Chick Flicks and Guy MoviesFrom Menletter February 2010 By Tim Baehr Nick Waters, a young
guy in Oklahoma, agreed to watch 30 days of chick flicks in 30 days with his
wife and discover, with his wife's help and interpretations, what made women
tick. He concluded that "any real relationship is based on forgiveness,
compassion and vulnerability." Films, all chosen from 2007 or later,
were based on suggestions from friends and posters to his website. The final
list was: 1. Atonement 2. My Life In Ruins 3. Whip It 4. Georgia Rule 5. It's Complicated 6. Leap Year 7. Mamma Mia! 8. Bright Star 9. The Secret Life of Bees 10. 27 Dresses 11. The Women 12. (500) Days of Summer 13. 14. I Could Never Be Your Woman 15. Sex & The City 16. Waitress 17. Couples Retreat 18. Labor Pains 19. Music and Lyrics 20. Becoming Jane 21. The Other End Of The Line 22. The Accidental Husband 23. The Time Traveler’s Wife 24. Dear John 25. Nights In Rodanthe 26. 27. Made of Honor 28. Evening 29. Valentine's Day 30. The Ramen Girl You can read about Nick's adventures at his website, http://30chickflicks.com/. Some men have suggested
that Nick's wife, Nicci, should agree to watch 30
action flicks in 30 days. But I don't think that most action movies per se
give us more than a cartoonish idea of what men are
like. Yes, some action movies may be revealing or instructive about what
makes men tick, but the category is too narrow. I'd include buddy movies plus
anything else that reveals men's psyches. And I wouldn't limit the field to
films from 2007 to today. Why leave out the really good old films? Here, for instance, are
some films I recommended in this space back in 2002 in a list called
"Mentoring at the Movies": Finding Forrester The Cider House Rules Good Will Hunting November Sky Dead Poets Society Shawshank Redemption The Color of Money Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Slam The Man without a Face The Tic Code Training Day Some of them are action movies; some, like "Training Day," are quite violent. But they all involve men relating to each other or to women or to the rest of society in rich, sometimes unpredictable ways. Here are a few more recent films I've thought of: Avatar (of course) Any of the "Oceans" films Up in the Air Star Trek (2009) Iron Man Milk Il Postino Duplicity The Soloist Charlie Wilson's War The Terminal Road to Perdition The Green Mile Cast Away Uh, I seem to be on a Tom Hanks jag. Well, you get the idea. Many movies about men show us not only as heroes or superheroes but also struggling with and occasionally triumphing over doubt, fear, reversals, and feelings of inadequacy. But I want your ideas. What movies would you sit Nicci down and make her watch for 30 days? Not to punish her for her stunt with Nick, but to explore what you want women, or society in general, to know about us by watching movies about men? If I get enough responses, I'll post a list. Send your ideas to
menletter@aol.com. (By Bonus question: Have
you seen any of the Chick Flicks listed above? What did you think? Try to be
brief, or at least pithy. ©Copyright 2010 by Tim Baehr Menletter Home | Article Index | Contact | Copyright |