Sister Flicks: Our Updated List

By Paige Smith Orloff
IT’S NO SECRET THAT WE TSP SISTERS love movies. Over the last few months, we’ve put together (with the help of loads of reader suggestions) a list we’d like to think of as the definitive list of sisterly cinema…but just like the fine folks at Webster’s, we know that definitions change, and we love to keep revising. So keep your suggestions coming, and let us know what we should be adding to our queues for summer viewing, and beyond. The list, Version 2:

27 DRESSES (2008)
When you have 27 hideous bridesmaids dresses in your closet, can it get any worse? Yes. Just ask Jane, played by Grey’s Anatomy’s luminous Katherine Heigl. The brutal question: Can Jane stand by her sister’s side, as the sister marries the man Jane secretly loves? Yikes.

AIRPLANE (1980)
Sometimes, even women want to watch something so funny that it makes you blow soda out your nose. This is one of those movies. Deeply silly, it also features the ever-charming, now rarely seen, Julie Hagerty. Laugh ‘til you pee, sissies.

AMERICA’S SWEETHEARTS (2001)
Even a great fat suit won’t make you believe Julia Roberts is shopping at Lane Bryant, but this film’s sendup of Hollywood makes it worth seeing. Catherine Zeta-Jones plays supposed-ugly-duckling Julia’s mean movie-star older sister, Gwen, and John Cusack the other movie star, the object of Julia’s long-simmering love–and Gwen’s husband.

ARSENIC & OLD LACE (1944)
Cary Grant is a New York theater critic who discovers that his beloved old aunties are murdering bachelors left and right. Frank Capra directs this adaptation of a popular stage farce. Did we mention Cary Grant?

ATONEMENT (2007)
Saoirse Ronan was nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal of young Briony Tallis, whose misunderstanding of her older sister’s encounters with a local boy sets disastrous events in motion in this adaptation of the Ian McEwan novel. Worth seeing for the costumes alone.

AUNTIE MAME (1958)
Is there a better fantasy of fabulous New York life than this movie about the ultimate cool aunt? No. If you’ve never seen it, run, don’t walk, and try always to remember this nugget of wisdom from glorious Mame (played by the incandescent Rosalind Russell): “Life’s a banquet, and most suckers are starving to death.” Amen, sister.

AUSTIN POWERS (1997)
Who knew a silly spy with bad teeth could be totally charming (if not shagadelic, baby?). Oh, be-haaaave.

THE BACHELOR AND THE BOBBY-SOXER (1947)
It goes without saying that any film starring Cary Grant is a film worth seeing, right? This one pairs him with the lovely, funny Myrna Loy, playing the older sister to teenager Shirley Temple, who’s got it bad for the dashing Grant. One of the great banter films of the 1940s.

BAGDAD CAFE (1988)
German actress Marianne Sägebrecht and CCH Pounder star as two women who’ve left their husbands behind only to find an unlikely friendship at the desert restaurant of the title. A magical, decidedly offbeat film that will charm you. Actress Sägebrecht and director Percy Adlon collaborated on two other highly recommended films, Sugarbaby and Rosalie Goes Shopping, which sadly aren’t available on DVD in the U.S.

THE BANGER SISTERS (2002)
Goldie Hawn and Susan Sarandon play former rock ‘n roll groupies who reconnect after 20 years.

THE BEAT THAT MY HEART SKIPPED (2005)
In this French film, a small-time thug named Tomas (played by Romain Duris) dreams of following in his late mother’s footsteps as a famous concert pianist. While Duris plays an only child in the movie, his real-life sister, Caroline Duris, is present in the film’s soundtrack, as the voice of his mother, and the pianist behind Tomas’s music.

BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM (2002)
Girl power. The British teenage daughter of tradition-bound Indian immigrants wants to play football (soccer, that is), not follow their more-sedate plans for her life.

BIG BUSINESS (1988)
A classic silly 80′s comedy, with Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin at their antic best-ass ridiculous, switched-at-birth sets of identical twins.

