Our Top Ten Chick Flicks Of All Time

Come on, you know you love settling down with some ice cream, a box of tissues, and a good old fashioned chick flick. From romances, to tragic story of a mother and daughter’s love as they face the odds, or the inspiring journey of a woman setting out to find herself, there is just something about chick flicks that draw us all, whether you are willing to admit it or not. Even the fellas occasionally join in on the sob-fests.

There are plenty of lists out there that will give various opinions on some of the best (or worst) among this genre, and they seem to differ quite a bit. But there are a few classics that can’t be denied, and I have put them all together here, on my own list of the top 10 chick flicks of all time. So, sit back, relax, and succumb to the sickly sweet, romantic, devastating, and wonderful phenomenon that is the girl movie.

10) When Harry Met Sally

I don’t care who you ask, this movie will always be on any list of greatest romantic films, chick flick, or not. The story of Harry, Sally, and their relationship through the years, the whole premise is based on one simple fact: Men and women can’t be friends, because the sex will always get in the way.

While they make a good effort at proving it wrong, as we all know, they end up proving the theory correct in the end. In the meantime, there are plenty of hysterical moments, tear-jerking scenes, and a romantic climax that will always choke up even the most cold-hearted hardass.

9) Pretty Woman

The movie that made every little girl want to be a hooker, but only the nice kind, this classic starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere is one of my all time personal favorites. From the moment Julia hits the screen, wearing her terrible blond wig, and stiletto boots, we know there is something special about her, and the whole movie is spent proving us right.

Richard Gere is as charming as ever in his ‘I’m-So-Sophisticated-With-My-Grey-Hair’ kind of way, and he made every woman in the world break down into tears when rumors tell he might be gay. His little surprises, like the $250,000 necklace for a night at the opera made us fall in love. And who could forget the scene with the white limo and roses?

8 )Green Card

Never has immigration fraud seemed so romantic. ‘Green Card’ is the story of Bronte (Andy MacDowell), a woman with an amazing apartment with a greenhouse, and Georges (Gérard Depardieu), a Frenchman who really wants to stay in the US. The two are brought together by a mutual friend, in a marriage of convenience that will allow him to stay in the country, and her to keep her beloved greenhouse.

Over the course of a few weeks, with plenty of mishaps in between, the two become friends, and then they fall in love, while they do their best to fool friends, neighbors, and the INS about their relationship. The most memorable scene has to be the end, as they laughingly exchange rings before he is deported, in a wonderfully cheesy, heartwarming moment.

7) While You Were Sleeping

I’ll admit it, I am not a big fan of Sandra Bullock. I’m also not a big fan of Bill Pullman. But somehow, when you put them together, it just fits. ‘While You Were Sleeping’ is one of the few movies that can bring me to tears, in a way that no other romantic comedy can, and I am only slightly ashamed to admit it.

It’s all about a woman who works in a train station, where she takes the toll from passengers as they head to and from work. There is one man who she sees every day, one Peter Gallagher, who she (understandably) become obsessed with. After he is pushed by a mugger onto the tracks and knocked unconscious, she saves him, and he sees her just before he falls into a coma.

One little white lie to a hospital worker about being his fiance, and suddenly the whole family is involved, welcoming her into the family as their loved ones continues in his constant slumber. She loves his family, but it is his brother (Pullman) that she ends up falling for. Is it any wonder this is one of the widely viewed favorites in the chick flick genre? Who cares if it makes no sense?

6) Truly, Madly, Deeply

There is only one reason this movie has to be listed under as one of the best: Alan Rickman. His name (and, of course, his voice) is usually enough to bring any warm-blooded woman to her knees, and while he may be better known these days for his portrayal of Colonel Brandon, or as Professor Severus Snape, many of us first felt our hearts pounding when we say ‘Truly, Madly, Deeply’.

The idea is actually pretty far fetched but somehow Rickman, and his costar Juliet Stevenson, make it’s totally believable. A woman who loses her husband has also found herself unable to move on, and to live her life. As she continues to isolate herself more and more from the world, she soon discovers her husband, Jaime, is not as far as she once thought.

