Valentine’s Day, or more importantly, Galentine’s Day is soon upon us. If you’re single, or couldn’t care less about the extremely commercialized Hallmark holiday, it’s a great time to relax and have some quality time with your friends. Galentine’s Day is all about celebrating strong female friendship and doing some important bonding with the girls closest to you. Although the pandemic has affected a lot of things this year already, movie nights are always nice to be with others even if you cannot be with them physically. Below, I have compiled a list of the top movies you should to watch this Galentine’s Day to celebrate the strong ladies in your life!
Something Great (Netflix)
Featuring the lovely Gina Rodriguez with a strong female ensemble cast, it shares the story of a journalist who was recently dumped by her long-term boyfriend. She recruits her two best friends to go on one last crazy adventure before she moves across the country from NYC to San Francisco for a new job.
Pitch Perfect
One of the best movies to watch when you really need to laugh, Pitch Perfect covers the story of new college student Becca (Anna Kendrick), as she joins the competitive acapella world and tries to get her acapella group out of their comfort zone and lead them to victory. A movie with a majority of the cast being female, there are great comical moments, as well as heartfelt interactions between the female characters. Plus, if you are a music lover, the soundtrack is great to jam out in the car with friends.
How to Be Single
Dakota Johnson and Rebel Wilson lead the cast, as Johnson plays a recently graduated college student who leaves her home and her long-time boyfriend to start a new job in New York City. Wilson plays her fun-loving, wild co-worker who helps her navigate the single life in the big city. It is a fun movie to celebrate female independence and female friendships during your 20s.
Girl’s Trip
In the film, four friends reunite after growing apart over the years. One of the friends is offered an opportunity to be a keynote speaker at the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans, and she decides to bring her friends along to turn her work vacation into a girl’s trip. The movie is funny, heartfelt, and portrays strong female friendship, as we see the girls rekindle their wild side. Plus, the cast is led mostly by actors of color, so it is an important film in terms of representation in comedy.
She’s the Man
One of my favorite films of all time, with Amanda Bynes leading the cast as Viola Johnson, who decides to take the place of her twin brother at his new boarding school. She is determined to play on the boy’s soccer team after the girl’s team at her school is cute. However, she soon realizes that her plan is harder than she thought it would be, and finds herself in a lot of hilarious situations. There are so many funny quotable moments from the film, and the strong female character of Viola will always hold a special place in my heart, growing up as a female soccer player.
First Wive’s Club
An extremely underrated film with an incredibly strong female cast, Bette Middler, Diane Keaton and Goldie Hawn leading the film. The film shows the three women reuniting at the funeral of their college friend, who kills herself after her husband leaves her to marry a much younger woman. They soon realize that their ex-husbands have taken them for granted, and decide to plot their revenge by making a pact to get back at their exes. The film does an excellent portrayal of strong older women, showing that there is life and a great freedom after divorce. It celebrates the strong bond between these three women, even after losing touch for 30 years. At the end of the film, there is a great scene of the three women, as they dance and sing to the song “You Don’t Own Me” by Lesley Gore. It is a scene that is fun and care-free, as they celebrate female empowerment.