Good Movies About Women

Chris brought up the topic of good movies about (maybe for) women. Let’s ponder it, shall we? What are some of the good ones? Or rather, what are the some of the best ones? Who are the best female characters on film? Best, meaning not just not a fantasy incarnation of what the ideal girlfriend, mistress, wife or mother would or should be but women who drive the plot.

What I’ve discovered is that good acting can overcome a one-dimensionally written character (Meryl Streep is a master at this – just look at what she did with Sophie’s Choice, Kramer vs. Kramer and even the Devil Wears Prada; ditto Kathy Bates). A good actress fills out the holes. With that in mind, here are a few that have hit home for me over the years (in no particular order, some are obvious crossovers):

Fried Green Tomatoes (how did I forget this one??)
Dolores Claiborne (It may be just the acting, though)
Thelma and Louise
Postcards from the Edge
Terms of Endearment
As Good as it Gets
Broadcast News (that James Brooks…
One True Thing (but I may be the only person on the planet who loves this movie)
Alien/Aliens
Julia
Hannah and Her Sisters
Manhattan
Annie Hall (of course)
Friends with Money
Juno
Crimes of the Heart
Steel Magnolias (which I’ve only recently began to appreciate)
A Streetcar Named Desire
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf
The Women
Another Woman (overlooked Woody Allen masterpiece
Far From Heaven
The Color Purple
Sense and Sensibility (one of my all-time favorites)

Strangely enough, I’ve never been a fan of Beaches nor A League of Their Own nor any movie starring Kate Hudson or Meg Ryan. I need to think harder on this topic but this should get you going – any big ones I missed?