A good friend is like a four-leaf clover: hard to find and lucky to have. The same thing used to happen, at least up until recently, with movies about women friendships. In fact, it wasn’t that common to see on the silver screen the portrayal of these necessary bonds, and the roles they play in our lives, keeping us company through the good times and the bad. It was, however, much more common to see women as rivals, fighting for a job position or a love interest, such as Andy Sachs and Emily Charlton in The Devil Wears Prada.
This is confirmed by the Bechdel Test, created by cartoonist Alison Bechdel in 1985, which measures women representation in films. In order for a movie to pass this test, it must meet three criteria: have at least two named women characters, have them talk to each other, and the conversation must not be about or related to a man. These standards are so basic that it is hard to believe that world-famous and acclaimed movies like Slumdog Millionaire, La La Land, the entire Lord of the Ringstrilogy or films like Toy Story and Finding Nemo could not pass the test.
However, for some time now, Hollywood has been peeking into women friendship with several films that explored the personal bonds between women beyond romantic and family relationships. There have even been several groups that are now working to advocate for gender diversity and inclusion in the global film industry. A close friendship can even change the entire course of a story, as in Natalie Portman and Kat Dennings’ case with Thor and Darcy Lewis. Take a look at some of the best movies about women friendship that we can’t live without in this article.
9 Thelma & Louise
Kicking things off is this 1991 classic. Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon portray these two completely different women who would later on become close friends. While Thelma was trapped in a dull life and an unhappy marriage to Darryl, Louise worked full time as a waitress, with the sole aspiration of being proposed to by her boyfriend. One weekend they decided to go on a trip together in Louise’s car to escape from their mundane life and take a break from all their frustrations. But their getaway, which promised to be fun and liberating, turned out to be an experience full of tragic episodes, and after a guy who attempted to harass Thelma was killed, these women were forced to make some decisions that would completely change the fate of their journey.
Thelma & Louise introduced to the film industry the idea of casting two women to play the kind of rule-breaking, action-packed, protagonist roles that Hollywood regularly gave to men, so it was a turning point in terms of female representation. The Thelma and Louise 30th anniversary Drive-In reunited Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon for a special event in June 2021.
8 Clueless
Clueless is a 1995 film in which we followed the story of Cher (Alicia Silverstone) and Dionne (Stacey Dash), two of the most popular girls in a Beverly Hills high school whose main concern is wearing the best-looking clothes and becoming as popular as they can possibly be. Cher was living with her strict father, a famous California lawyer, and her sensitive stepbrother (Paul Rudd), the son of her father’s ex-wife, who worked as a paralegal.
The film is based on Jane Austen’s book Emma, which chronicled the life of a 22-year-old single, well-to-do, society girl who couldn’t imagine herself married and dedicated her time performing as a matchmaker for her new friend, Harriet Smith.Directed by Amy Heckerling, it illustrated the social and emotional problems of young people from California’s upper economic class, and how Cher, despite being a shallow teenager, had a big heart and an innate need to help those around her, so she ended up setting up two of her teachers and turning her shy new friend Tai (Brittany Murphy) into a school beauty prodigy.
7 Ghost World
Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson) were two teenagers who couldn’t find their place in the world. They passed unnoticed through High School, and it seemed that their adulthood would follow the same path. When they graduated from high school they were faced with a rather uncertain and unpleasant future: failed jobs and very little chance of romance. Eventually, Rebecca got a job in a local coffee shop and managed to save some money for the apartment she had always dreamed of. Meanwhile, Enid became friends with Seymour (Steve Buscemi), a grumpy, middle-aged man who had never found his place in society, whom she met through a newspaper advertisement. Besides spending time with Seymour, Enid was also trying, with little to no luck, to enter the workplace so that she could move into the apartment with Rebecca. However, for different life circumstances, Enid and Rebecca’s paths began to drift apart.
This movie was inspired by the comic book Ghost World by Daniel Clowes. It was Clowes himself who later assisted the director of the film, Ferry Zwigoff, in its adaptation for the big screen.
6 Frances Ha
In Frances Ha, directed by Noah Baumbach, we follow the story of Frances (Greta Gerwig) was a young woman of 27 years old who was trying, despite her age, to succeed in the world of dance, and she worked in a dance company in New York. Optimistic, risk-taking and innocent, it could be said that Frances lived in late adolescence, and that she was a woman with rawer and more authentic feelings than other people. However, her carefree life and strong refusal to take on responsibilities gradually contributed to Frances’ sadness, especially after her friend and roommate Sophie (Mickey Sumner) decided to move out and live with her boyfriend. Who has never felt lost and stuck at some point in their life while friends and loved ones were moving on? That was exactly what happened to Frances when Sophie moved out: she tried to hold on to the simple and carefree life of a young woman, but that moment became a turning point from which Frances went a long way trying to find herself.
