In honor of Women’s History Month, I thought I would put together a list of women-led films that fall into the category of “Good for Her.” You may or may not have heard of this type of movie before, but if you haven’t, a “good for her” movie features a young woman who does something maybe a little crazy but for understandable reasons. It makes the audience say, “good for her!”
One of the most famous examples of this is Midsommar. This is a horror movie from director Ari Aster. We follow Dani (Florence Pugh) and her friends as they visit Sweden for the Midsommar celebration. They find themselves in a cultish group of people that do some pretty absurd things. Dani has been dealing with serious grief after losing some of the people closest to her. She finds solace in the community and ultimately does something… not great. We’re left feeling connected to Dani and we can understand her reasons for doing this.
On a lighter note, “good for her” movies can be fun and lighthearted! But I’m a Cheerleader is a great example of this. Megan (Natasha Lyonne) is a cheerleader in high school who comes home to find her family and friends have set up an intervention for her. They claim she is a lesbian and she needs to go to a conversion camp. Megan is, understandably, confused why they are claiming this when she does not see it herself. After going to a “sexual redirection” school, she meets the very cool Graham (Clea DuVall) who teaches her how to be open with herself. The film is extremely campy in all the best ways and we have a “good for her” ending that makes your heart swell.
Along that campy vein, we have Jennifer’s Body: a cult classic that mixes monsters, high-school cliches, and queer undertones. Jennifer (Megan Fox) and Needy (Amanda Seyfried) are opposite best friends that attend a local concert one night that goes terribly wrong. Something happens to Jennifer that changes her forever and Needy tries to figure out what is going on with her best friend. She spirals and things go down between her and Jennifer on prom night. You could make an argument for Jennifer or Needy being the “good for her” girl, but I see Needy as the person that fits more in this category.
A recent movie that fits this category is Do Revenge. This movie does have a sort of campy feel to it as well. We follow Drea (Camila Mendes) and Eleanor (Maya Hawke) as they try to enact revenge on Drea’s ex-boyfriend. Little do we know that there is something else at play here. I don’t want to spoil it, but it does have a very fun twist that I did not see coming.
The Handmaiden has a similar feeling in the sense that it has a very unexpected twist. This movie follows Sookee (Kim Tae-ri) and Lady Hideko (Kim Min-hee) as handmaiden and Lady who bond in an unexpected way. There are a few forces at play here and lots of surprising turns, but ultimately the girls get their “good for her” ending.
Gone Girl is another classic of this niche category of movies. The film follows Nick (Ben Affleck) after the disappearance of his wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike). For a good chunk of the movie, we see Nick in all the ways that he has been a bad husband and an uncaring person. Amy definitely does some very wild things in the movie, but we sort of feel for her and see where she is coming from. There are lots of twists and turns in this film as well.
An incredibly recent film, Poor Things, which is up for Best Picture at the Oscars falls into this category as well. Bella Baxtor (Emma Stone) is a newly created being that is experiencing all of life’s firsts in a short amount of time. She meets Max (Ramy Youssef) as well as Duncan (Mark Ruffalo) and even Toinette (Suzy Bemba). She explores friendship, love, and sexuality. Ultimately, she deals with her past in an absurd way and comes to a happy ending.
Finally, Promising Young Woman. This is one of my favorite movies. It was written and directed by the fantastic Emerald Fennell (Saltburn). We follow Cassandra (Carey Mulligan), a vengeful young woman who spends her evenings preying on predatory men that attempt to take advantage of her. Cassandra falls for Ryan (Bo Burnham) and loses some of her steam in her revenge plan. This quickly takes a turn when she uncovers more information and decides to finally go after what she has been building up to for a long time.
All of these are phenomenal movies that make you feel something. It’s easy to root for these women, because they are relatable and have been through a lot. If you’re ever feeling bored, consider checking one of these movies out!