Classic Chick Lits

I know what you’re thinking. I must admit, the title is a total paradox. How could you even put the words “classic” and “chick lit” together? Although it was not spoken out loud in my university, a penchant for chick lits would be a mortal sin for any English Literature and Creative Writing Major. I therefore confess – I am a sinner! :-)

Of course, I also read the likes of Diane Ackerman, Jeanette Winterson, Margaret Atwood, Isabel Allende, Anais Nin, Sylvia Plath, Tracy Chevalier among the many other formidable (more serious) female contemporary writers that I have encountered in college, but there was just something about chick lits that was gratifying. It was my junk food in between these gourmet entrees. Guilty pleasure, if you may. And just like any junk food, it was bound to be devoured in volumes. Soon enough in the past decade, it was probably the only genre that raked in money for publishing companies and we’ve seen how these books turned into box-office hits worldwide.

I found myself blogging about chick lits today because I just saw the trailer for the movie version of Sophie Kinsella’s “Confessions of a Shopaholic” which is due to come out in 2009. It stars the adorable Isla Fisher (that love-crazed girl in Wedding Crashers), who I totally have a girl-crush on, hehehe. Anyway, I kinda chuckled at the fact that of all people, the movie’s producer is none other than THE Jerry Bruckheimer. Now when did Jerry ever begin to take interest in chick lits? I guess he got bored blowing up planes and cities.

We’ve always known Mr. Bruckheimer as one of the most respected, intelligent and business-savvy movie producers of our time. The idea of Bruckheimer producing a movie about a New Yorker who gets into a life and DEBT situation with her monstrous credit card bills is just something I am baffled with. I read the book. Okay, here’s a confession. I have three of these Kinsella kitschy novels (Disclaimer: my mom got them for me. She likes to update me with what’s new at Barnes & Noble) and let me tell you, though they’re “entertaining” to say the least, they’re nothing extraordinary. I have read enough chick lits to say that Rebecca Bloomwood (the Shopaholic heroine) was just another Bridget Jones wannabe. Truth is, after Helen Fielding published this now famous diary in 1996, it unleashed a battalion of Bridgets. In the book Becky (Rebecca) was actually Brit and they must have turned her into a New Yorker in the movie to prevent any comparison with Ms. Jones. As if we couldn’t see through that.



It was quite surprising that Shopaholic spawned a trilogy. I guess that proves that every woman out there can relate to Retail Therapy, my mom definitely included. Well, I was once a shopaholic myself and I’ve had my own living nightmare with Citibank but thank God that’s all over. Now I don’t have a credit card and I don’t even want to get one anymore. I pay in cold cash now.



So what makes a classic chick lit? There are actually clichés that govern the genre. If you’re already a chick lit reader you may have noticed the following standard story and character elements. Or if you’re still someone who’s scratching his head and asking “What in the world is chick lit?” read on and unravel the mystery…

First of all, if you visit any bookstore nowadays, I’m pretty sure it’s hard to miss a chick lit novel. The PINK COVER is a dead giveaway. Blame it on Barbie. Pink has become the international color code for fashion and any stuff that’s “girly.” So you take this book and as you breeze through its pages you’ll discover these things:

In a classic chick lit, our heroine is either looking for Mr. Right or getting over Mr. Wrong. In the middle of this love crisis, she’s also in some sort of a career conundrum. She’s either in a dead-end job or is looking to climb the corporate ladder. Another very important detail is that a chick lit heroine more often than not works in media, public relations, advertising or for a woman’s magazine. Her story is usually told in the first person and if we could actually hear her, she would sound articulate, quirky, funny, light-hearted and sometimes if need be bitchy but still in a cute way. And by novel’s end, the heroine usually has worked out all her problems and has learned “important” lessons about life. That typically means she got the man of her dreams or she got promoted. Basically it’s a happy ending but it leaves enough space for a sequel.

I would have to say that based on the above mentioned elements, my twenty-something single life was one big classic chick lit novel. I was a classic chick lit heroine – a hapless single girl in hot pursuit of love and life’s little luxuries in the big city. My fairy tale ending was my wedding. My Mr. Darcy turned out to be Joseph. Hahaha.

