Chick Flick Conventions

• Usually deal with themes of love, dating and romance
• Target a largely female audience
• Often released around Valentine's Day
• These films are generally held in popular culture as having formulaic, paint-by-numbers plot lines and characters
• Use a female protagonist
• Feature the colour pink
• Contain female related issues, which the female audience will obviously be able to associate with

One of the earliest examples of a chick flick is 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' in 1961 due to the elements of loneliness, fashion and of course has a happy ending.

Molly Haskell has suggested that chick flicks are very different from the women's films of the 1940s and '50s in that they now "sing a different tune." She feels that they are "more defiant and upbeat, post-modern and post-feminist."

In the 1980s in the US more modern and unique chick flicks were released, these dealt with newer issues such as teenage pregnancy and abortion.

Can be based on fairytales such as 'A Cinderella Story', 'Pretty Woman' and 'Ever After', or based on Shakespeare plays, as in the cases of '10 Things I Hate About You' and 'She's The Man'. Chick flicks have also been made based on books, such as 'Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging', and 'The Princess Diaries', even some more classic books have been turned into films, for example, 'Little Women'. In the case of 'Sex and the City', the characters and relationships were taken from the TV series.

Settings are usually well known, such as New York or London cities or suburbs, and often feature high schools in chick flicks with a schoolgirl teenage protagonist. Storylines usually follow a main character, dealing with issues such as popularity, looks, sex, relationships, friendships and family. A nemisis or arch enemy character is another recognisable trait, as this character behaviour usually hinders our protgonist within the issues she is trying to resolve, and sometimes causes problems for her. Most chick flick storylines conclude with a resolution to all the protagonist's previous problems, and the affections of the love interest are usually gained, often concluding with a romantic 'first kiss' scene, which is a moment of triumph and success for the protagonist.

EXAMPLES:
Love Story- 1970
Sixteen Candles- 1984
Dirty Dancing- 1987
Earth Girls Are Easy- 1988
Working Girl- 1988
When Harry Met Sally- 1989
Pretty Woman- 1990
Ghost- 1990
Thelma and Louise- 1991
Sleepless in Seattle- 1993
My Best Friend's Wedding- 1997
Titanic- 1997
Legally Blonde- 2001
The Princess Diaries- 2001
Bridget Jones Diary- 2001
Down With Love- 2003
The Notebook- 2004
The Devil Wears Prada- 2006
Enchanted- 2007
27 Dresses- 2007
Sex and the City- 2008
Definitely, Maybe- 2008
Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging- 2008
Twilight- 2008
The Proposal- 2009
Confessions of a Shopaholic- 2009