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One writer makes a case for the validity of the maligned 'genre'

By Martha Brockenbrough
Special to MSN Movies

Pity the chick flick. They're the little purse-dog of the movie world: so cute, so sweet ... and so roundly mocked by the rabid masses. In fact, if there's just one thing agreed upon by manly men and feminists, it's that chick flicks are irredeemable, steaming piles of poop.

I object!

Despite the fact that I am a) somewhat frightened by tiny dogs, with their sharp teeth and bulgy eyes; b) a flag-waving feminist; c) able to belch alphabetically as well as any manly man, I also like chick flicks.

Quite often, I love them. Inspired by the valiant work of Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods in "Legally Blonde" -- an alpha dog of the genre -- I hereby lay out this defense of chick flicks before the court of foaming naysayers.

The solemn declaration

I, Martha Brockenbrough, movie enthusiast, do solemnly and sincerely declare:

1) The Chick Flick, "the CF," is a woefully misunderstood and unfairly maligned movie category.

2) Quality CFs are, in fact, inventive, meaningful and, in some cases, magical.

3) People who write off the entire category as crap really need to spend some time embracing their inner teens. They need to stop running from the big emotional mountains of life: love, family, death. They need to maybe have some cocoa. Wax a body part or two. Feel the tingling of unbidden tears. Because, in the immortal words of manly man Rosey Grier, "It's all right to cry. It might make you feel better."

Misunderstood and unfairly maligned -- for a despicable reason

You might know people who hate chocolate. They're not allergic. They've never been traumatized by a chocolate bar, or sucked up the fudge pipes like poor Augustus Gloop. They just claim to hate it in all of its forms. Ridiculous!

It's just as silly to write off all movies made for a predominantly female audience as mere "chick flicks."

There's just one reason for it: sexism -- even if people won't cop to it.

Don't believe me? Consider this: There is no similarly pissy term in wide use for guy movies, even though there certainly are movies meant for men, and there certainly is a word that rhymes with chick and refers to a certain piece of masculine equipment.

Don't believe me? Do a search on "chick flick" and its rhyming male counterpart. There are roughly 2 million more results for chick flick.

"Action movie" would be the category aimed mostly at team testosterone. Where's the dismissive, negative connotation here? That's right -- it doesn't exist.

This is where the feminist in me bares her snarling teeth. Often, all it takes to give something cooties is to associate it with women, and all of a sudden, it's tainted. The word "wench" used to simply mean girl. Now, it's an insult. Pink used to be a "boy" color until the 1940s. Now, only the most metrosexual of men will wear it. And how many men do you know would proudly drive a convertible bug?

The fact is, there are good women-oriented movies, such as "Mystic Pizza," and there are bad ones. "Crossroads," anyone? I didn't think so.

Now, some feminists might argue that CFs -- many of which focus on romantic love -- demean women, implying that life is worth living only if there's a man in it. Again, that's bogus, an oversimplification at best.

For another thing, there's nothing wrong with romantic love. In fact, it should be a highlight in every person's life. Maybe women gravitate toward them, just as some men are more drawn to more-violent movies. But that doesn't mean love is second banana just because it's the typically female diversion. Seriously. Is that the world you want to live in? Where violence and destruction are considered superior to love?

What's more, some of the best chick flicks, like "Mystic Pizza" and "Love Actually," show love in its various forms, in equal parts heartbreaking and hopeful.

Since I've mentioned "Mystic Pizza" twice now, I'll use it as an example. It braids together three love stories, none of which end in the same way.

One couple is engaged, but the bride faints during her wedding. Even though she wants marriage and kids, she's not quite ready. This is a great inversion of the stereotype where the guy is the one who's stalling. Lili Taylor is fantastic as the reluctant Jojo (Vincent D'Onofrio plays her eager groom).

Another couple is even more unconventional: Annabeth Gish plays the good girl Kat, who's baby-sitting to earn money for college. She falls for her boss and gets burned in the process. The relationship is both understandable and heartbreaking.

