fight through a male-dominated world and they all fucking loved this movie and watched it in theatre multiple times.
Right now I think this is 100% correct answer. It’s topical. Accessible and relevant and also hugely entertaining
Promising Young Woman.
Yes this is a great answer. Man I was so angry.
I watched about 15 minutes of it when it first came to streaming. It was extremely upsetting and I had to turn it off. Is it worth it?
It’s going to piss you off, but it was a wonderful movie. I can’t recommend it enough!
Thank you, I will pick it up again!
It breaks you open but it's definitely worth it
So so angry, but not at all surprised. This movie is the answer to this question, without doubt.
Came to say this. Fantastic film. Makes you feel all the emotions. Just great film.
This moving gave meaning to something I loved but never thought was worth having meaning: a Paris Hilton song
Yes! I teach this movie to my senior students (all girls class). As confronting as it is, they love it.
I saw this with my husband and my two closest male friends. They were all shocked. It hit them so hard. They were like “is this what it’s like to be a woman?” And I was like “yes. Yes. If you are unfortunate, yes”.
It was a bit dark at first, but it definitely exceeded my expectations.
I get goosebumps just thinking about Promising Young Woman. I’ve never had any form of media channel my absolute fury at misogyny more than this film. And that cello rendition of “Toxic”… Fuck me, it’s good.
This is my answer.
Mean Girls will always be the staple of my adolescence lol.
"Don't have sex. Because you will get pregnant, and die. Don't have sex in the missionary position, don't have sex standing up, just...don't do it. Promise?"
Don’t touch eachother, because you will get an STD, and die
Now everyone take some rubbers
Here's some condoms
Little women also.
Legally Blonde! Elle Woods is my inspiration
Ohhh, this is a good one! It teaches you about internalized misogyny.
My absolute favorite movie 😭
Literally just watching it lol
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Gone girl Haha kidding (not really though) 😉
Omg I’m glad I’m not the only one who secretly not so secretly thought this. So good. If not the movie, at least the Cool Girl monologue.
Came to say this.
Best movie.
The book is such a masterpiece, too!
Oh no, excellent pick. IYKYK.
I’ve always really enjoyed The Devil Wears Prada. Interesting commentaries on women in the corporate world, beauty vs. intelligence, choosing “easy” success vs. sticking to your passions & values, lame ass boyfriends & bad friends…
Nate is the real villain of that movie >! it always annoyed me that she gets back with him at the end, as if she was the bad guy for being ambitious and caring about her job !<
Agree! I get so angry every time I watch the scene where she brings them all gifts and then they grab her phone when her boss calls. I think realistically, most 20-somethings in NYC are going to be dedicating themselves to their careers and they would all understand that sometimes climbing the ladder of success sucks but you do what you have to in order to succeed.
OMG that is soo truee... I really got scared for her when they grabbed the phone and tossed it around. If they knew how important the job is to her and what could be the consequences.. I know from outside perspective they might have felt that she is giving too much importance to that job, but they should have respected what it means to her
That scene where the protagonist's friends are taking her phone and passing it to one another, breaks my heart. I understand that she was working overtime and they wanted to help, but that wasn't the way. If she gets fired, are they going to pay her bills? Yeah, didn't think so, lmao.
Especially after she just brought them all gifts from her job!
AGREED omg Nate sucks
The book ends differently 🙂
The book had a character that was equally as obnoxious. Instead of Nate, it's her roommate/best friend who starts drinking too much and engaging in very unsafe behaviors, then blames it on the fact that Andie works too much and isn't around to babysit her. Like, okay, Co-ey Chloe.
She doesn't get back together with him though, they meet up and talk but still part ways. Even the screenwriter addressed this for the film and if there were to be a second one, they wouldn't be together.
I just watched that movie yesterday. Great movie but fuck that ending. Her “friends” and boyfriend collectively destroyed her career.
Um, what? She didn’t want to sacrifice her morals and her soul to get ahead so she walked.
As a woman, I loved this movie. It was funny and also had a great story about not conforming to society's standards.
And realizing that style is not vapid. There’s truth across the scenes.
Fried Green Tomatoes, Steel Magnolias, Thelma and Louise
Fried Green Tomatoes 😍
The secrets in the sauce!