THE BIRDCAGE (1996)
OK, there are no sisters in this movie. But this remake of the brilliant French farce La Cage Aux Folles is sweet and funny and has Robin Williams and Nathan Lane and Mike Nichols directing. Isn’t that enough?

BOYS ON THE SIDE (1995)
This moving and funny road movie sometimes gets lumped in with saccharine, weepy fare like Beaches, but this one is the real thing, despite its lame title. A great script from Don Roos (Single White Female, The Opposite of Sex), direction by Herb Ross (The Goodbye Girl, The Turning Point) and terrific performances from an unlikely star trio of Whoopi Goldberg, Drew Barrymore and Mary-Louise Parker all combine for a movie that will make you laugh out load, groan with recognition, and cry your eyes out. Bonus: the soundtrack is fantastic.

BRICK LANE (2007)
This is the story of Nazneen, a Bangladeshi girl separated from her sister and sent to London to face an arranged marriage with a man twice her age, and to face years of longing for her sibling. It was not some sad tale of loss and more loss, but full of surprises. The couple are raising two girls (yes, a pair of sisters), after their first-born, a son, died in his crib. Though Chanu repeatedly invokes that Allah has cursed him with daughters, he imparts to the girls his knowledge and study habits and great kindness, even in the face of much personal frustration. And it reminds us of this, too: We need to read between the lines of letters, even those from your sister. Don’t be so sure you know who she is; long-ago childhood memories can deceive and oh, so much has changed.

BROADCAST NEWS (1987)
Not about sisters, we admit, but a film for the universal sisterhood of women trying to reconcile work and love. “Wouldn’t it be a great world if desperation and insecurity made us attractive? If needy were a turn-on?” This is only one of the beyond-brilliant lines in this classic romantic comedy from veteran director James Brooks. It’s delivered by Albert Brooks, playing a nerdy newsman smitten with his colleague, played by Holly Hunter. She, in turn, is falling, against her better judgment, for a smarmy anchorman, played by William Hurt.

CIRCLE OF FRIENDS (1995)
Even if, like us, you struggle to really buy that gorgeous Minnie Driver is a frumpy fat girl in this sweet drama, you’ll like it anyway: It hits all the right romantic buttons, and the friendship between Driver’s character, Benny, and her best friend, Nan (Saffron Burrows), rings all too true.

CRIMES OF THE HEART (1983)
Diane Keaton. Sissy Spacek. Jessica Lange. The tagline says it all: “Meg just left one. Lenny never had one. Babe just shot one. The McGrath sisters sure have a way with men!”

DAUGHTERS COURAGEOUS (1939)
One of four classic films starring the now-nearly-forgotten Lane Sisters, 1930s songstresses. Like the others, this one is directed by the fantastic Michael Curtiz. (The others in the series–sadly not available on DVD–are Four Daughters, Four Mothers, and Four Wives.)

DEAD POETS SOCIETY (1989)
This is about boys, not girls, but the electricity of youth and the joy of being taught by an engaged, passionate teacher definitely crosses gender lines. Carpe diem, indeed.

DEVOTION (1946)
It’s no docu, but it sure is drama. Ida Lupino and Olivia deHavilland star in this adaptation of the lives of the literary Brontë sisters.

THE DOLLY SISTERS (1945)
Another sisterly biopic, this one depicting the lives of two Hungarian immigrants who sought fame on the vaudeville stage.

DOUBT (2008)
Meryl Streep chews up the screen as Sister Aloysius, a nun who makes Ebenezer Scrooge look positively low-key. The movie details the conflict between Streep’s character and Father Flynn, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, whom the good Sister suspects of having inappropriate interest in a young altar boy. The delicious Amy Adams co-stars.

THE DUCHESS (2008)
Keira Knightley is both luminous and heartbreaking in the title role of this provocative film based on the life of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, an 18th century noblewoman (and ancestor of Princess Di) trapped in a loveless marriage by a husband who refuses to give up his lover, who happens to be the Duchess’ former best friend. It’s a sobering look at the powerlessness of women in years past, with a sophisticated set of performances from Knightley, Ralph Fiennes as her husband, and Hayley Atwell as Lady Elizabeth Foster, the “other woman.”