And then there's Daisy (Julia Roberts) and Charles Gordon Windsor Jr. (Adam Storke). Even this relationship defies the conventions somewhat. She's the poor beauty; he's the rich son struggling to find his way in the world. Though there is a wedding at the end of the movie, it isn't theirs -- even though they do have to find ways of letting go of their stereotypes. It's a work in progress, as are the two people in the relationship.

Put simply, no women were harmed in the making of this movie, and it's quite entertaining to watch. Though Roberts really got famous after the far less enjoyable "Pretty Woman," this is the movie that put her on the map for many of her longtime fans.

Chick flicks: just as creative as other categories

CF detractors complain that the movies in this category are all the same. That's a little like complaining about all those war movies that have good guys and bad guys.

Yes, many CFs start with heartache and end with happily ever after. But most of my days end with my head hitting the pillow, and that doesn't mean I took the same steps to get there each time.

The CF can be serious, funny, contemporary, historical, heartbreaking or heart-lifting. Though there are some who would limit them to the "Bridget Jones's Diary" class of hapless contemporary heroine in search of love, no woman who's ever tried to get a man to see a Jane Austen adaptation would agree.

"Isn't that a chick flick?" is simply a man's five-word synonym for no.

The best CFs take us into all sorts of worlds. Some, like "Amélie," make France and photo booths seem even more impossibly romantic than we could have imagined. What about "Like Water for Chocolate"? Even though it was set in Mexico, the world it inhabited was magical -- where a wedding cake made by a heartbroken girl could change things in unexpected ways.

There are the costume-drama classics from Ms. Austen and her fellow novelists, and there are contemporary gems, like "Legally Blonde." Same goes for "Bend It Like Beckham," which mixed love, soccer, sexual identity and culture clashes into one delicious brew -- and sent Keira Knightley's career into the stratosphere (and her torso into many corsets).

Chick flicks: they're a delicious catharsis

All good movies take you for an emotional ride. CFs are no exception.

Seeking misery? Try "Steel Magnolias." Joy? Why not catch "The Wedding Singer," which ends with a Billy Idol/Adam Sandler serenade at cruising altitude. If it is hope that you seek, then "Dirty Dancing" is your choice (and the choice of all average-looking girls who'd love to bump and grind with a hottie).

Generally speaking, CFs evoke emotions that are pleasant to experience. This is why you will not find ax murderers in chick flicks. You won't see the hideous spurts of arterial blood that festooned the screen in "Sweeney Todd." You are also safe from the spectacle of poop steeping next to a coffee pot, something that almost made me hurl as I watched the second "Austin Powers" movie.

Fear, disgust, revulsion are not part of the CF formula. Amen to that. We can get all sorts of unpleasantness for free by watching the evening news, or in some cases, rinsing out the long-forgotten cottage cheese tub in the back of the fridge.

And even though it's true that some of the romance portrayed on the big screen doesn't necessarily resemble the sort we experience in real life, whining about that is like complaining that war movies simply don't spend enough time exploring the bureaucracy of the military.

Yes, bureaucracy is to the military what nose hairs are to real-life love: inescapable. But also, in the big picture, irrelevant.

What all of this means, of course, is that only sexist, narrow-minded types who are afraid to plumb the depths of their emotions don't like chick flicks. If that's you, fine, you sorry heap of flesh. But don't come looking for me if you find yourself craving chocolate. I'm not sharing. Not even if you offer me a cute little dog for my purse.

And so, I rest my case.

Send us your thoughts on "chick flicks." Pro? Con? Write us at heymsn@microsoft.com

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Martha Brockenbrough is MSN's Cinemama, for the Parents' Movie Guide. She is also the author of "It Could Happen to You: Diary of a Pregnancy and Beyond." She's also founder of SPOGG, the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar. She writes a fun-with-kids column for Cranium.com, as well as an educational humor column for Encarta. Check out her Web site.