When I was a teenage boy, nothing excited me more than what was known as a good ‘ol "catfight." You know, mud wrestling, women pulling each other by the hair... If I saw that, I was in adolescent heaven.
However, as an adult, I can’t think of anything that would turn my stomach faster. Yes, The Jerry Springer Show is my favorite talk show of all time. That said, thinking back, there were way too many episodes where women fought each other over some man. Nowadays, I think women should fight The Man! Not fight over a man.
My colleague, Sarah El-Mahmoud, wrote an excellent article about 20 great movies to watch for Women’s History Month, and some of those movies will end up on this list. However, my focus is purely on movies that highlight women supporting women, since we don’t have nearly enough of them. I have a daughter, and these are the kinds of relationships that I want her to establish. So, without further ado, 10 movies about women supporting one another.
Wicked (2024)
Based on the Broadway show of the same name (though, I much prefer the movie to the show), Wicked tells the story of Elphaba, who would later go on to be known as the Wicked Witch, and Glinda, who would later be called the Good Witch.
If you were to re-watch The Wizard of Oz, you might think that Glinda and Elphaba were enemies. However, Wicked is a re-imagining, in which Glinda and Elphaba went to school together and grew to be friends.
What I love about the story though is that they don’t start out as friends. In fact, they hate each other. Glinda only seems to care about being popular (I’m sorry, pop-Uuuu-lar), and Elphaba is more concerned with learning. However, through events that bring them together, they become the closest of friends.
I love how their friendship blossoms, as it creates a good message that even enemies can become partners.
The Marvels (2023)
Even though The Marvels didn’t kill it at the box office, it still perseveres as one of the better post-Endgame MCU films.
Acting as a sequel to both Captain Marvel and the MCU shows WandaVision and Ms. Marvel, The Marvels sees Carol Danvers, Monica Rambeau, and Kamala Khan banding together after their powers make them switch places every time they use them.
They need to figure out how to work together and defeat a Kree Leader who is out for revenge after Captain Marvel destabilized her home.
What I love about The Marvels is that Kamala’s hero worship of Captain Marvel disconfirms the idea that you should never meet your heroes. Yes, she learns that Danvers isn't perfect, but she also learns that she can contribute just as much as her hero whenever the time arises. Couple this with Monica Rambeau’s ability to keep them altogether, and you have a match made in grrl power heaven.
Frozen (2013)
Undoubtedly the biggest Disney animated movie in the past 20 years (though I prefer Tangled), Frozen is a film that is essentially about two sisters with wildly different ambitions.
Queen Elsa—at first, anyway—simply doesn't want to let her people down. That is, until she decides to just “let it go” and not worry about her little snow-controlling secret. Princess Anna, on the other hand, wants to get married to a man she just met.
Through a series of misadventures, Anna and Elsa grow closer than ever, and Anna comes to realize that she doesn't need a man (though, she ends up with a nice one) to feel fulfilled. She only needs the love of her sister.
Frozen is a great film about the importance of sisterhood, and I love that message for young girls and grown-up women alike.
Hidden Figures (2016)
The story of three brilliant women who work at NASA and change history, Hidden Figures doubles as both a movie about females working together, and also as one of the quintessential Black-led movies.
Based on the actual historical figures Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn, and Mary Jackson, Hidden Figures is a period piece that showcases the kinds of racist nonsense that these women had to go through just to do their jobs.
Still and all, they made it work through tenacity and intelligence, and proved their worth many times over by getting the fly boys into space at a crucial time in American history.
The film is phenomenal, because it’s a testament to the idea that women who stick together are stronger than women who work apart. Even though they all worked in separate areas of NASA, they still always came together at the end of the day, which is most important.
Thelma & Louise (1991)
The feminist buddy crime drama of the ‘90s (honestly, one of the best movies of the ‘90s, period), Thelma & Louise is the story of two friends who truly will ride or die together.
Thelma is a housewife with an abusive husband, and Louise is dating a nice (though mostly absent) musician. But, after an incident that results in murder (The bastard had it coming), the two friends go on the lam.
Along the way, they both have good times and bad, but in the end, they ultimately go out on their own terms in one of the most famous endings in cinema history.
Thelma & Louise is a masterpiece, and a story that proves that a woman’s closest ally will always be another woman.
Set It Off (1996)
Since I’m on the topic of crime dramas, Set It Off is another story of women sticking it to the man; this time as bank robbers.
Four friends band together and rob banks because society has done them dirty. They hatch elaborate robberies, getting away with them when they can.
Of course, since this is a film from the ‘90s, it all catches up to them, as four Black women couldn’t possibly get away scot-free and all drive off happily into the sunset.
That said, even with all of their inner squabbling, Set It Off is still a wonderful film about women bucking the norms and taking what they want, together, arm-in-arm.
The Woman King (2022)
Basically Black Panther's Dora Milaje, the movie, The Woman King is about women warriors who actually existed in West Africa during the 17th-19th centuries.
The story of a female general who leads other women into combat, this movie is all about what it takes to fight oppressors, especially those who align with your enemies.
The women train, kill, and survive, all in the name of protecting the kingdom.
The story, which is based on the actual Agojie, is a testament that women can do anything that men can do, and often better. Especially when they work together.
A League Of Their Own (1992)
One of my favorite films as a kid, A League of Their Own is about an all-female baseball team during World War II.
All of the players come from different walks of life, but they come together whenever they can to play a good game of baseball (while doing a split, no less!).
The men in their lives play a part, but in the end, the team is what brings them all together as a unit.
A League of Their Own is a fan-favorite because it’s funny, and the cast is great, but the theme of female teamwork making the dream work is this film’s longest-lasting legacy.
Booksmart (2019)
I envy the young women in Booksmart, who are Ivy-league bound, but also viewed as boring.
What I envy is that they are both reluctant to come out of their shells, but will do so whenever they call a “Malala,” which is their code word for following each other, no matter what trouble they may get into.
It leads them to party after party, and also to trip on hallucinogenic strawberries, because YOLO, right?
Booksmart is a story about two friends who can both be brilliant, but also bawdy and “bad.” What woman doesn’t need a good friend to “Malala” with?
Barbie (2023)
Lastly, I want to talk about Barbie, which surprised a lot of people when it debuted.
The story of the famous doll having an existential crisis and entering into the real world, Barbie’s whole society is a matriarchy, and the men (Ken dolls) basically feel worthless without the women in their lives.
When Ken learns of the patriarchy, though, the women make the men see the errors of their ways, as the matriarchy is superior (as it should be).
This is a story about identity, and womanhood, but it’s also about the positives of a female society. Long live the matriarchy!
Those are just 10 movies about women supporting women. What’s your favorite?
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