So, you're single on Valentine's Day, and you're considering potential plans for the evening. Your first instinct might be to stay home and sulk while polishing off the chocolate-covered strawberries that your parents mailed you. Or maybe you're feeling like you want to go to a bar or party, drink too much gin, and make out with somebody whose name you have no chance of remembering. But the best option? Getting together with your most fabulous single girlfriends and having a bona fide celebration of your own with champagne, snacks, and, of course, plenty of Galentine's Day movies to watch.
If that option seems most appealing to you — and I hope it does — then you now have the important task of picking the best Galentine's Day movies possible. While Valentine's Day films are all about romance and rain-drenched kisses and phrases like "you complete me," Galentine's Day movies are about friendship, inside jokes, and a healthy dose of girl power. You want to keep it light but engaging, funny but sincere, and as female-centric as possible. Try to focus on comedies or dramedies; ideally ones where the main two protagonists aren't a couple. Feeling stuck? No worries! Here are a dozen of the best movies to have on hand for an awesome singles soirée this Galentine's Day 2016.
1. Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants
Four drastically different best friends share laughter, tears, and a perfect-fitting pair of jeans. Featuring some of your favorite starlets, this movie is super sweet once you get past the fact that the titular pants never get washed (gross).
2. For A Good Time, Call
You wouldn't necessarily expect a movie about a phone sex line to be heartwarming, but For A Good Time, Call is actually a totally endearing story about the ups and downs of female friendship. And yes, it is both raunchy as hell and utterly hilarious.
3. Mean Girls
When in doubt, stick with what you know. This highly-quotable comedy will make even your most curmudgeonly friends crack a smile as they watch Lindsay Lohan try to navigate the bitchy landscape of a new high school.
4. Bend It Like Beckham
British actress Parminder Nagra kicks ass in soccer and befriends a pre-fame Keira Knightley in this 2002 film about saying no to tradition in order to follow your dreams.
5. Romy And Michele's High School Reunion
Although the '90s fashions are intentionally pretty bad, the genuine friendship between Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino's characters is so, so good.
6. All I Wanna Do
An all-girls prep school in the '60s serves as the background for this story about friendship, rebellion, and the many awkward aspects of adolescence.
7. Legally Blonde
In this fluffy but fun comedy, Elle Woods proves to her skeptics that anything can be accomplished with hard work, persistence, and unrelenting optimism. Pink scented resumé optional.
8. Frances Ha
This beloved film from Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig is a must-see for any twentysomething trying to find her way in the big city.
9. Thelma And Louise
Portraying both an amazing bond between two women and the road trip of a lifetime, Thelma and Louise received six Oscar nominations and is a total classic.
10. Practical Magic
Although it was originally panned by critics, this movie has since become a favorite of many a '90s girl. Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman star as two sisters who are also witches, and who spend their spare time dancing around the kitchen to the song "Coconut." Don't ask, just watch.
11. Girls Just Want To Have Fun
I don't know what's bigger — the fame of this 1985 film, or Sarah Jessica Parker's hair in it.
12. Miss Congeniality
Another Sandra Bullock gem, Miss Congeniality is perfect entertainment for any time you want to laugh at some beauty queens and not challenge your brain too hard.
With so many Galentine's Day movies at your disposal, lining up a marathon for you and your fellow single ladies will be a cinch. So pour some bubbly, set up your surround sound, and settle in for a celebration that's less greeting cards and more good times with great friends.
Images: Giphy (10), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Focus Features, New World Pictures
