For some odd reason, female-centric friendship movies sometimes get intermixed with romantic comedies as a side narrative to the protagonist. Why that is, I’m not sure.
Fortunately enough, the best friend side story has been getting their long-overdue shine out of the shadows of the love interest; our time is now ladies.
There’s just something about a feel-good buddy film that’s irresistible to watch. They all vary in terms of genre, age group, narrative, etc., but the sentiment is the same. They either give us a longing for a similar companionship, or it can remind us of our best friends, both past and present, especially when it’s representative of female-identifying friendships (no disrespect or shade to bromance movies).
Inspired by the fellowship between the women in Hustlers, we wanted to honor the art of female friendships, so we’ve collected a list of 15 films that portray positive female friendships on screen without the tired stories of being competitive enemies.
Fellow east Texas native, Forest Whitaker directed the 1995 film based on the book of the same name by Terry McMillan.
The film centers around Bernadine (Angela Bassett), Savannah (Whitney Houston), Robin (Lela Rochon), and Gloria (Loretta Devine) as they navigate through the ups and downs of life.
After being a trophy wife, Bernie’s husband (Michael Beach) coldly leaves her for a white woman sending her into an emotional spiral. She then loads all of her husband’s belongings into his car and sets it on fire, gifting the world one of the most satisfying scenes for scorned women in movie history. (additionally, I HAVE to add that this scene proves how incredibly legendary Ms. Bassett is. That literal fire scene was improvised, yet shockingly she wasn’t nominated for an Academy Award. She deserves better).
Robin and Savannah’s characters overlap with similar situations; both women are stunning, but they make terrible choices in men. They are even settling for being the “other woman” in their lover’s lives for fear of being alone while making excuses for their men’s trash behavior.
Gloria’s a lonely beautician and a struggling single mother. She has a dysfunctional relationship with her son Tarik (Donald Faison) and ex-husband (Giancarlo Esposito), even still sleeping with her ex-husband when he’s in town despite him being a gay man. The lack of respect for herself causes her to treat her son as a friend; in return, he walks all over Gloria.
All of the ladies face similar issues, but their situations differ, they all struggle with knowing their self-worth and being committed to men that discard their feelings or simply didn’t love them enough to care.
The film is black excellence at its finest. It teaches us that learning to love ourselves and being single and alone is better than being used. The ladies were never truly alone; they always had each other.
The film focuses on three friends Elise (Goldie Hawn), Brenda (Bette Midler), and Annie/Narrator (Diane Keaton). The friends reunite after 30 years to mourn the tragic death of their dear friend Cynthia (Stockard Channing) from college that commits suicide after learning, through the tabloids, that her ex-husband married his much younger mistress.
The surviving three former friends, shocked by the tragic event, all attend her funeral and reconnect over a long lunch about their lives post-graduation. That’s when the ladies realize that their personal lives are in ruins.
Annie is currently separated from her husband Aaron (Stephen Collins), and is constantly berated by her overbearing mother, causing her to have very low self-esteem.
Aaron then manipulates Annie into the possibility of reconciling with a night of passion, only to be told that he’s divorcing her for someone else who turns out to be her younger marriage therapist (Marcia Gay Harden).
Once an accomplished actress, Elise struggles to find work because she’s getting older, is sent over the edge when her manager husband (Victor Garber) leaves her for a much much younger up and coming actress.
Brenda, a recent divorcee, was left for a younger woman in her husband’s midlife crisis and is struggling financially. After running into her ex-husband Morty (Dan Hedaya) and his ditzy girlfriend Shelly (Sarah Jessica Parker) lingerie shopping, she’s sent into a shame spiral of depression and self-loathing.
Determined to ensure no woman ever has to become the “first wife” and suffer like their beloved friend, the three ladies make a plan for revenge.
While they didn’t want to settle for being petty like their exes, the ladies come together to start a nonprofit organization dedicated to aiding abused women in memory of Cynthia.
The movie also features women singing the anthemic Leslie Gore track You Don’t Own Me. In iconic white outfits that deserve to be belted out, especially in the closing scene (you may remember Ariana Grande’s tribute to that scene during her Ellen performance).
