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Top 10 Guy Chick Flicks of All Time By Shawn McKenzie 06/30/2002 Are you a guy who is bored with the typical relationship movies that are commonly referred to as "chick flicks?" This list is for you then! There is a reason why men usually don't like chick flicks. They deal with feelings and emotions, always from a female point-of-view, and usually in a very sappy way. This list is meant to give guys an alternative to the chick flicks. These movies are not guy movies; they are guy chick flicks. What's the difference? A guy movie is something with action, violence, science fiction, horror, or packed with car chases and stuff blowing up. A guy chick flick is a movie where feelings and emotions are discussed and/or dealt with, but from the guy's point-of-view, and with minimum sap. They may contain things most guys enjoy, like sports, nudity, and strong language, but they are always about guys dealing with life, their futures, or relationships with women, family, and/or friends. I have left out TV movies, so the ultimate "guy tearjerker," "Brian's Song," is not included. Enjoy this list...and just a hint for the ladies...if you study this list and watch these movies, you might figure out what makes us guys tick! 10. High Fidelity (2000)-John Cusack is the ultimate guy chick flick actor. He has been in more of them than any other actor I know. This movie is the story of a guy who has been dumped by the latest in a long string of girlfriends. He starts examining his life and trying to figure out where he went wrong. This movie contains what most guy chick flicks have: a specific geek factor. In the case of High Fidelity, it is hardcore musical geekiness. Cusack's character and Jack Black's character know everything about music (which helps, since a lot of the movie takes place in Cusack's music store.) They get so geeky about music that if you weren't a music geek yourself, you might feel like they were speaking another language. Fortunately, I am a music geek. 9. Stand By Me (1986)-Before guys discover women, they usually hang out with their guy friends. Even though this movie takes place in the early sixties, it can be identified by any guy who remembers being a preteen and hanging out with their friends. It's the story of four boys who take a two day trip to see a rumored dead body. It has guy things like cursing, vomit stories, stupid bets, insults to each other, spitting, and geeky conversations about things like whether or not Goofy is a dog (he has pants and drives a car, and Pluto doesn't, so is he a dog?) 8. American Pie (1999)-Usually by the time you hit high school, if you don't lose your virginity by the time you graduate, you begin to feel like a freak. I'm not advocating underage sex, I'm just telling it like it is. This is the story of four guys who vow to lose their virginity by the time they graduate. Along the way, they learn about what makes a real relationship (well...mostly.) 7. Old Yeller (1957)-I included this movie by popular demand. I've never been much of a dog person, but in a lot of cases the first relationship a guy has after his own family is with his dog. This is one that either tends to make a guy cry (especially if they had a dog) or laugh (don't ask me why.) I'm indifferent to it personally. 6. Better Off Dead (1985)-This one is the story of a cartoonist played by John Cusack who is dumped by his girlfriend for a rich, popular skier (boy, he can't seem to keep a girl!) There is one thing about guy chick flicks that is a little exaggerated: some of them tend to portray all women as gold-diggers. This is the equivalent of when regular chick flicks portray all men as jerks. In both cases this isn't always true, but for the few times that it is, a funny movie like this is a good one to identify with. 5. In the Company of Men (1997)-Speaking of men being jerks, this movie might give you a look into the mind of a few. In the Company of Men is the story of two junior business executives who have been recently been hurt by women. They decide to get revenge on all women by finding one, dating her at the same time, and then cruelly dumping her. They find a beautiful but deaf woman to commit this revenge upon. While one wants to go though with it to the end, the other one starts feeling guilty about it when he starts falling in love with the woman. I am in no way justifying what the men in this movie do, but you get to see into the mind of men who happen to be jerks. For women, this might be a useful movie to learn how to avoid these type of men. 4. Jerry Maguire (1996)-I've never been a big fan of sports myself, but I love sports movies. It adds the thing that is lacking for me while I watch real sports: the dramatic element. When I watch real sports, it becomes repetitive and boring to me, but in sports movies, you get to see what lead the athletes to the playing field. Specifically, in the case of Jerry Maguire, you get to see a man's relationship with friends and a single mother. In addition, any movie that has as many quotable lines as this movie certainly ups the geek factor! 3. The Tao of Steve (2000)-Most guys have their own strategies when it comes to picking up women. The main character in this movie has developed a whole philosophy surrounding his strategy. It is based on his observations of the man who is considered one of the coolest guys ever, Steve McQueen. You'll have to see the movie to hear his philosophy, but it sounded pretty good, at least if you have no desire to have a lasting relationship. The thing that was unusual about this character was that he is an overweight slob, but his cool philosophy worked so well, that he got any woman he wanted. Of course he is going to fall in love with the first woman who doesn't fall for his philosophy. Women, if you suspect that a guy is working a strategy on you, rent The Tao of Steve. You might recognize something familiar. 2. Clerks (1994)-I could have easily included Kevin Smith's other guy chick flicks Mallrats (especially when it comes to girlfriends who can't deal with a guy's geekiness) and Chasing Amy (where the guy thinks he has to match his girlfriend in sexual experience), but I chose Clerks because it was Smith's funniest and geekiest movie to date. It not only has guys chatting about useless geeky things like Star Wars and porn, but it also has them examining their professional and personal futures. If you have never seen Clerks, check it out first, then the other two mentioned above. You will pretty much get a well-rounded idea of how geeky guys handle life and love. 1. Swingers (1996)-This movie is so money it doesn't even know it! If you have no idea what I meant by that last statement, you haven't seen Swingers yet. Ladies, have you ever seen a group of guys in a club and wondered what they talked about? This movie will tell you. You will get to see that all guys have their own set of dating and pickup rules. You will see how easy it is to fall for the dogs because they are so smooth and how you miss the nice guys because they aren't so smooth. I know that every guy I have talked to who has seen the movie can identify with at least one of the characters, and some of them have said that they have done a few of the same things or made the same mistakes. Guys who are close friends like the characters in Swingers do tend to develop their own language. Things or people who are cool are "money" and beautiful women are beautiful "babies." This movie also has some cool music and impressive swing dancing. Swingers is probably the most honest portrayal of guys and their various attitudes toward women. Disagree with my choices? Do you have a few suggestions of your own for the best guy chick flicks of all time? Please go to the Home Page and post your opinion on the Entertain Your Brain Message Board! |
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