Top 5 movies to watch this International Women's Day
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: It is March 8, which means the day dedicated to celebrating women has arrived. Every year, International Women's Day is celebrated in order to commemorate the accomplishments of women and raise awareness about gender equality, besides bringing attention to reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women. With more and more women-centric, quality movies appearing in recent times, let us take a look at some of the most iconic and pioneering films that have set the benchmark for storytelling about women.
Some of the trailblazing movies that showed women in a new light rather than limiting them to being eye candy include the iconic 'Kill Bill', 'Devil Wears Prada', and 'Bridesmaids'. These movies have shown how a movie can be engaging if it is written properly for its characters. They also boast of some of the most ferocious actresses of our times, including Uma Thurman, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Emily Blunt, and Anne Hathway. Though the normalization of stories about women is still a long way away, we can still celebrate the ones that we already have. Listed below are five of the most iconic movies that center on female friendships and women's empowerment that still have an unbeatable place in our hearts.
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'Legally Blonde' (2001)
The trendsetter Elle Woods is bold and blonde. 'Legally Blonde' is one of the most iconic roles that Reese Witherspoon has owned and lived. Based on the book of the same name by Amanda Brown, 'Legally Blonde' tells the story of Elle Woods, who is into fashion, and gets dumped by his boyfriend on the note that she is not "serious enough." To prove her worth and to win her boyfriend back, Elle works hard and joins Harvard Law School, where her ex is engaged. Elle works hard further and along the way learns her worth and potential all the while being herself. This movie has since become a classic and a favorite for many. An interesting fact about 'Legally Blonde' is that it is based on real events from Amanda Brown's life.
'Kill Bill' (2003 and 2004)
Directed by Quentin Tarantino, 'Kill Bill: Volume 1' and 'Kill Bill: Volume 2' are two power-packed movies that gave us the gift of the yellow jumpsuit and sword-wielding Uma Thurman. Only known by the name 'The Bride', Thurman gives the performance of a lifetime as a mother whose entire life and family are taken from her. In this two-part journey, we witness the Bride waking up from a coma and regaining her strength in every possible way in order to wreak havoc upon everyone who wronged her. This is one flick that won't let you blink throughout, let alone let your attention go astray.
'The Devil Wears Prada' (2006)
Who knew fashion can be so stressful and is its own world? This is what Andrea "Andy" Sachs discovers as she interns at the Runway magazine as a personal assistant to Miranda Priestly. While Andy's aim is to become a writer or reporter, throughout the course of the film, we learn, along with her, how the fashion industry works, and what a successful woman has to do to retain her position. The movie also showcases the failures of work-life balance, where one cannot be successful at both. 'The Devil Wears Prada' is iconic for several reasons and apart from the stellar performances from the leads - Meryl Streep, Anne Hathway and Emily Blunt, its costumes still remain popular and memorable.
'Bridesmaids' (2011)
What can go wrong at a wedding? 'Bridesmaids' is the movie that answers this and many other questions. Centered around the wedding of Lillian (Maya Rudolph), the movie deals with a group of bridesmaids, their personal lives, and their relationships with each other in the span of the wedding. Annie (Kristen Wiig) and Helen (Rose Byrne) fight with each other in order to prove to be more important to Lilian and they both take extreme measures to prove their point. This, however, leads to several disasters. How the unlikely girls' gang finds a solution to both their personal life and save Lilian's wedding forms the rest of the story. The movie is considered one of the most unapologetic portrayals of female friendship and boasts of some unbelievable performances from Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, Melissa McCarthy, and Rebel Wilson.
'Bombshell' (2019)
As the title suggests, 'Bombshell' is based on true events. Starring Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Margot Robbie, it follows FOX News employees who set out to expose CEO Roger Ailes for sexual harassment. 'Bombshell' was noted for its hard-hitting portrayal of sexual harassment and sexist comments that women face in the workplace. It also uncovered how work pressure and NDAs act as barriers for potential whistleblowers, besides realistically portraying the repercussions women in media are likely to face. This Oscar-winning film is most definitely one of the movies to watch that would make one speak up.