Furthermore, aside from these formulas, there are still more chick lit clichés that I can relate to. A classic chick lit heroine always had these stereotypical characters around her: 1) The supportive female best friend 2) The overbearing mother 3) The guy she ought to fall in love with 4) The fabulous gay confidante and 5) The boss everybody hates. Anybody who knows me well enough would agree that these people are indeed real life characters in my bio. In fact, I actually have an unpublished memoir of my misadventures in Manila which I think should remain unpublished since it would totally contradict my new Christian life now. Hahaha. It was actually entitled “Chronicles of my Men Catastrophes.” It was my young adult life written ala chick lit.

Speaking of classic chick lits, I decided to sneak in a Fave Five list in this article. I thought of counting down my five favorite chick lits turned into chick flicks. So I’m only listing down the books that were already turned into movies. So Candace Bushnell’s SATC is out, as well as Kinsella’s Shopaholic since it has not hit theaters yet. Just a note, I really only have 3 favorites, I’m just stretching the list to 5 to adhere to my “fave five” rules. Hehe.



5) The Princess Diaries (Meg Cabot) – Not exactly your typical chick lit heroine. The book reads much like Sweet Valley High (anybody who grew up in the 90s knows this). However, it was cute and the usual ugly duckling turning into a swan story worked just right.



4) The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares) AND Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (Rebecca Wells) – They share one spot in my list because they’re practically made from the same mold. Traveling Pants could actually pass off as the junior version of Ya-Ya. Again not your typical chick lit as these stories revolve around the friendship of four friends in suburbia. Come to think of it, they’re actually like candy versions of SATC which also has four female lead characters.



3) The Nanny Diaries (Nicola Kraus & Emma McLaughlin) – Unfortunately this bestselling book didn’t turn into a box-office hit. Maybe it was a lack of promotion or maybe the casting was kind of questionable, ‘cos I personally didn’t imagine Scarlett Johansson while I was reading the book. And maybe it was also because the movie made several big changes in the screenplay. The heroine’s background was one of them, which is probably why I could not imagine Scarlett while I was reading the novel.

The book’s Nanny and the movie’s Annie came from different social backgrounds. I guess for the movie, they decided to make the heroine more attainable – a working class daughter of a New Jersey nurse who decides to get a nanny job in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The book’s Nanny on the other hand was a Child Development Major at New York University. Her parents are wealthy and well-educated, so we see that the only reason for her in taking a professional baby-sitting job was due to a school requirement. Of course, the novel’s main point was Nanny’s own epiphany as she suddenly sees the ugly pores of her own wealthy world through the other side of the social spectrum. Annie in the movie on the other hand has the typical Maid in Manhattan story.

But despite all those differences, I still liked the book and the movie as well simply because they practically turned out to be two different optimistic stories.



2) The Devil Wears Prada (Lauren Weisberger) – Now this wasn’t only a compelling read, the film even gained an Oscar nomination. Can you believe that? An Oscar nomination off a chick flick? Who knew! Meryl Streep was PERFECT for the role. Oh Meryl happens to be one of my favorite actresses of all time and because of that I think I’m gonna feature my Fave Five Streep Flicks soon. Hehe.

Now this story is a certified classic chick lit. It’s got all the elements and clichés that we’ve talked about earlier. I could imagine my friends who are working at the Summit Media magazines as they nod in unison at each oh-I-can-relate-to-that moment in the movie. The closest I could come to sharing Andrea’s burdens is her BOSS. I’ve had my share of difficult bosses but I could never forget my very first boss. Although she was no Miranda Priestly, she was feisty and scary enough. But hey, I definitely learned a lot from her. And I have her to thank for paving the way of my career.



1) Bridget Jones’s Diary (Helen Fielding) – Helen Fielding started it all. I have mentioned in my earlier blogs that I related to Bridget Jones a lot in my single life before I became a Christian. Bad boyfriends. Bad habits. Body Images Issues. Biological Clock Threats. I shared Bridget’s disgust on marriage simply because it has not presented itself to me and to her for that matter. And of course that all changed. Hahaha! Bridget and I both came in terms with our issues and we got the happy endings that we deserved and waited for God knows how long. The only difference was, while Bridget stopped counting calories and ciggies, I met Christ and fell in love with Him instead. A much better ending I would have to say. And that is why this blog has a part 2...

What if Bridget went to Church?: Redeeming the Pink Pocketbooks thru Christian Chick Lit (CLICK HERE FOR THE BLOG SEQUEL)