Of course, "chick flicks" can also feed into those stereotypes, when they become hopelessly sentimental, indulging in victimhood (strong women can't be identified with; they have to suffer nobly, and I do mean suffer and I do mean nobly), and putting forth the tired old adage that men are scum, but it's a woman's duty to put up with them and love them. These attitudes trivialize the very problems these "chick flicks" claim to be spotlighting; spousal neglect and abuse, rape, sexism, and so forth.
In 1991, two so-called "chick flicks" became hot-button topics and surprise hits, Ridley Scott's THELMA & LOUISE, and Jon Avnet's FRIED GREEN TOMATOES (interestingly enough, both were directed by men and written by women).
THELMA & LOUISE, of course, is about the titular heroines. Thelma (Geena Davis) is a housewife taken for granted by her husband Daryl (Christopher McDonald, before he became typecast as a smooth yuppie). Louise (Susan Sarandon), as with many an early Sarandon character, is a waitress, sort of involved with Jimmy (Michael Madsen). The two plan to go away on a fishing trip, without Thelma telling Daryl about it. While Louise is grounded and planning ahead, Thelma is footloose and scatterbrained, which leads to the movie's first detour; she insists Louise stop at a bar for a rest stop. There, they eat, and Louise gets drunk, dances with Harlan (Timothy Carhart), and flirts with him. Later, however, when he takes her outside so she can be sick, he rapes her, until Louise gets him to back off with a gun to his head and a warning, "In the future, when a woman's crying like that, she isn't having any fun." Harlan makes an insulting comment in reply, and on impulse, Louise shoots him dead.
