The 20 best movies for the ultimate girls’ night
Who better to enjoy a movie marathon with than your bestie?
Grab the wine and popcorn and queue up your streamer of choice—it’s girls’ night.
When it comes to curating the ultimate movie marathon with your girlfriends, it’s mandatory to watch nothing but the classics. Whether you need a good laugh (hello, Mean Girls and Bridesmaids), a bit of emotional release (we’re looking at you, Crazy Rich Asians), or are merely in the mood for a nostalgic throwback (remember ’80s gem Troop Beverly Hills?), the best girls’ night films feature our favorite leading women and storylines that tug at our heartstrings—or make us cry with laughter.
Ahead and in no particular order, Harper’s Bazaar editors share their favorite formative girls’ night watches. And if you want to keep the binge going? Look no further than our lists of the best romance movies on Netflix, best rom-coms of all time, and the best movies of the ’90s.
A Cinderella Story (2004)
All the film snobs on Letterboxd will disagree with me on this one, but A Cinderella Story is genuinely a modern classic. Sometimes I think of lines like “Waiting for you is like waiting for rain in this drought—useless and disappointing,” and I’m like, “Who said that? Thoreau? Oh, right! Hilary Duff.” It features peak Jennifer Coolidge and hunky Chad Michael Murray. Plus, who doesn’t love a modern take on a fairy tale? It’s the perfect girls’ night movie. —Joel Calfee, editorial and social assistant
Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008)
Based on a 1999 YA novel, Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging is the perfect movie to watch with your girls if you’re looking for a heartwarming coming-of-age story that will also make you laugh out loud. Fourteen-year-old Georgia (Georgia Nicholson) has her sights set on the new boy at her school, Robbie (Aaron Taylor Johnson). She hatches a scheme to get closer to him, but she will soon discover—as most teenage girls eventually do—that the best way to attract someone is simply being yourself. —Chelsey Sanchez, associate editor
Bridesmaids (2011)
I think many of us can relate to the ebbs and flows that come with being a bridesmaid, but that’s only one reason this film gets my nod of approval for girls’ night. Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph are the perfect match as costars, and Melissa McCarthy’s hilarious performance steals the show. —Tiffany Dodson, associate beauty commerce editor
Bring It On (2000)
This teen dance comedy became an instant classic when it first premiered back in 2000. The Toros, a cheerleading squad at San Diego’s Rancho Carne High School, are working toward their sixth consecutive national title. But their plans for victory get thrown off-course when a new cheer recruit—a transfer student from Los Angeles—accuses the team of stealing dance routines from the Clovers, the cheer squad for a high school in East Compton. Now, the Toros and the Clovers will have to face off at this year’s national championships, but both teams must overcome major obstacles if they want to make it onto the podium. —Chelsey Sanchez
Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
What’s more girls’-night-appropriate than a rom-com? Crazy Rich Asians is one that expertly fits the bill. A little bit of romance paired with a hint of drama and peppered with travel is a recipe for movie success. —Tiffany Dodson
Crossroads (2002)
Cue Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock ’n’ Roll”(Britney’s Version). In this throwback to 2002, Lucy, played by the legendary Britney Spears, reconnects with her best friends Kit (Zoe Saldana) and Mimi (Taryn Manning) after graduation. They head on a cross-country road trip before the looming reality of adulthood really settles in. Each young woman is hoping to escape the life that waits for her back home, and in the course of their adventure, they realize how they want to reshape their futures. —Bianca Betancourt, culture editor
Easy A (2010)
Emma Stone is a national gem (no pun intended), and we can thank Easy A for bringing her into our lives. This was one of those movies that, as I was watching it for the first time, made me think: Oh, this is going to be a teen classic. And it is! It’s right up there with Mean Girls, Clueless, and Bring It On with its endlessly quotable script, great performances, and unique plot. We should all start stitching A’s onto our clothes. —Joel Calfee
Girls Trip (2017)
Girls Trip is one of the funniest movies ever made, full stop. Regina Hall, Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, and Tiffany Haddish are four friends at different points in their lives who come together for a long-awaited trip to New Orleans to have fun and let loose at Essence Fest. True to form, you can’t bring a group of gals into the Crescent City without expecting a healthy dose of chaos. Prepare to receive an ab workout from laughing so hard throughout the entire film. —Bianca Betancourt
Heathers (1988)
If you haven’t watched this late-’80s film, I highly recommend adding it to your next movie night. Starring Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, and Shannen Doherty, the movie centers on a clique of popular high school girls—each named Heather—whose privileged lives are disrupted by a new student bent on literally doing away with the in crowd, who is staging their deaths as suicides. While the premise of the film is dark, it's also highly entertaining and ends on a more uplifting note. —Tiffany Dodson
Hustlers (2019)
