Ok, so going out is great. But you know what is also great? (Especially if you're a 'millennial' who sometimes feels more like an 80-year-old... don't worry, we're with you) putting on your pyjamas, pulling you're best Karen-from-Mean-Girls cough 'I can't come out, I'm sick' and staying in.
In fact, in an age where 'self-care' has become an excuse for literally anything, we can't think of a better use for it than switching on Netflix for a good-old-fashioned chick flick marathon as you gradually become one with your sofa on a Saturday night.
But if you're the type who can only enjoy the shmulzy, saccharine, and let's face it: sometimes quite shortsightedly un-woke chick flicks of the naughties, fear not. There are actually loads of titles on Netlfix now that won’t have you reaching for the sick bucket. OK, How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days was actually quite good, but these lot will do more than just raising a few laughs – they’ll actually enrich your lives.
Seven Chick Flicks To Watch On Netflix That Aren't Actually Shit - Grazia
1 of 7Blue Is The Warmest Colour
The media coverage of the ten-minute girl on girl sex scene in Blue Is The Warmest Colour can't have hurt its takings at the box office – especially when those girls were super-babes Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux. The scene apparently took ten days to film, creating resentment towards director Abdellatif Kechiche that Adele and Lea couldn't hide. 'You can see that we were really suffering,' commented Exarchopoulos in one interview. Nevertheless, the end result is a stunning, heartbreaking tale of a relationship breakdown. Like with Harold And Maude, the fact that it's two girls soon becomes irrelevant. It's a journey through the peaks and pitfalls of true love. This one comes with a toilet-roll-at-the-ready warning.
2 of 7Happy Go Lucky
Watching something with Sally Hawkins in is an easy way to feel like you've achieved something. She's one of the UK's best actresses, the muse to Mike Leigh and, famously, an incredibly nice person. Happy-Go-Lucky follows Sally as she plays Poppy – ditsy and slightly annoying but completely adorable. The film skips about in a haphazard way without purpose. Well, there is purpose: to show that there are lots of good people in the world getting on with their good lives and quietly making a big difference. Coming from Mike Leigh, it seems like a bit of a change in direction. Until the film was released, he was painted as the poster boy for 'grim-up-north'. But in a way, it has a lot of similarities to his other work in that it challenges our view of real life. Do we really want life to roll out in a predictable way, like a horror or a Disney film? Are we uncomfortable with the fact that life can be both bleak and rewarding? Happy-Go-Lucky is a great reminder that life is not defined the problems we encounter, it's how we deal with them that shapes our own experience.
3 of 7Thelma and Louise
Thelma & Louise is one of those rare films that sounds good whoever you pitch it to. On the one hand, it's a Hollywood action blockbuster: women are unhappy in their boring lives, go in the run together, drive off a cliff. On the other hand, it's a social study: what does it mean to be a woman in modern America? By women, for women but with widespread appeal, Thelma & Louise managed to smuggle gender politics into the cinema without so much as a mention of The Female Eunuch. Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis are so smart, sexy and independent – and most of all, flawed – that they are impossible to dislike. The film is a great example of girls doing something that you might not agree with, but you can respect is right for them. Plus, there's a reason why people still talk about Brad Pitt in those jeans and that cowboy hat.
4 of 7I Feel Pretty
Is there no end to how much we love Amy Schumer? In I Feel Pretty, she takes on the Freaky-Friday genre but not like you've seen it before. When Renee falls off her bike in a spinning accident and hits her head (relatable) she 'wakes up' believing she's a completely different person . Armed with confidence now that she believes she's 'beautiful' she takes on the world - it's only the people around her that can see her transformation is internal and nothing to do with the way that she looks. Cue an amazing cameo from Emily Ratajowski and a male lead who confirms you don't need to have a six pack and drink whiskey to be a killer love interest (we're really into it).
5 of 7Isn't It Romantic
When Natalie (Rebel Wilson) suffers a head injury she wakes up into her worst nightmare - is it a horror film? Is it a period drama? No, it's a RomCom. From being 'adorably klutzy' to finding all her non-PG scenes (read: sex) suddenly cut, Isn't It Romantic pulls apart tired tropes of the romcom genre to hilarious effect. It helps of course that we're in love with Rebel's leading lady.
6 of 7The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Society
Set in 1946 writer Juliet (Lily James) becomes fascinated by the 'Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society' - a group hastily named during the Nazi occupation of Guernsey. Although she's engaged, as she's writing about the German occupation of Guernsey Juliet is invited to visit the group, where she gradually develops a close relationship with one of it's members, Dawsey. Yes - it sounds a little schmulzy, but if you're looking for a film counterpointed with a gripping tale and beautiful photography, this is the one for you.
7 of 7Carol
Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett give stunning performances as Therese and Carol, a young photographer and a woman in the midst of a divorce whose close friendship develops into love. The film is based on a 1952 novel by Patricia Highsmith, The Prince of Salt which was unconventional for it's happy ending that typically wasn't represented in literature about same-sex relationships. Highsmith herself wrote the novel (re-named 'Carol' in 1990) under a Pseudonym because of the references it made to her own romantic relationships with women. After it's publication, she received numerous letters from lesbian women thanking her for writing a story that they could identify with.
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.