MovieChat Forums > Starter for 10 (2007) Discussion > Any films in which the 'girly' girl wins...

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

posted 16 years ago by new_akkount
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So we all know that in most Hollywood films, the "girly" or overtly feminine girl loses out to a more intelligent/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 (often blonde) as a vain, shallow girl who gets her comeuppance, while the supposedly "better" girl (the more "intellectual," less "obviously" beautiful plain girl -- often brunette) 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 in which someone like Alice triumphs over someone like Rebecca, and wins the guy in the end?

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] wecarealot 9 years ago

I know this is an old thread but given that the most recent comment is from this year, I figured I'd respond.

Are we really sure that the intelligent-brunette-winning-over-the-girly-blonde is common enough to be a cliche? If anything, it seems that feminine, girly blonde types are still cherished far more than any other type of woman--not just in movies but culturally. Feminine/girly blondes are often seen as more attractive, more interesting, more womanly and more worthwhile than other women by default. I don't think they're underdogs by any means.

I wish I could find a study I'm thinking of where women who dyed their hair blonde reported getting more attention at their jobs and on the street. And that was only with a change of hair color--no added weight loss, makeup, etc.

[–] Treuburg 9 years ago

Are we really sure that the intelligent-brunette-winning-over-the-girly-blonde is common enough to be a cliche?

Absolutely. It's almost universal in films, when two such characters are in contention, that the girly blonde loses to the intellectua/tomboy brunette. The relative scarcity of examples of the opposite (a victory by the feminine blonde over the intellectual/tomboy brunette) confirms the point.

If anything, it seems that feminine, girly blonde types are still cherished far more than any other type of woman--not just in movies but culturally. Feminine/girly blondes are often seen as more attractive, more interesting, more womanly and more worthwhile than other women by default. I don't think they're underdogs by any means.

The O.P. was specifically asking about movies, not culturally. In fact, my impression is that that was the whole point: that in films, a character who may be in the underdog position in real life (the intellectual/tomboy blonde) is so ubiquitously made to win over her rival (the girly blonde) that their roles are completely reversed, and the girly blonde is, in film and television, indisputably the underdog.