Movies For Girls: The 35 Best Movies for a Girls’ Night Out
Written by: Bobby McNeill
Table of Contents
Pop the champagne corks and get cozy in front of the boob tube: it’s Ladies’ Night. Appropriately, we present to you 35 movies that will sweeten your girls’ night out!
No. 1: Happiness Never Comes Alone (1998)
The Disney-Family film from the late 90s adapts the material of the famous book “Das doppelte Lottchen” from the pen of Erich Kästner. In essence, the film is about two twin sisters (both embodied by the very young Lindsay Lohan) who unexpectedly run into each other without having known of the other’s existence. In this, the two 10-year-old Hallie and Annie are like two peas in a pod on the outside, but their characters could not be more different: Here, the well-mannered young lady meets a cheeky loudmouth. The sisters decide to swap roles and henceforth turn everyday life upside down in each other’s families.
Lindsay Lohan’s big-screen debut is particularly convincing thanks to the versatility of the then-youngster, who mimes the two contrasting characters equally convincingly.
2nd place: The Princess Diaries (2001)
For Anne Hathaway, a dream came true in 2001 that all girls secretly cherish: to be a princess for once. For a long time, however, nothing in the life of the wallflower Mia pointed to a royal career. Instead of cheering crowds, the gray mouse faced an existence far from any attention. It’s a good thing that one day Mia’s grandmother comes around the corner with some pleasant news: Her granddaughter is actually the rightful heir to the throne of the (fictional) state of Genovia. To turn the uncool schoolgirl into a royal swan, she has to learn the royal ABCs from scratch. Do the advisors of the court manage to make the new princess presentable? This is what you will learn in 115 minutes of film that should not be missing from any successful girls’ night out.
3rd place: Girls Club! (2004)
Lindsay Lohan again! Around 15 years ago, the redhead took on the role of teenager Cady Heron, who grew up on the African continent. In the end, the young woman’s family decides to return to the United States, where Cady will attend a new high school. Without any friends and with culture shock in her luggage, the teenager first assumes the role of an outsider before she finally befriends two other outcast students. The trio is resentful of the chic clique at their school, whose members think they are better than their contemporaries and look down on them with disdain. Cady infiltrates the bimbo group to elicit a few secrets from the dolls, making them look bad in the end. In the process, however, the wallflower risks degenerating into a once-hated fashion doll herself.
Rank 4: Clueless! (1995)
Cher Horowitz and her friend Dionne are first within the school hierarchy. The two fashionable trendsetters are equally admired and envied in the corridors of their high school. The two up-and-coming models would do anything for good publicity, which is why they also include the wallflower Mai in their clique. The gray mouse is to be transformed into a shining beauty, but soon everything turns out quite differently than Cher and Dionne would have expected. The ugly duckling rises pretty fast to the head of the girls’ clique and strains the nerves of his former patrons enormously in the process.
The relationships between teenage daughters and their mothers can sometimes prove to be very complicated. The life of 15-year-old Anna (Lindsay Lohan) with her mother, Tess (Jamie Lee Curtis), is no exception. No matter whether styling, musical taste, or hairstyle: What elicits an enraptured squeal from the youthful chick is dismissed by the strict Mrs. Mama with a shake of the head. A dose of magic is needed, and mother and daughter imbibe it in the form of enchanted fortune cookies. The sweet pastry causes the two family members to find themselves in each other’s bodies suddenly. In the process, the women discover that the lives of their counterparts are not as simple as they had previously assumed.
6th place: Pitch Perfect (2012)
The talent that lay dormant in college freshman Beca (Anna Kendrick) remained hidden from her fellow students for a long time. Finally, the young woman was known on campus as a loner, if at all. By chance, however, Beca would find her way to the Bellas, a group of diverse characters that meets regularly to trill together.
True to the motto “Where there’s singing, let yourself be,” Beca decides to give herself and the group a chance – with astounding success. The other girls can’t believe their ears when the shy maverick steps in front of the microphone for the first time. Thanks to the newcomer, will the young women manage to take home the title of the approaching a capella competition?
In addition to a concentrated load of music, “Pitch Perfect” also comes with plenty of humor and drama. If you can’t get enough of the flick, you can look forward to the two sequels that hit theaters in 2015 and 2017.