THE FAMILY STONE (2005)
You mean holidays don’t bring out the best in your family? Though this film packs in plenty of implausibility, it’s worth seeing a decidedly non-Sex and the City SJP as the uptight girlfriend of Dermot Mulroney, and Claire Danes in action as her scene- and guy-stealing sister.

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (1971)
Classic for a reason, this is a practically perfect movie. All those, “You’ll laugh! You’ll cry!” clichés apply to this story of Russian peasant Tevye desperately trying to marry off his three daughters in a rapidly changing world. It’s got great singing, dancing and beautiful photography. If you’ve never seen it, do—or watch it again, whether you’re one of three single sisters or not.

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES (1991)
Mary Stuart Masterson and a pre-Weeds Mary Louise Parker star as close-as-sisters friends Idgie and Ninny, who bravely challenge the status quo in Whistle Stop, Alabama, in the 1920s.

FRIENDS WITH MONEY (2006)
Jennifer Aniston, Joan Cusack, Catherine Keener and Frances McDormand shine as a quartet of old friends trying to find their way through the complexities life in Los Angeles. Nothing earth-shattering: just the real issues between close friends, with a lot of humor and even more home truth.

THE GOODBYE GIRL (1977)
I was obsessed with this movie when it was released, and, as it turns out, with good reason. Richard Dreyfuss is, well, Richard Dreyfuss, and Marsha Mason is a great foil, but the real star is (only child, ahem) then 10-year-old Quinn Cummings (quite possibly the funniest, most normal former child star ever.) If you ever feel like you and your mom, or you and your daughter, are sisters in spirit–this is the flick for you.

GREASE (1978)
Sister Anastasia nailed this classic when she wrote, “Those Pink Ladies have everything that sister-friends should (or at least that’s what I thought as a child)–musical numbers, jealousy, matching clothes, backstabbing, oh! and a total willingness to change who they are for a man.” Grease is the word, indeed.

HAIRSPRAY (1988)
The original, and still champion. John Waters’s tale of a perky fat girl (Ricki Lake) trying to win a spot on a 1960s TV dance show is campy fun, but also tackles serious issues like civil rights and self-esteem.

HANNAH AND HER SISTERS (1986)
It might not be the best sister movie ever, but then again, it just might be. Hannah (Mia Farrow), and her sisters (Dianne Wiest and Barbara Hershey), eat, talk, laugh, kvetch their way through every permutation of love and relationship in yet another Woody Allen (pre-creepy-stepdaughter-marrying days) love letter to Manhattan. Sit back, and enjoy the ride.

HEAVENLY CREATURES (1994)
Starring a very young Kate Winslet, this might be the best movie ever made about the worlds of fantasy and darkness that are part of girls’ adolescence. Yes, it’s an extreme tale, true, but despite the brutal story and weirdness, it’s totally relatable.

HOLIDAY (1938)
Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn. Nope, it’s not The Philadelphia Story, but it’s every bit as good. Grant is set to marry a socialite, but her father’s not so sure. The socialite’s younger sister–yep: Hepburn–comes to his defense–only to find herself drawn to her sister’s guy. Irresistible, just like its stars.

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS (1995)
From Janet Maslin’s New York Times review: “When Claudia Larson (Holly Hunter) goes from Chicago to Baltimore to visit her family for Thanksgiving, her parents (Charles Durning and Anne Bancroft) are poised at the airport gate, ready to film her arrival with their video camera. ‘I can see your roots, Claudia,’ her mother whispers sweetly during the car ride home. The car is marooned in traffic just then, so Claudia peers longingly into a neighboring car. A stranger, apparently another adult child who has just been nabbed by his parents, is mouthing a cry for help.” It’s not that you can’t go home again, it’s that sometimes, you HAVE to. Holly Hunter? Jodie Foster directing? Just say yes.

THE HOUSE OF YES (2000)
This oddball send-up of more traditional “home for the holidays” films is bizarre as only an incest comedy can be. What would Thanksgiving be without Tori Spelling and a little brotherly-sisterly love?

