Chick Flicks That Make Me Cry And Not For Good Reasons

I love to laugh at quirky best friends trying to find a way to settle down. I adore seeing a relationship blossom between equally handsome actors on-screen. I can get into the groove of just having a good cheesy time with a romantic comedy.

When I tell people I like chick flicks, it's hard not to receive the "Oh...really?" discussion.  Can I blame them? Most people associate the genre with damsels in distress who are just helpless in love, or base their whole existence on whether or not she can get the guy to make her life complete. Films that try to attract more male viewers end up with male characters that are just as as horribly one-dimensional. They are portrayed as not caring about women unless they can be disposed after an one night stand, can't change their emotions unless the right woman comes along (usually she has changed herself to be what works for him), or they eat potpourri because they think it's food.

No doubt there is a bevy of good romantic comedies out there I love to watch. Many feed my lack of a dating life because I haven't fallen in love the way they do (Noah and Allie, anyone?). Some are just for guilty pleasure. So many others just make me want to cry. Why? Because they make it hard for the romantic dramedy genre to be taken seriously.


Based on a guidebook of how to spot whether or not a guy is into you. Where pretty much good lookin' people just want to hook up with other pretty people. And all the while characters are being given signs left and right about: OMG, he's just not that into you. This one has plenty of starpower but hardly any substance. Characters like Ginnifer Goodwin's and Justin Long make me crii-inge. She's hopelessly sits by the phone waiting for a guy to validate existence. And he, a friend not interested in dating at all, keeps telling her all the reasons boys aren't into her...until they eventually, pathetically hook up.


How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days, starring Both Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey. When I was a teenager every Access Hollywoodesque show promoted the heck out of this. At the time, it became one of the biggest romantic comedies of the year. For whatever reason, I'm not sure too sure of. Despite the chemistry between the two, her character represents all that is wrong with magazines devoted to female readership: writing the rules of how you can be an independent woman, get the man you want, keep him, or in a counter-productive way, give 10,000 ways as to how not come off as a psycho. Equally wrong, he's "playing" her for all the wrong reasons. The two fall in love with versions of who the other isn't, not who they truly are.


"Hos before dough. Why? Because your ho is always there for you. You barely have her back after your friend sexually assaults her. And, then your ho doesn't want anything to do with your dough. And you told her she was the only ho for you. And that she was better than all the other hoes in the world. And then suddenly...she ain't yo' ho no mo'. She's your girlfriend."

I'm not gonna lie: I like the cute moments from Pretty Woman. Like Julia Roberts telling off a prissy fashion store owner on Rodeo Drive who wouldn't sell her anything because of her street walker wardrobe. I like when she thanks Richard Gere before they go out on their date, you know, just in case she forgets to do so later. I don't have a chipon my shoulder that "Cinderella" is a prostitute...but she still ends up depending on him to get on with her life.

 Grease, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton John. I don't necessarily cry over this movie, but growing up out of my childhood idolation I realize how much of an a-hole Danny Zucko is. (I still love you John Travolta!) He's in love with her when they're alone during their summer love affair. Then, when she shows up at his high school: her basic existence is denied, he glorifies their make-out sessions to his friends (Lord knows he can't just like a wholesome girl),  and she's made fun of for being a virgin by her female friends. Danny and Sandy fall in love, fall out of love, and then he falls head over heels once and for all after she transforms into a sex kitten....*sigh*

I actually quite like Nicholas Sparks books and films. But as you can see from the poster, his films don't have diversity in race or sexuality. But when you look back on the history of romantic comedies, the whole genre lacks diversity. Still, his series follows the gamut of two characters falling in love and pretty much nothing should come in the way because, "Hello, they are in love, Universe. They don't have time for illnesses, divorce, separation, strokes, cancer, etc." Sparks' version of love is that it's not merely an important life experience: but that it's the only experience in life to have.Relationships with friends or family members are often pushed to the side (or used as a tool for a story twist so the romance can ensue). I give his series credit that at least his characters don't make stupid decisions in the name of love. They just need to learn the boundaries of how their head can be as useful as their heart.

And just a quick list to round things out: (My reasons why are always available)What Happens In Vegas, The Ugly Truth, Made of Honor,Because I Said So, She's All That, License to Wed,Did You Hear About The Morgans?, The Family Stone,Bride Wars,Employee of the Month, Serving Sara,Just Go With It, Drive Me Crazy,Monster In Law, Failure to Launch, Fool's Gold, Ghosts of Girlfriend's Past, The Bounty Hunter.