I have found that chick flicks often get a bad rap for being pointless, silly, and as far from life-like as you can get with live action and no special effects. However, I think that there are levels of quality for chick flicks, and I have come across several of them that are actually pretty good films, even according to non-chick flick standards. So I'd like to take some time to go over several things that can turn a silly chick flick into a good general film.
1.) Believable characters
Love at first sight hardly ever happens in the real world, and relationships have to be founded on much more than a single glance. The characters in a good chick flick are believable; they are not flawless or wonderful people. In fact, often the chick flick characters with the biggest personality glitches are the best ones. Take, for example, the film Two Weeks Notice starring Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant. Sandra Bullock plays an organized, highly goal-oriented workaholic and Hugh Grant plays a spoiled millionaire who doesn't take anything seriously and can barely take care of himself. These two personalities are meant to clash horribly, creating part of the plot of the film, but they also seem to complete each other in some way. It works out into a lovely and memorable film. The two personalities are also believable because both characters have normal faults (Bullock's being that she is often too serious about things and Grant's being that he is horribly irresponsible and selfish) and they come together in a way that would be completely normal for regular people (she works for him). The believability is what makes this film work.
2.) Have a plot that doesn't center completely on romance.
I know that the point of most chick flicks is that the man and woman fall in love. It's what happens in 99% of them, so it's not anything new. In order to have a quality chick flick that isn't just the cheesiest thing you've ever seen, it has to have SOMETHING ELSE in it besides romance. The plot of the film needs to be driven by something other than two characters longing for each other and all the things that stand in their way. It's boring, it's old, and it's been overdone so many times that it's not even funny. (I think the only film I'll allow to get away with this one is Sleepless in Seattle, but that one's a classic, the chick flick of all chick flicks.) Films like The Notebook, while they are sweet and make you cry, are pretty darn boring. You know they're going to be together in the end. That's what those films do. It wouldn't be a proper chick flick if that didn't happen, and everyone who watches it knows that's what's going to happen (if you say you really thought she was gonna go for the other guy, then you are just gullible or kidding yourself). Chick flicks with plots that have something going for them other than romance tend to be much more entertaining to watch and also much more believable. Usually there is something else going on that acts as a catalyst for the romance between the two characters, something that forces them together in a way they would not normally be together. Being stranded on an island, having to pretend to date to avoid being deported, dating someone on a bet or for some sort of payment, or even an unlikely work pairing all form better story lines than just a simple romance. 10 Things I Hate About You (based on Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew) is an excellent example of this. Sure, Kat and Patrick fall for each other in the end...that's expected. But that wouldn't have happened if A) The characters did not both have pretty glaring personality flaws, B) Kat's father wasn't super overprotective and C) Patrick was not paid to take her out. There's a whole other list of story lines in this film besides two people falling in love: the development of the sisters' relationship, the loss of the mother and dealing with the over-protectiveness of the father, Cameron's silent admiration of Bianca as well as her development into a character that the audience doesn't want to just slap, and especially the character development of both Kat and Patrick separately. All the things that happen in the film help move it toward the denouement of Kat and Patrick falling in love, but they could not have fallen in love without the rest of the plot.
3.) Go easy on the cheese.
I know that in a chick flick, it's difficult not to include lines like "The best love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more, that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds" (The Notebook), but really, lines like that don't help the movie. It might make the girls sigh, but in the end it just makes everyone want to groan and roll their eyes. Lines like that might sound good at first, but if you heard them in real life, you'd probably wanna puke. Try for witty instead of gushingly romantic, those often create the best chick flicks (see Pride and Prejudice for proof).
4.) Cliches are only okay if used in a creative manner.
I'm not gonna go on a tirade about staying away from cliches. Sometimes you really do need them (after all, aren't chick flicks kinda cliche in themselves??). But try not to use cliches in a cliche way, if you catch my drift. If your characters need to have a romantic, climactic kiss, please don't spin the camera around them while they stand on a hill in the bright, golden sunlight. That's cheesy. Perhaps they could have their climactic kiss in a hallway or standing outside a car (kisses in cars are also a horribly cliche way of doing things). The climactic kiss in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days happens in a bathroom in Ben's parent's house - very not cliche. Also, balcony scenes should be avoided unless there's a new and creative way to use it (I can't think of one off the top of my head). Also avoid romance scenes in the rain. Ugh, those are pretty bad.
5.) Make sure the film makes you happy...happy endings are a must.
I think at least 90% of all regular films have happy endings in some way or another. Chick flicks basically require a happy ending...the point of watching a chick flick most of the time is to feel good, right?? So you can't have your characters hate each other at the end. Some chick flicks get away with a sweet but sad ending (like P.S. I Love You), but most of them need a happy ending to hold it all together. You can have a happy ending without being horribly cheesy. After all, everyone expects that the characters will fall in love at the end, so it's not like that fact alone will start up the groan machine. This is the point where even the best chick flicks sometimes fail. The happy ending/fall in love/happily ever after moment doesn't have to be the biggest cliche of the film. With a bit of creativity, it can be something unique. I think 10 Things I Hate About You is a good example (though I won't spoil the ending for you...if you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about...her list and the guitar, or rather the idea of those things, is a pretty good ending).
Overall, I must say that it is quite possible to have a really good chick flick. So the next time someone wants to watch one, don't groan and resign yourself to a horrible experience. Instead, find some of the good ones and suggest one of those. You might just share a valuable cinematic experience. Who knows??
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