Thelma & Louise at number one.
Notting Hill tedious and overrated.
Must be the new Rough Guide to Chick Flicks.
The Rough Guide to Chick Flicks by Samantha Cook rates Thelma & Louise as the best chick
flick ever, slams Notting Hill as an overrated bore and celebrates the 1950s movie Pillow Talk as
the most underrated romantic comedy.
“Most of us recognise a chick flick when we see one. But they are generally regarded as more
of a guilty pleasure than an art form”, says Cook, who goes on to say “a chick flick is any film
that women adore, with at least one central female driving the action, from Scarlett O’Hara and
Holly Golightly to Erin Brockovich and Clarice Starling.”
The new Rough Guide celebrates favourites old and new from Camille and Casablanca through
to Pretty Woman and Dirty Dancing, and offers surprises in The Silence Of The Lambs and Ter-
minator 2.
“Mention chick flicks and people tend to come over all condescending” says Cook, “but the new
Rough Guide delights in all that is great about women’s films.” From femmes fatales and art-
house divas to working girls and silent icons - anything where women take centre stage and feel-
ings come to the fore. The new Rough Guide even includes a playlist that proves there is more
to chick flick singalongs than I Will Always Love You and Wind Beneath My Wings.
The Rough Guide is the first book to gather together costume dramas, feminism, ‘romcoms’,
sassy screwballs, flapper movies and new Iranian cinema into one volume, along with classics,
blockbusters and indies. “It’s a celebration of what’s great about chick flicks and why women
(and secretly men) love them” says Cook.
To listen to Samantha Cook talk about chick flicks you can
download her Rough Guide podcast FREE on iTunes
or from www.roughguides.com/podcasts
and visit her website at www.chickflickguide.com
Rough Guides Ltd • 80 Strand • London • WC2R ORL
Rough Guides Press 020 7010 3701 press@roughguides.com www.roughguides.com
The Top Ten
Placed at the top of the Rough Guide list is an ou