Chick Flick Cliches and Ideas for the Anti-Valentine's Day Party

Since we are on the cusp of February, which has perhaps one of the most reviled holidays ever (Valentine's Day), chick flicks are coming out in full force. Bridget Jones's Diary, While You Were Sleeping, and the like will take over networks and basic cable, and there will be no escaping from them.

Most of us are familiar with chick flicks and the cliches associated with them. However, just in case you aren't, here is a surprisingly good video (made to promote the film He's Just Not that Into You) that provides a funny and quick look at 10 of the most common chick flick cliches.



If you are planning on spending Valentine's Day alone and bitter at either the hype surrounding the holiday or at the fact that you are spending the holiday watching movies with your cat, may I propose the idea of a chick flick drinking game? Get some single (and preferably sardonic) friends together, tell them to dress down (sweats are allowed and encouraged), break out the booze and really fattening food (premium ice cream, chocolates, etc.), and pop in some rom-coms starring Renee Zellwegger, Hugh Grant, or Julia Roberts. Using the cliches mentioned in the clip, make up the rules to your drinking game. For instance:

• Each time the two characters who are obviously supposed to be together put off telling each other what they really feel, take a shot and (almost) tell the person to your left what you really think about him/ her.
• Whenever a musical montage with a sappy or romantic song that helps underscore the characters' feelings comes on, take a drink and then launch into a spontaneous dance number with your fellow drinkers.

If you are not in the rom-com mood, you can substitute any romantic/ sappy movie you desire, as long it contains some of the cliches mentioned above (this pretty much excludes period films of the Merchant Ivory persuasion or any period romance that takes itself too seriously). For instance, if you have single guy friends who balk at watching sappy movies, start the night off slowly with Jerry Maguire, which has sports, Renee Zellwegger, and Tom Cruise before the world knew he was completely nuts. If your party consists of single (or really bitter) women and gay men, feel free to pop in Stepmom, where there is plenty of crying and singing comforting songs into spatulas.