Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Welcome to Decider’s SINGLE LADIES WEEK, a celebration of all our favorite singletons and working women in pop culture. From The Golden Girls to Mindy Lahiri, we’re wishing all of our favorite single ladies a very happy Galentine’s Day Week.
Here’s the thing about Romantic Comedies: they are a tremendously underrated genre; denied respect but capable of some fantastic, pleasurable cinema. But in almost all cases, I find myself resistant to the romantic narratives within the rom-com. Almost as often as not, I find myself rooting against the central couple. Remember on Beverly Hills, 90210 when Kelly Taylor chose “me” instead of picking between Brandon and Dylan? That’s how I want most of these rom-com narratives to end. As much as these movies are about the couple at the center getting together, they’re also all journeys of self-actualization, and once they achieve that self-actualization, I want them to choose “me” for a while.
These five movies get this part of the rom-com right. The women all end up single, but that is more than okay. It’s right.
'My Best Friend's Wedding'
Year: 1997
Female Lead: Julianne Potter (Julia Roberts)
Men She Avoided: Michael O’Neal (Dermott Mulroney)
This is the all-time greatest romantic comedy when it comes to an ending that leaves the heroine better off for not ending up with the man. The whole movie is about Jules chasing after Michael, as she does dirty deed after dirty deed. She makes Kim sing karaoke when she is not prepared to do so! She’s a monster. But the genius of My Best Friend‘s Wedding is that Jules ends up realizing that her feelings for Michael are caught up in in a fantasy and a need to win. Ultimately, the movie ends with Michael and Kim married (Kim doesn’t get nearly as happy or self-actualized an ending) and Jules attending the wedding solo. Until she gets one of the best invitations to dance in all of movies.
'In Her Shoes'
Year: 2005
Female Lead: Maggie (Cameron Diaz)
Men She Avoided: n/a
The thing about In Her Shoes that’s unexpected is that despite starring Cameron Diaz, a beautiful actress who’s been the focal point of many romantic comedies, the major romantic storyline in this movie belongs to Toni Collette. You keep expecting them to introduce a perfunctory love interest for Diaz’s character as well. Certainly they can’t let her end up alone! But it turns out that Maggie’s journey isn’t about finding a man. It’s about finding a job and a purpose and some non-self-destructive instincts. When Maggie ultimately stands up at her sister’s wedding and reads that e.e. cummings poem, it’s beautiful on its face, but it’s also beautiful for how the movie is choosing to tell Maggie’s story.
'Chasing Amy'
Year: 1997
Female Lead: Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams)
Men She Avoided: Holden McNeil (Ben Affleck)
This one’s a cheat, since Alyssa does appear to end up with someone at the end of the movie. But it’s certainly not Holden, who manages to screw up their relationship more disastrously than any self-inflicted relationship wound in recent history. Holden can’t handle her more adventurous sexual history, not his best friend’s virulent homophobia, so he ends up proposing … a three-way. It’s insane, and to Kevin Smith’s credit, the movie seems to know it. But while the final scene certainly asks us to feel wistful for the relationship that might’ve been, it’s hard not to think that Alyssa dodged a bullet.
'500 Days of Summer'
Year: 2009
Female Lead: Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel)
Men She Avoided: Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)
Another one where Summer ends up married to someone, it’s just not Tom. Which, because the movie is very upfront about telling us it’s not a love story, is important. While the movie sticks with Tom through its conclusion, Summer becomes more than just a series of adorable quirks as the film concludes.
'The Devil Wears Prada'
Year: 2006
Female Lead: Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway)
Men She Avoided: Nate (Adrian Grenier)
The central relationship in The Devil Wears Prada isn’t Andy and her boyfriend; it’s between Andy and her dragon-lady boss Miranda Priestly. Andy ends up “single” at the end of that relationship too, having left Runway because she couldn’t accept the moral compromises Miranda demanded. And while we can debate the rightness or wrongness of that call all day, I think we can all agree that we hope Andy and Nate’s tentative break-up sticks, because all he does in the movie is neg her career, refuse to acknowledge the hard work she puts into being a success at Runway, and guilts her over his damned grilled cheese. Good riddance, Andy. Let him stay in Boston.