7th place: Titanic (1997)
Poor wretch meets a rich young woman on the ship, meets romance, meets iceberg: the story of “Titanic” can be broken down very simplistically in a few sentences. In fact, the love story about the struggling artist Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his beloved Rose (Kate Winslet) puts our hearts in acute distress every time. Unfortunately for the two, Rose is already promised to filthy rich Cal (Billy Zane), who quickly gets fed up with the penniless youngster’s advances. When the steamer crashes at full speed into an ice field, chaos breaks out on the sinking ship.
8th place: Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Watch who you’re messing with! A young, arrogant prince should have taken this tip to heart. Instead, he angered an old witch who, disguised as a beggar woman, asked for asylum in the pompous castle of the offspring monarch. Without further ado, the enchantress transformed the prince into an ugly beast, while the court henceforth found itself in the form of various household objects. The only way out of the misery:
The Beast must manage to love a woman sincerely and be loved in equal measure. It’s a good thing that one day the beautiful Belle arrives on the monster’s doorstep, who in turn wants to free her father from the monster’s furry paws. The beast can count himself lucky that Belle is not the superficial sort of person but slowly discovers the lovable core in the hairy monster.
9th place: Moana (2016)
Paradisiacal beaches, crystal clear water, the impending doom of their own people. The plot of “Vaiana” provides that the eponymous young girl of our story decides on her own to set sail alone to find the demigod Maui. According to legend, only the fifty-percent deity can save the brave adventurer’s tribe from destruction. In reality, however, the adored hero turns out to be not half as brave as the old tales claim. The journey of the two is to become thus clearly more difficult than Vaiana had wished it with her departure.
The animated film from Disney not only captivates with its fantastically staged Caribbean look but also contains some Earworms that you won’t be able to get out of your head anytime soon.
Rank 10: Maleficent (2014)
The story of the fairy tale classic “Sleeping Beauty” can probably rattle off every 8-year-old child in his sleep. Therefore, we are pleased that the makers of “Maleficent” have chosen a completely new approach to their work. Instead of the peacefully sleeping king’s daughter, the strip focuses on the background of the evil fairy Maleficent (Angelina Jolie), who will later be responsible for the famous Sleeping Beauty sleep. For a long time, Maleficent had a deep friendship with King Stefan (Sharlto Copley) before he stabbed his fairy-tale companion in the back and slyly cut off her wings. Thereupon, the magical creature decides to take revenge and curses the daughter of her tormentor: By a stitch on an enchanted spindle, the junior shall sink into an eternal slumber on her sixteenth birthday.
11th place: A Cinderella Story (2004)
Sam (Hilary Duff) leads the life of a modern-day Cinderella: while suffering under the thumb of her wicked stepmother, the blonde earns a pittance as a cleaner in a diner. The protagonist’s stepsisters don’t miss a single opportunity to make life difficult for the unpleasant roommate. Therefore, Sam’s big dream is understandable: Let’s get out of here! Preferably to Princeton, in order to begin there the long desired study. If now a fairy tale prince on a noble steed (or in a noble carriage) came around the corner, the young woman’s happiness would be perfect. Instead of a horse, this ominous dream man finally enters the life of our leading lady as an e-mail partner. But who is really behind the anonymous pen pal?
12th place: Brave (2012)
The animated film “Merida” takes us on a journey to medieval Scotland. The titular protagonist is the heiress to the throne of a venerable royal house. Instead of going to dances, the curly-haired girl prefers to spend her time romping around and shooting arrows. Her offspring’s less-than-regal behavior has long been a thorn in her mother’s side. The queen, therefore, decides to marry off her daughter to the son of a well-known clan chief. This decision sends redhead Merida into sheer panic, which is why she makes a momentous decision: she asks a mysterious witch to change her conservative mom by means of magic. The spell’s result is more terrible than the young princess could have imagined in her worst dreams.
Rank 13: Easy A (2010)
Cross your heart, girls: Have you ever embellished your life story to seem more interesting? If so, the story of Olive Penderghast, portrayed by Emma Stone, should sound familiar to you. For a long time, the teenager was considered a gray mouse at her school, about which no one cared. When the wallflower drops the bomb on her best friend one day and claims to have recently lost her virginity, the high school world is turned upside down. News of the outsider’s alleged night of love spreads faster than chicken pox in kindergarten. Suddenly, all sorts of people begin to take an interest in Olive, even though they might hardly have known beforehand that the student existed at all. However, the initial admiration of her classmates quickly turns into resentment, so Olive soon has a reputation as an easy girl.
