Magic Mike XXL means one thing: girls' night out! But leaving the kids at home for a night of letting loose with friends isn’t always possible. So, for those who don’t have the luxury of getting out, but happen to have kids who go to bed early, try the alternative: moms' night in! Here are some fun films available on DVD or On Demand for you and your friends – no guys allowed… unless they’re on-screen and shirtless.
Magic Mike. Check out where it all began. One of the fun things about a girls' night in is the ability to squeal with your friends over the film while slipping in some chitchat during the less essential moments. Channing Tatum and Joe Mangianello’s washboard abs and thrusting bump and grind? Essential.
On the Menu: Vanilla ice cream topped with Lucky Charms – because I think we can all agree, the Kings of Tampa are magically delicious.
Serve: A Lucky Charms milkshake cocktail! We recommend you make it with Muscle Milk.
The Devil Wears Prada. First job, nightmare boss, cool clothes, female empowerment, wicked dialogue – it’s possible to get a man to watch this movie with you, it’s just difficult to get him to appreciate it the way women do.
On the Menu: Dragon rolls and devil’s food cake.
Serve: Piping hot Starbucks coffee, what Miranda Priestly wants on her desk every morning. Or to feel the kind of heat Andi gets from her boss, make a Margarita Diablo by adding some muddled fresh jalapeno or serrano peppers to your drink.
Sex and the City movie. Entourage was always the male version of Sex and the City, so send the hubs to bro up at the theater while the ladies load up on Cosmos and Big, while discussing how Carrie Bradshaw is the only person who can pull off that bridal hat.
On the Menu: A “Big” plate of nachos. The girls spend some time in Mexico… and even bitterness goes down better with a scoop of guacamole.
Serve: Big Apple cosmos.
Xanadu. Yeah, I said it. This film is campy and ridiculous in all the best ways with a killer ‘80s-flashback soundtrack. Girls just wanna wear roller skates.
On the Menu: Raspberries. This Olivia Newton-John romantic musical is what inspired the creation of the Golden Raspberry Awards, which recognizes the worst in film.
Serve: Xanadu cocktail, which is a basil-and-grapefruit rum drink.
Bridesmaids. Mixing complicated female relationships, thirtysomething accomplishment angst, and the stress and silly nonsense surrounding a wedding makes for pure hilarity. Plus, you’ll never look at a bridal boutique the same way again.
On the Menu: Brazilian steak. I’m just kidding, try cupcakes like the ones at Annie Walker’s failed bakery.
Serve: Whine. Wine. Annie does a lot of feeling sorry for herself.
The Heat. Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock make the perfect comedy team – and the way McCarthy lets it all fly allows us to follow suit, especially when your crew tries to learn the duo’s drunk dance routine.
On the Menu: Boston cream pie, for the city where the film takes place.
Serve: Whiskey or beer, blue-collar beverages all the way.
The Boy Next Door. Not because this movie is good, but because it’s not. And, the formula – one-night stand turned stalker – is steamy with a side of kick-ass. Post-movie conversation: does the state of J-Lo’s acting career warrant that she be nearly naked in a steamy movie or do you think she’s so fit at 45 that she WANTS to show it all off, a la Gwyneth Paltrow? Discuss.
On the Menu: Beef enchiladas with American cheese.
Serve: The Creep Up. This passion fruit drink “creeps up” on you: Just mix one shot each of Bacardi 151 and Malibu coconut rum, orange juice, pineapple juice and passion fruit juice.
The Other Woman. TV reality shows like to show women as catty, scrappy and ready to pull out some hair extensions. Leslie Mann, Cameron Diaz and Kate Upton show that friendship comes from unexpected places when women look out for one another instead of compete.
On the Menu: Individual containers of Ben & Jerry’s – the perfect remedy for a broken heart and a bruised ego.
Serve: Shots? This movie has its own drinking game.
How to Marry a Millionaire. Women had fewer moneymaking options in the 1950s, so Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall and Betty Grable strike a plan: pool their funds and rent an upscale penthouse apartment to attract a rich husband. Ultimately, though, it’s a comedy about girlfriends and having each other’s backs.
