BuzzSugar

13 Memorable BFF Movies

BuzzSugar — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 06:30:58 PDT

The female friendship movie is a totally different animal than the romantic comedy, and yet they often get lumped together under one big "chick flick" banner. Recent Summers have been heavy on the bromances (see Superbad, Knocked Up, Step Brothers, Pineapple Express, etc.) so I thought it would be fun to take a moment to remember some of the best (girl-mances? lady-mances?) girlfriend movies in honor of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 opening this week. To see my selections hit "Start".

The Best TV Friendships From the '90s

Laura Marie Given — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 04:00:21 PST

When we look back on our favorite TV shows from the '90s, it's the romances that stick out, like Zack and Kelly or Rachel and Ross - but what about the female friendships? Unlike in movies, TV friendships play out across several years, so we're able to watch as the relationship grows and evolves. From the ladies of Sex and the City to the Beverly Hills 90210 frenemies, here are 10 of our favorite TV friendships from the '90s.

The Help Cast Celebrates Their Critical Success and Talks Late Nights Bonding Over Moonshine

Lindsay Miller — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:38:18 PST

The cast of The Help earned the best ensemble cast win tonight at the Critics' Choice Awards, and the ladies from the film were in a reflective mood as they talked about taking on the sometimes-painful movie, as well as bonding off the set over moonshine and fried butter. Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Allison Janney, and Ahna O'Reilly were among the actresses who stopped to talk with reporters about the latest honor for the film, which has already scored several awards and nominations.

Octavia on how much prejudice still exists today: "We've made progress, but there is still progress that has yet to be made, and thank god for a film like The Help that is making us talk about it."

Viola on the debate the movie sparked: "I agree with Octavia . . . I felt it absolutely once the film came out, that people were outraged that these types of films are still being made, and the wonderful thing that came out of that was just great discourse. I hope that this kind of encourages to keep making films with a cast that looks like this: a racially diverse cast, a female cast, because I think that would be the biggest statement of progress in and of itself."

Allison on getting into character:"I would say that Tate [the director] was wonderful in getting us all down there early before we shot and making us watch this wonderful documentary called Eyes on the Prize that really opened our eyes to remind us of what a terrible time that was in our history in America . . . I'll never forget it. It was truly inspiring . . . and just the heat down there, that played a huge part in just making us feel very much a part of the South. That's a whole character itself, 113 degree weather . . . There was so much that we went through to try and re-create that time in history . . . it made for a really delicious Summer of just love, and pain, and everything that it should be."

Ahna O'Reilly on taking characters from a beloved book: "I think we all were so excited about the book and loved it, but definitely there was an enormous amount of pressure. You know, so many people had read the book and were attached to their ideas of these characters, but you know, it's such a wonderful team of women and there was so much chemistry that we didn't have to create. I think, probably, from the get-go everyone would agree that we knew it was something special whether a lot of people saw it or not. And thankfully, they did."

Viola on the friendships they formed off set: "Thank god for moonshine, lemon pie, fried butter on fried bread . . . I think we needed to cut loose on this one. I mean, we needed to escape from this time period to remind us that we weren't really in this time period. And, really, being in Greenwood, MS, instead of on a sound stage in Los Angeles, we were kind of forced - happily forced - to be with each other and have a lot of laughs with apple-pie moonshine at night. And I think that's what you see. That love, that bonding that happened during those fabulous times. That's when we really built an ensemble."

10 Women-Only Comedy Moments in Bridesmaids

Tara Block — Fri, 13 May 2011 04:00:00 PDT

We saw Bridesmaids this week, and we laughed at the raunchy jokes, teared up at the tender friendship moments, and aww-ed at the too-cute love interest enough to give this flick two thumbs up. Cowritten and starring one of our favorite SNL funny ladies Kristen Wiig, the comedy centers around Kristen's downtrodden character, Annie, and the upcoming nuptials of her best friend, Lillian (played by SNL alum Maya Rudolph). As a lone female-driven comedy in a sea of male-dominated flicks, Bridesmaids has a lot riding on its shoulders as the movie to pave the way for funny films about women for women. So we were curious, what jokes and situations would we see in a comedy with a female cast that would never fly in a boys-only comedy? Here are 10 moments from the movie you won't see in The Hangover II. Semispoilers ahead!