I’VE LOVED YOU SO LONG (2008)
This French film stars Kristin Scott-Thomas (although English, the actress has lived in France for many years) as Juliette, who mysteriously comes to live with her younger sister and the sister’s husband and daughter after an absence that, once explained, makes you reconsider every moment you’ve witnessed in the film. The ending is a frustrating cheat, but the rest is so good, you won’t much care.

THE ICE STORM (1997)
Another masterpiece of family dysfunction, based on the Rick Moody novel, brilliantly adapted by James Schamus and director Ang Lee. The film tells the story of the family of Paul Hood (Tobey Maguire) and his younger sister Wendy (Christina Ricci), as their parents (Kevin Kline and Joan Allen) struggle to hold themselves and their marriage together.

IN HER SHOES (2005)
When Toni Collette’s character tells her younger sister, played by Cameron Diaz, in this movie “You ruin everything!” it rings all too true, which is the strength of his Curtis Hanson-directed adaptation of Jennifer Weiner’s chick-lit novel. The characters seem formulaic at first, but there’s more going on in this film than you might think, as the (very different) sisters struggle with issues of loss, guilt and self-esteem, not to mention a grandmother (Shirley MacLaine) they’ve never met before.

THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB (2007)
If you’re an Austen scholar, you might want to pass. But if you have a sneaking suspicion that all relationship dramas just might find solutions in the works of Austen, you’re in for a treat. Six women form a book club to read the author’s works, and find their own lives transformed. A great cast (Amy Brenneman, Emily Blunt, Hugh Dancy, Kathy Baker, Jimmy Smits and Maria Bello) add to the fun.

JULIA (1977)
Don’t expect a bio-pic, even though the main character, played by Jane Fonda, is real-life writer Lillian Hellman. Much of this iconic tale of profound female friendship, with Vanessa Redgrave stealing the show in the title role, is fiction. But no matter: Fiction is often the best vehicle for great truth, and that’s the case here. A beautiful, compelling classic drama.

A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN (1992)
Penny Marshall’s funny and affectionate look at the World War II-era professional women’s baseball league is charming, and full of memorable performances from the likes of Geena Davis, Madonna, Rosie O’Donnell and Tom Hanks. This may not be great art, but it’s definitely great entertainment.

LEAVING NORMAL (1992)
When it was originally released, it was dismissed as “another Thelma and Louise,” but this film (bizarrely not available on DVD, only VHS) stands on its own. OK, it’s a road movie, with Marianne (Meg Tilly) leaving her abusive husband, and tagging along with waitress Darly (Christine Lahti) on her trip to Alaska. The performances are terrific, the settings are glorious, and the friendship that Marianne and Darly forge is guaranteed to move you.

LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE (1992)
Forbidden love, bitter sibling rivalry fueled by maternal machinations, and the most mouthwatering food you’ve ever seen, all in one passionate package. Based on the terrific novel of the same name. Make sure you have chocolate on hand, along with the popcorn, for this one.

LITTLE WOMEN (1933, 1949 and 1994)
All three film versions of this ultimate sister book feature fantastic casts and great adaptations of Louisa May Alcott’s classic tale. We’re a bit biased toward the first one (Katherine Hepburn!) and the latest (a young Christian Bale!) but why not have a marathon and watch all three?

LIVING OUT LOUD (1998)
Holly Hunter stars as a recently divorced New Yorker trying to make sense of her life in this gem of a smart comedy, loosely based on Chekhov stories. She forges unexpected friendships with Danny DeVito and Queen Latifah (amazing as a jazz-club torch singer who reignites Holly Hunter’s spark).

LOVELY AND AMAZING (2001)
Michelle (Catherine Keener), a would-be artist, and Elizabeth (Emily Mortimer), a struggling actress, try to manage their mother (Brenda Blethyn), their much-younger adopted sister (Raven Goodwin), and the ups and downs of their love lives.

