Men, do you watch "chick flicks"?

[neci]

http://www.filmofilia.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/crank_2_high_voltage_photo.jpg
Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!

LOL.

i would like one of these, please!

i'm not a huge chick flick fan. i really like watching foreign films. give me anything by pedro almodovar. pervy, twisted, sick movies make me happy. there is something to be said for blood, gore and bad comedy. i have a friend who will only watch chick flicks. going to the movies with her is like pulling teeth. i can take it in small doses, but that's it.

 

[Keroin]

Haha that movie turns mindless action into an art.

I know.

Plus...Jason Statham. Mmmm.

 

[midwestyankee]

And yes, there are many different genres of movies but I'm not asking "Men do you prefer foreign language documentaries over Bruce Lee films?" What I want to know is, "Given the choice between a chick flick and an action movie, and only those two, which would you choose?"

If it happened some day that Netflix offered up only this choice, I would pick up a book. And if my partner had been pining for a chick flick, I would appeal to her sense of frugality and suggest that she just cut to the chase (recognizing that few chick flicks involve actual chases) and get busy with my zipper whilst I enjoy the latest book on zen and golf.

 

[Netzach]

I'd so watch the flaming buddha fight thing. Is the other that glisteny vampire bullshit?

The only thing more annoying than chick flicks is the insertion of vampires into chick flicks. Way to make vampires teh suck.

 

[Keroin]

I'd so watch the flaming buddha fight thing. Is the other that glisteny vampire bullshit?

The only thing more annoying than chick flicks is the insertion of vampires into chick flicks. Way to make vampires teh suck.

No, that was from "A Walk to Remember", which I haven't seen but is apparently OK.

The flaming buddha is from The Protector, which is one of my all time fave martial arts movies. Ridiculous plot and lousy acting but the martial arts and stunts are...oh my, just gave myself a puffy.

There's a steady cam shot, during a fight that goes up a winding staircase, that is UNFUCKINGBELIEVABLE. One of the longest steady cam shots on record, I believe. Must have taken a month to rehearse.

Oh and it is a love story...between a boy and his elephant.

 

[Netzach]

No, that was from "A Walk to Remember", which I haven't seen but is apparently OK.

The flaming buddha is from The Protector, which is one of my all time fave martial arts movies. Ridiculous plot and lousy acting but the martial arts and stunts are...oh my, just gave myself a puffy.

There's a steady cam shot, during a fight that goes up a winding staircase, that is UNFUCKINGBELIEVABLE. One of the longest steady cam shots on record, I believe. Must have taken a month to rehearse.

Oh and it is a love story...between a boy and his elephant.

I so need to see this.

Yeah, I'm voting that if you're a highly visual person this plays into it.

 

[Keroin]

I so need to see this.

You really do.

Yeah, I'm voting that if you're a highly visual person this plays into it.

I think your earlier comment is relevant...

Could this be one of those men/visual women/narrative things?

I'm very visual. Even when I write, I am "seeing" the story, so I'm not surprised that I go for action. Actually, one of the things that really propelled me into stunts was a photo one of the guys showed me of him riding his dirtbike over a car that was on fire. It made such a visual impression on me that I was instantly..."Must. Do. That."

I don't know. Are most men more visually oriented than women? Or are they just visually oriented in a different way than women? Hm?

 

[DVS]

Ha! This is all very interesting.

And very different sorts of responses to my real life experiences. You'll note in my OP I said that I believed the "majority" of men would not choose the chick flick over the action movie. So, yes, of course not every man is going to roll that way. And not every woman wants to watch movies with Hugh Grant in them.

However, among my large circle of friends, what I've witnessed is very much in line with this. And it's not a judgement call, despite my love of zombies and ninjas and exploding helicopters, (I also watch good movies, BTW ). But when a group of us get together to watch a movie, if it is all women, the choices usually lean to a more narrative style of flick; if it's all men then it will almost always be action; if it's a mix of genders then there's usually a compromise (one of each or a comedy or an action movie without too much gore).

