Celebrating chick flicks with all the energy of a 1980s sleepover

We laugh at chick flicks, we cry at chick flicks, we cringe at chick flicks. And we still love them.  Firstly, what even is a chick flick? As avid researchers, we’ve come across a few definitions: It’s a film made specifically for a female target audience; a film most straight men wouldn’t be caught DEAD watching or a film so cheesy, so predictable, and yet so indescribably iconic that it bypasses critical acclaim and goes straight to the halls of legendary guilty pleasure content.

Somewhere along the way, “chick flick” became a big, HUGE insult — often as a punchline from judgemental cinephiles. But no matter how much this genre is dismissed by some of those who review films for a living, they ain’t going anywhere.

READ MORE: The best Edinburgh Fringe theatre shows 2024 Just last year, pop culture was dominated by all things Barbie. It’s a wildly successful film that has both a big, fluffy, saccharine plotline and some real-life themes tucked in there. This is the epitome of a chick flick. The movie speaks to people…and it doesn’t hurt that executives saw the revenue numbers rolling in.

If you’re looking at box office numbers, the rom-com My Big Fat Greek Wedding is in the top ten highest grossing indie films of all time. The movie’s genesis is almost like a chick flick plot itself: a one-woman show by unknown writer/star Nia Vardalos is snapped up by Tom Hanks and Rita Williams (both chick flicks alums, thank you). Made on a ‘low’ budget of $5m, the film had a U.S. domestic gross (we’re American, so we’re using $$) of $241.4m. A little tiny rom-com becomes multiple sequels, and a big fat success. Underneath the laughter of chick flicks, there is more to be uncovered about friendship, love, and the state of the world. Just ask screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein, who neatly threaded an abortion plotline into the arc of Dirty Dancing. Chick flicks are FUN. And yeah, they do include a whole lot of hilarious nonsense. But chick flicks make people feel. Feel joyful, comforted, hopeful (or maybe confused why Jack didn’t fit on that annoying Titanic door). So why not take those warm fuzzy feelings, bottle them up, and put it in a show where we can enjoy them together? We chose six films (Legally Blonde, Pretty Woman, Dirty Dancing, Beaches, Notebook and Titanic) and sat down to watch them with modern eyes. What made us fall in love with them in the first place? Have they held up?

We wanted to recreate the feeling of watching chick flicks with your mates. Poking fun at the characters we grew up with and sending up all the silly romantic tropes, predictable endings, and makeover montages. Seriously, does anyone else dream of a scene where trying on clothes is fun and not traumatizing? So rise up, all you chick flick lovers. Bring back the energy of a sleepover with your schoolmates. Let’s scream-sing “Wind Beneath My Wings.” Let’s roll our eyes at the 1980s character development, and then quote our favorite lines. Let’s watch people fall in love and learn how to be deep, loving friends. Six Chick Flicks (...or a Legally Blonde Pretty Woman Dirty Danced on the Beached while writing a Notebook on the Titanic) at Edinburgh Fringe Underbelly - Bristo Square Cow Barn 9:30 pm July 31- August 25.