MovieChat Forums > Some Kind of Wonderful (1987) Discussion > Any films in which the 'girly' girl wins...

Any films in which the 'girly' girl wins, over a rival?


So we all know that in most Hollywood films, the "girly" or overtly feminine girl always loses out to a more intelligent and/or tomboyish rival. It's a long-standing tradition. From novels like "Jane Eyre," down to films like "Singing in the Rain," "Mean Girls," "Some Kind of Wonderful," "Sydney White," "Starter for 10," etc. etc., movies and TV almost always portray the prom-princess/head-cheerleader type as a vain, shallow girl who gets her comeuppance, while the supposedly "better" girl (the more "intellectual," less "obviously" beautiful plain girl) always triumphs.

The lesson in such films is that they male lead has to learn to look past the supposedly "superficial" popular goddess, and discover that he really loves the more meaningful/smart/wholesome girl.

Are there any films in which the opposite happens? Movies where the the guy chooses the more stereotypically feminine girl over her rival?

I can only think of a few, and their endings are major surprises, because they defy the usual Hollywood logic:

-"My Best Friend's Wedding" (Cameron Diaz's W.A.S.P. character is chosen over Julia Robert)
-"The Mask" (it seems as if the female reporter is being set up as a "wholesome" contrast to the blonde, but it turns out that she's actually the bad one)

Mind you, those aren't in the high-school setting where such female character contrasts are usually set, but they do defy the pattern.

Any others? Any films in which it seems as if the prom-princess/head-cheerleader type is being set up for a fall or comeuppance, but she wins in the end, or the guy chooses her over the usual Hollywood plain-Jane heroine?

A film where someone like Amanda triumphs over someone like Watts, and wins the guy in the end?

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I know this one wouldnt be placed under the 'girly' girl.
But, in Pretty in Pink, Andie ends up with Blaine and he's the popular, rich guy. She doesnt end up with Duckie, who is obviously in love with her and you'd think they would end up together, but they dont. She chooses the stereotypical guy.

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O.C. Seth chooses Summer; a popular and spoiled brat, over Anna; the cool girl.


As strong as a small pony
-Well that's quite strong that is!

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Check out the teen movie, "Clueless"

Cher (played by Alicia Silverstone) is the rich, pretty and most popular girl in school. She gets the guy in the end even though he thought Cher was very shallow in the beginning and seemed the type of guy to go for the "brainy" and non-fussy kind of girl.

"Legally Blonde" is another type of film which favors the "girly-girl" heroine over the "simple and conservative" type of girl.

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the movie "Yentl" also has the Girly-girl getting the guy at the end.

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Having finally seen Wicker Park, I must confirm that it does indeed fit the O.P.'s criteria remarkably well -- almost perfectly, in fact. It's a fascinating romantic drama in which the beautiful blonde Diana Krüger finally does, in the end, win out over a scheming, envious brunette, and the male lead recognizes his true love for the fair-haired beauty. Highly recommended. It's not set in a high-school milieu, but among twentysomething characters, but it truly upends the Hollywood cliché and reaffirms the kind of timeless ending that was once seen in Western literature and in folk tales (e.g. Grimm Bros. legends), but which Hollywood generally contravenes.

Thank you to gingerlou452, the poster who mentioned Wicker Park as a possibility. Good call.

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Yeah, I was surprised it took so long for Legally Blonde to be mentioned! It doesn't get much girlier than that! ;)

T~O #331

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op

i know you already mentioned "The Mask"..that is the best example I can think of.

..and every one of them words rang true and glowed like burnin' coal..

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[deleted]

Angel:
He chooses Buffy over Darla, and Cordelia over Fred.

Come visit my blackrosecastle.com
stephentheblackroseenterprises.com

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How about "The Girl Next Door" she's a hot blonde girl who falls for the dorky guy.

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The Girl Next Door -- is that the film with Elisha Cuthbert? I'd say "yes" to that as an example, except was there a tomboy/leftist female brunette antagonist? That contrast in female characters, with the odds stacked against the hot blonde, is what the OP is getting at.

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THE NEW GUY sort of..
WAYNES WORLD the hot rocker chick gets wayne instead of the nerdy girl stacy
SPIDERMAN 2 peter parker chooses mary jane instead of that shy russian chick
THE PLAYER tim robins goes with that hot woman instead of his secretary
ROMEY AND MICHELE sandy chooses michele instead of heather mooney
YOUVE GOT MAIL tom hanks dumps parker posey for meg ryan
THE NOTEBOOK noah chooses allie over the girl he was seeing casually because he couldn't get allie

EVERY EPISODE OF JAMES BOND STARRING MONEY PENNY

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As an addition to this thread, I just read elsewhere about a list that someone created on this very topic:

http://www.listal.com/list/movies-girly-girl-wins

I feel certain that it was inspired by the discussion in this thread at IMDb.

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