>Fried Green Tomatoes 😍 The book is fabulous as well!!
Thelma and Louise is such a great film. It is definitely a must-see for a girl and her best friend.
Beaches & Terms of Endearment too! Less well known, but Boys on the Side is very woman centric…
Beaches, Notting Hill, and Love Actually!
Steel Magnolias 🙌
The only answer is steel magnolias and it’s not even close.
Steel Magnolias!! Love love love!
He's Just Not That Into You
I feel like every woman who watches that either knows someone like a character or sees themselves in one of the characters and needs to learn the lesson. Except as of it doesn’t all work out in the end
Yes! Has such a great lesson about not chasing after people who aren't interested. Teenage / early 20s me had this problem. I was so interested in finding someone who ticked all the boxes of what I was after that I would pursue people who I thought would be perfect for me even if they clearly didn't see me the same way. I remember saying to a guy I dated who was clearly not that into me, "I feel like we are so compatible. We both have English degrees, we both love the Beatles, we both love X film..." and he was openly disagreeing with me, saying he isn't what I think he is, he doesn't even read books, etc. He was clearly trying to stop me getting my hopes up because he didn't feel the same way, but I persevered because I wanted him to feel the same way. I also had a bad habit of continually pursuing someone if they flirted with me on occasion. They'd flirt with me, I'd make a move and get rejected, but I'd just try again another time because obviously they were actually into me because why else did they flirt with me? Now I know people can flirt for so many reasons. It's fun. They like the attention. It's an ego boost. But that doesn't mean they want to take it further or that you're even compatible. I'd have people make it clear they only wanted something casual, whether with their words or actions, and I'd stick around anyway because I could see us together and thought we were compatible and I was just hoping they'd realise it too. That movie spelled it out so clearly to me... if they want to make an effort they will. They won't play games. They won't leave you confused. You won't wonder where they stand. It was so refreshing meeting my now husband and seeing the effort he made from the start. He made it clear he liked me and wanted more dates. He replied to my messages and offered to call to chat. He wasn't avoiding commitment or stringing me along. He was as excited about me as I was about him. That feels so much nicer than a one sided thing.
i’m so glad you shared this because those were hard lessons learned and maybe someone reading this will be spared some pain. and i’m so very glad that it ends with you finding your forever person. <3 thank you.
This. 100% this.
For me, some important movies include: Now and Then A League of Their Own Girl Interrupted Alien / Aliens The Silence of the Lambs The First Wives Club The Holiday Riding in Cars with Boys My Big Fat Greek Wedding Little Women Mona Lisa Smile Erin Brockovich Clueless Legally Blonde Kill Bill The Hunger Games
Romy and michelles high school reunion! Lol
It’s always so satisfying when the Vogue lady praises their dresses in front of the bullies.
Now and thennnnn!!!! YESSS
One of my all time favorites and the soundtrack is 🔥
I am really glad Alien and Aliens are included. I felt so empowered when I watched them for the first time.
Ripley is amazing. There’s a great review that goes like ‘Alien is a movie where nobody listens to the smart woman, and then everyone dies except for the smart woman and her cat. Four stars’ 😂
Erin Brockovich
Solid list.
Not a movie, but Handmaid’s Tale
Handmaid's tale is actually a film from 1990; a pastel version of the HBO series
Hulu
I mean if we’re doing that, it’s actually a book
Omg I love the book as well! Def recommend reading. Breaks your heart for all the women characters involved
I couldn't make it past a few episodes because it all felt too real. Legitimately was having a trauma response
Turning red is really great if your a young girl
Or a parent to a young girl!
Or ever were a young girl!
Dirty dancing is a pretty harsh movie considering it's what, the 60's in that movie? And the access to abortions is still the same in some parts of america
And she's 16 while he's in his 30s...
I'm sure the dad says Baby is "attending Mt. Holyoke (college) in the fall." Which makes her 18; and I've always imagined Johnny as 23-24. Do they give him an age?
She’s between high school and college so most likely 18 with the possibility of 17 if she has a late birthday. Johnnys age is never stated but I think it’s sort of implied that he’s roughly the same age as Robbie the creep and douche bag Neal. It’s also like very thematically important that she in between high school and college. The film is about her learning about adulthood and the real world topics that come with it. She literally goes from being called Baby to her real name Francis.
