Friday, Jul. 10, 2009

The Big Screen: The art of the "Chick Flick"

Some things are best left to the Lifetime Network. It's not an act of chauvinism but a simple difference in taste. "My Sister's Keeper," directed by tearjerker aficionado Nick Cassavetes, tells the story of an 11 year old girl genetically created to be her sister's personal organ bank. But when the leukemia stricken older sister needs a kidney transplant Anna says enough is enough. She hires a slick lawyer and enters a lawsuit against her parents to gain 'medical emancipation'.

It's a movie I hope I never have to watch, ever. Although I faithfully watch all the movies that come through Los Banos I must draw the line somewhere. I spoke with my sister and asked her what she thought of the movie. She had already read the best-selling book and told me that the movie was just as good. The ending, she said, was 'touching'. She would watch it a second time if I wanted to go.

I stood firmly by my argument that I would not be able to sit through a movie about a girl dying from leukemia. It didn't matter to me how joyous the last five minutes might be. A movie that is tearfully depressing until the closing credits is unappetizing to a lot of people. To which I was told that I just didn't understand what women liked.

I wondered to myself if the 'chick flick' really does fly too far over my head. If the genre itself was too polarizing for the male sex. And I have to disagree. I can think of a few films that I would consider favorites that others would consider 'chick flicks' - Jane Campion's eloquent "The Piano," Woody Allen's romantic "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" and virtually everything made by Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar.

To be more specific (and timely) I am reminded of a film called "Happy-Go-Lucky". It could easily be classified as a girls movie - a romantic-comedy type plot with a large female cast.

The film is led by Poppy (Sally Hawkins in a Golden Globe winning performance). Poppy is a London schoolteacher whose extreme optimism exhausts people around her. The plot mainly revolves around the tribulations between Poppy and her pessimist driving instructor Scott and her new boyfriend Tim. Throughout the course of the film Poppy takes up flamenco dancing, goes out for drinks with the girls and meets a new man. The writing and dialogue are fun and quirky and it hardly matters that it is marketed to a female audience.

In the end it doesn't matter if a film is about men or women. As long as it is relevant (or funny) to both sexes a 'chick flick' can be enjoyed by anyone.