No matter how you feel about Valentine’s Day, there’s one thing that we can all agree on: Galentine’s Day is the best day of the year.
“February 13th, Galentine’s Day, is about celebrating lady friends,” Leslie once said. “It’s wonderful and it should be a national holiday.”
We agree, Leslie! With that in mind, here are five movies you can watch while toasting Ms. Knope and celebrating with all your fabulous female friends.
The Best Galentine’s Day Movies
‘Girls Trip’
This movie made me cry with laughter and with emotion, all while celebrating the importance of female friendships, so it’s basically perfect for Galentine’s Day. It’s a hilarious comedy with about a dozen different unforgettable moments that also manages to be an emotional, evocative and realistic portrayal of long-term friendship. This is the new gold standard in female-fronted comedies and is sure to be a perennial favorite for when you want to sit around with your ladies and celebrate ladies.
‘Hidden Figures’
Galentine’s day is all about ladies celebrating ladies, and what better ladies to celebrate than these awesome NASA mathematicians? Hidden Figures is a movie that inspires, shows what supportive female friendships look like, and makes you appreciate how cool mathematics can be. It also serves as a reminder of how many fabulous women — especially women of color — we don’t hear about, and how necessary and amazing their stories are.
‘Legally Blonde’
Yes, this movie starts off by being about a boy, but it ends up being about the strength that you had within you all along and the strong female friends who supported and lifted you up along the way. Galentine’s Day is all about uteruses before duderuses, ovaries before brovaries — and there’s no better way to celebrate that than with a movie in which the two fighting female leads end up best friends and the man whom they were initially fighting over ends up alone and jobless. Truly an iconic ending (and film)!
‘The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’
The story of four girls who find a pair of pants that seemingly flatters their different body types and decide to pass them around during their summer apart from each other. Yes, it’s silly — but, somehow, it works. We travel with the pants as they move from Lena in Greece, to Tibby back home, to Carmen in South Carolina and Bridget in Mexico. Along the way, we learn two things: life really, really sucks sometimes, but the awesome lady friends you have around you can always get you through it. Also, it warms my heart to no end that these four actresses are still friends to this day, so you can celebrate their on and off-screen friendship!
‘Girlhood’
Admittedly, this indie French film ends in a less uplifting way than the rest of these movies and is decidedly grimmer in storyline than the rest of them, too. However, it’s also a movie about ladies supporting ladies, about how strong and courageous girls are and how little we often give them credit for being so. The film focuses on Marieme, an African-French teenager from a poor Parisian suburb, and the girl gang she first becomes part of and then turns away from. It’s a story of friendship and support, one that highlights the transformative power of both friendship and independence.
‘Hustlers’
Hustlers follows a similar vein as Girlhood when it comes to found family and the ups and downs those types of relationships can provide. Destiny’s friendship with Ramona is at the center of this film, and while they certainly butt heads, they also supported each other when they were at their lowest. The movie itself is devoid of the male gaze, and it’s such a refreshing film to watch if you’re a woman.
‘Birds of Prey’
Birds of Prey is the talk of the town right now, and for good reason. This is another excellent entry into the DC universe that showcases a team of ladies kicking ass and taking names. More importantly, it also has a laundry list of moments that all women can relate to. If you’re looking for a movie that’s both action-packed and uplifting for Galentine’s Day, this is the one for you.
‘Frozen’
Both Frozen and Frozen II are excellent choices for your Galentine’s Day activities. While Anna certainly has a romantic arc in both films, the true focus of these movies is on the relationship between the sisters. Unlike many other Disney films, which are centered on a woman falling in love with a man, Frozen chooses to be about the importance of family. True love’s kiss is replaced with a sister’s love.
‘Ghostbusters: Answer the Call’
While Ghostbusters (2016) never quite made a splash like fans were hoping it would, there’s plenty to love with this genderbent update to the classic and beloved franchise. Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones, Kristen Wiig, and Kate McKinnon team up to take down some nasty ghosts. It’s a fun, hilarious entry into the saga, and it comes with a bonus Chris Hemsworth in the kind of secretarial role usually reserved for a woman.
‘A League of Their Own’
Ah, a classic. A League of Their Own is a superbly empowering movie about different women coming together to work as a team and defy expectations. While Tom Hanks plays a delightful role at the center of the film, the focus is on Geena Davis’ Dottie and her team of baseball players. While underdog sports movies are a dime a dozen, A League of Their Own stands out against the rest thanks to the female cast.