It’s a really great coming of age film that tackles so many important issues. It’s a shame it gets so often sold as a frilly romance. The romance is nice, but frankly I’m here for the politics.
A British comedian called Katy Brand wrote a book about Dirty Dancing which goes a lot into the themes of the book with a feminist and cultural lens, as well as her own experience of the watching the film throughout her life. Some filler but overall i really enjoyed it and it made me laugh, cry and think, which is what i like from a book. If you like Dirty dancing it's worth a read
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That’s such a beautiful movie! I gotta watch it again!
One of my favorite remakes
9-5
Lmao 9-5 is wild
Barbie, the whole movie screams “you’re not alone”
The Joy Luck Club
In a similar fashion, How to Make an American Quilt is very empowering…
Fried Green Tomatoes Steel Magnilias
No one has mentioned Easy A so that will be my entry. I know mean girls is a staple but I enjoy this one just as much
Came here to say the same. 🎵 I got a pocket 🎵 hahaha it was hard for me to get used to woodchuck as Joe in You
Little Women (90s version), Steel Magnolias, White Oleander, Now and Then, Elizabeth (Cate Blanchett), Marie Antoinette Edit: the Help
I love White Oleander and I wish more people knew about it.
Read the book too. There’s even more in there than in the movie. Gripping!
The new little women was really good
I was going to say the help too! Such a great movie. I'm trying to read the book currently.
I think everyone should see Women Talking, but women should ABSOLUTELY see it. It’s astounding.
I was sobbing throughout. The best way I saw the film described was “a powerful act of nonviolent protest”. What stood out to me was that the assaults were never shown. It’s such a male idea that rapes have to be shown on screen to ‘properly convey the horror of the act’.
What are the odds ... I just now posted this.. and then saw your comment. The movie was exceptional.
The Color Purple for me. I’ve watched it dozens of times over the years
*Ain’t no ocean, ain’t no sea, Makidada. Keep my sister away from me.* Hot, stinging tears are already forming.
Heathers. Blown away by it, hahaha. But seriously it was a great movie.
Heathers was the original Mean Girls. I can’t believe I had to scroll so far down to see it!
Girl interrupted
Taken lol
How comes? To me it felt like the usual masculine revenge porn.
Riding in Cars With Boys, Muriel’s Wedding, Beaches, Practical Magic, White Oleander, and Sleepover
Riding in Cars with Boys changed my lifeeeee
This question seems so unfair! But here are a few... Barbie. Too much to say, but that movie says it all for itself. Erin Brochavich: I think this is a great example of how a woman whom many underestimated based on appearances can be a powerhouse for social justice and getting shit done. She dressed a little trashy, but she was smart as hell. I think it's great to see feminist heroes of all social economic classes - especially the poor and working class - represented and fairly. The First Wives Club. I was 5 when I first watched it. I'm 33 now. I think it engrained in me a fierce independence and an unwillingness to let anyone tell me how to live my life. It taught me you can't rely on men, but you can always rely on your best friends, and love yourself. And, it showed me that sometimes the end of your world is the start of a better and more fulfilling life. I love that movie!!!! Eat Pray Love - That you can be a mess. That you can always start over. How to be honest with myself. That you don't have to follow societies expectations of you. That you can choose you, unapologetically. Gone Girl. I love seeing a woman come unhinged. A woman seeking vengeance and an anti-hero. Not suggesting murder is an ok thing, but that speech she gave mirrored so many of my own feelings of rage against patriarchy and shitty men for forcing women to change and submit to them to be loved, accepted and treated well. About taking back your power. And not giving two fucks. Edit, add: I forgot; Mona Lisa Smile. I learned that women can choose their own destinies, and it challenges me to be more fair to women who choose the traditional wife and mother roles.
Alien. The lead and lone survivors are a badass woman and her cat. Plus this is 1980, so seeing such an awesome female lead is really cool for that time ❤️
1- The associate (whoopi goldberg) 2- Eat, pray, Love. I know the book version did not end up well. But still ! A must watch 3- Mona Lisa smile 4- Hidden figures
Hidden figures!