I turn on Hustlers whenever I need to remember who the hell I am. How can you not be inspired by the film’s powerhouse performances, courtesy of Jennifer Lopez, Candace Wu, Lili Reinhart, and even Cardi B, in her silver-screen debut? Is it a movie about a group of women who scam their way to the top? Well…yes. But it’s also about friendship, community, trust—feminism!—and wanting to break free of societal expectations. —Bianca Betancourt
Legally Blonde (2001)
Nothing in my life has ever remotely inspired me to want to go to law school, except for Legally Blonde. If I could get a JD while sporting fluffy pink coats in class and using my gaydar to win court cases, I would be studying for the LSAT right now. But why go through all that, when I can just re-watch this Reese Witherspoon comedy classic instead? — Joel Calfee
Mean Girls (2004)
It's hard to go wrong with a classic like Mean Girls. While the film isn’t necessarily the best example of what strong, dedicated friendship looks like, it is equal parts quotable and hilarious, which makes it an easy watch with a fun group of girlfriends. —Tiffany Dodson
Pride & Prejudice (2005)
I’ve never experienced a girls’ night that wasn’t improved by playing this movie. Sorry to the puritanical Austenites, but the 2005 adaptation of the author’s best-known novel is simply the superior adaptation. It has all the makings of a swoon-worthy romance that you and your group chat will still be dissecting for days to come, from Kiera Knightley running through the rain to pre-Succession Matthew Macfadyen in period clothing. —Chelsey Sanchez
Sex and the City (2008)
What doesn’t happen in the first official movie spawned from the Sex and the City universe? Carrie gets left at the altar, Samantha reconsiders being with the love of her life, Charlotte is pregnant, Miranda is on the brink of leaving Steve and a pre-EGOT Jennifer Hudson adds some fun to the mix. This continuation of the beloved HBO series is the perfect combination of love, lust, fashion and comedy. —Bianca Betancourt
The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Loving The Devil Wears Prada as someone who’s a writer in the fashion industry is the biggest cliché. But I don’t care. This is one of those movies that somehow never gets old, and watching Meryl Streep give the “cerulean sweater” speech scratches an itch in my brain like nothing else. Of course, for a clichéd fashion writer, the fabulous clothes alone are reason enough to love it, too. —Joel Calfee
The Parent Trap (1998)
The Parent Trap is my go-to movie for a night-in with friends. It’s an easy crowd-pleaser, tapping into the nostalgia factor with summer-camp vibes, ’90s fashion, and Lindsay Lohan. At the time of filming, Lohan was just 11 years old, but she delivered her performance as twin sisters Hallie and Annie with the finesse of a seasoned actor. Separated at birth, Hallie and Annie accidentally meet at summer camp, where they concoct a plot to swap places and reunite their parents. The film’s cheeky humor has aged well through the decades, even if the logic of the sisters’ parents has not. — Chelsey Sanchez
The Princess Diaries (2001)
A Princess Diaries movie marathon? Shut! Up! It might be hard to believe a classic like The Princess Diaries was the film that launched the prolific film career of Anne Hathaway, but it’s true. Hathaway made her feature-film debut at just 18 years old as Mia Thermopolis, a shy and dorky San Francisco teen whose primary goal of staying invisible to avoid any wanton attention gets utterly upended after her grandmother reveals the girl is actually descended from royalty—and is next in line for the throne of Genovia, a small but proud European country. —Chelsey Sanchez
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018)
When To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before first premiered on Netflix in 2018, something in the air just switched. We had been denied a proper swoon-worthy rom-com for what at the time felt like years, and Lana Condor and Noah Centineo reminded the world what it looks like—and feels like—to fall in love for the first time. TATBILB—and all the films in the official trilogy—will instantly make you feel like a teen again, albeit with less angst and more pleasant butterflies. —Bianca Betancourt
Troop Beverly Hills (1989)
One of my earliest girls’ night memories is watching Troop Beverly Hills for the first time with my mom as a young girl, and over two decades later, this film still hits. Phyllis Neffler (Shelley Long) is a bit of a misfit mom, hyperfocused on her looming divorce and keeping up appearances in the world of Beverly Hills. Wanting to maintain a stronger connection with her daughter, she volunteers to lead the local Girl Scout Troop. It’s an adventure that ends up teaching Phyllis exactly what she’s capable of—as a leader, but more importantly, as a mom. —Bianca Betancourt
Twilight (2008)
Hold on tight, spider monkey—it’s time for a Twilight marathon. The film adaptation of the first book in the Stephenie Meyer–penned series turned pop culture sensation is one of the defining movies of the 2010s. Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) moves to Forks, Washington, to live with her father, where she quickly captures the attention of her high school’s resident heartthrob, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson, in his breakout role). The catch? Edward is a vampire, and as much as he wants to court Bella, he also wants to…kill her and suck her dry of blood. It’s a ridiculous and campy love story for the ages. —Bianca Betancourt
Lead image credit: IMDb
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