The Princess Bride is not a Chick Flick
My Music Man and I were out noshing with a group of friends last night, and it turned out that one of said friends, a gal a few years younger than me, had never seen The Princess Bride. Her guy friend mentioned it, and she turned to me and said, "You've seen it, right?"My face lit up and I began to rave. (How can you not rave about that movie?) (How can you have grown up in the 80s and not have seen that movie?)
She said, kind of shrugging, "I thought it was some kind of romancey chick flick." (Which was why she'd assumed I'd seen it.)
So I proceeded to explain to her that The Princess Bride is not a chick flick. Her guy friend chimed in, and so did my Music Man (he, of the I-must-never-rave-about-a-movie-taste, wasn't quite as gung-ho about it as I was...but he agreed it was a good movie and not a chick flick.)
I guess I can't blame Lisa for thinking it was, if she'd never seen it. After all with a title like that and the images on the posters, why wouldn't she think so? But that's the beauty of the movie (among others)--it's sappy and campy and brilliant all at the same time.Turned out in that group of friends last night that another person had never seen the movie, and she's a bit older than Lisa & I (so I could excuse her lapse). So we decided it was a perfect excuse to have a party: A Princess Bride party wherein we will watch the movie and eat and drink and make merry.
But, I digress. My point in writing this post was to ask what exactly is a chick flick? All movies pretty much have love stories in them, but where does a movie cross the line and actually become a chick flick?
My Music Man says a chick flick is a movie where I flick him (or any other woman flicks her male s.o.) when I want to make a point about how a male in the movie is behaving (badly usually), or doing nice, romantic things (bringing flowers, giving a massage: "Like you never do for me!" *flick!*).
What do you think?
And, thus and so...I will leave you with this: "Wuuuvvvv....Twuuu wuvvvv...."
Colleen Gleason stepped onstage at 9/01/2006 11:26:00 AM
18 Comments:
I still think, although I never tested this, that a Princess Bride drinking game party would be the best thing ever.
Of course, you'd be plastered before you got through the "Inconceivable!" stuff.
Someday I am going to test this...
One of my all time favorite movies. I remember bartending one night in the dead of winter and it came on HBO, so I had all 3 TVs tuned to it. 3 local guys, all very gruff/macho/surfer type came in at the start and wanted me to change the channel. I absolutely refused and told them they could go elsewhere if they didn't want to watch it. 15 minutes into the movie, they were entranced and stayed to watch the whole thing (when they had only planned on having a couple beers and going home).
I don't think you can classify TPB really. Romance, chick flick, comedy, adventure, kids film... they all fit.
But I'd characterize a chick flick as any romantic comedy with no action/adventure in it. You've Got Mail... chick flick. King Kong has a huge romantic element in it, but is not a chick flick.
Bleah... I'm too anxious to get out of work to really be coherent.
Sassy, what a great idea! A Princess Bride drinking game. I'm going to have to give that a bit of thought. Quite a bit of thought.
Annie, I've been bad on my LJ, I know...but I'm so glad you keep coming here anyway! Great story about the guys in the bar getting hooked.
And I like your definition of a chick flick as any romantic comedy without action/adventure in it, except I'm not sure it has to be a comedy, does it?
I think Phantom of the Opera is rather a chick flick. And Dear Frankie maybe.
And what about Mr & Mrs Smith? Bordering on chick-flickism, I think. Maybe not. Hmm.
You're right. It doesn't need to be a comedy. (If you only knew how tired my brain was).
Dear Frankie is definitely a chick flick. Mr. and Mrs. Smith isn't because things get blown up the entire movie. And you know they think Angelina Jolie blowing stuff up is even cooler. ;)
And of course I keep stopping by. :) I don't know how anyone keeps several blogs/journals all updated... so I'm happy to click directly here.
I wouldn't call it a chick-flick -- I know far too many guys who love it, too. Like Annie said, there are far too many elements to classify it that easily.
Which may be why it is the Best Movie Ever. The movie that is the most memorized, as well? It's rare that I quote it, and the person I'm talking with doesn't immediately recognize the source.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith, I agree it's too action-y to be a chick-flick -- and also that its humor is too dark in places. Not that women don't appreciate dark humor, just that I don't associate chick-flicks with it.
Hmm...on the other hand, Thelma and Louise is a total chick flick, and stuff gets blown up all over the place. And the humor is dark.
I'm not sure that I agree with what I assume is the standard definition for chick flicks. I have never understood why any red-blooded male would not want to see a movie with cute women in it (Meg Ryan, Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, the list goes on and on). To me they are really the ultimate guy flicks. The guy is usually some sort of everyman bonehead who still ends up with the hot girl-next-door in the end. They should be called every-guy's-dream flicks.
My definition of a chick flick is probably more narrow...movies like Thelma and Louise or Terms of Endearment maybe.
