Role Reversals in Romance and Action Films

As I said in the last entry, traditionally masculine and feminine movie genres have had a gender swap over time.  Third wave feminists complain that there aren’t enough strong female leading actresses, and they herald the advent of Wonder Woman.  I loved the movie, however Gal Gadot was preceded by Lynda Carter in television series during the late 70s.

When “guy flick” is mentioned, people think of hyper-masculine, muscle-packed action movies, but there are romance films that reveal men’s emotions.  The term, Bromance, has circulated and become known as the counterpart for Chick Flick.

Here I show you Then and Now lists for Action and Romance films.  I am sticking to the classics and well known titles within the genres, with a few exceptions.  Some of these titles cross over the decades, and sometimes the genre gender swap was ahead of its time.  To keep it simple, I’m excluding sequels.  If there is a trilogy, I note that.

Then:  Action Movies with Male Leads

1.  Death Wish (1974) – Charles Bronson

2.  Rambo/First Blood (1982) – Sylvester Stallone

3.  The Terminator (1984) – Arnold Schwarzenegger

4.  Predator (1987) Arnold Schwarzenegger

5.  Lethal Weapon (1987) – Mel Gibson, Danny Glover

6.  Die Hard (1988) - Bruce Willis

7.  Speed (1994) Keanu Reeves

8.  The Matrix (1999) Keanu Reeves

Later Action Films with Men
9.  The Scorpion King (2002) – Dwayne Johnson

10. The Tales of Riddick (2004) – Vin Diesel

11.  Sherlock Holmes (2009) – Robert Downey Jr.

12.  Most Marvel movies

Now:  Action Films with Female Leads
1.  Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) – Linda Hamilton, Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes

2.  Captain Marvel (2019) – Brie Larson

3.  Wonder Woman (2017) – Gal Gadot

4.  Ghost in the Shell (2017) Scarlett Johansson

5.  The Hunger Games (2012) – Jennifer Lawrence

6.  Sucker Punch (2011) – Emily Browning, Vanessa Hudgens, Abbie Cornish

7.  Ultra Violet (2006) – Milla Jovovich

8.  Aeon Flux (2005) - Charlize Theron

9.  Kill Bill (2003, 2004) – Uma Thurman

10. Underworld (2003) – Kate Beckinsale

11. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) - Angelina Jolie

Early Action Films with Leading Women

12.  Aliens (1986) - Sigourney Weaver

13.  Tank Girl (1995) – Lori Petty, Naomi Watts

The next set of lists are the Then and Now of Chick-Flicks and Bromances.  These lists are not definitive, and some may argue what counts as part of the genres.  Here are the criteria I used to label the films.

Chick Flick - 1.  Female protagonist(s).  2.  Focuses on female emotions and attitudes.  3.  Plot traditionally consists of romance, but in recent years friendships, and/or female empowerment have been added to the mix.  For the sake of consistency, the lists are romance based.  The stereotype-defying examples are listed in the previous entry, Feminist Chick Flicks.

Bromance – 1.  Male protagonist(s).  2.  Focuses on male emotions and attitudes.  3.  Plot consists of romance, friendships, and/or overcoming obstacles and life lessons.  This is almost the same as Chick Flicks, hence it’s the counterpart.

Then:  Chick Flicks

1.  Gigi (1958)

2.  Grease (1978)

3.  Pretty in Pink (1986)

4.  Moonstruck (1987)

5.  Dirty Dancing (1987)

6.  Titanic (1997)

7.  Legally Blonde (2001)

8.  Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)

Later Chick Flicks

9.  The Notebook (2004)

10. Twilight saga (2008 - 2012)

11. Valentine’s Day (2010)

12. Winter’s Tale (2014)

2000s:  Bromances

1.  The Hangover (2009)

2.  Superbad (2007)

3.  Wild Hogs (2007)

4.  Hitch (2005)

5.  Wedding Crashers (2005)

6.  The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)

7.  Anchorman (2004)

8.  Harold and Kumar trilogy (2004 - 2011)

Bromances that were ahead of its time

9.  Wayne’s World (1992)

10. The Great Gatsby (1974)

11. Harold and Maude (1971)

12. That one movie title I just can’t remember; 80s flick where ugly guy who looks like Uncle Fester gets turned into a Patrick Swayze lookalike to get the pretty girl.

Originally a Facebook Note posted: December 9, 2017

Updated: March 5, 2020; March 25, 2020