Geek Girl Navigating the World – Avoiding the dreaded “Chick Flick”

The movies a person likes to watch can be a very personal thing.  Not everyone is as comfortable with their guilty pleasures as I am, which I can understand to a certain extent. Still, it seems to me that if, for some reason, watching the Smurfs makes you happy then go right ahead.  To the best of my knowledge watching the Smurfs has never hurt anyone and the word Smurf is kind of fun to say (not to the extent that the Smurfs say it, obviously, because that honestly gets really old really fast) especially if done in moderation.

One thing that I don’t understand, though, is women who insist on making guys watch chick flicks.  There’s not a single guy that I know who’s going to really enjoy the thing, and I have enough guy friends to know that they’re being completely honest when they tell me they just don’t get the whole chick flick thing. Forcing a guy to watch a movie that is clearly not geared for him at all is really just an exercise in making you both miserable.  For starters, if you’re dating, the guy isn’t going to want to make you think he’s a total jerk for telling you that he thinks your taste in movies sucks.  And you’re probably going to pick up very quickly on the fact that he’s uncomfortable for some reason and instead of considering it might be the movie, you’re probably going to be wondering if you’ve done something during this date that would qualify you to become fodder for a Dane Cook comedy routine.

Admittedly, my own tastes in movies does tend to be far more guy-friendly than the average girl’s.  In fact, my DVD collection is the envy of several guy friends.  They’ve said so, frequently.  I, myself, have little patience for a lot of chick flicks.  The characterization of both the men and the women in them tend to be bent towards horrible gender stereotypes and the stories, often times, just aren’t good.  There are a few chick flicks out there that I do like, but I also reserve watching those movies for when I am with friends who are likely to appreciate them right along with me.

Movies are mostly supposed to be a means of escapism.  Sure, there are movies meant to make you think about big issues and important ideas but  if you’re on a date  you’re going to want to watch something that’s more fun.  After all, you’re both there to have a good time, right? That said, it might be kind of hard to pick out something you’re both going to like.  Let’s face it, not every girl is going to want to see the latest James Bond film (if it ever gets finished) and not every guy is going to be willing to watch Kate Hudson’s latest.  Assuming that you have both reached the limit for the number of times that you can both reasonably be expected to watch The Princess Bride together, you’re going to need to find some alternatives that you’re both willing to sit through.  Here are a few suggestions.

Yes Man starring Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel.  This one does have a love story in it, but it also has the hilariously ridiculous premise of Jim Carrey’s character becoming mesmerized at a seminar and deciding to answer yes to everything.  Rhys Darby is great as the hapless office friend who tries much too hard.  Ordinarily, I’m not a big fan of Jim Carrey.  The roles that I enjoy watching tend to be the serious ones, so I was pleasantly surprised by this comedy.  I definitely laughed during it and there are some moments that do poke fun at geeks, though it’s really not meant to be condescending or mean-spirited.  The romance is a part of the story line, but it also isn’t the be-all and end-all of the whole movie, either.

If you’re in the mood for a weightier movie, October Sky is a good one.  It’s based on the memoir of Homer Hickam and it’s about him growing up in West Virginia.  Jake Gyllenhaal plays Homer and Chris Cooper plays his dad.  The town that they live in is a coal mining town, so when Homer and his friends become fascinated by space exploration and start building their own rockets they face not only overwhelming odds but some very stiff opposition.  There are funny scenes that involve some of the more interesting ways amateur model rocketry can go wrong without being totally disastrous but it is a movie largely about dedicating yourself to following a dream and putting in the work to try to achieve it.  It’s emotional without being overly sappy.

Sometimes, a person just wants to watch some car chases and explosions, but if you’re trying to watch a movie with someone who can’t really tolerate a lot of blood and gore, it can be difficult to find something that will fit the bill.  The Losers will be one of my go-to movies for a long, long time.  It’s fast-paced, it doesn’t take itself to seriously (there are jokes about Ford Pintos and some threats a couple of the guys on the good guys’ side make at each other), and the body count is actually kept to a minimum.  There’s still violence and car chases and a couple of super-awesome explosions, but it’s also one of the best popcorn flicks that I’ve ever seen.  It’s just a fun movie to watch.

What about superheroes?  Sure, there’s a lot of low-rent cheese floating the nachos out there and with the current glut of studio output, it’s getting increasingly difficult to sort the good from the bad.  While more and more women are embracing comic books as a medium, there’s still an awful lot of backstory to cover if you’re trying to watch a movie with someone who’s uninitiated into the world of comics.  So, what if you’ve got someone willing to be open-minded on the superhero front?  There are two top picks here.

Iron Man is the first choice.  It’s got a good, reasonably coherent plot line that tells the origin story very well.  The cast is brilliant and there’s something enormously satisfying seeing Jeff Bridges playing the psychotic bad guy.  Again, the body count wasn’t all that significant and the scenes where Tony Stark has to keep himself alive leave enough to the imagination that it’s not going to leave your fellow movie-goer completely grossed out when it’s done.  Iron Man also has the added bonus of letting you be selective about how much of your inner geek you really want to show.  If, say, you’re pretty sure that your date is cool with your geekhood, then, by all means, keep watching to the very end of the credits and be prepared to explain who Nick Fury is.  If not, don’t worry about it and happily go about your business acting as if the movie is over as soon as the credits start rolling.

My other pick would be Thor.  Again, it’s a case where the movie doesn’t take itself all that seriously.  They’re perfectly happy letting Chris Hemsworth play the character like a rash, buff meat-head for the most part.  The thing is, it works great in this movie.  He is both the hero and the comedic relief and it gives them some room to actually develop the character, which I think they did really well. Sure, he’s essentially the god of thunder, but like the mythology it’s meant to hearken towards he’s of that cadre of gods who have all too human foibles.  It’s a good juxtaposition of character flaws and driving factors that makes the movie so enjoyable to watch.  There is, also, the opportunity to geek out by explaining how all of this ties into the Marvel universe and The Avengers movie that’s going to be released soon or not.

Comedies are equally treacherous ground.  You don’t want to pick something too raunchy and offend your date’s sensiblities, but you also probably don’t want to seem like you’re a complete stick in the mud. Then, of course, there are the pitfalls of trying to decide if it’s going to be okay to watch something completely silly or absurdist and wondering if you’re going to alienate the person sitting next to you with your movie choices.  One of my favorites is a classic, pure and simple.  It doesn’t get much better than The Pink Panther starring Peter Sellers.  He’s perfectly suited to play the bumbling Inspector Clouseau.  It’s got a lot of physical comedy but it goes for some more sophisticated humor as well.

I realize that these picks might seem highly conservative, but realize that what I’m trying to do here is offer up some ideas for movies that at least one non-geek will enjoy watching, too.  Some other possibilities are Back to the Future and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. While I’m a fan of the Indy movies, one needs to bear in mind that both “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Temple of Doom” do have some scenes that can best be described as stomach churning for those who may be a bit squeamish.  As much as I love movies like District 9 and Children of Men, along with Dirty Harry, there are some movies that you may want to ease your date into finding out that you like, especially if you’ve got any intentions of trying to share that container or bag of popcorn.