Entertainment
11 Movies For You And Your Platonic Lifemate
As I type this, my best friend — who is basically my lifemate is moving an eight minute walk away from me — and it's kind of a big deal. See, we have the kind of friendship where "lifemate" isn't thrown around in any cutesy, decorative way. It is the kind of bond that is habitually mistaken for a relationship (all that slow dancing to The Beatles at my parent's retirement party, I guess) despite there being romantic attraction. But according to all the movies about female friendships I've seen, it's totally, totally not weird. And if you have doubts, I have a slew of films about platonic lifemates that confirm the healthiness of female friendships.
... OK, I'm exaggerating a bit. What I really have is a collection of films that showcase, in varying extremes, how complex females friendships can be. Some of them aren't exactly happily ever afters (actually now that I'm thinking about it, most of them aren't) but all of them are honest and intense. And, more than anything, they can prove to be really rewarding.
So break out the rose and settle in for another movie marathon with your BFF. Here are 11 killer flicks about platonic soulmates.
1. Frances Ha
I will always vouch for this movie, because it will never not be perfect. Frances and Sophie are, you know, basically the same girl with different hair at the beginning of this film, yet it gradually goes to hell when Sophie decides to move out. Though the two are distanced both emotionally and geographically throughout the course of the film due to Sophie's relationship with Patch (yo, Patch), it's still a quiet, heartwarming journey about holding onto your Person.
2. Romy And Michele's High School Reunion
It's literally two women who have been inseparable for a decade and (more importantly) who respect that you should always dress in tangent with your BFF when you go out. Like, it doesn't have to be the same outfit, but it should look like the same collection. Also, how sweet is it when Michele includes Romy in that weird interpretive dance? That's true friendship.
3. Thelma And Louise
Really the classic, OG definition of platonic lifemates, you know? They do all the standard things you and your best friend do, from selfies to driving you both off a cliff so you can escape from the police with dignity. #SundayFunday
4. Kamikaze Girls
Speaking of a life of crime, this romp is really great if you're looking for something a little more absurd and a little more... um, Japanese. Yes, there'll be cultural differences you need to catch up on (you might be familiar with the Sweet Lolita style, but a Yankee does not mean "baseball player" there), but that familiar feeling of codependency is still there. Perfect for your opposites-attract bestie.
5. Beaches
Not ideal for the lighthearted. Definitely ideal if you want to think of your best friend of 20 years getting massively ill and sob deeply to "Wind Beneath My Winds."
6. Bridesmaids
I know, I know, you've already seen Bridesmaids. Watch it again, though, and absorb how beautiful it is that it's a wedding film yet Doug never gets an entire line. It's all about the love triangle between Annie, Lillian and Helen.
7. Bend It Like Beckham
I just always love the part when Jules' mom freaks out about thinking she's involved with Jess, and Jules is like, "Omg, mom, we're fighting over a man." If I had a dollar for every time I had to make that clarification...
8. Heavenly Creatures
Oh my God, and if I had a dollar for every time my bestie and I killed my mother so we could be together forever... yeah, Heavenly Creatures is up there on the too-intense, not-so-positive spectrum of lifemate movies. But hey, if you and your gal pal are into morbid things like that, go for.
9. Life Partners
So this film is about how Britta Perry and Seth Cohen get engaged and how deeply disorienting it is for Britta's best friend Blair Waldorf. On the same vein of Frances Ha, and if you're still not understanding why these kind of friend-usurped-by-boyfriend movies are necessary, don't worry, you will.
10. Girl, Interrupted
Because no doubt you have that one captivating, charismatic girl friend who might actually be criminally insane.
11. Ghost World
The saddest devolution of friendship you will ever watch. If only Enid and Rebecca's hometown adventures could've lasted forever.
There you have it! Watch on, and revel in the fact that your friendship is just as strong (or stronger, or healthier, I hope) as the ones between all these lovely ladies.
Images: United Artists (1); Giphy (11)