Rank 14: Legally Blonde (2001)
Do you think that blonde jokes have been worn out for decades? Then “Naturally Blonde” will teach you otherwise. Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) is the embodiment of any hackneyed joke: blonde, superficial, and her favorite color is pink. So far, however, the blond saw no reason to care about things in life that were outside of fashion catalogs. However, this changes when Elle is given the boot by her future husband. To show off to her ambitious ex-partner, the protagonist decides to swap nail polish for books and study law. And not just anywhere but at the legendary Harvard. When the blonde is actually accepted at the university, two worlds collide.
Dancing unites! After all, the rhythmic swinging of limbs made Frances Houseman (Jennifer Grey) and dance instructor Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze) fall into each other’s arms, even though they both come from completely different walks of life. Frances, who is called “Baby” by everyone, spends her vacations with her snobby family in a classy resort while Johnny learns his manners on the streets at night. What else should we write about “Dirty Dancing”? This flick is simply cult! If you’ve never heard of this US film from 1987, you’ve probably never had the time of your life either, and you should close this gap in your education as soon as possible!
Rank 16: 13 Going on 30 (2004)
As adolescents, we always had the desire to grow up finally. What fools we were! However, 13-year-old Jenna wasn’t quite smart when wishing she could finally be a grown woman in the wake of a frustrating night of partying. When the teeny wakes up the next morning, he actually finds himself in the body of a thirty-year-old woman.
As if this fact wasn’t crazy enough, the big edition of Jenna also embodies everything that the teenager secretly wished for. As an adult, she is well-liked by her fellow human beings and also extremely successful in her profession. In the course of the film, the leading actress experiences firsthand what we, as viewers, already know. Just because you’re an adult doesn’t mean that all of life’s problems disappear into thin air.
17th place: 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Popular Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) wants nothing more than to have a date finally. The student’s father, however, has his own point of view on the subject and will only allow his youngest daughter to go on a date if her older sister Kat (Julia Stiles) also finds someone to go out with her. However, since the taller of the two juniors isn’t really interested in the man’s world, Bianca decides to take the reins herself. That’s why she hires the headstrong Patrick (Heath Ledger) to court Kat for a fee. What starts as a questionable side job for the rebel soon turns into real feelings.
18th place: Matilda (1996)
Matilda conjures up in us again the feelings of our childhood. However, the lovely girl has a hard time with that. Not because of us viewers; we like to get involved in the story of the little ones. However, the parents regularly make their daughter’s life hell. The tough principal of Matilda’s school, Mrs. Trunchbull, also does her part to turn the school into a place of horror. Fortunately, the dragon does not know what wondrous secrets lie dormant inside little Matilda.
Rank 19: The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Angela’s life couldn’t be better: The young woman has just graduated from college and landed one of the most coveted jobs on the fashion scene. What at first sounds like the fulfillment of our protagonist’s wildest dreams turns out to be a nightmare come true in the course of her everyday professional life. Angela’s boss is responsible for this, and she sees a ready-made meal in the reserved employee.
20th place: The Snow Queen (2013)
The last place in our Top-20 selection is going to be frosty! But we don’t mean the story about Anna and her big sister Elsa because that delightfully warms our hearts. It’s the snowy setting that sends shivers down our spines. The cold is in the nature of things because, after all, Elsa is on a quest to find her missing sister, who is an ice queen in her own right. And they don’t stay in the Caribbean. On her journey, the little heroine meets countless comrades-in-arms who become loyal friends in the course of the adventure.
Rank 21: Stuck in Love (2013)
22nd place: The Fault in Our Stars (2014)
23rd place: The DUFF (2015)
24th place: One Day (2014)
25th place: Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
Rank 26: She’s the Man (2006)
27th place: Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)
28th place: A Walk to Remember (2002)
29th place: 27 Dresses (2008)
30th place: Letters to Juliet (2010)
Rank 31: Margos Spuren (2015)
32nd place: Eighth Grade (2018)
33rd place: Wonder Woman (2017)
Place 34: Moulin Rouge! (2001)
35th place: To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018)
This was our list of the 35 best movies for a successful girls’ night out. We are sure that there was something for every taste!