Bridesmaids: Laugh Now or Forever Hold Your Peace

Shannon Vestal — Fri, 13 May 2011 05:30:00 PDT

Comedies of the past few years have been heavy on boys being boys, but Bridesmaids gives the girls a turn to show off their comedic chops - and they're overachieving here. Though the title screams "wedding movie," it's more about female friendships and the strain that wedding planning can put on them.

Kristen Wiig plays Annie, a 30-something struggling with her career after losing her business and sleeping with a man who won't date her (Jon Hamm). Needless to say, Annie isn't exactly living the dream when her best friend Lil shows up with a ring on her finger, but she's truly happy for her friend. However, she realizes how much work being the maid of honor is going to be when she's pulled out of her element by the wide variety of women joining her in the wedding party: Rita (Wendi McLendon-Covey), Becca (Ellie Kemper), Megan (Melissa McCarthy), and Helen (Rose Byrne). Once the group is assembled, the ladies embark on a series of rather unladylike adventures that make up two hours of nonstop laughs.

To find out why Bridesmaids is one of the funniest movies of the year, just

There's a lot riding on Wiig, who's tackling her first leading role in a feature film. It's a bet that pays off: Wiig is mind-blowingly funny when Annie is at her most outrageous, and even when she's more subdued, her perfect delivery puts you in stitches. She's completely relatable as an everygirl who's just going through a rough patch.

Though Annie is at the epicenter, this is still an ensemble that generously lets each of its personalities shine. McLendon-Covey's one-liners are raunchy and succinct, McCarthy is confidently over-the-top and Kemper is awkwardly cute. Byrne plays into another kind of comedy, where an actor hits a character type that's so familiar it's scary. Her Helen is a stuck-up snob who looks down her nose at you while delivering backhanded compliments. It's a dead-on portrayal that proves her versatility for comedy (it's a far cry from her perfectly oversexed performance in Get Him to the Greek, but just as skillful). Her sparring with Annie makes for some cringe-inducing but funny scenes.

While the women are all the comedy the movie needs, the brief appearance by Hamm is genius. Most of his lines are pretty reprehensible, but he can make even the ickiest lines flat-out funny. The movie itself pulls off a similar feat; Bridesmaids straddles a line of raunchiness that it's guilty of going over a couple times, but you can't help laughing at even the most over-the-top scenes. To have all these women carrying a comedy is impressive enough, but sexual politics aside, the success rests on something more simple: the movie is hilarious from beginning to end.

Girlfriend Moments at the Emmys Afterparties

Annie Scudder — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 13:39:13 PDT

Girls just wanted to have fun last night at the Emmys afterparties. Champagne flowed and cameras flashed at the Governor's Ball and network bashes hosted by HBO, AMC, and Fox. Nominated pals Tina Fey and Amy Poehler kept close, Rashida Jones and Kristen Wiig smiled for the cameras, and costars Christina Hendricks and Randee Heller, who played the hilariously inept secretary Mrs. Blakenship on Mad Men, caught up. Meanwhile movie star Emily Blunt and TV-vet Megan Mullally shared a laugh. Toast to female friendship now by checking out the best girlfriend shots from last night's festivities.

What to Rent: New DVDs This Week

BuzzSugar — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 03:05:00 PDT

Thor

Hot-headed Thor (Chris Hemsworth), warrior and God of Thunder, is banned from the mythical world of Asgard by his father (Anthony Hopkins) and forced to live among humans on Earth. There, he falls for scientist Jane (Natalie Portman) and rallies around the humans to protect them against foes from his former world. The slick film provides quick-paced action scenes, as well as a fair share of laughs. DVD extras include cast commentary and a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the movie.

77%

Hesher

Following his mother's death, 13-year-old TJ (Devin Brochu) develops an odd friendship with Hesher (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a foul-mouthed loner who is squatting in his family's home. In spite of his crass ways and bizarre hobbies, Hesher helps TJ and his family move past their grief. Hesher offers a crude and dark sense of humor that can be unnerving at times, but it's worth it to see Gordon-Levitt playing against type. The DVD features deleted scenes, outtakes, and a gallery of drawings that appear in the film.