His ghost begins to haunt her apartment, bringing with him a number of friends, and for awhile she thinks her wildest dreams have come true. But what will she do when she begins to fall for another man, and has to choose between the past, and the future?

Add the interesting storyline to the fact that we get to hear dear Alan sing, and I think you will agree that this movie is more then worth a look.  Top 5, continued after the break:

5) As Good As It Gets

This is a chick flick that even the guys can get into. Jack Nicholson, one of the greatest actors of all time, plays Melvin, an obsessive compulsive romance writer, and an all around pain in the ass. When Carol, a waitress he is obsessed with quits her job to take care of her sick son, Melvin pays for a doctor to care for him, because ‘he’s hungry’, and wants her to come back to work.

In the meantime, he also become entangled with his gay neighbor Simon, played by Greg Kinnear, who is badly injured after his place is robbed by homophobic criminals, and his manager/lover, Cuba Gooding Jr. asks the compulsive Melvin to drive Simon to his parents, who had disowned him, to ask for money. Melvin convinced Carol to pay him back for the doctor by coming with them on their roadtrip.

This movie has some of the funniest, most romantic, and all around greatest quotes in history, and I really mean that. I don’t think anyone can forget Nicholson sitting at that restaurant table, telling Carol that she makes him ‘want to be a better man’.

4) The Way We Were

Barbara Streisand has always been a literal icon in Hollywood, both as a singer, and as an actress, and her movies are legendary. I have never been that interested in a large majority of them, to be perfectly honest with you, and I tend to stay away from anything with her name, that seems like it might fall on the side of dramatically sentimental. But I do have to admit to a serious love for this movie, which is, without a doubt, her best.

The story of two people in love, who are torn apart by political differences, a government crusade against Communism in Hollywood, and an extra-marital affair, there is plenty of conflict, and history, to make this movie interesting on it’s own. But when you put it in a romantic context, it manages to capture the heart’s of women everywhere. Who could forget that crucial scene, when Katie and Hubbell run into each other after ending their turbulent marriage?

“Your girl is lovely, Hubbell,” the words that to this day bring so many of us to tears.

3) Terms Of Endearment

I won’t even bother writing a full summary of what this movie is about, because you know you saw it, and you know you cried like a baby. Rarely have a cast of characters been able to to make you love and hate them so much at the same time, and watching how a mother and daughter can sacrifice enough to understand each other better will pull at anyone’s heart strings.

From the epic fights between Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger, and the great discussions and passion in any scene with Jack Nicholson, by the time you get to the end of this movie, you have devoured an entire feast. You tend to feel a little drained once it is over, and why not? When Debra says goodbye to her children for the last time, and when Shirley screams at the nurse to give her daughter morphine as she lays dying of cancer, it is a pretty heavy flick.

2) Gone With The Wind

“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”

We all know that line, and it will always go down in history in one of the most memorable in movie history. The true definition of classic is when a film is used as a description of a legend, and ‘Gone With The Wind’ has maintained that status through the decades, and will continue to do so for years to come. That’s why I am sure you aren’t surprised to see it taking up the number two position on my list.

Scarlett, the heroine, deals with the realities of war, and of life in Tara, with stoic acceptance. But she, like so many women, can’t handle the truth when the man she loves, Ashley, chooses to marry someone else. It isn’t until she is introduced to Rhett, the mysterious new man on the plantation, that she begins to show her true colors, both good, and bad.

1) Breakfast at Tiffany’s

How could I not give this movie the number one spot, especially when Audrey Hepburn could fill a list on her own? One of the most beautiful women to ever live, so many of us melt when we watch her on screen, no matter what the movie is. I still remember the first time I saw her, which was as a young girl, watching ‘Breakfast At Tiffany’s’ for the first time, with my own mother.

The story of Holly Golightly, a slight neurotic, but completely adorable, socialite living in New York City, and her relationship with Paul Varjak, a writer who moves into her apartment building, this is one of the most romantic films of all time. It manages to mix the story of the two lovers with plenty of humor, drama, and more then one heart stopping scene of romance. And who could forget the lines?

“You could always tell what kind of a person a man thinks you are by the earrings he gives you. I must say, the mind reels.”

Okay I know you must have a favorite not mentioned, so tell us what’s on your list of all time chick flicks?