And yes, there are many different genres of movies but I'm not asking "Men do you prefer foreign language documentaries over Bruce Lee films?" What I want to know is, "Given the choice between a chick flick and an action movie, and only those two, which would you choose?"/


ETA: L has watched many chick flicks and enjoyed them very much. He's more of a softie than me in many ways. But he doesn't pick those movies. If he goes to the video store to get a movie for himself, I know it will have some kind of action component. It just will.

I refuse to be limited to such things. Chick flick or action movie? Either, or? Just one or...the other? A or B? There is no "all of the above" option?

I couldn't live on just sugar and no salt any more than I could live on just salt and no sugar. Have you never had a pretzel covered with almond bark. A Payday candy bar? Kettlecorn?

In a way, this reminds me of one of those interviews where the person asks, "now, if you were a tree, what kind would you be?" But then they take it up a notch..."and your only choices are Tulip Magnolia or Blue Spruce."

To pick between chick flicks and action movies? Can't do it.












The hills are a live, with the sound of music...

 

[Homburg]

I trend away from chick flicks simply because the plots are implausible in ways I mind, as opposed to films that I do like that are implausible in ways I don't mind.

No, really, think about it. "Knocked Up" was a fucking awful movie centered around a romantic mismatch with some truly absurd levels of cursing. The premise is stupendously idiotic and so utterly implausible that I just can't see it. Real life guys like that don't wind up with women like that. The class/culture divide is too great. No, not saying hot chicks don't date weird-looking dudes, but that their respective cultures are too dissimilar to be plausible at least to me. And no guy changes that much in the course of a movie.

Then there's "Die Hard." Yeah, Bruce Willis as a street cop manages to defeat this crack team of German super-criminals, all while barefoot and cracking snappy lines. Ludicrous. But, hey, it's ludicrous in a way that I can appreciate.

That said, I'm not tight on the idea that guys watch action films and women watch chick flicks. I've heard Merchant Ivory films described as chick flicks, yet I've found many to be utterly fascinating films. I would not call "A League of Their Own" a chick flick. Yes, it was aimed more at women, but it was a fantastic, thoroughly enjoyable movie regardless of gender. I may not have been a fan of "Steel Magnolias," but I can agree that it was an excellent movie full of great actors.

Overall, I would avoid the romantic comedy, largely because I find them insipid. "Knocked Up", as the example before, was almost painfully unfunny. I found myself sitting there counting the number of times they cursed in a given scene, because it was so over the top. I curse a lot, but, damn, I sound like a minister compared to the two main characters in that film.

 

[midwestyankee]

Actually, Hommie my man, real-life guys like that really do end up with women like that occasionally. I'm walking proof.

 

[Homburg]

Actually, Hommie my man, real-life guys like that really do end up with women like that occasionally. I'm walking proof.

I have trouble believing you are the sort of doper slob that Seth Rogen's character was in that movie.

Again, no problem with the disparity in looks. I'm no prize, but MIS is pretty damned hot. I just have difficulties with the two personalities and lifestyles somehow coming together. She's the cool, together professional chick with a good job, and he's a pothead slob crashing in a pad with his pothead slob friends while coding a porn site? Ummm, no.

 

[midwestyankee]

I have trouble believing you are the sort of doper slob that Seth Rogen's character was in that movie.

Again, no problem with the disparity in looks. I'm no prize, but MIS is pretty damned hot. I just have difficulties with the two personalities and lifestyles somehow coming together. She's the cool, together professional chick with a good job, and he's a pothead slob crashing in a pad with his pothead slob friends while coding a porn site? Ummm, no.

I was mostly joshing, but I don't think it's completely outrageous for two people of quite different backgrounds and interests to find enough common ground to forge a successful relationship.