54%

One more DVD when you

The Tempest

In this adaptation of a Shakespearean classic, Prospero's character becomes the female Prospera (Helen Mirren), a duke's wife, who is banished to a magical island by her brother-in-law, Antonio (Chris Cooper). Set on enacting vengeance, Prospera sends a storm to that shipwrecks Antonio on the island she has been forced to live on. The film offers lots of special effects, and laughs from Russell Brand who plays a jester, but ultimately feels stale as a re-imagining of the original play. DVD extras include a music video and rehearsal scenes with Brand.

28%

What to Rent: New DVDs This Week

BuzzSugar — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 04:30:00 PDT

X-Men: First Class

James McAvoy stars as a young Charles Xavier, along with Michael Fassbender as Magneto in this prequel to the X-Men films, which follows the mutants as they come together for the first time in an effort to thwart a villain on the verge of causing a nuclear war. The origins behind the mutants' powers are revealed throughout the course of the movie, as are the beginnings of the relationships that shape the alliances in the subsequent films. The action scenes are balanced well with an interesting story that breathes new life into the franchise. DVD extras include deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes footage.

82%

Hanna

Saoirse Ronan plays the title character in this revenge thriller about a 16-year-old girl who has grown up in hiding and groomed to become an expert assassin by her ex-CIA father (Eric Bana). When an intelligence agent (Cate Blanchett) and former foe of Hanna's father discovers the family's location, she launches a full-scale manhunt against the teenage girl. Hanna's lack of emotion makes it a bit hard to connect with her, but it's refreshing to see a tough female character that steers clear of stereotypes. DVD extras feature an alternate ending and director commentary.

71%

One more DVD when you

Everything Must Go

When recovering alcoholic Nick Halsey (Will Ferrell) falls off the wagon, he loses his job as a salesman and comes home to discover his wife has left him on the same day. In an effort to put his life back together, he holds a yard sale and begins forming new friendships, including one with a neighborhood kid (Christopher Jordan Wallace). Though the premise isn't exactly uplifting, the film still provides laughs. DVD extras include audio commentary and deleted scenes.

76%

Pixar Announces New Dinosaur and Inside-the-Human-Mind Movies at D23

Lindsay Miller — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 11:52:01 PDT

At yesterday's Disney expo D23, Pixar fed the fandemonium by announcing two all-new movies now in production. This year marks the animation studio's 25th anniversary, and judging by yesterday's offerings, their innovative spirit shows no signs of fading. The first film they unveiled explores what the world might have been like if dinosaurs were never wiped out by a giant asteroid, but continued to exist on Earth. Director Bob Peterson, a longtime Pixar story artist and the voice of characters like Doug from Up, is helming the movie. He said Walt Disney's animatronic dinosaurs, which he first saw at the New York World's Fair as a child, inspired the idea. Bob shared one still with the audience, but the finished product won't arrive in theaters until Holiday 2013.

The second movie will take a look inside the human mind and explore the reasons why we get songs stuck in our head, why we dream, and even why we remember. Not many details were revealed about how scientific, or fantastic, Pixar's approach to the subject matter may be, and the effort is clearly in the early stages - the movie won't be released until Spring 2014. For more details on the rest of the 2012-2014 animated Disney films previewed yesterday, just

