 Chick flicks are often put down as the smarmiest genre of all, and the boys in the cast of super chicky film, He’s Just Not That Into You even did a little routine based on all the chick flick clichés you would not find in HJNTIY. But if you really focus, chick flicks have imparted lessons to women to live their lives by. If you find yourself ready for a life makeover, look for all the handy clues to be fabulous chick flicks have given us over the years.
It’s hot to be on one extreme of any spectrum
Crazy feminist or waiting for motherhood since five. Mousy brunet or jazzy blonde. Ultimate nerd or ultimate hottie. Only good at her career or simply pretending till her boss falls in love with her (we’re looking at you, Jane from 27 Dresses). Chick flicks have taught us that the only way to have a personality is if you have one major quirk minimum. Anyone middle of the road is just sad. And bumped to supporting cast.
Incidentally, Jane’s big ol’ quirk was her love for marriage, which was so great she should have just married that and made her friends wear their horrible bridesmaid dresses at her big church ceremony of irony.
Bad luck can shake your life up and make it better
 Reese Witherspoon’s character in 2010’s How Do You Know, Lisa, gets dropped from her baseball team which as we were reminded through many junctures of the film, was the only thing she was ever good at. But did Lisa let it bum her out too much? No. She decides to reprioritize and focus on her personal life instead. To do that she moves in with some guy she had been seeing for two minutes. Which leads to more soul searching and she eventually finds the answer to all her problems (true love).
Chick flicks teach us valuable lessons about inner strength. You can either be totally traumatized by the death of a sibling, or turn it into a windfall that will change your life, like Helen does in Raising Helen.
 Love will find you in unexpected places
It could be anywhere. It could be that really nerdy guy you only talk to when your decades older, inappropriate boyfriend makes you feel like the kid you are (Loser), it could be your local pastor, who along with being a man of god, can also be quite saucy (Raising Helen), it could be driving by your territory at night with the rest of the tricks (Pretty Woman), it could be that guy you fell out with in seventh grade because he started smelling weird and grew a fuzzy ‘stache (Drive Me Crazy) or that girl who’s just far too weird for anyone to date unless it’s on a bet (She’s All That). Or you know, it could be living in your apartment as a ghostly squatter (Just Like Heaven).
In any case, remember to always look your best, master the bend and snap, and never give up. Because even if you do give up, your one true love will turn out to be the father of your IVF’d kid (The Switch), and also the best friend you thought was too weird to date.
Nothing wins you friends and influences people like an extreme makeover
 Yes, that’s a top chick flick cliché, but true chick flick makeovers go beyond just being skin deep. There is nothing you can’t do with your own personal chi-fli makeover. You can give somebody else an overhaul in the looks department to make an old beau jealous as Nicole Maris does with Adrien Grenier’ Chase Hammond in Drive Me Crazy, or the hotting up of Lainey Boggs in She’s All That. Obviously though, you’ve got to have plenty of personality of the extreme kind to truly work the makeover. Lainey Boggs was passionate about art and the environment and Chase Hammond is a real bad boy with loads of weird qualities, and so on.
You yourself can get an intellectual makeover. Kate Hudson learns how to be a mom and really grows up with the kids in Raising Helen and Elle Woods from Legally Blonde finds she can be smart if she puts her mind to it.
Every little thing is gonna be alright
 So don’t sweat the small stuff. You could have made the horrible choice of working in the sex industry or sabotaging your best friend’s wedding or not telling your fiancé you were already married to someone in Alabama, but it will all be okay. Your best friend will forgive you and you will still be invited to his big day, where you will look a vision. Some random guy off the street will rescue you from your life of sin and McDreamy will totally let you off the hook when you decide you are still in love with your ex. It all works out in the end.
–Amina Bai |