5 Uptown Girls
Directed by Boaz Yakin, Uptown Girls follows the story of Molly Gunn (Brittany Murphy), the carefree daughter of a late rock star. Molly was a very prestigious girl: designers were fighting to dress her, the most eligible bachelors were looking to date her, and her birthday party was the most requested invite-only event in town. Her life was a never-ending party, but when her bookkeeper stole her inheritance, Molly’s life abruptly shifted and she was forced to do one thing she’d never done before: find a job.
With the help of her friends, Molly landed a position as a babysitter for Ray (Dakota Fanning), a precocious and uptight eight-year-old girl who was extremely careful, responsible, and obsessed with germs. Ray was raised by a multitude of nannies and had very little stability in her childhood, which was why she tried to control anything and everything in her power. Molly had never needed to be a responsible adult, and Ray had always carried the load of the world on her tiny shoulders, so this bond resulted in each one teaching the other to behave according to their age, and led to a never-before-seen friendship.
4 Pitch Perfect
Universal Pictures
Beca (Anna Kendrick) was a self-sufficient, uptight college girl. She didn’t have a lot of friends and would rather be in the company of her music than spending time with others. But everything changed when she entered the university and was forced to join a vocal group with a bunch of totally different girls. Once part of the team, Beca was challenged to find her place and to adapt to them vocally, and once she succeeded, she felt the need to radically shift the group’ s course, so that they could sing something different together, breaking free from the old-fashioned style they practiced and performing popular tunes in a refreshing way, giving them a distinctive personality. That marked the beginning of a new adventure for Beca and her new friends, as they had to overcome numerous obstacles in order to succeed as a group.
This 2012 movie was directed by Jason Moore in its feature film debut. Along with Anna Kendrick it also stars, among others, Alexis Knapp, Brittany Snow, Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp and Kelly Jakle. The overwhelming success of Pitch Perfect led to two sequels featuring the adventures of this singing group being premiered in the years that followed. A Pitch Perfect TV spin-off was recently announced featuring Adam Devine as Bumper Allen.
3 Booksmart
Olivia Wilde made her directorial debut in 2019 with Booksmart, starring Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein. In the film, we followed the story of Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein), two straight-A students and great friends who believed that being so devoted to school would grant them the opportunity to fulfill their dreams of attending a prestigious university and flying to Africa. Just before the end of the school year, however, they found out that the cool kids who partied all year and didn’t spend time on their schoolwork were also getting into amazing colleges, and one of them was even going to do an internship at Google.This was a hard blow for Molly, who realized she had wasted a lot of time by not going to parties and not having fun. So, the day before graduation, she and Amy decided to go to the biggest party ever, and the two friends were forced to overcome situations that no book had ever prepared them for before.
In this movie Olivia Wilde shattered many clichés and stereotypes about teenage female friendship to make way for an incredible and authentic story about two friends who realized that they had a lot to live for.
2 Girls Trip
Girls Trip followed the lives of four lifelong friends: Ryan (Regina Hall), a best-selling author who is at a turning point in her marriage, Dina (Tiffany Haddish), the driven, open-minded, unconditional friend, Lisa (Jada Pinkett Smith), a conservative nurse and mom of two who desperately needed a weekend getaway, and Sasha (Queen Latifah), a blogger seeking a new twist in her life. These friends head to New Orleans for the annual Essence Festival, where they rediscovered their wild side, rekindled their bond, enjoyed dancing, messing up and experiencing romance in a truly unique experience.
Directed by Malcolm D. Lee, this movie was released in July 2017 and earned very good reviews, harvesting a score of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes.
1 The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Four teenage girlfriends who had spent their whole lives together are faced with the dramatic but unavoidable reality of having to go separate ways for the summer: Carmen (America Ferrera) was looking forward to spending time with her father, whom she had rarely seen since he divorced her mother years ago. Bridget (Blake Lively) enrolled in a soccer camp in Mexico. The laid-back Lena (Alexis Bledel) purchased a ticket to discover her roots in her grandparents’ village in Greece, and the rebellious Tibby (Amber Tamblyn) remained in town against her will, working at the local supermarket and filming a documentary. Determined to keep in touch, they came up with a plan to keep the memories of their friendship alive: a quirky scheme that focused on swapping a pair of magic jeans that fit all of them, despite being different sizes. The jeans, therefore, traveled to every destination and became each one’s lucky charm, a reminder that they would always have a friend throughout every difficult moment, or whenever they felt lonely or sad.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantsis based on the novel by Anne Brashares and was directed by Ken Kwapis. It was released in June 2005, and as it was successful among teenage audiences, a sequel was released three years later.