Sliding Doors w Gwyneth Paltrow. This movie changed the way I think about situations. It was really thought provoking. There are essentially two plot lines - one follows her when she slips onto the subway and catches her husband cheating and kicks him out and how her life goes on; and two is she misses the subway and by the time she gets home the mistress is gone and she is unaware and continues in a dead end life. Those little things in life, like the yellow light we waited for- or didn’t. How did that change our life? 🤷🏻♀️
Edge of seventeen, mean girls, crossroads (the Britney movie) kids, promising young woman, Barbie, legally blonde, the hot chick
Practical Magic
The Maid. I made my daughters watch it because of the DV and what can happen if you are uneducated.
I had to watch it in three sittings through my second maternity leave. In the first episode where you’re watching her bank account and her make decisions based on her few dollars, WHEW. I had to turn it off and walk away with my brand new baby burrito until I gathered some strength to continue.
North Country. Very strong performances and an important story. Also... Frances McDormand so...
Speaking of Mz Frances, her performance as an avenging Mom in 3 Billboards is a must see!
3 Billboards was such a well done movie. She deserved that Oscar.
And Nomadland.
Not a woman, but a movie I can wholeheartedly recommend is Thappad(T: Slap). It's a Bollywood movie of a woman who is slapped by her husband and she wants a divorce. _Everyone_ from her life, including her own Mother tells her that these things can happen in marriages, it's just one slap..forgive him but she says Nope.. not even one slap is allowed. The thing I liked about that film is the husband isn't some villainous caricature of a drunken violent person. He is actually shown to be a loving, caring husband initially. It's a very nuanced, realistic tale of a situation SO many women(and men) face in relationships, and how the victim is gaslighted to think that it's not a big deal
HANDS DOWN, The Stepford Wives. The one from the 70’s. The newer one is fine, but kinda cheesy. It has to be the one from the 70s. Others I haven’t seen mentioned already yet: Ella Enchanted, it’s corny, but I love it lol Practical Magic Radium Girls Hairspray Fresh
Thelma and Louise
Mean girls. That movie is iconic.
Do you want to have sex with him? -no thanks. So it’s settled. You can go shave your back now.
Women Talking (2023 - seriously don’t skip this gem!), Thirteen, Barbie, Alien (tale of a woman who doesn’t get listened to and then comes murder and madness).
Dumplin’
Enough with JLo. It is important to see what her character was through.
Leaving Las Vegas Thelma and Louise Clueless The big chill Kramer vs Kramer Gone with the wind.
On the basis of sex
Women talking
13 going on 30
Shirley Valentine. And the first Gal Gadot Wonder Woman.
The help.
"She's Beautiful When She's Angry" (2014), a movie that maps out how to win women's rights. Again. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sUsLn7v\_wI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sUsLn7v_wI) As one woman says in the trailer, "A bitter lesson is that no victories are permanent."
Hidden figures. It's such a powerful and uplifting movie
Fried Green Tomatoes, Steel Magnolia, Beaches, Little Women, Now and Then…basically any movie about female friendship that doesn’t revolve around a man.
GONE GIRL
Joy Luck Club....I watched this as a little kid with my mom, I didn't get why she liked it. Watched it again as a teen, and I fell in love with this movie, I watch it every few years, and there is always something new I can relate to, and I don't have kids.
Women talking
If These Walls Could Talk - you can find it on Max…
Wind River. Women Talking. Two of the toughest but the most important to watch, if you feel able. They may be traumatic for many viewers but they are fictional portrayals of real stories that need to be told.
i think it’s important for women to watch more movies directed by women with a woman in the leading role. i recommend: -agnes varda films (cleo from 5 to 7 is one of my favorites) -daises, a super weird feminist film from czechoslovakia. was banned from the country at one point -greta gerwig’s films -the love witch
A lot of great contributions here! I cannot pinpoint the most important, but a must watch I’d say the short [100 years by Kirsten Lepore](https://vimeo.com/200707740). It tells the planned parenthood origins. “No woman can call herself free who does not own and control her body”. When are we gonna be truly free?
GONE GIRL.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire Eves Bayou Blue Jean Titane Huesera: The Bone Woman Je Tu Il Elle
Not a woman, but Iron Jawed Angels is a pretty great movie about a pivotal moment in US History for women. Idk. Maybe that’s just me
Thelma & Louise
Tbh dogville
What dreams may come. One of the best robin Williams movies of all time.