MAMMA MIA! (2008)
Though this film isn’t literally about sisters, it is all about sister-friends. Donna, the mamma of the title, has her best friends (and former girl-group singing partners), Tanya and Rosie, with her for moral support during the wedding of her daughter, Sophie (who also has her BFFs close at hand.) Meryl Streep has never looked more beautiful, or, it seems, had such fun with a part, and Christine Baranski and Julie Walters are beyond hysterical. Worth seeing for the gorgeous Greek locations and musical numbers alone, but this film is a total crowd-pleaser for sisters and brothers alike.

MARGOT AT THE WEDDING (2007)
Don’t important events, say, like a wedding, always bring out the best in families? Not in this one. Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Jason Leigh play sisters Margot and Pauline, whose reunion for Pauline’s wedding brings out the worst in them, and just about everyone else.

MARY POPPINS (1964)
Let’s not forget that the ultimate nanny musical is also very much about British suffragettes (“Shoulder to shoulder into the fray!”) amidst its wonderful fantasy of chalk paintings come to life and dancing chimney sweeps.

MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS (1945)
Even if it’s not the greatest movie musical of all time (and it just might be) it’s worth watching for the sheer delight of the young Judy Garland, not to mention Margaret O’Brien as her little sister, in this turn-of-the-century (the last century) confection.

MERMAIDS (1990)
Cher stars as the single mom of Winona Ryder and a very young Christina Ricci in this semi-wacky 1960s period piece. Mom’s embarrassing, the girls are quirky, but the whole thing is sweet and funny and full of mom-daughter truths that transcend Hollywood hokeyness.

MONSOON WEDDING (2001)
Weddings are kind of like holidays, when it comes to family dynamics. Whatever can go wrong will. Sometimes it’s hysterical, sometimes it’s tragic, and this lush film from director Mira Nair has both. A gorgeous, funny, shocking don’t-miss-it family dramedy that you and your sisters are sure to love.

MOONSTRUCK (1987)
Not strictly speaking a sister movie, but one of the great girl movies of all time, anyway. You might not think you want to see Cher and Nick Cage in love, but you do. We promise.

MURIEL’S WEDDING (1995)
Toni Colette and Rachel Griffiths are big fancy stars now, but when this movie was made, they were virtually unknown. Seeing them as “before’s” is only a tiny part of the fun of this crazy Australian comedy, which tells the story of friends-as-close-as-sisters Muriel and Rhonda, who leave their small town for the big city to find love and fun. Muriel’s Wedding manages to be ridiculous and deep all at the same time.

MY BEST FRIEND’S WEDDING (1997)
What if the guy who was supposed to be your fall-back marrying man showed up with Cameron Diaz as his fiancée? Even Julia Roberts might have some issues, and she does in this way-above-average romantic comedy (directed, like Muriel’s Wedding, by Aussie P.J. Hogan). As for sisters–well, Julia’s sister-surrogate is her gay best friend, played by the dreamy Rupert Everett. But Rachel Griffiths and Carrie Preston steal the show as two secretly slutty sisters.

MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING (2002)
This comedy was a huge success, mostly because it made us all realize that all families, no matter their origins, are crazy in many of the same ways. Nia Vardalos plays Toula, a 30-year-old Greek woman who works in her family’s restaurant. Her parents just want her to be more like her sister: “Get married already!” “To someone Greek!” But Toula wants more, and when she falls in love with a WASP-y teacher, played by John Corbett, she has to confront her family’s expectations and biases.

MY SISTER EILEEN (1942 and 1955)
One sings, the other doesn’t. Another opportunity for a film fest in these two classic adaptations of a popular stage play, chronicling the adventures of two small-town Ohio sisters who hit the Big Apple to find their fortunes. The later (musical) version features the genius choreographer Bob Fosse as a timid suitor for Eileen.

MY SISTER’S KEEPER (2009)
Cameron Diaz stars as a mom so desperate to save the life of her daughter, Kate, who suffers from a rare form of leukemia, that she conceives a second daughter to provide a bone-marrow transplant. Eventually, the younger daughter, Anna, played by Abigail Breslin, is asked to donate a kidney to Kate as well, and Anna decides to sue her parents for control of her own body and destiny.

NIGHT OF THE COMET (1984)
Two Valley Girl teenage sisters are some of the only non-zombified survivors when a planet wipes out (almost) all life on earth. A rare–and generally successful–sci-fi comedy.

