What’s the difference? Well, I guess it would depend on who you are talking to. For women there are classic “chick flicks” like Beaches, Fried Green Tomatoes, Steel Magnolias, Divine Secrets of The Ya Ya Sisterhood and Pretty Woman, to mention a few. What many men like are often referred to as “stupid movies” like Strange Brew, Happy Gilmore, Tommy Boy, Caddyshack, and Austin Powers.
The obvious difference is the plot, the chick flicks have deep meaningful plots with many emotional twists and turns while the stupid movies usually have little plot, lots of slapstick type action, and possibly explosions and naked women cavorting around. And then there is the music from the movie soundtrack.
The “chick flicks” have soft, mellow, dramatically placed lush music, while the stupid ones have lots of blaring sounds and jarring rock and roll for the multitude of action scenes!
At the chick flicks you can hear the sound of light sobbing and the crinkling of Kleenex or handkerchiefs. The sounds most normally heard at stupid flicks are loud guffaws, snickers, hoots, and the oh yeah and the only wet eyes are from the tears of uncontrollable laughter.
The selling of the two types of flicks is also very divergent. Again it is the softer sell for the Chick ones, with artistically filmed trailers for television with scenes that evoke the emotional questions yet to be asked as opposed to the animated fast, flash, quick check this out scene approach in the stupid ones. So I guess this would lead us to a fairly simple answer to what the difference is between the two.
I’d say the chick flick audience is predominately female while the stupid flick fan tends to be male. Personally I think that’s very cool. Two different groups of people with flicks just for them. What an egalitarian choice, everyone can have a favorite and that’s just fine!
But hold your horses! Have you ever heard how the chick flick crowd slams the stupid movie crowd? It’s frequently done in such a disdainful method one would be embarrassed to admit to having seen, and enjoyed one with out running the risk of being looked on as a cretin with a small IQ! The stupid movie crowd doesn’t dare disrespect the chick flick bunch because they are simply chick flicks and that is that! No argument, that’s just how it is! It’s a domain that is impenetrable; why to even poke fun or question the quality, or meaning, of a classic chick flick is an unpardonable sin. One could be banished to a dull, boring life of nothing but watching generic television programs broken up by commercials selling all manor of items for both the chick flick gang and the stupid movie aficionados.
So my suggestion is let’s rejoice at our ability to choose what kind of flicks we want to and enjoy them, and to pay attention to our comments about other people choices. I know I’m not saying a whole lot when my girlfriend enthusiastically explains the latest chick flick to me nor am I going to give her the whole scenario behind the really stupid flick I just about died laughing over!
Enjoy them all, there a many great ones of both kinds!
To reach Rick Schultze email: yarick@pioneer.net