11 Female-Centric Flicks You Need To Stream During Women’s History Month
You’ve been here before. It’s time for a quiet night in with a cozy cup of tea, your comfiest pajamas, and – fingers crossed – something worthwhile to watch. But, as you scroll, scroll, scroll through the algorithmically-generated Rolodex of movies on Netflix, Prime Video, MAX, or Hulu, you find your eyes glazing over.
Everything they’ve got to offer you feels like a bad time. Every female-coded flick feels like it’s all just borderline (or outright) feminist propaganda, but what you’re craving is a movie much like a warm hug or a well-deserved nightcap.
In honor of Women’s History Month, I asked my colleagues over at Independent Women’s Forum – who are genuinely the most intelligent women I know who prove you can have the baby and the bag – to share with me some of their favorite female-centric films. In no particular order, here are 11 excellent options for your next movie night.
1. Steel Magnolias (1989)
Set in Louisiana during the 1980s, Steel Magnolias follows the stories of six women supporting each other through the tragedies of their lives. Sometimes written off as a “chick flick,” this film is actually quite raw (autobiographical in its origins) and full of depth despite snappy, humorous dialogue.
Starring an ensemble cast of Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis, and Julia Roberts, Steel Magnolias is a tear-jerking comedy made memorable through its unmistakable Southern charm that perfectly illustrates the deep-rooted value of companionship among women.
2. The Iron Lady (2011)
Meryl Streep gave an Oscar-winning performance as Margaret Thatcher in the 2011 film The Iron Lady, looking back at the life of Britain’s first woman prime minister. Taglined “Never Compromise,” this film documents Thatcher’s uniquely inspirational yet unmistakably anti-feminist take on global female leadership.
From her anti-authoritarian principles to her bootstraps upbringing to her rejection of using sex as a political talking point, women everywhere can look up to ladies like Thatcher – and Streep’s interpretation is a great way to get introduced to her legacy.
3. The Joy Luck Club (1993)
Based on the best-selling book by Amy Tan, 1993’s The Joy Luck Club is a reflection on four East Asian women’s lives and their friendships. A heartwarming love letter to the plights of first-generation Chinese Americans and the mother-daughter relationships unique to their upbringing, this film takes you through complicated intercultural and intergenerational conflicts in a string of complementary vignettes.
This movie is so much more than a “chick flick,” it’s a moving piece of history told through fiction that women – no matter their cultural heritage – can relate to as they reflect on the impact that their own mother had on their lives.
4. Gorillas in the Mist (1988)
Wildlife expert and primatologit Dian Fossey went to Africa to study gorillas and found herself developing a deep bond with these distant relatives to us Homo sapiens. Gorillas in the Mist is based on the autobiography of Fossey’s fight to save African mountain gorillas from poachers hunting them to extinction and stars Sigourney Weaver.
Rightly nominated for several Academy Awards, Fossey’s story is often compared to Jane Goodall’s work with chimpanzees, but it truly stands on its own two feet and serves as an awesome, uplifting film for true female empowerment.
5. Erin Brockovich (2000)
In this dramatization of a true story, Julia Roberts plays the titular character Erin Brockovich, who brings “a small town to its feet and a huge corporation to its knees.”
A hardworking divorcée with several small children, Brockovich initiates a legal case against a local utility company after investigating health concerns following groundwater contamination. It’s dramatic, it’s gripping, and it’s also notably packed with amazing wardrobe choices for Roberts as she plays this undeniably smart, successful woman.
6. Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)
After watching this film in theaters, I gushed in my own review over how beautifully Everything Everywhere All At Once proved the power of the mother. The Oscar award-winning film follows Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh) who gr
