A Non Traditional Chick Flick

Wendy and Lucy is not the type of movie you think of right away when talking about chick flicks. It is a movie with serious political undertones about a woman, who is essentially homeless, travelling to Alaska on her own. When I think of a chick flick I usually think of a storyline that involves the main character (who is a female) trying to win over some guy, talking to her friends about said guy, crying over the guy, and finally earning the love of this oh so special man. The genre tends to be a little on the shallow end and the plots are largely driven by obtaining love. However movies of the chick flick genre also have a focus on friendship and are usually highly emotional.

In Wendy and Lucy, Wendy has no gal pals to gab with and she definitely has no love interest, instead she has a dog. I think that Wendy and Lucy fits the chick flick genre because the main character is a woman and the movie focuses on her friendship with her dog. Although the characters themselves don’t get overemotional the movie does cover topics that pull at the heartstrings such as homelessness, loosing a friend, being on one’s own, and chasing goals. Where Wendy and Lucy strays from the traditional chick flick is in its lack of a romantic storyline. This is very refreshing, because it shows a more realistic portrayal of a woman. According to most chick flicks women make all their decisions based on men, 80% of their conversations are about men, and the majority of their emotions are caused by men. This is simply not true. That is why it is great to see a movie that focuses on a woman’s trials, goals, friendships, and independence as separate entities unattached to her love life.