Girl Power Movies
by fiddlisa | created - 08 Aug 2014 | updated - 3 days ago | PublicInspiring films I love about women rising above, learning, empowering, finding their inner strength, and usually changing their lives and the lives of those around them for the better.
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1. Shirley Valentine (1989)
R | 108 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Shirley is a 42-year-old bored Liverpudlian housewife who takes a holiday trip to Greece and meets a local man who bolsters her self-confidence. She evolves and transforms to the point that her husband doesn't even recognize her.
Director: Lewis Gilbert | Stars: Pauline Collins, Tom Conti, Julia McKenzie, Alison Steadman
Votes: 8,883 | Gross: $6.35M
2. Cloudburst (2011)
Unrated | 93 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A lesbian couple escape from their nursing home and head up to Canada to get married. Along the way, they pick up a young, male hitchhiker.
Director: Thom Fitzgerald | Stars: Olympia Dukakis, Brenda Fricker, Kristin Booth, Michael McPhee
Votes: 2,476
3. Songcatcher (2000)
PG-13 | 109 min | Drama, Music
After being denied a promotion at the university where she teaches, Doctor Lily Penleric, a brilliant musicologist, impulsively visits her sister, who runs a struggling rural school in ... See full summary »
Director: Maggie Greenwald | Stars: Janet McTeer, Michael Harding, Michael Davis, Michael Goodwin
Votes: 3,683 | Gross: $3.05M
4. The Secret Garden (1993)
G | 101 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
A young, recently-orphaned girl is sent to England after living in India all of her life. Once there, she begins to explore her new, seemingly-isolated surroundings, and its secrets.
Director: Agnieszka Holland | Stars: Kate Maberly, Maggie Smith, Heydon Prowse, Andrew Knott
Votes: 44,408 | Gross: $31.18M
5. A Little Princess (1995)
G | 97 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
Sara is sent to a strict boarding school after her father enlists in WWI. When he is presumed dead, the headmistress, knowing she will not receive any more money, forces the girl to become a servant.
Director: Alfonso Cuarón | Stars: Liesel Matthews, Eleanor Bron, Liam Cunningham, Rusty Schwimmer
Votes: 36,650 | Gross: $10.02M
6. Moonstruck (1987)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Loretta Castorini, a bookkeeper from Brooklyn, New York, finds herself in a difficult situation when she falls for the brother of the man she has agreed to marry.
Director: Norman Jewison | Stars: Cher, Nicolas Cage, Olympia Dukakis, Danny Aiello
Votes: 68,252 | Gross: $80.64M
7. Arranged (2007)
Not Rated | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
ARRANGED centers on the friendship between an Orthodox Jewish woman and a Muslim woman who meet as first-year teachers at a public school in Brooklyn. Over the course of the year they learn... See full summary »
Directors: Diane Crespo, Stefan C. Schaefer | Stars: Zoe Lister-Jones, Francis Benhamou, Mimi Lieber, John Rothman
Votes: 3,101 | Gross: $0.02M
8. Searching for Debra Winger (2002)
R | 99 min | Documentary
Rosanna Arquette talks to various actresses about the pressures they face as women working in the entertainment industry.
Director: Rosanna Arquette | Stars: Patricia Arquette, Rosanna Arquette, Emmanuelle Béart, Katrin Cartlidge
Votes: 1,237
9. Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
PG-13 | 112 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Two ambitious girls, despite their parents' wishes, have their hearts set on careers in professional football.
Director: Gurinder Chadha | Stars: Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anupam Kher
Votes: 116,374 | Gross: $32.54M
10. The Color Purple (1985)
PG-13 | 154 min | Drama
A tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, Margaret Avery
Votes: 97,148 | Gross: $98.47M
11. Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)
PG-13 | 130 min | Drama
Evelyn, an ordinary housewife, visits a nursing home and befriends the old lady Ninny. Together, they bond over stories from the past about two intrepid women of Whistle Stop Cafe.
Director: Jon Avnet | Stars: Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Mary Stuart Masterson, Mary-Louise Parker
Votes: 83,331 | Gross: $82.42M
12. Over the Hill (1992)
PG | 99 min | Drama, Romance
An American woman on vacation in Sydney buys a car and travels across Australia on a voyage of self-discovery.
Director: George Miller | Stars: Olympia Dukakis, Sigrid Thornton, Derek Fowlds, Bill Kerr
Votes: 221
13. Casa de los babys (2003)
R | 95 min | Drama
A brief look into South American family life while showing the hardships surrounding adoption in South America as six woman are forced to stay in the country while awaiting approval of adopting a baby.
Director: John Sayles | Stars: Daryl Hannah, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mary Steenburgen, Lili Taylor
Votes: 2,215 | Gross: $0.48M
14. Georgia (1995)
R | 115 min | Drama, Music
Sadie is desperately looking up to her older sister Georgia who is a famous C&W artist. Her desperate need to be accepted by her sister is constantly complicated by her drug and alcohol problems.