NOTHING LIKE THE HOLIDAYS (2008)
This comedy puts a Latino spin on the usual dramedy of holiday family dysfunction, with the wonderful Elizabeth Pena starring along with John Leguizamo and Debra Messing, of Will and Grace fame.

NOW AND THEN (1995)
This is the chick-flick version of Stand by Me, with Melanie Griffith, Demi Moore, Rosie O’Donnell and Rita Wilson playing the grown-up versions of four best friends who reunite thanks to a childhood pact. The younger versions of the friends, including Christina Ricci and Thora Birch, steal the show.

ONCE AROUND (1991)
Lasse Hallström’s first American film comedically explores the tensions in families–what pulls us together and what tears us apart. In this case, the breaking point may well come from Richard Dreyfuss’s manic courtship of Holly Hunter, but the story is sweet and charming even as Dreyfuss drives everyone crazy.

THE OPPOSITE OF SEX (1998)
You have to love a movie that gets Amazon reviews like “The Opposite of Lousy” and “The Opposite of Boring.” And, better, they’re dead on! Christina Ricci plays a foulmouthed teenage schemer looking for a sucker to pin her unplanned pregnancy on–and she finds him in her half-brother’s gay lover. Lisa Kudrow is the acid-tongued voice of sanity, and of course, no one listens. Hysterical and original.

THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL (2008)
Based on the best-selling novel by Phillippa Gregory, this film tells the story of the Boleyn sisters, notorious Anne and more mysterious Mary. Played by Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson, the two sisters compete for the love of the king–Henry VIII, that is.

THE OTHER SISTER (1999)
Inspired by a true story. Juliette Lewis plays Carla, a mentally challenged woman who falls in love and wants to marry Danny (Giovanni Ribisi). Her mother (Diane Keaton) and two sisters struggle to reconcile their complex feelings and fears for Carla.

THE PARENT TRAP (1961 and 1986)
Your preference between the two versions may have a lot to do with your age, but either one is delicious, guilty-pleasure entertainment. Hayley Mills’s version is the classic, but it’s great to see a pre-rehab Lindsay Lohan–she’s adorable and gives a fine performance, to boot.

PASSION FISH (1992)
Sisterhood comes when you least expect it, sometimes. That’s certainly the case in this story of an injured actress (Mary McDonnell) and her home-care worker (Alfre Woodard), who form an unlikely, sometimes difficult bond on the Louisiana Bayou. A plus: great music.

PARENTHOOD (1989)
If your taste in sisflix runs to family comedies, you can’t do much better than this contemporary classic starring Steve Martin as dad Gil, Mary Steenburgen as his wife, and Dianne Wiest and Martha Plimpton as his two sisters.

PERSEPOLIS (2007)
This incredible, must-see animated film is based on the book, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, a graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, who also directs the film. A fictionalized version of the director/author’s childhood in Tehran, the movie is set against the backdrop of the overthrow of the Shah, the Iran-Iraq War and the rise to power of the Islamic fundamentalist government. (The book was followed by a sequel, Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return, which is also incorporated into the film.)

PICNIC (1955)
Three women, two of them sisters (Kim Novak and Susan Strasberg) fall for a hunky drifter (William Holden), who rolls into their small Midwestern town.

PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK (1975)
The hothouse atmosphere of a Victorian-era Australian girls’ boarding school grows even more intense when some of the girls disappear on a school outing. This is an unusual, moody, gorgeous film.

PRACTICAL MAGIC (1998)
Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman star in this adaptation of Alice Hoffman’s best-selling novel about two witch-sisters who can’t seem to find a way to undo a family curse that kills any man the sisters love. A terrific supporting cast includes Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (2005)
You may have to suspend more than a little disbelief to believe that anyone would worry about whether or not Keira Knightley could find a husband. But if you can get past that little hurdle, this liberal adaptation of the Jane Austen classic is delicious. Brenda Blethyn and Matthew MacFayden also star.

