Ahh..chick flick, one of the many categories we invented so we don't have to be ashamed for loving crappy art, like "stupid but funny", "dumb action", and "frank getty." I don't like pushing all romantic movies into the category "chick flick," I think there's two categories, romantic comedies/dramas (of which there are far too few these days), and chick-splotation (of which most are called chick flicks). The chick-splotation has the basic components: a train-wreck of a woman with no discernable traits (see julia roberts) or sometimes overly dripping with cutesy-ness (meg ryan), and a charming and thoughtful (but dumb) himbo (see dopey brown haired white guy from any movie) with some kind of cutesy job (nursery school teacher, furniture builder, poet, anything helpful in building a house), they have some meeting of cutesy dialouge, fall in love, some contrived problem comes along, and the guy does some dramatic guesture to win her back. These aren't romantic comedies, these aren't two members of the opposite sex having a battle of wits and calling it a draw in the end, they are made exclusively for women, playing up their self-doubts and fears, reassuring them that love will find them, someday, in a sweeping gesture. And they're as creative and good as say, Doom, or Cinderella II: No, you're not stupid for marrying him Cinderella, you're just a big romantic and sometimes you let the romantic impulses get the better of your judgement.

Well, I guess under those definitions, only the Joe Versus the Volcano is really a "ckick flick", and hey, I first saw that one when I was like 12 on HBO. It just sort of stuck.

As far as romantic dramas go, I really do think Pride and Prejudice (both of them) and Anne of Green Gables are excellent films. Anne's character has such depth, but of course a good deal of that's probably due to there being 8 hours of film.

Dude, we just need to write a real romantic comedy. Somehow riduculing people who go with their romantic impulses that contradict their better judgement. People like me.

How can you talk about bad movies in good theater atmospheres w/o claiming fame for your "The Mummy" outing?

I dunno dave, love isn't supposed to make sense, you're supposed to feeeeel it. Sometimes you'll like someone for no good reason, you just do. If there is no logical reason for love, then it must be right. Save the self-justification for later "they just don't know what he/she's really like, and he/she can change over time, right?"

But yes, I'd love to have some kind of Machiavellian opus: he's friends with her so that she befrinds this guy so she wants to date him, so that the other girl will want to date him. Oh yes, we don't mature out of our middle school selfs, we just find better vocabulary and philosophy to justify it.

Much ado about nothing is really good, too.

Tandy:
Ahh, yes. We've mentioned two great movies where the lead female character is very witty - Pride and Prejudice and Much Ado about Nothing.

As of late, I've been lamenting to anyone who'll listen about the lack of witty lead female characters in movies as of late. Except, perhaps, those movies based on older works. Such as the two mentioned above.

Ryan:
I really don't remember The Mummy story you're speaking of. I do however, remember disliking The Mummy the first time I saw it. Much like your Mummy.