ChickFlicks Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Do You Drag Your Mate to See Chick Flicks / Action Movies?
Filed under: Drama », Romance », Fandom », Newsstand », Summer Movies »
Gentlemen, do you drag your dates / girlfriends / wives along to see testosterone-fueled action epics? Ladies, do you force your significant romantic partners to watch chick flicks with you at the theater? These thoughts are prompted by a list compiled by our cousins at Asylum: "Summer Chick Flicks No Man Should Be Forced to See." Their reasoning is that no woman should be forced to see a junky action movie (hello, Man with Adamantium Claws!), so why should a man be dragged along to "potentially dreadful rom-coms and weepy dramas"?
Among others, they cite Julie & Julia (with Meryl Streep), The Ugly Truth (with Katherine Heigl), The Proposal (with Sandra Bullock), and two titles starring the once-beloved Nia Vardalos. Oddly enough, these same titles popped up in a recent article by our own Monika Bartyzel. Monika was trying to look on the bright side, but acknowledged: "We might have a sadly plentiful dose of sadly typical romcoms."
I'm between relationships right now and have become accustomed to solo moviegoing. Thus, I never have an argument about what movie to see. But in the past, I can recall delicate -- and sometimes tense -- negotiations. (Which reminds me of that Star Trek / Borg tag line: "Resistance is futile.") Of course, when you compromise and see something you're not inclined to enjoy, you demonstrate your maturity and willingness to 'give and take' in an adult relationship. On the down side, you might be throwing your money away and spending a miserable two hours. So, back to the question: do you drag your mate to see what you want to see? Do you go your separate ways at the multiplex? Or are you completely simpatico about everything you watch?
Cinematical Seven: The Problem with Chick Flicks
Filed under: Comedy », Romance », Cinematical Seven »
Do you ever feel like you just don't fit in? Of course you do, we all do. But it's never more obvious to me then when I sit down to watch a so-called chick flick. Whether it was the 'woman's picture' from the Golden Age of Hollywood, or He's Just Not That Into You's new message of faux-empowerment, it has been a long time since a movie has more to offer my gender than shopping montages and romantic self-pity. Just to keep it all straight in our minds, what exactly makes a chick flick a chick flick? According to popular definition, a chick flick is "a film, usually about relationships, which is popular with females and comparatively unpopular with males". In other words, anything you have to drag your boyfriend to.
It's time for us gals to unite and start demanding a little more from our entertainment. With plenty of room for stories of love, loss, and marriage, Labels or Love cannot be the sum total of the 'female experience'. So, here's my call to arms with a list of the worst crimes perpetrated by 'chick flicks'. You can't change what you don't acknowledge, so let's begin.
1. Two Kinds of Stories -- married or dead?
According to conventional Hollywood wisdom, women are only interested in trying to get married, getting married, getting divorced and then eventually dying of a horrible disease. It doesn't exactly take a Women's Studies degree to see the pattern in most feature films marketed to women -- they are centered solely on personal relationships. I'm not saying that these stories don't have value, but it can't be the only game in town, and I refuse to believe my entire life revolves around making a family, losing a family, and then keeling over after coming to terms with something.
See: Terms of Endearment
Stepmom
One True Thing
...and just about any film starring a woman that has been released in the last 100 years.
Discuss: Are Male Critics Sexist Against 'Mamma Mia!'?
Filed under: Music & Musicals », New Releases », Universal », Critical Thought »
Film critics are often criticized themselves for being the wrong audience for a movie they've panned. Whether it's old white guys who aren't the right audience for a Tyler Perry movie or old white guys who can't appreciate a "chick flick," the subjectivity of certain reviewers is sometimes even called out for being too racist, sexist or otherwise prejudiced. We saw a high level of apparent chauvinism going on recently with the release of Sex and the City, and now it's happening again with Mamma Mia! Last Friday, in Despite my half-belief that Hendrix has a point about some male critics, I didn't want
New Production Shingle: Chickflicks
Filed under: Deals »
Love the words or hate them, "chick flicks" are here to stay for the time being, especially because Variety reports that it just became the name of a new production shingle put together by Sara Risher and Stephanie Austin. The pair have a plan to put out two to three films a year, which will be, obviously, aimed at female audiences. They've got $100 million in financing for the next five years, and plan to start announcing the first three films soon. It seems that this is due to the recent success of a certain female-centric film. Risher said: "With the extraordinary success of Sex and the City, the underserved* market for intelligent, emotional films with relatable female characters has spoken emphatically."
I guess they're reclaiming the term? I mean, "chick flicks" has never had the nicest connotation, so it's not necessarily the name I'd pick for a company interested in intelligent films. Then again, this is obviously an attempt to tap into the market that SatC revealed. If they're looking to make smart films with the same themes, the future films will definitely fit in the "chick flick" realm of women, relationships, and, well, shopping. Here's to hoping they have more planned than that.
*Edited for typo.
'Sex' Sequel Imminent, But Maybe Not Copycats
Filed under: Comedy », Remakes and Sequels »
Even before Sex and the City proved a hit of modest blockbuster proportions, women, such as our own Kim Voynar, were asking whether the film's popularity could lead to more female-targeted fare from Hollywood. Not necessarily "chick flicks," which we already see every now and then in the form of stale romantic comedies (like Made of Honor) and other small movies involving a female protagonist -- but big, smart, well-funded movies that appeal primarily to the ladies. You know, as in the female equivalent to comic book and action movies like Iron Man and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (yes, I know many women were fans of both these "guy" flicks). Well, according to a piece in Variety asking the same question, women can at least look forward to Sex and the City 2. That's good enough, right?Apparently New Line is already at work on the Sex sequel, but studio execs are predictably responding to the success of Carrie and Co. as a fluke. Warner Bros. head Alan Horn, who jokingly told Variety that the sequel will be titled Sex in the Suburbs, said last weekend's Sex opening was "unusually big" and claims similar projects wouldn't do as well. In a way, he's right, pointing to the fact that Sex had a built-in audience, being based on a hit TV series. Meanwhile, Universal's Donna Langley, also acknowledging that Sex is "outside the norm," at least says it's something to aspire to. Her studio also has a female-targeted movie coming out this summer: Mamma Mia!. But again, that, as well as this summer's The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, has a built-in audience.
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