Long before Greta Gerwig introduced viewers to Lady Bird, there was Frances Ha. Gerwig’s 2012 indie film with script partner (and husband) Noah Baumbach.
Since its release, Frances Ha has achieved cult-classic status among indie movie lovers and with good reason. The film depicts the perplexing life of young adulthood.
Filmed entirely in lush black and white, viewers meet the blithely carefree Frances (Greta Gerwig) and the inhibited realist Sophie (Mickey Sumner).
What’s so great about their friendship is their real intimacy with one another; they are each other’s person. They’ve achieved a life-partner type of ease that’s “like a lesbian couple that doesn’t have sex anymore.”
That all turns upside down when Sophie gets serious with her boyfriend that her friendship with Frances begins to crumble.
Although what’s different about this film to rom-com’s is that the female protagonist usually prioritizes romance above their friendships/companionships, but the real love story is the friendship between two women.
Sean Baker’s breakout Christmas-themed caper’s shot on an iPhone, yet the vibrancy of the film almost conceals the sleazy underbelly world of everyday life for trans sex worker Sin-Dee (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez).
Getting invested in the lives of the women, viewers find out that Sin-Dee’s pimp boyfriend Chester has been cheating on her with a cisgender woman.
Enter fellow trans sex worker Alexandra (Mya Taylor). Alexandra is also one of Chester’s employees and vows to accompany her best friend on her mission for vengeance, on the condition of no drama. We all know how “no drama” rules tend to go usually… The same goes for Sin-Dee and Alexandra’s friendship. It gets pushed to its limits proving that sisterly bonds are mighty powerful.
One particular scene is beautifully heartwarming of such a bond. When a narrowminded bigot throws a bottle of urine out of their car window at Sin-Dee, Alexandra takes her directly to the launderette to get cleaned up. Sitting in urine drenched clothes with her wig cap exposed and feeling ashamed, Alexandra consoles Sin-Dee by offering her wig off her head, spotlighting how strong female-centric friendships can be.
Another film I watched when I was about nine years old when my sisters and I each received our own 25” Magnavox televisions for Christmas, complete with a STARZ movie package. Thus truly beginning my affinity for films.
We were on summer break from school, and I remember being intrigued by the film because it stars Patrick Swayze (Dirty Dancing was a childhood favorite thanks to my Spanish only speaking mother who loved the movie).
I was immediately entranced by Swayze putting on a headband and saying “ready or not, here comes mama” and then hitting play on Salt N Pepa’s “I Am The Body Beautiful” on cassette as he begins his transformation.
Not knowing what to expect, I was fascinated by Vida Boheme (Patrick Swayze), Noxema Jackson (Wesley Snipes), and Chi-Chi Rodriguez (John Leguizamo). The film’s depiction of a trio of drag queens opened my eyes to other worlds outside my bubble.
Finding themselves on a cross-country road trip to the Miss Drag Queen of America Pageant in Los Angeles, the trio are rerouted due to car trouble in what they assume is West Virginia.
Getting stranded in Snydersville (not sure the state), the queens are apprehensive during their stay yet can bond with the townspeople.
Vida connects with Carol Ann (Stockard Channing), the wife of Virgil, the toxic and abusive town mechanic. Meanwhile, Noxeema befriends a lonely and mute by choice Clara (Alice Drummond) whose husband ran the town theatre and has an iconic taste in films. All the while, drag-princess-in-training Chi-Chi tries to find love and become the drag queen she’s meant to be, with the help of the ladies.
While there’s more to this wonderfully camp film, at its core is a lovely message about learning tolerance and, most importantly, the power of a supportive sisterhood.
The film is a cult classic and features endless cameos of celebrities like RuPaul Charles, Robin Williams (pre Birdcage), Naomi Campbell, Julie Newmar, and plenty of legendary drag queens. It’s not too cerebral, but it is a feel-good guiltless pleasure.
I was introduced to this beautifully poignant story by my older sister, who’s a vast Ming-Na Wen fan. I was probably ten years old when I first saw this movie, and I’m so thankful to have watched it so young.
