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?