Wanted: Chick Flicks

On Friday night we went to see Red 2. My husband and sons loved it. It was a typical male action/comic book, shoot-em-up, blow-it-up, car chase movie. Yes, on one level it was funny. The violence was so over the top that it became impossible and ridiculous. But I came out feeling as if I’d swum in blood, as if I had been buried under a mountain of dead bodies. Really, since when is killing people funny?
What ever happened to movies where character development is important, where emotional and personal growth occurs? Why don’t we see any sweet stories, like Anne of Green Gables? Where are the movies about real people who learn and grow, who overcome great odds and do the right thing? What about movies that are safe for kids to watch but still have a solid plot, well-developed characters, and an interesting setting? What happened to love stories that are romantic, not graphic? Why does Hollywood think that the only thing people want to see is gratuitous sex and violence? I’m sick of blood, guns, naked bodies, and cars exploding. I want a girl movie — what guys sneeringly call a Chick Flick. I want to laugh, to cry, and to be uplifted.
So, in protest of all the guy movies I’ve had to endure, I’m holding a girls’ movie night. We’ll sit down together, enjoy a moving DVD, cry, laugh, talk, eat a delicious dessert that involves chocolate, and thoroughly enjoy ourselves. Does anyone have any recommendations for a good movie? Does anybody want to join me?