Rom-Com for sis

My sister, who’ll soon turn 50, will be rounding up a dozen of her high school golden girlfriends after New Year’s for a three-night beach outing.  Yesterday, she asked me, “What DVDs should we all watch?”   I was stumped.  Now, sis, I have your list after thinking long and hard for the last 24 hours.

This isn’t a definitive chick-flick list.  I'm no authority.  I’m not crazy over ever Katherine Heigl or Jennifer Aniston film that comes out.  I could tell how the story would pan out after the establishing scene.  My list, I think, were not originally marketed as chick flicks but turned out to be successful in showing girl power and the complexities of women.  And most guys wouldn’t mind watching the films with their dates.

1. There’s Something About Mary (1998).  So much comedy in two hours!  The most stylish film about bad taste.   And perceptive in the ways of love, women and men.
2. Room with a view (1986).  Yes, Helena Bonham-Carter and Daniel Day-Lewis didn’t start out as menacing characters.  The most buoyant period piece ever.
3. Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion (1997).  Silly adorable.  Most profound dance sequence in Time After Time.  
4. Sabrina (1954).  The charming cast (Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart and William Holden) made a fluffy fairytale very believable.
5. Notting Hill (1999).  You are lifeless if you could resist the chemistry of Julia and Hugh. 
6. When Harry Met Sally (1989).  Four words:  orgasm at the deli.
7. Mujeres al Borde de un Ataque de Nervios (Women on the Verge of Nervous Breakdown) (1988).   Pedro Almodovar doing comedy, before incessantly rebelling against his Catholic upbringing.  Nobody does neurotic women better Pedro.
8. Amelie (Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain) (2001).  This will always figure in any list I make.
9. Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008).  Woody Allen at his sunniest.  Best triangle since Romy and Michele’s dance sequence with Alan Cumming.
10. Muriel’s Wedding (1994).  Quirky Australian film that stars fave Aussie actress Toni Collette as a hopeless romantic.   If you like Abba or have been converted by the Mamma Mia! overkill, this is your film.