By Jeanne Sutton
17th Sep 2015
17th Sep 2015
Pitch Perfect
College can be a hazy, formative time in a young woman’s time. A lot of people will tell you that university is the bustling locale in which you will meet many of your longest-lasting pals. But what happens if amid all those classes and cocktail deals you fail to meet someone who you clicks with immediately? Join a society and take what you can get.
Pitch Perfect tells the story of Anna Kendrick’s Beca Mitchell, who finds herself joining an all-female acapella group, the Barden Bellas.
The Bellas are a team of misfits who end up working through their issues together, and they all know the lyrics to Party in the U.S.A. What more could you want? Sometimes it is the least cool gang in the room who are having the most fun.
Bridesmaids
Bridesmaids is one of those milestone movies that’ll occupy significant paragraph space in every book on 21st cinema. This all-female ensemble comedy from 2011 ended up raking in over a quarter of a billion dollars worldwide, and heralded a new generation of comedic talent, with Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy’s career skyrocketing in the aftermath.
However, it was the movie’s plot that spoke to every woman. Two friends Annie and Lillian start to feel the emotional distance after Lillian’s engagement sees the introduction of a new friend to the mix, the very perfect Helen.
Also, that scene where Melissa McCarthy’s Megan shows up to give Annie a talking to when her life collapses, while managing a litter of puppies? We all need that friend when the self-pity hits.
Frances Ha
The mid-twenties drift is a tragedy that befalls many a platonic union. What happens when one half of an established duo is growing up faster than the other? What if your friend can’t hold her s*** together and is coasting through personal disasters with a laissez-faire that is a million miles from your own path of relationship building and career goals? What if you’re the friend whose wage doesn’t quite stretch to regular brunch meetups?
Frances Ha looks at all these issues and more. It’s close to the bone for the majority of struggling millennial, but a near necessary watch. Also, hello girl crush extraordinaire Greta Gerwig.
Beaches
If you manage to watch Beaches and not cry, then you are a fraud of a human being. You’ve been living this life as a robot. Beaches would make a piece of Ikea furniture cry.
The story of two childhood friends from different sides of the tracks growing up together, then apart, then back together after a tragedy comes a-diagnosis-knocking? This is one of the most emotional experiences ever committed to the late night television screen.
Also, the soundtrack includes Wind Beneath My Wings.?Pass the tissues.
Thelma and Louise
If we compiled a list of gal pal movies and left Thelma and Louise off it? Well, the consequences would have been dire. This tale of two women going on the run was an outlier of a film and remains so.
Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion
Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion is at the other end of the seriousness spectrum to Thelma and Louise, but it remains a brilliant watch. Not every pair is a wise-cracking duo, but where there is genuine affection and hilarious moments, there is something heartwarming and eternal.
It also helps when you have a cracking dance routine ready.
Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants
Any movie featuring a subplot involving a young woman coming of age in a Greek fishing village with a handsome young fisherman is a good movie. The fact that this film also tells the stories of three other young women finding themselves in the summer after their high school graduation with sincerity also gets it a thumbs up from IMAGE.ie.
In a country of emigration and long-distance friendship, this story of four women using a magical pair of jeans to keep their commonalities flowing is one which gets our spirits flying.
Circle of Friends
This adaptation of Maeve Binchy’s beloved novel is one of our back-up DVD choices. This story of small town girl Benny heading to 1950s Dublin for college remains a classic two decades after the Minnie Driver starring movie charmed audiences. What happens when three friends find the lives invaded by one handsome rugby player? Drama.
Muriel’s Wedding
If you didn’t have this cult 1994 movie on a wrecked VHS, then you did that entire decade wrong. Muriel is a bit of a sad case. Obsessed with Abba, she spends her days at home being bullied while planning the perfect wedding day. There is no groom.
She eventually makes friends with Rhonda and moves to Sydney to lead a new life, under the alias of Marial. Heartbreak and sorrow intrude, but the message of this movie about transformative friendship and chance is constant.
Miss You Already
We caught this new movie at a preview screening earlier this week, and you should arrange a cinema visit when it is released on September 25th. It tells the story of two lifelong friends played by Toni Collette and Drew Barrymore who find the balance of their relationship off-kilter when one is diagnosed with breast cancer. What happens next is an unflinching and realistic look at a disease that has touched so many families. We cried, we laughed. We cried some more and we left the cinema WhatsApping friends about arranging a group visit.
If you want to help out the Irish Cancer Society and see Miss You Already before everyone else, check out the charity screening on Monday 21st September 2015, 6.30pm. Tickets cost €25 each with a two for €45 deal.
Miss You Already is in cinemas September 25th.
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