Living Out Loud (1998)

My rating: ***

Yes, this is a chick flick. But it’s far more cerebral and a bit more offbeat than the norm. Holly Hunter plays a New York doctor’s wife whose husband leaves her for a younger woman, taking her life plans, dignity and identity with him. With the help of unconventional friendships with doorman Danny Devito and jazz singer Queen Latifah, Hunter’s character doesn’t discover who she is, rather what she wants. The direction of the film is a bit confusing because the audience is never sure what’s actually happening and what’s fantasy. Other than that, I strongly recommend this one. Plus, divorcee Hunter delivers one of the best lines ever to his husband’s new wife.

Shirley Valentine (1989)

My rating: ***

This is a simple story about a quiet English housewife who wonders how she went from being a wild youth with big ambitions to living an uneventful life as a wife and mother with no identify of her own. A trip to Greece gives her the courage to reconnect with her joie de vive, and watching this funny, well-written movie will make you want to do the same.