The Joy Luck Club is centered around the cultural divide between four Asian mothers that fled China after World War II and their Americanized daughters in San Francisco that meet regularly to play mahjong, eat, and tell past stories.
Groundbreaking portrayal of Asian and Asian-American women; in a time when actors would get derogatory stereotypes or only supporting roles.The Joy Luck Club is a trailblazing film dealing with the patriarchal society of old traditional values and how it affected the mothers’ past as well as the daughters’ in modern-day America. Which is something I related to being Mexican-American, it’s why this movie has always been special to me.
Animals is an adaptation of Emma Jane Unsworth’s 2014 novel of the same name, the film has a similar intimacy and openness between friends Ilana Wexler and Abbi Jacobson in Broad City.
Tyler (Alia Shawkat) and Laura (Holliday Grainger) are fun-loving best friends that are always there for each other. Through their cocaine-fueled and wine-soaked nights of hedonism, their debauchery knew no bounds. Until “sooner or later, the party has to end.”
Laura starts to get serious with her boyfriend Jim (Fra Fee), switching priorities from companionship to romance, leaving Laura and Tyler at a crossroads in their friendship.
Again, protagonists choosing their romantic partner over their friends isn’t new. However, Animals continues to shift that idealism into celebrating the new era of maintaining the balance of friendships in adulthood during a transitional period. Also known as your late twenties.
Girls Trip is the hilarious and drunken misadventures of the Flossy Posse. Ryan (Regina Hall), Sasha (Queen Latifah), Lisa (Jada Pinkett Smith), and Dina (Tiffany Haddish) were once inseparable. Even owning matching necklaces, the foursome grew apart throughout the years by the demands of their every day lives.
Reuniting for the first time in five years, the ladies are on a mission to come together and have fun in New Orleans for the annual Essence Festival.
We come to learn that all four women are hiding some kind of aspect of themselves from the other but the Flossy Posse is able to see through each other, rekindling their friendships and help the other grow. That’s what true friendship and sisterhood are all about, supporting and elevating each other to be equals.
Extremely underrated and a brutally bittersweet look into motherhood.
After the birth of her third child, Marlo (Charlize Theron) falls into a deep postnatal depression. Grappling with raising three kids, she becomes overwhelmed and disconnected. “Great moms organize class parties and casino night. They bake cupcakes that look like minions. All these things I’m just too tired to do,” she exhales.
This is where Tully (Mackenzie Davis) the twenty-six-year-old night nurse comes in. Tully is hired to watch Marlo’s new baby so that she may rest.
Despite her reservations, Marlo accepts Tully, and the two become friends.
We learn that they both want something the other has. Marlo longs to be more carefree while Tully yearns for stability.
Tully is a real glimpse into how postnatal depression can be (not that I’ve experienced it personally but I have seen it through friends who’ve given birth). Screenwriter Diablo Cody nails the nuanced, intense relationships women have as we grapple with who we were and who we’ve become.
The Olivia Wilde directorial is more than just a “female Superbad,” it’s a love letter to teenage female friendships. Something that’s often trivialized on-screen.
Sure Booksmart’s a fun depiction of a high school party film but it’s also a fresh perspective celebrating the coming of age story between Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) who are more than just best friends. They’re each other’s soulmates.
Molly and Amy bonded and supported each other to get through high school so they can truly begin their lives after graduation.
Hyper focusing on studying, activism (Amy), and student council (Molly) never attending parties, kickbacks, or found romance because they thought they didn’t need that.
Despite their efforts, they realized their codependency and the fact that they misjudged their classmates they tried to ignore all four years of high school.
Booksmart flips the reductive misogyny of bromance movies on its head as a result of screenwriters Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel, and Katie Silberman. An intelligent teen movie for the female gaze that we not only deserved but c.
This movie was my absolute favorite as a kid. I’m relatively sure that it sparked my obsession with the ‘60s-’70s era. The film is a classic coming of age story. It centers around Samantha (Gaby Hoffman), Teeny (Thora Birch), Roberta (Christina Ricci), and Chrissy (Ashleigh Aston Moore) as childhood best friends that grew up in Shelbyville, Indiana and came back together for Chrissy’s first baby.
