Men and Chick Flicks

I have seen a lot of movies in my time. Probably not as many as some but I have seen my fair share and I am comfortable enough in my masculinity to say that I have seen a decent number of 'chick flicks' as well. For those unfamiliar with the term it is meant to encompass all those movies that appeal to the female species. It typically deals with a female protagonist who is looking for love in all the wrong places and ultimately finds it with a man she has been involved with throughout the course of the film. There are of course variations on the themes such as the guy is initially a jerk but he changes for her over the course of the film, or the guy is her friend who she doesn't look to as a suitor until the end credits are about to roll.

But I'm not here to argue the merits of seeing films of this nature. I can't argue the point because you could make the very same argument about many, if not most, action films as well. No. The reason I bring up chick flicks is because I have made careful study of the poor men who get dragged into seeing such films in the movie theater. It's often a very rare occasion but it has been known to happen. Take for example this past weekend when "Sex and the City 2" opened. When I saw the line for the film I was not too surprised to see a few men accompanying their wives or girlfriends in line but what struck me is that many of them had the same vacant expression on their face as they stood in line as they waited to see the film.

I could only compare it to what must have been the expression on the faces of many of the victims of King Henry's reign when the Tower of London saw numerous executions. It was a plethora of men basically resigned to their fate with nothing more to do other than to go in with a melancholic expression and bite the bullet. I wonder if the women they accompanied have any idea of the mental torture and not-always-friendly ribbing they could be subjected to once word gets out that they were seen going to a chick flick. Women believe that they are the queens when it comes to catty behavior but they have nothing on men who are teasing a fellow who has been caught going to a chick flick.

Besides the obvious teasing that they endure about being a pansy, there is also the inevitable question as to why the guy did it. Women can argue all they want that they endure action films and a dearth of other stupid movies that Hollywood churns out for the male species but it's not quite the same. After all, women will give sympathy to a woman who has had to 'suffer' through a movie made for a male. Sure they may not enjoy "Rambo" or "Lord of the Rings" but they aren't the worse for it. Perhaps it's my male chauvinism coming through but I find male characters to be much more complex than female characters. I suppose that's because Hollywood is full of men and not so many women writers and directors. Often, strong woman characters don't come from chick flicks but from non-chick flicks. Those are the ones that seem to appeal to the masses more. Perhaps chick flicks could take a hint from that and learn to make their films a bit more challenging to the mind. Romance is good but temper it with something more. Perhaps then men won't be so reluctant to see chick flicks.