Galentine’s Day is a holiday observed on February 13th––the day before Valentine’s Day. It’s a holiday for celebrating platonic, female friendships.
We have a cult-favorite TV show to thank for the holiday’s popularity. Galentine’s Day blew up after Parks and Recreation aired an episode during its second season in 2010. Here’s what Leslie Knope had to say about Galentine’s Day:
“What’s Galentine’s Day? Oh, it’s only the best day of the year. Every February 13, my lady friends and I leave our husbands and our boyfriends at home, and we just come and kick it breakfast style. Ladies celebrate ladies. It’s like Lilith Fair, minus the angst. Plus frittatas.”
Regardless of your relationship status or gender identity, Galentine’s Day is a great time to celebrate and appreciate your friendships.
Below are eleven recommendations on what to watch, including some of the best chick flicks (on Netflix and other streaming sites), inspiring female relationship movies and a couple binge-worthy shows worth a rewatch.
What To Watch: Mean Girls
Fifteen-year-old Cady seems destined to join The Plastics, the popular clique of girls in her new high school. Her dreams of popularity are dashed, however, when Cady falls for the ex-boyfriend of the Plastics’ leader, Regina.
What To Watch: Turning Red
Disney and Pixar’s “Turning Red” introduces Mei Lee, a confident, dorky 13-year-old torn between staying her mother’s dutiful daughter and the chaos of adolescence. Her protective, if not slightly overbearing mother, Ming, is never far from her daughter—an unfortunate reality for the teenager. And as if changes to her interests, relationships and body weren’t enough, whenever she gets too excited (which is practically ALWAYS), she “poofs” into a giant red panda!
What To Watch: Lisa Frankenstein
Based on Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, this film portrays the tale of an enigmatic goth girl (Kathryn Newton) who breathes life into a Victorian-era corpse (Cole Sprouse), striving to mold him into her ideal companion. Together, they embark on a perilous quest for love, happiness, and the missing pieces of their existence.
What To Watch: If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power
The music of Halsey can be rather divisive but whether you like it or not, it’s hard to bypass this visual feast that came alongside her 2021 fourth studio album of the same name. It’s a period fantasy horror film about a queen named Lila and her doppelgänger, Lilith, played by Halsey herself who was six months pregnant at the time of shooting. It doesn’t seem to be so much about love or power but more about witches, fire and death, which is great if you’re feelin’ angry on this day. This film is available on Apple TV.
What To Watch: Someone Great
Someone Great is like a coming-of-age movie for 20-somethings. Our protagonist, Jenny and her girls live in NYC. She gets her big break with a job in San Francisco but it comes with a break-up and spiraling emotions. The girls call into to work, antics and frank realizations ensue. It’s a real modern-day rom-com without the all the bells, whistles and botox. You can watch this on Netflix.
What To Watch: Insecure
Issa Rae writes and stars in this hit HBO series that follows her character Issa Dee’s friendship with Molly Carter, played by Yvonne Orji. With four seasons, you can have an all-day binge or set up a recurring friend date to watch it together. All seasons are available to watch on HBO Max.
What To Watch: Broad City
This comedy series follows two twenty-something best friends, Abbi and Ilana (played by Abbi Jacobsen and Ilana Glazer) on their adventures through New York City. The show teaches many life lessons, including the importance of friendship.. The entire series is available to watch on Hulu, Paramount +, or Hulu. If you only have time for one or two episodes, we recommend Season 2: Episode 3 or Season 4: Episode 1.
What To Watch: Crossroads
Britney Spears, Taryn Manning, and Zoe Saldaña star in this 2002 chick flick that is basically a feature-length Britney Spears video. The three childhood best friends drift apart through high school but reconnect on graduation night when they unearth the time capsule they buried as kids. The trio ends up taking a road trip from Georgia to California. This chick flick may be hard to find online, but it’s worth the search for all of the nostalgic feels!
What To Watch: Shrill
The series Shrill follows Annie (played by former SNL star Aidy Bryant), “a fat young woman who wants to change her life––but not her body.” We particularly love her friendship with roommate Fran (Lolly Adefope) which feels so relatable. Shrill only lasted three seasons on Hulu (2019 to 2021) but now can be found on Crave.
What To Watch: The Florida Project
The Florida Project follows 6-year-old Moonee adventuring around with her two best friends while staying with her mother in an extended-stay motel near Disney World. Throughout the film, the motel’s manager (played by William Dafoe, who received many awards for his performance) tries to protect the kids from the harsh reality of the world. Produced by A24, The 2017 film is available to watch on Netflix.
What To Watch: Ghost World
Scarlet Johansson and Thora Birch star in this cult-favorite 2001 movie based on a graphic novel. Rebecca (played by Johansson) and Enid (played by Birch) are best friends who consider themselves social outcasts who can’t relate with anyone else their age. Fresh out of high school, their only plan for the future is to get jobs and become roommates. This dark version of the classic high school chick flick is available on the Roku Channel, Tubi, and Prime Video.