Director: Ulu Grosbard | Stars: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mare Winningham, Ted Levine, Max Perlich
Votes: 3,333 | Gross: $1.11M
15. Passion Fish (1992)
R | 135 min | Drama
After an accident leaves her a paraplegic, a former soap opera star struggles to recover both emotionally and mentally, until she meets her newest nurse, who has struggles of her own.
Director: John Sayles | Stars: Mary McDonnell, Alfre Woodard, Angela Bassett, Lenore Banks
Votes: 6,077 | Gross: $5.41M
16. Ruby in Paradise (1993)
R | 114 min | Drama, Romance
A young woman struggles for independence and identity in a small Florida tourist town.
Director: Victor Nunez | Stars: Ashley Judd, Todd Field, Bentley Mitchum, Allison Dean
Votes: 3,262 | Gross: $1.00M
17. Educating Rita (1983)
PG | 110 min | Comedy, Drama
An alcoholic professor has been hired by a working-class girl for higher education.
Director: Lewis Gilbert | Stars: Michael Caine, Julie Walters, Michael Williams, Maureen Lipman
Votes: 14,901 | Gross: $14.65M
18. The Trip to Bountiful (1985)
PG | 108 min | Drama
In 1940s Texas, an elderly woman is determined to visit her childhood home one last time.
Director: Peter Masterson | Stars: Geraldine Page, John Heard, Carlin Glynn, Richard Bradford
Votes: 5,287 | Gross: $7.47M
19. The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996)
PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy, Romance
A successful veternarian & radio show host with low self-esteem asks her model friend to impersonate her when a handsome man wants to see her.
Director: Michael Lehmann | Stars: Uma Thurman, Janeane Garofalo, Ben Chaplin, Jamie Foxx
Votes: 29,067 | Gross: $34.07M
20. Anywhere But Here (1999)
PG-13 | 114 min | Comedy, Drama
A mother and daughter search for success in Beverly Hills.
Director: Wayne Wang | Stars: Susan Sarandon, Natalie Portman, Hart Bochner, Eileen Ryan
Votes: 18,659 | Gross: $18.65M
21. Places in the Heart (1984)
PG | 111 min | Drama
In central Texas in the 1930s, a widow with two small children tries to save her small 40-acre farm with the help of a blind boarder and an itinerant black handyman.
Director: Robert Benton | Stars: Sally Field, Lindsay Crouse, Ed Harris, Amy Madigan
Votes: 13,412 | Gross: $34.90M
22. A Room with a View (1985)
Not Rated | 117 min | Drama, Romance
Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter) shares a brief romance with George Emerson in Florence. Yet as she tries to move on with her life and look for marriage elsewhere, can she truly forget the events of that summer?
Director: James Ivory | Stars: Maggie Smith, Helena Bonham Carter, Denholm Elliott, Julian Sands
Votes: 47,771 | Gross: $20.97M
23. Pitch Perfect (2012)
PG-13 | 112 min | Comedy, Music, Romance
Beca, a freshman at Barden University, is cajoled into joining The Bellas, her school's all-girls singing group. Injecting some much needed energy into their repertoire, The Bellas take on their male rivals in a campus competition.
Director: Jason Moore | Stars: Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp
Votes: 330,316 | Gross: $65.00M
24. The Sapphires (2012)
PG-13 | 103 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
In 1968, four talented young Australian Aboriginal girls learn about love, friendship, and war when their all-girl group The Sapphires entertains the US troops in Vietnam.
Director: Wayne Blair | Stars: Chris O'Dowd, Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbens
Votes: 15,159 | Gross: $2.45M
25. Whale Rider (2002)
PG-13 | 101 min | Drama, Family
A contemporary story of love, rejection and triumph as a young Maori girl fights to fulfill a destiny her grandfather refuses to recognize.
Director: Niki Caro | Stars: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene, Vicky Haughton, Cliff Curtis
Votes: 44,021 | Gross: $20.78M
26. Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
PG | 94 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
In 1931, three half-white, half-Aboriginal girls escape after being plucked from their houses to be trained as domestic staff, and set off on a journey across the Outback.
Director: Phillip Noyce | Stars: Everlyn Sampi, Tianna Sansbury, Kenneth Branagh, Laura Monaghan
Votes: 30,237 | Gross: $6.17M
27. Transamerica (2005)
R | 103 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A transgender woman takes an unexpected journey when she learns that she had a son, now a teenage runaway hustling on the streets of New York.
Director: Duncan Tucker | Stars: Felicity Huffman, Kevin Zegers, Fionnula Flanagan, Andrea James
Votes: 42,326 | Gross: $9.02M
28. Leaving Normal (1992)
R | 110 min | Comedy, Drama
Two contrasting women, one optimistic and the other cynical, embark on a life-changing road trip to Alaska, where an unexpected inheritance awaits one of them, leading to a series of adventures that challenge their perspectives.
Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Christine Lahti, Meg Tilly, Patrika Darbo, Lenny von Dohlen
Votes: 1,601 | Gross: $1.51M
29. Made in Dagenham (2010)
R | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, History
A dramatization of the 1968 strike at the Ford Dagenham car plant, where female workers walked out in protest against sexual discrimination.
