I find that there’s nothing better than a good story to raise your spirits, make you laugh, or just motivate you in whatever endeavour you are trying to accomplish. Watching a romantic comedy helps me to feel good when things are tough and acts as a perfect device to wake up my creativity and inspire my writing.
This is a list of perfect chick flicks that I watch when I want to channel my inner chick lit story teller. In fact, some of them are indeed inspired by chick lit classics that you need to read and watch right now if you haven’t done so already. Just saying.

Bridesmaids paul feig

Is Kristen Wiig the funniest woman alive? She is, in my opinion. I’ve spent quite a few lazy, hungover Sundays binge-watching Kristen’s Saturday Night Live videos to cure me of my post-drinking melancholy. Bridesmaids is pure Kristen: quirky, funny, messy, and over the top. But the beauty of this movie is that it tells us that setbacks in life are not the end of the world and that it is possible to get back up if you fall down. The story in this film is so good that even the now-famous scatological scene didn’t prevent the screenplay from getting an Oscar nomination.

Sex and the City michael patrick king

This is the chick lit movie. I remember watching it in theatres with my best girlfriend who was also a hardcore SANTC fan and, when it ended, we looked at each other in awe with a “what the heck have we just watched” expression on our faces. It wasn’t the sizzling or funny story that we were expecting to see. Moreover, we weren’t too impressed by the story being a bit too heavy and focused on Carrie’s struggles with Mr Big (our girl spends half of the movie wearing mourning glasses). The movie definitely gets better when revisited due to its more mature approach to complex topics like loyalty, friendship, and self-love. We all become older and wiser, I guess. After years of not appreciating it for what it is, I now consider this movie the perfect sequel to my favourite TV show of all time. I have, however, erased from my mind the memory of its terrible companion, SATC2.

Trainwreck judd apatow

Is it bad that I identify more with Amy, the chaotic, drunk, rude protagonist of Trainwreck, than with the successful Carrie from SATC, above? Oh well. I feel no shame because I adore Amy Schumer; her central performance makes the main character’s story hilarious instead of tragic. You can’t help but root for Amy (both actress and character) as she goes through a journey of self-discovery which sees her life turned upside down before she finally realises what’s important in life. This is a perfect comfort movie for when you feel like your own life is becoming a ‘trainwreck’. Plus, its uplifting finale will show you that everything can indeed be better.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s blake edwards

Some movies or books change your life and the lessons they teach you inspire you to alter your habits forever. This happened to me the first time I watched Audrey Hepburn get the mean reds. But instead of visiting Tiffany’s, as Holly Golightly does in the film, I headed down to my favourite bookstore. The entire movie is an iconic, delicious, and perfect example of the chick lit genre; Audrey Hepburn makes her character the ultimate, glamourous, New York it girl.

Confessions of a Shopaholic pj hogan

As you probably already know, I adore Sophie Kinsella and Shopaholic is one of my favourite books of all times. Although the makers of the movie had a tough task, I have to say they did a pretty good job – thanks in no small part to the adorable Isla Fisher who is perfect as Rebecca Bloomwood, Kinsella’s most iconic heroin. The fact that the producers mixed the first and second books of the series into one film confused me at first, but I guess this was necessary to make the movie more “Hollywood”. Nevertheless, the film captures the essence of the original story well and is the perfect feel-good flick to cheer you up by watching other people’s bigger problems.

Miss Congeniality donald petrie

One of my guilty pleasures is watching beauty pageants, so it’s no wonder that I have included the super funny Miss Congeniality starring the very beautiful Sandra Bullock (another guilty-not so guilty pleasure of mine). Ms Bullock stars as police officer turned Miss New Jersey, Gracie Hart, as she goes under-cover at a beauty pageant to catch a team of crooks. It may not be the most original of films, and certainly contains every cliché in the Hollywood book of comedies, but it also has given us some great one-liners and the always-fantastic Michael Caine giving his wonderful “be the crown” speech. Also, who can forget Miss Connecticut’s wonderful April 25th answer when asked for her “perfect date”? A must watch.

A Simple Favor paul feig

My list comes full circle with another Paul Feig (Bridesmaids) directed film. This is a recent release but, in my book, an instant classic. It has it all; humour, mystery, cattiness, Anna Kendrick, and Blake Lively … Yeah, it really is as good as it sounds.