Our 5 Favorite Movies About Girl Cliques
Can you believe it’s been two years since Pitch Perfect first sang its way into our hearts? Pitch Perfect was released on September 28, 2012 and Richard Roeper called it one of the “stranger, and also one of the more entertaining movies of the year.” The film generated enough buzz to fully aca-plode from there. Whether you like “Cups” or not, there’s still an 80% chance you’ll hear Anna Kendrick singing it on the radio at least once a day. Now that Pitch Perfect has finally ascended to the status of cult movie–and we’re getting a sequel!–it’s time we recognize its important place in the “girl clique” movie canon.
You know what we’re talking about: those movies that feature a group of strong female leads, who rattle off utterly quotable lines and remind us—for better or worse—of the power and influence of tightly-knit groups. With killer wit, they nail the complicated nature of cliques, and ultimately provide some empowering moment where our fearless heroine breaks free from the group-think and asserts her individuality. And that’s always awesome. So without further ado, here are 5 girl clique movies we could binge-watch for all eternity.
1). Heathers, 1988
“What’s your damage?”
Hailing from the ’80s, you almost expect Heathers to play out like a John Hughes movie, but Molly Ringwald never plotted to take out the popular girls in school. Veronica, played by the unstoppable Winona Ryder, does. She’s not an outsider trying to get in, but a popular girl trying to get out. Veronica doesn’t want to be part of the titular Heathers‘ clutch anymore, and when she takes matters into her own hands, she saves the school—literally. Then, Veronica does the ultimate cool-girl thing we wish we had been smooth enough to do in high school: she skips the prom to watch movies with a friend.
2). Clueless, 1995
“As if!”
Cher and Dionne rule the school, and when they take Tai under their wing, they really think they’re doing right by her. (Also they just love giving makeovers and playing matchmaker.) Sure, they give some insane relationship advice, but they also just want to see each other happy. As far as movie cliques go, these friends are tight, which may be why this movie still warms our cockles. Plus, if Iggy pays homage to your movie 20 years later, you know you’re still important.
3). Grease, 1978
“I don’t look at it as dropping out! I look at it as a very strategic career move.”
Consider the Pink Ladies the first throwback girl group. Way before you were ever even allowed to go near a PG-13 movie, your mom was letting you watch Grease, because she had seen it when she was younger, too. The Pink Ladies showed us that your friends will have your back, no matter what. (Unless you’re Sandy, who had to chill out and start wearing spandex to win these ladies over.) As a pre-tween more than likely 90% of the subject matter went right over your head, but regardless, you understood that these girls were cool, they spoke their minds, and they weren’t going to be pushed around by the T-Birds.
4). Mean Girls, 2004
“Get in loser, we’re going shopping.”
Mean Girls word association: Plastics, Wednesday + Pink, Glen Coco, “she doesn’t even go here,” Burn Book, Janis Ian, Lizzy Caplan, Tina Fey. It might be easier if we head over to Netflix and watch the whole movie right now. That’s usually what happens as soon as you get someone thinking about Mean Girls. Personally, I think this is the best joke ever written:
All that aside, Mean Girls is a fantastic movie about teenage social cliques. Where is it written that Mathletes can’t intermingle with the Plastics, and the Goths can’t date Jocks? Friends are friends, no matter what table they sit at in the cafeteria. The movie takes Cady (Lindsay Lohan) through the ups and downs of high school and shows us that there’s a light at the end of even the worst school assembly.
5). Pitch Perfect, 2012
“Yeah, no, don’t put me down for cardio.”
This brings us back to Pitch Perfect. Joining the ranks of other highly esteemed movies, it features Anna Kendrick as Beca, a girl who doesn’t feel the need to fit in, or even make friends. But, Beca reluctantly gets recruited into the Barden Bellas and slowly she comes around to the idea of being a part of something—even if that something is still a little strange in her book. The girls of Pitch Perfect need way more praise and acclaim as individuals and as a group. They practically read each other’s minds when it comes to singing and dancing, but they also learn how to let each member of the group shine in their own individual way. Who would have thought a little movie about a gang of a cappella misfits would have such a huge place in our hearts? I guess that’s the thing about these super-powered, girl-driven movies—you never know when the next one is going to come along and sweep you off your feet. Paging Pitch Perfect 2. Please report to ALL the theaters, pronto.