RACHEL GETTING MARRIED (2008)
Jonathan Demme’s drama of family dysfunction is highlighted by fantastic performances from Anne Hathaway and Rosemary DeWitt , and an absurdly fun and hip soundtrack. One of our readers called it “wise, nuanced and often excruciatingly funny” and we agree. Raise a glass to this terrific–and intense–sister story.

RAISING ARIZONA (1987)
Possibly the only quintuplet-kidnapping-caper movie on the list, the Coen brothers classic is painfully funny, odd as can be and totally original. A screwball comedy of the first order.

THE SAVAGES (2007)
Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman play dysfunctional siblings in this nuanced, truthful drama. As Wendy and Jon Savage struggle with their ailing father’s decline, they confront complex relationships–full of both conflict and love. Real sisters (and their brothers) will relate.

THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES (2008)
What a cast! This adaptation of the best-selling book stars Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys and Queen Latifah, along with the luminous Sophie Okonedo.

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (1995)
Don’t you always want to watch Jane Austen with your sisters? This is the best of the best, whether you’ve seen it a million times, or never. Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson (who also wrote it) are so totally brilliant as the Dashwood sisters that you may never tolerate another BBC Austen-fest again. The second perfect Ang Lee film on this list. And the men? Hunky Greg Wise? Irresistibly rakish and charming Hugh Grant? Sigh.

SET IT OFF (1996)
There aren’t many female heist movies, and this is one of the best. A superstar cast (Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifa, Vivica Fox and the underrated Kimberly Elise) play four sister-friends struggling to keep it together in South Central Los Angeles. When the women decide their only chance is to rob a bank, they initially succeed, but their friendships are tested. The movie gives a real portrayal of deeply bonded female friends, and doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to depicting the lives they’ve been handed, and the life they’ve chosen. A rare combination of action movie and provocative character study, this one is worth a watch.

SEX AND THE CITY (2008)
So what if the movie isn’t quite as good as the show? It’s still a sister-power confection of great shoes and lots of cocktails, as Carrie tries, once and for all, to find love and happiness with Big. Bring on the Cosmos.

SILKWOOD (1983)
Meryl Streep and Cher are electrifying as roommates and friends who discover that they’re being contaminated by the nuclear plant where they work. Based on a true story, the film was nominated for five Academy Awards. Chilling, disturbing and moving.

SISTERS (1973)
This may be the only Siamese twin movie on the list, but no matter. In one of Brian DePalma’s first scare-fest’s, Margot Kidder plays Danielle, a model who’s been separated from–yep, her Siamese twin, Dominique–who may, or may not, be guilty of a brutal murder. Yikes! Watch this one with your sissies, not alone.

SIXTEEN CANDLES (1984)
When her entire family forgets Samantha’s 16th birthday (because they’re too busy planning for her older sister’s upcoming wedding) she thinks it can’t get much worse. She’s wrong, but the results are hilarious in this classic John Hughes teen comedy, which made an ‘80s icon out of Molly Ringwald.

SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE (2003)
Diane Keaton thinks she’s long past the age of romance, until she meets her daughter’s (Amanda Peet) new “boy”friend, played by Jack Nicholson. One of the best romantic comedies of the last few years, it also features a great performance by Frances McDormand as Keaton’s younger, bolder sister.

SOUL FOOD (1997)
This low-budget film by a then-virtually unknown director was a huge success, even spawning a spin-off TV series that ran for four seasons on Showtime. Sunday dinners are the glue that holds sisters Teri (Vanessa Williams), Maxine (Vivica Fox) and Robin, aka “Bird” (Nia Long) together for years. But when their mother becomes ill, and tensions rise among the sisters, it falls to Maxine’s young son, Ahmad, to help the women realize what really matters to them is family. Real sister-issues, really good food–what more do you need?

STEEL MAGNOLIAS (1989)
The “sisters” in the Herb Ross-directed three-hanky weep-fest are of the mother-daughter and gang-of-gals variety, but that’s irrelevant. Scoff if you want, but it’s one of the greatest chick flicks ever made, big hair and all.