Brave: Pixar's first female-driven film stars Boardwalk Empire's Kelly MacDonald as Merida, a princess set on escaping her fate of an arranged marriage to one of three idiot clan leaders. A group of mostly Scottish actors, including Kevin McKidd, Billy Connolly, and Craig Ferguson, rounds out the cast. Two short clips previewed for the audience showed that the studio's dedication to authenticity, including several research trips to Scotland, paid off. The scenery and attention to detail were breathtaking, and it's refreshing to see a smart, gutsy heroine finally take the lead in a Pixar project. Brave is out on June 22, 2012.
DisneyToon Studios’ Planes: Following the success of Cars, Walt Disney Animation Studios head honcho John Lasseter told the crowd, he was inspired to find a way to continue to explore the idea. The only non-Pixar animated project debuted at D23, Planes stars John Cryer as Dusty, a cropduster who decides to take off an adventure around the globe. The actor was on hand to talk about the movie, telling fans he's thrilled to be starring as Dusty: "I'm so geeked out!" Planes is due out in Spring 2013.
Wreck-It Ralph: This innovative film goes inside the world of retro, 8-bit video games to follow Wreck-It Ralph, an arcade villain who's looking for a way to prove he's not all bad. Voiced by John C. Reilly, Ralph promises to be one of Pixar's most endearing and unique characters yet, and a supporting cast including Sarah Silverman and 30 Rock's Jack McBrayer are also on board to bring the laughs. The short look at the movie that Pixar shared stayed true to the look of classic video games and had a decidedly grown-up appeal. Look for it in theaters in 2012.
Monsters University: Pixar is in the midst of creating a prequel to Monsters Incorporated that will take us back in time to show how Mike and Sully became buddies. Like many a great friendship, Pixar decided, theirs began at college. Billy Crystal made a surprise appearance to chat about the project. To make Billy and John Goodman's characters age in reverse, artists gave Mike a retainer and Sully a slimmed-down, fluffier profile. The filmmakers also shared a look at the campus, which is still being designed. The director, Dan Scanlon, joked that they toured schools from Harvard to Berkeley to find out what "real college" looks like, since most of the filmmakers went to art school.

New Charlie's Angels Is Like "If Jack Bauer and Carrie Bradshaw Had a Love Child"

Shannon Vestal — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 15:51:59 PDT

Charlie's Angels has seen a few incarnations through the original '70s series and the more recent films, and now it's coming back to TV this Fall with a new group of crime fighters. Annie Ilonzeh, Rachael Taylor, and Minka Kelly play the iconic angels, and they hit the TCA with their "fourth angel" Bosley (Ramon Rodriguez) and showrunners to talk about how they came to be cast, and how this reboot is different from its predecessors.

Creator and executive producer Al Gough said that the casting for the show took a long time, and Kelly's character wasn't really a part of the original cast of characters. When she came in, Kelly didn't quite fit into any of the angel roles. Gough recalled that producer Leonard Goldberg said of her, "That girl is an angel . . . unfortunately she's not one of the angels you've written," so they had to rewrite to create the character of Eve specially for Kelly. Of the tough character, Gough said she's "a badass but she's very warm," and that "it's a Minka Kelly you've never seen before."
Movie angel Drew Barrymore is producing the show, and Gough described her involvement as "the archangel of Charlie's Angels," saying that while she is busy, she and her company are very involved, doing things like reading scripts and sending notes on them. Gough says Drew sends emails of encouragement, and star Taylor also noted that she is "very involved" in the costumes.
The ladies were asked if they'd seen the TV show or movies, and Taylor admitted to never having seen the original series - on purpose. She said she's taking "the passing of the baton quite seriously . . . but as actors it's important to do something fresh." Ilonzeh has watched the show and the movies, and she said that their "commonality is that they have the camaraderie," with a big difference: this time around, Bosley is considered another angel.

View 5 Photos ›

To find out more about Charlie's Angels, just

So how is this new series different from its predecessors? It has the same "idealized female friendship" as the movies, according to Gough, but this version is "more grounded" and they're striving to make the women feel more real. This time around, they'll explore the mythology of Charlie more, and we'll see that each angel has a spotty background, and it'll be about Charlie giving them a second chance. "It's about redemption," Gough said. Perhaps the cheekiest description of the new show came via star Taylor, whom Gough credited with saying, "If Jack Bauer and Carrie Bradshaw had a love child, it would be Charlie's Angels."
Rodriguez said we'll find out a lot of Bosley's back story through Charlie. The character certainly sounds more interesting this time - the actor said he's "a safe house" with lots of secrets about everybody.
Robert Wagner was originally supposed to voice Charlie, but he had to drop out due to scheduling issues. He hasn't been replaced yet, so the role is still open.