The Best British Chick Flicks

Some of the best chick flicks, the real romantic tearjerkers with happy endings, were made in Britain. These are the really plucky romantic stories that are funny and sad all at the same time.

One of the most famous is Bridget Jones Diary (2001) and all of its sequels.  The film is famous partly because American star Renee Zellweger had to pack on about thirty pounds to play the part of the overweight spinster who keeps a diary about her love life. The extremely funny film features her having to make a choice between being with a rogue and womanizer played by Hugh Grant or the boy she played naked in a swimming pool with as a child.  The movie features many interesting London scenarios including romantic snowy shots of the city streets and cozy shots of typical English flats.

Another film that gives you a bit of a taste of British Christmas is Love Actually (2003), which was written and directed by Richard Curtis.  This film gives you a good look at contemporary British social life through a series of short stories. The film stars many famous actors including Alan Rickman, Emma Thompsons, Hugh Grant, Keira Knightly, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Rowan Atkinson, January Jones and more.

If you enjoy period pieces from the last century you will love getting a bit of a peek of London in the 9160s.  An Education (2009) was a cult-hit film with excellent art direction that featured a teenage girl trying to leave her poor family and make a get-away with a rich playboy nearly twice her age. The film stars Carey Mulligan and Peter Sarsagaard and is directed by Lone Sherfig.

Atonement is an another excellent twentieth century period piece that is set against the backdrop of World War II Britain.  A young girl discovers a secret affair and tells on the perpetrators and pays for it the rest of her life in guilt. It stars Keira Knightley, James McAvoy and Brenda Blethyn and is based on a book by the famous U.K. writer Ian McEwan.

Another great period piece about life and love that is set in Britain also stars Kiera Knightly. Pride and Prejudice (2005) is the retelling of the famous Jane Austen novel. It is the classic tale of the five sisters trying to obtain husbands in Georgian England.  Brenda Blethyn also stars in this tear jerker about trying one’s best not to be a spinster.  This film gives you an idea of what used to happen socially if a man falls in love with a woman who is considered to be beneath his class.

If you are planning to visit England these films can give you a nice idea of what to expect as the social structure there is still in place for the most part.