On the Menu: Millionaires. A sweet confection made with Hershey’s kisses, sticky caramel and, of course, it’s nutty!
Serve: Golddigger shots: one part Jack Daniels, one part Goldschläger.
The Philadelphia Story. When people complain, “They don’t make movies like they used to,” they’re talking about this movie. This Katherine Hepburn film about a society girl on the weekend of her second wedding isn’t a love triangle, it’s a love square. Sharp, witty dialogue mixed with outstanding acting and an unexpected story makes this a great choice among friends who like to be absorbed in an excellent film.
On the Menu: Stuffed shells made with Philadelphia Cream Cheese, for all the stuffed shirts in this classic.
Serve: Pick Your “Poison.” Hepburn overcame her reputation as box office poison and got her career rolling again by acquiring the rights to the smash stage play on her own, then presenting it to studio heads with the insistence that she play the lead. Well played, Kate, well played. If an assortment of drinks isn’t possible, then go with champagne in flutes – this is a high-falutin’ wedding, after all.
Chicago. If there’s one thing about women, we love the opportunity to dress up. Friends should come over sporting ‘20s headbands and boas, at the very least. If there’s another thing about women, we love to watch great choreography, and this Oscar-winning adaptation of the Broadway musical features some of the best dance sequences cinema has ever seen. And, if there’s yet another thing about women, it’s that we somehow gather frenemies – women we don’t always like, but they’re in our life and we kinda need them. That’s what Chicago is all about.
On the Menu: Mankiller, which is a dish representing the diversity in the Chicago Women’s Prison: a healthy portion of crab, shrimp, sausage, and of course, chicken breasts and gams.
Serve: The Razzle Dazzle. A vodka-cran with blueberries, mint and all that jazz.
Sleepless in Seattle. This Nora Ephron film is the cinematic equivalent to comfort food with the most quotable lines per minute for a chick flick. It’s a romance about a girl with a perfectly fine fiance, but when she hears a voice on the radio describe love, she falls for him…and so do we ("I was just taking her hand to help her out of a cab. And it was like... magic." *sigh*). Now, if our friend went to find this guy, we’d stage a psychological intervention, but Rosie O’Donnell plays the ultimate BFF and the perfect boss who enables Meg Ryan to pursue it. The girl camaraderie extends to their own girls' night in, watching the Cary Grant/Deborah Kerr classic An Affair to Remember. (And for the record, it’s pronounced “Carr.”)
On the Menu: Seattle apple cake. This uses Washington apples and pays homage to the ability of Annie and Sam’s late wife to “peel an apple in one long, curly strip. The whole apple.”
Serve: Coffee, of course, which gives you the flavor of Seattle and will leave you sleepless.
An Affair to Remember. Who can forget Meg Ryan and Rosie O’Donnell cry-quoting this film’s overdramatic line, “Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories?” Create some by watching this romance with friends: it’s funny and quippy during the first half (Cocktails! Appetizers! Chitchat!) and overwrought and tearful in the second (snuggle up in a blanket and pass the tissues). Plus, Cary Grant gives up money and his playboy ways for a regular, flawed woman – who doesn’t want to get lost in that idea?
On the Menu: Pissaladiere nicoise vegetarienne (or vegetarian Mediterranean-style onion tarts, but that doesn’t sounds as fancy). Nickie falls for Terry when she meets his grandmother during a cruise ship stop in Villefranche-sur-Mer, so you and your friends must internalize that moment by eating something French/Mediterranean.
Serve: Pink champagne. Nickie and Terry can’t drink enough of the stuff (because, as it turns out, this is an early example of product placement).
Fifty Shades of Grey. You know it’s on DVD now, right?
On the Menu: The Food Network actually recommends this as an accompaniment to the film and we wholeheartedly agree: Fallen Chocolate Cakes Stuffed with Whipped Cream Filling.
Serve: Pomegranate margaritas. After Ana drinks this tequila beverage, she is loopy enough to call Christian, which sets their destiny in motion. But remember, friends don’t let friends drunk dial.
