2 Shows, 2 Movies, 2 Books… To Celebrate Galentine’s Day

When I first conceptualized this piece I sat down with every intention of spotlighting stories about love, but I am single and a Grinch so I was drawn almost completely blank. So, since today is Galentine’s (13th February) I thought it would be fun to spotlight my favourite stories of friendship instead. It sounds very Hallmark card of me to say (anti-love cynical fact: the Valentine’s day card was actually created by Hallmark to make a profit in 1913), but friendships are sometimes the most valuable and constant forms of love that we experience in our lives and although romantic love is a storytelling go-to, there have also been many wonderful stories about friendship and its impact on our lives. So I am here to celebrate them.

Shows: ‘Grace & Frankie’ and ‘Insecure’

Grace & Frankie—  This show plays on the good ol’ “frenemies” trope, these two women stumble into an unlikely friendship when their husbands (who are business partners) leave them after falling in love. I think what’s particularly special about this show is the exploration of friendship between women in their 70s, akin to something like Golden Girls. It is interesting to see a series focused on women outside of young adults and middle-aged women. It celebrates and delves into the nuances of friendship between older women, which is very interesting to me when you take into consideration how social norms change generationally ( you can especially see this with the character of Grace). Also, naturally, when you have an unlikely pair of opposites it will always be a fun ride seeing how their ideals clash. 

Sidenote: It’s also 6 seasons in so it is a fun binge (or in my case: binge one season, watch a bunch of other shows and then binge another season and so on…).

Insecure—  Now before you scream at me, I am well aware that I spotlight Insecure every 2-3 working days, but that is for good reason; Insecure, to me, has perfectly captured the highs and lows of friendship (specifically friendship among Black women). A group of (4) core friends who have seen you at your highest and lowest points is almost always a key attribute of any show with a lead female protagonist, so it is fun to see it from a Black perspective for the first time since Girlfriends (which admittedly, isn’t always the easiest show to revisit as an adult today). I am especially excited to see where the series goes next regarding the friendship of Issa and Molly as where they left off in the last season opens an interesting conversation about the lifespan of friendships, and loyalty vs compatibility.

Honourable Mentions: ‘The Babysitters Club’, ‘Girlfriends’, ‘Golden Girls’, ‘2 Broke Girls’

Movies: ‘Coyote Ugly’ and ‘The Joy Luck Club ’

Coyote Ugly—  One thing you should know about me is I am obsessed with Coyote Ugly. When people ask the dreaded question of what’s your favourite movie, I will without a doubt always say this movie. Although there are many moving parts in the film that lead to Violet getting the courage to pursue a musical career, including the romance between her and Kevin, her relationship with her father Bill (played by the iconic John Goodman), to me, what is really the most important part of this story is the friendship between Violet and the other ‘Coyote Ugly’ barmaids. The way her colleagues both challenge her and support her is more impactful in her combatting her lifelong stage fright and leads to her inevitable success more than any other relationship in the story. It also features a younger Tyra Banks, ‘Can’t fight the Moonlight’ by LeAnn Rimes, and a bunch of women in costumes dancing on a bar so I may be a little biased.

The Joy Luck Club—  Although this is more a story about family (specifically, mothers and their daughters), I think it shows the dynamic that many ethnic minorities share about making friends with those who they share similar backgrounds and experiences with. I am eventually going to have to read the book (it’s on the “things that are on my bookshelf that I will eventually get to” list) but in preparation for this piece, I re-watched this film for the first time in my life and fell in love with it all over again. It is a wonderful film to watch with your girlfriends or alternatively, with your mother (or any other maternal figure in your life). Also, on this addition of loving things partly because it features someone I love: the film also stars the incomparable Ming-Na Wen who, much like Michelle Yeoh, I consider to be a pioneer in the representation of Asian women in western entertainment. It is fun to see her here much earlier in her career pre-Mulan, Fennec Shand and Agent Melinda May. 

Honorable Mentions: ‘Waiting to Exhale’, ‘Girls Trip’, ‘Sister Act’, ‘Bridesmaids’

Books: ‘Girl, Woman, Other’ and ‘Conversations with Friends’

In comparison to TV shows and films, it was a lot harder for me to find books that I’ve read (that I actually like) that have ‘happy’ representations of friendship and not just stories about romance with an occasional nod to the protagonist’s quirky best friend… So dear current writers, can you please start writing me some more stories of great (non-trauma led) friendships – signed management. (or if anyone has any good ones you think I will like, please let me know).

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo—  I read this at the end of last year as part of our book club and I loved it. Not only does it look at the scope of both romantic relationships and friendship spanning across decades, but it does so from the comfort of my home. Seeing a story with places and friendships that feel instantly recognisable to my background in the UK, where the majority of the characters are Black, it felt like I could really connect to the storytelling and interactions between the relationships. My favourite friendship in the story is probably Dominique and Amma; it is by no means an easy friendship, but it is a very special one, a friendship without the fear of calling the other out or acting as the other’s saving grace. Also on a more personal note, Evaristo almost completely ignores conventions of sentence structure and grammar, and as someone who has to constantly edit myself for doing that very thing I enjoyed it so much and it read true to the way each character would speak. PSA: will someone please buy the rights to this book and make it into the limited series that we deserve.

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney —  This is actually my current read (well, audiobook). I had initially wanted to read ‘Normal People’ by the same author before I dove into the BBC/Hulu series, but then I stumbled upon this book instead. A book where friendship is a leading factor in the storytelling (but don’t get me wrong, there is a lot about romantic relationships in here too) was really fun to me and it is helping me ease back out of my reading rut. The dynamic between Frances & Bobbi is interesting because not only are they best friends, but they were once also in a romantic relationship, and I think there is an interesting distinction this story makes you consider about the boundary between romantic love and the love shared between friends.

Honourable Mentions: ‘Swing Time’- Zadie Smith, ‘Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants’ – Ann Brashares.

– Thea