On another note, so glad you signed up for the R.I.P challenge. Love your site, love your necklace, and I think the cover on your upcoming book is gorgeous (fits in perfectly with my post for today, wish I had seen it last night!).
Hey Meljean, thanks for stopping by. How's your Lilith doing? *g* Mine's terrorizing everyone. LOL.
Carl--you make an excellent point about the guy perspective. I'll have to run that by my Music Man. I will say that he actually does like chick flicks for the most part. He's a romantic at heart, though he'd probably not admit it too readily.
And I'm thrilled to be part of the RIP challenge. What fun! And what an excuse for me to read some books I've been putting off.
Thanks for the compliments on my necklace (it was a gift to myself when I sold my first book), and my book cover. I'm pretty partial to it, myself.
Darn you beta blogger! Ate my reply! have to do this as anon till they fix it!
Anyway basically said I LOVE The Princess Bride and have done my part by making sure the next gen of gals in my family have seen it by buy it for them for their birthdays!
Zeek
As far as definiion of chick flick, I think if it's a movie about relationships (romatic or otherwise *think Steel Magnolias*) AND it appeals to mass amounts of women-it's a chick flick!
Oh and Carl, my bf freely admits to liking chick flicks, I think that's why I love him! heee!
Zeek! What's up with this beta blogger thing? Thanks for coming by, and give your b-f a hug for me for liking chick flicks.
I'm going to remember to buy The Princess Bride as birthday gifts. Great idea!
I think it's any movie a guy wouldn't be caught dead seeing unless, a)it's early in the relationship and they want you to think they're sensitive, b)it's your bday or anniversary, or c)they did something wrong. Of course all those are trumped by d)it's all about the nookie.
Someone told me the book is fabulous as well.
HA! It surprisingly it wasn't the beginning of the relationship! AND what made me love him even more was when he sat thru the enitre A&E version of Pride and Prejudice AND said he liked it well enough. By then I didn't care if he did or not just the fact he bothered to watch it made me fall a bit more in love with him! :P
Zeek
Love your hubby's definition of a chick flick. :) & I enjoyed The Princess Bride very much. Haven't seen it in years, though.
Zeek, my husband actually enjoyed the BBC Pride & Prejudice too! (Probably not as much as I did, seeing as Colin Firth looked awfully yummy coming out of the lake...)
Janice, I hope you get to see it again soon. It's just as much fun for adults as for kids!
Okay, I have to say this:
"Chick-flick--I don't think that word means what you think it means."
TPB is an amazing movie. I think Mr. & Mrs. Smith is basically a movie about marriage, not spies and all that, so it's actually not a date movie, but a relationship movie. And now that he's a bit more weather-worn, I find Brad Pitt totally foxy. When I've had a few beers (and when has THAT ever happened?), I'd probably talk about the beauty of Angelina Jolie, too, and how she is universally do-able, regardless of your inclination.
I just pre-ordered The Rest Falls Away, too, btw. Along with Meljean's book.
I have a PB drinking game -- take a drink anytime the person in the room with you starts saying the lines along with the characters.
A chick flick is a movie primarily about relationships among women. Terms of Endearment, Steel Magnolias, Waiting to Exhale... stuff like that. I used to think romantic comedies, too, but most romantic comedies these days are masquerading as buddy comedies (Wedding Crashers) or guy gross-out comedies (40-Year Old Virgin) so I'd be hard pressed to call any of them chick flicks.
If you listen to the DVD commentary of Mr and Mrs Smith, ti's very interesting, because they know that their story is a rom com masquerading as a spy thriller. In fact, they talk about how in terms of screenplay structure (which is very dependent on genre) all the turning points are the romantic ones rather than the spy ones.
There are barely two female characters in all of PB, and they are never in the same scene. It's an adventure story with a love story inside. Kind of like the Matrix. My favorite scene, of course, is the kickass swordfight. One of the top ten swordfights in all of cinema history.
But if you're a REAL fan, you've read the book, too.
I am indeed a real fan as I read the book before I ever saw the film!!!! It is a great book and movie.
I forgot to mention earlier that Princess Bride holds a special place in my heart because it was the movie that my wife and I saw together on our first date.
I use to love this film, but we showed it so many times over and over again at our store, that I don't want to see it ever again!
Art
LOL, your friends thought it was a Kissing Book, er, movie.
But when you think about it, the movie did address this -- we're all suckers for romance -- even guys. Although you should always toss in a couple sword fights and ROUS (Rodents of unusual size) for good measure, and to keep the guys awake.
Where the Heart is -- total chick flick as evidenced by the fact I watch if every time I find it while channeling surfing, but my husband either walks away or falls asleep.
White Oleander! The book and the movie just wipe me out, opening up the floodgates of a lot of painful memories. I'm sure if I asked my husband to describe the plot he would blank. The name would mean nothing, and if I prompted him...the movie with Michelle Pfeiffer and Renee Zellweger, and, hey, Robin Wright Penn, he'd still be clueless.
Post a Comment
<< Home