The plot kicks off when the women meet up to be there for Chrissy, and a discontent adult Samantha (Demi Moore/narrator) sets the scene and flashes back to recount a fateful summer they shared as adolescents in 1970.
The girls faced most teenage issues like family troubles, changing bodies, boy problems, and more while saving up their money for the treehouse of their dreams. Along the way, the girls end up realizing that the strength of their friendship is what helps keep the other going and what ultimately connects them forever.
Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut based on the 2007 novel, Derby Girl, by Shauna Cross. The film centers around 17-year-old Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page) living in the fictional small town of Bodeen, Texas, craving to break free of her pushy beauty pageant mother (Marcia Gay Harden).
Bliss finds herself an opportunity for freedom when she meets the Hurl Scouts, a local roller-derby group.
She starts rebelling against the conformity of her mom’s world of beauty, lying to her parents in the process, and leaving behind her lifelong best friend (Alia Shawkat) behind as she wins a spot on the team.
If you’re a fan of Netflix’s Glow, then this movie is for you. You’ll laugh through the training montages and fall for the badasses. Smashley Simpson (Drew Barrymore), Maggie Meyhem (Kristen Wiig), Jaba the Slut, Pocket Rocket, Rosa Sparks (Eve), Bloody Holly (Zoë Bell), and Iron Maven (Juliette Lewis) to name a few.
The camaraderie of the Hurl Scouts helps teach Bliss the liberty to be who she is—toughening up on and off the rink along the way while making amends to her previous life. The Hurl Scouts helped her become her hero.
Four years after the series ended, the adventures and mishaps of Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her best friends Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon), Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), and Charlotte York-Goldenblatt (Kristin Davis) continue after Mr. Big aka John James Preston (Chris Noth) *SERIES FINALE SPOILER ALERT*…
finally told Carrie that she was the one in Paris.
The film picks up after the fairy tale ending of the series.
Samantha survived breast cancer, is still an affluent PR boss, and even in a monogamous relationship with Smith Jerrod. Yet she’s feeling overshadowed and unhappy by the shift of power in being with a successful and in-demand actor.
Charlotte seemingly has a perfect life. After years of searching, she found her ideal husband and partner in Harry in the series, living in their perfect Park Avenue apartment with their adorable adopted daughter, Lily.
Miranda’s still a thriving lawyer and living in Brooklyn with her husband Steve and their son Brady. However, she’s still feeling the immense pressures of being successful while juggling family life, leaving her crumbling marriage in a rut.
Carrie and Mr. Big are in a committed relationship after being on and off for ten years. The pair discuss their future and decide to get married to celebrate their love.
Things start to sour, quickly overwhelming, and complicating matters leaving the other proverbial shoe to drop.
Big’s fear of commitment returns, and Carrie is left to pick up the pieces of her life once again with the help of her besties and her St. Louis hero Louise (Jennifer Hudson).
The movie is proudly fabulous (it was right before the financial crisis of 2008), but most importantly, what makes the series so great is the sisterhood of these four women on screen.
They always have each other’s backs no matter what and are there to help each other; however, they can. You’ll laugh, you’ll get angry, and you’ll have hope. It’s the film that fans deserve. (In my humble opinion, the sequel is non-canon).
Female friendships are unlike others, it’s a ferocity that is unmatched, specifically real friendships. Our best friends are our mirror reflection of how we WANT to see one another and when we find a core group of niche friends…
There’s nothing like it it can be quite powerful and empowering.
Honorable Mentions: Bend it Like Beckham, Mona Lisa Smile, B.A.P.S., Set it Off, All I Wanna Do (also known as Strike! or The Hairy Bird), How to Make an American Quilt, Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, The Color Purple, Sugar & Spice, The Sweetest Thing, Cheetah Girls, Crossroads, Josie and the Pussycats, Aquamarine, Someone Great, Stick It, Mamma Mia, Rough Night, Ghostbusters: Answer the Call, Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood, Nine to Five, Legally Blonde, The Runaways, and Heat.
Classic friendship movies that are a given: Bridesmaids, A League of Their Own, Beaches, Steel Magnolias, Fried Green Tomatoes, Thelma & Louise, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (1 & 2).