True, Rogen's character was impressively different from his lover's in that movie. In some respects, I found it to be an interesting answer to the question, "What if we made a screwball comedy where the two parties were really, really far apart on the food chain?" In most classic screwballs, the two lovers are nearly always social or intellectual equals (think Pat and Mike, Woman of the Year, Bringing Up Baby) but with a twist: generally there's a major personality difference. But personality differences are not much of a barrier to making a decent relationship. The class, occupational, and intellectual differences between the two protagonists in Knocked Up were pretty significant and, I thought, made for an intriguing variation on the usual screwball formula.

 

[Keroin]

That said, I'm not tight on the idea that guys watch action films and women watch chick flicks. I've heard Merchant Ivory films described as chick flicks, yet I've found many to be utterly fascinating films. I would not call "A League of Their Own" a chick flick. Yes, it was aimed more at women, but it was a fantastic, thoroughly enjoyable movie regardless of gender. I may not have been a fan of "Steel Magnolias," but I can agree that it was an excellent movie full of great actors.

Yes, I don’t think it’s all as simple as black and white, and who really knows what a “chick flick” is, but I think that there are types of movies more men are drawn to and types of movies more women are drawn to. And I don’t think that it is society that pushes and pulls us toward or away from those choices.

Basically, that’s my point. I don’t think men, who don’t ordinarily watch them, would suddenly go flocking to watch chick flicks if we gave some sort of unanimous cultural nod that it is OK to do so.

Again, I could be wrong. (But I don’t think so.)

 

[graceanne]

I refuse to be limited to such things. Chick flick or action movie? Either, or? Just one or...the other? A or B? There is no "all of the above" option?

I couldn't live on just sugar and no salt any more than I could live on just salt and no sugar. Have you never had a pretzel covered with almond bark. A Payday candy bar? Kettlecorn?

In a way, this reminds me of one of those interviews where the person asks, "now, if you were a tree, what kind would you be?" But then they take it up a notch..."and your only choices are Tulip Magnolia or Blue Spruce."

To pick between chick flicks and action movies? Can't do it.

Me, either. I'd rather not watch TV ever again than HAVE to watch action or chick flicks.

The hills are a live, with the sound of music...

With songs they have sung for a thousand years!

 

[graceanne]

Basically, that’s my point. I don’t think men, who don’t ordinarily watch them, would suddenly go flocking to watch chick flicks if we gave some sort of unanimous cultural nod that it is OK to do so.

Again, I could be wrong. (But I don’t think so.)

I agree. They didn't become known as chick flicks because men like them.

 

[cop1047]

I'd so watch the flaming buddha fight thing. Is the other that glisteny vampire bullshit?

The only thing more annoying than chick flicks is the insertion of vampires into chick flicks. Way to make vampires teh suck.

Hate to burst your bubble but, vampires are the "suck" no matter what kind of movie they're put into.

 

[DeepGreenEyes]

I trend away from chick flicks simply because the plots are implausible in ways I mind, as opposed to films that I do like that are implausible in ways I don't mind.

No, really, think about it. "Knocked Up" was a fucking awful movie centered around a romantic mismatch with some truly absurd levels of cursing. The premise is stupendously idiotic and so utterly implausible that I just can't see it. Real life guys like that don't wind up with women like that. The class/culture divide is too great. No, not saying hot chicks don't date weird-looking dudes, but that their respective cultures are too dissimilar to be plausible at least to me. And no guy changes that much in the course of a movie.

Yes, it required major suspension of disbelief. Sort of like a Sarah Palin candidacy. You could tell that they wouldn't last a year.

I did like parts of it, though; when they were in the high end baby store and she was talking to him about buying the $1000 crib, and he responded, "$1000 for a CRIB!!?? You know, there's one of these lying in an alley behind my house!! We could just grab that. Just rub Purell all over it."

With movies, I'm like food: like DVS, I want variety. Sometimes I'm in the mood for explosions, sometimes for dark science fiction epics, sometimes for foreign films, and sometimes for complete nonsense. Occasionally I want insipid tripe.

Chick flicks rarely stay with me, though. Probably Sleepless in Seattle, High Fidelity and oddly, While You Were Sleeping. When I do watch one, I want a happy ending, though. If I go in wanting candy, I want candy. Don't try to slip a toothbrush or a box of raisins into my trick-or-treat bag.

