Chick flick
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The term chick flick is slang, often derisive, for a movie that appeals mainly to women or young girls, either by design or in popular opinion. While the term is relatively new – dating back to that bumper crop of women's movies in the 1980s and 90s that included classics like Beaches, Pretty Woman and Ghost – the concept of movies designed to appeal specifically to women has existed since the early days of cinema and has been known by other colloquial terms, including "women's pictures".
Lately, the term has evolved into chraracterizing the whole genre of books and films as a whole.
Chick flicks often focus on romance or relationships. Sometimes they have many female characters and/or a female lead that audiences can identify with. They can be romances or romantic comedies, and are often closely associated with melodrama. They may be patterned after the story of Cinderella or other fairy tales (e.g. The Princess Diaries, A Cinderella Story, Ever After, Pretty Woman or Roman Holiday); a large number are adapted from popular novels and literary classics. Some movies that have nothing to do with any of the aformentioned categories, but yet is popular among females can also be labeled as chick flicks, good examples for this could be Pirates of the Carribbean movies and Happy Feet.
Critics of the term have pointed out that movies aimed specifically at men are not labeled so derisively. Fans know that the chick flick genre offers enormous variety and some classic films. Casablanca, Gone With the Wind, Brief Encounter – all can be counted as chick flicks.
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