With Valentine’s day quickly approaching, many romantic movies and television specials will dominate streaming platforms for the whole month of February. So be prepared for cheesy rom-coms and sappy love stories to take over your streaming service.
But after so many films and series about romances between a boy and girl, I’m excited to share that many filmmakers have turned their attention to a new kind of love story: the female friendship.
In this article, I want to talk about the different types of female friendships in movies and tv shows, how the representation has progressed over the years, and how this new “genre” represents a cultural shift in priorities. Enjoy!
Since the beginning of the film industry, when female director Dorothy Arzner directed Dance, Girl, Dance in 1940, she struggled to portray a good story with a healthy female friendship. Dance, Girl, Dance avoided the idea of two rival female characters fighting to seduce a man. But still, the movie deals with a complex female relationship, which leads me to talk about the first type of female friendship in movies and tv shows.
Frenemies
Think about a romantic comedy from the 2000s. I think about the movie 27 Dresses by Anne Fletcher from 2008, starring Katherine Heigl. This movie is basically about the relationship between two sisters who become frenemies because both fell in love with the same man, a common friendship stereotype in romances that makes the heterosexual romance the center of the story.
In old interviews, the actress Susan Sarandon has said that when she gets to work on a movie with another woman, she automatically thinks that the female relationship will turn into something competitive, where female characters and actresses have to hate each other for whatever reason. I can guarantee that more actresses think the same and are tired of this.
The Anti-female Friendship
Obsession or manipulation, female fellowship as romance. The first example that comes to my mind is not from a film. The toxic friendship between Rue and Jules from the HBO Max show Euphoria mocks the possibility of women forming bonds of loyalty and affection. While Jules is embarking on a journey to discover herself after all the things that have happened in her past, Rue is too codependent on their friendship, often making it seem like if they’re not together as a couple, then Rue can’t be happy.
Female friendship stories are challenging and often come with dramatic conflicts that need work throughout the film or series. But this type of friendship makes it feel like if women are not fighting for a man in movies, they are part of an unhealthy friendship/relationship. Happy endings do not exist here.
The Sidekick
Finally, in many stories, the best friend character is the sidekick, which can be good or very bad. It can add more realness to the story. The actress and director Olivia Wilde came up with the movie Booksmart in 2019, which is a fabulous example of how to use this type of friendship in a good way.
Booksmart is about Amy and Molly, two excellent students and best friends. On the eve of their high school graduation, they realize that they could have worked a little less on their studies and had more fun. They decide to do something to compensate for too much studying and too little fun: make up for four lost years in one crazy night. The film shows us that it’s not about possessing someone forever or being the person who “wears the pants.” It’s about equals dealing with their dreams and problems together, rooting for each other, and doing life side by side.
I’m happy to see that things are changing, and we get to see more female characters with character development!