 

[graceanne]

Is the other that glisteny vampire bullshit?

Oh, lord, I am so done with that. I live in freaken Edward central - my 11 year old owns all the movies and all the books and has read/seen them so many times she can recite them. She's got Edward posters all over her walls, and a Twilight calender and and and

Hormonal pre-teens, I tell ya.

The worst part is I've always made it a point to keep an eye on what my kids are into, so I've read the books (not worth a re-read) and I take her to see the movies. Yes, I was there the second night that New Moon was in theater with all the other hormonal teens and their moms.

 

[ImOnIt]

The fact that bruce willis directed his own movies of himself destroying planes is like him jerking off onto the audience's face, and being paid for it.

God damnit i hate that man.

 

[cop1047]

The fact that bruce willis directed his own movies of himself destroying planes is like him jerking off onto the audience's face, and being paid for it.

God damnit i hate that man.

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x89/edwardbayntun/film%20humour/nicolas-cage-hair-is-a-bird.jpg

It was begging for it. To not do it would be a disservice.

 

[Lizzie_Borden]

Wah...

 

[Keroin]

Oh, lord, I am so done with that. I live in freaken Edward central - my 11 year old owns all the movies and all the books and has read/seen them so many times she can recite them. She's got Edward posters all over her walls, and a Twilight calender and and and

Hormonal pre-teens, I tell ya.

The worst part is I've always made it a point to keep an eye on what my kids are into, so I've read the books (not worth a re-read) and I take her to see the movies. Yes, I was there the second night that New Moon was in theater with all the other hormonal teens and their moms.

LOL. L and me and two friends drove out to the nearest theater to go see 2012 and the New Moon thing happened to be having its opening night there, at the same time. The local theater is very small and, when our movie ended, we made the mistake of trying to go out the one and only entrance/exit before the "mob" of tween girls had entered the theater. I was almost crushed to death. None of them would move, lest they lose their coveted spot in line. For someone who is mildly claustrophobic, it was a nightmare.

For that reason alone, I despise the movie.

 

[graceanne]

LOL. L and me and two friends drove out to the nearest theater to go see 2012 and the New Moon thing happened to be having its opening night there, at the same time. The local theater is very small and, when our movie ended, we made the mistake of trying to go out the one and only entrance/exit before the "mob" of tween girls had entered the theater. I was almost crushed to death. None of them would move, lest they lose their coveted spot in line. For someone who is mildly claustrophobic, it was a nightmare.

For that reason alone, I despise the movie.

I had to buy the tickets for that the day before it was actually out, and then we stood in line for over an hour to get into that movie, and this was in a decent sized theater (about 10 screens). Now the next one is due out in a month or so and my daughter is pressing me to get the tickets NOW so that we don't miss it.

On the bright side, every time I shell out for a Twilight movie I'm on the favorite mom list for at least a month.

 

[Keroin]

With movies, I'm like food: like DVS, I want variety. Sometimes I'm in the mood for explosions, sometimes for dark science fiction epics, sometimes for foreign films, and sometimes for complete nonsense. Occasionally I want insipid tripe.

Yes, I understand this. I think perhaps I have not made my point well enough. I am not suggesting that the only movies men want to watch are action movies and the only movies women want to watch are romantic comedies/chick flicks. That's absurd. I think both sexes enjoy a variety of films.

Last night L and I watched The Blind Side, and we both enjoyed it.

However, I do believe the audience for "chick flicks" is primarily female. That does not mean men don't or won't watch them, only that far more women watch them than men. And I believe there has to be a reason for this.

 

[Lizzie_Borden]

However, I do believe the audience for "chick flicks" is primarily female. That does not mean men don't or won't watch them, only that far more women watch them than men. And I believe there has to be a reason for this.

It is.

THey enjoy the fantasy ideal of being that woman in that movie.

And then some of them (either consciously or sub) hold the men in their lives to unrealistic expectations and wonder why they're disappointed.