SWEETIE (1989)
Director Jane Campion’s debut film tells the story of uptight Kay (Karen Colston) and her freewheeling sister, Dawn, aka “Sweetie” (Genevieve Lemon,) whose untamed nature is the result of mental illness. TSP’s own Margaret loves this movie, which she called “a moving masterpiece of sisterly dysfunction.”

TERMS OF ENDEARMENT (1983)
Another flick where mother and daughter are like sisters, this one’s based on the novel by American legend Larry McMurtry. Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger star in this fantastic, larger-than-life family dramedy. It cleaned up in the Academy Awards, and for good reason.

THELMA AND LOUISE (1991)
The ultimate female buddy movie, with Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon as accidental outlaws, on the road, fleeing the consequences of a tragic incident in a roadside bar; Brad Pitt becoming a star overnight for his sexy turn as a cowboy, and one of my favorite hopeful lines in all of moviedom, “We’ll be drinking margaritas by the sea, mamacita.” Salud to you, Thelma and Louise.

THE TURNING POINT (1977)
Before he played Sarah Jessica Parker’s broody Russian lover in Sex and the City, a much younger Mikhail Baryshnikov made his screen debut in this based-on-a-true-story tale of two grown women once close-as-sisters, now divided by their choices: one chose dance, the other her family. Set in the world of professional ballet, it features gorgeous dance sequences–these alone would make it worth seeing, even if the rest of it weren’t fantastic!

THE VIRGIN SUICIDES (1999)
This moody interpretation of the Jeffrey Eugenides novel is Sofia Coppola’s directing debut, and evidence of her already-sure hand. The film tells the story of five teenage sisters, the Lisbons, who become the stuff of legend in their 1970s Michigan suburb after the suicide of the youngest sister. A fascinating examination of the trauma of adolescence and sexual awakening–and it’s also got not one, but two, awesome soundtracks. One features ’70s hits, while the other is mainly instrumental electronica from the French group Air.

WAITING TO EXHALE (1995)
Though it was a phenomenon upon its initial release, this film doesn’t hold up as well as the Terry McMillan novel upon which it was based. That said, it’s still a funny and powerful look at four “sisters,” played by Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine and Lela Rochon, who back one another up when the men in their lives blow it.

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (1962)
It doesn’t get much darker or weirder than this classic drama starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford (real-life enemies) as sisters Jane and Blanche Hudson. Jane was a nightmare diva, until Blanche’s star rose in Hollywood and her fame surpassed her sister’s. Now the two faded stars are trapped together under one roof, and Jane is convinced that if she can only get rid of Blanche, her star will rise again. An uber-creepy thriller that will make you appreciate “normal” conflict with your sisters.

WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954)
With songs by Irving Berlin and glorious Technicolor, you’re already ahead. Former WWII Army buddies Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye want to help a friend save his ski resort; to bring in business, they hook up with the fabulous singing Hanes Sisters (Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen.) Whether it’s Christmas in July or in December, White Christmas is a perfect present.

THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK (1987)
Be careful what you wish for. When Susan Sarandon, Cher and Michelle Pfeiffer attempt to alleviate the boredom of their small-town lives with a little hocus-pocus, they end up raising the devil–aka Jack Nicholson. This adaptation of the John Updike novel descends a bit into campy theatrics at the end, but the performances are fantastic and it’s oddly relatable for women of many ages.

YOU CAN COUNT ON ME (2000)
Laura Linney breaks your heart as an orphaned adult in this sweet, original independent film. She’s got a lot on her plate, between life as a single mom and her demanding new boss, when her troubled younger brother (Mark Ruffalo) unexpectedly pops back into her life.

YOUNG AT HEART (1954)
Three musical young women (Doris Day, Dorothy Malone and Elizabeth Fraser) fall hard for their family’s new boarder, songwriter Alex–that is, until they meet his piano player: Frank Sinatra. The chipper Day is determined to win over the cynical musician. Along the way, we’re treated to a series of fantastic musical numbers (Someone to Watch Over Me, One for My Baby, and Just One of Those Things, among others) and as a bonus, terrific acting, too. (Trivia note: This is a remake of the 1938 film, Four Daughters–one daughter was written out of this one. Both are based on the novel by Fannie Hurst.)

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