Director: Nigel Cole | Stars: Sally Hawkins, Bob Hoskins, Andrea Riseborough, Jaime Winstone
Votes: 16,057 | Gross: $1.09M
30. Akeelah and the Bee (2006)
PG | 112 min | Drama, Family
Akeelah, a young gifted girl, comes from a dysfunctional family and is on the verge of quitting school. She discovers that she has a high aptitude for spellings and enters a spelling bee contest.
Director: Doug Atchison | Stars: Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, Keke Palmer, Curtis Armstrong
Votes: 21,602 | Gross: $18.81M
31. Circle of Friends (1995)
PG-13 | 103 min | Drama, Romance
Three women, who've been friends since childhood, meet at university in Dublin in 1957. Student and boyfriend life begins.
Director: Pat O'Connor | Stars: Chris O'Donnell, Minnie Driver, Geraldine O'Rawe, Saffron Burrows
Votes: 9,231 | Gross: $23.40M
32. Dirty Dancing (I) (1987)
PG-13 | 100 min | Drama, Music, Romance
Spending the summer at a Catskills resort with her family, Frances "Baby" Houseman falls in love with the camp's dance instructor, Johnny Castle.
Director: Emile Ardolino | Stars: Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Jerry Orbach, Cynthia Rhodes
Votes: 255,915 | Gross: $0.62M
33. Juno (2007)
PG-13 | 96 min | Comedy, Drama
Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes a selfless decision regarding the unborn child.
Director: Jason Reitman | Stars: Elliot Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman
Votes: 548,596 | Gross: $143.50M
34. Eat Pray Love (2010)
PG-13 | 133 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
A married woman realizes how unhappy her marriage really is, and that her life needs to go in a different direction. After a painful divorce, she takes off on a round-the-world journey to "find herself".
Director: Ryan Murphy | Stars: Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem, Richard Jenkins, Viola Davis
Votes: 105,717 | Gross: $80.57M
35. Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)
PG-13 | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Frances Mayes, a 35-year-old San Francisco writer, gets a divorce that leaves her with terminal writer's block and depression. Later, she decides to buy a house in Tuscany in order to change her life.
Director: Audrey Wells | Stars: Diane Lane, Raoul Bova, Sandra Oh, Lindsay Duncan
Votes: 59,381 | Gross: $43.61M
36. Frida (2002)
R | 123 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
A biography of artist Frida Kahlo, who channeled the pain of a crippling injury and her tempestuous marriage into her work.
Director: Julie Taymor | Stars: Salma Hayek, Alfred Molina, Geoffrey Rush, MÃa Maestro
Votes: 95,211 | Gross: $25.89M
37. Mansfield Park (1999)
PG-13 | 112 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Fanny, born into a poor family, is sent away to live with wealthy uncle Sir Thomas, his wife and their four children, where she'll be brought up for a proper introduction to society.
Director: Patricia Rozema | Stars: Frances O'Connor, Jonny Lee Miller, Alessandro Nivola, Hannah Taylor Gordon
Votes: 25,805 | Gross: $4.76M
38. Cape of Good Hope (2004)
PG-13 | 107 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A Drama revolving around 3 women's lives and how they are intertwined.
Director: Mark Bamford | Stars: Debbie Brown, Farouk Valley-Omar, Parinita Jeaven, David Isaacs
Votes: 291
39. The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom (2011)
TV-G | 95 min | Comedy, Drama
Elizabeth Alison Gray is just your average suburban 11-year-old waiting for adolescence to arrive when she finds out that her whole life has been a lie. With only her imagination to guide her, she runs away to find the truth.
Director: Tara Johns | Stars: Julia Sarah Stone, Rebecca Windheim, Rebecca Croll, Macha Grenon
Votes: 641
40. Norma Rae (1979)
PG | 114 min | Drama
A young single mother and textile worker agrees to help unionize her mill despite the problems and dangers involved.
Director: Martin Ritt | Stars: Sally Field, Beau Bridges, Ron Leibman, Pat Hingle
Votes: 12,804 | Gross: $22.23M
41. The Long Walk Home (1990)
PG | 97 min | Drama, History
Two women, black and white, in 1955 Montgomery Alabama, must decide what they are going to do in response to the famous bus boycott led by Martin Luther King.
Director: Richard Pearce | Stars: Sissy Spacek, Whoopi Goldberg, Dwight Schultz, Ving Rhames
Votes: 4,836 | Gross: $4.80M
42. Calendar Girls (2003)
PG-13 | 108 min | Comedy, Drama
A Women's Institute chapter's fundraising effort for a local hospital by posing nude for a calendar becomes a media sensation.
Director: Nigel Cole | Stars: Helen Mirren, Julie Walters, Penelope Wilton, John Alderton
Votes: 28,017 | Gross: $31.04M
43. The Contender (2000)
R | 126 min | Drama, Thriller