This September, We Really Like Her! invites you and your bestie to a screening of Claudia Weill’s iconic 1978 dramedy Girlfriends.
A huge influence on Greta Gerwig, Lena Dunham and Nicole Holofcener, Girlfriends tells the all-too-relatable story of how friendship between women can fade when one of them gets in a romantic relationship. The film, which won the People’s Choice Award at the third edition of TIFF, follows neurotic bar mitzvah photographer Susan (Melanie Mayron, who would go on to direct The Baby-Sitters Club) after her closest pal, WASP-y writer Anne (Anita Skinner), moves out of their shared apartment to pursue married life (cue Bob Balaban as Martin).
While it was eventually distributed by Warner Brothers, production on Girlfriends was a labour of love with Weill initially working with a $80,000 grant before having to seek out private investments to finish the film. The final result is as scrappy (complimentary!) and determined as its filmmaker was, setting the stage for a new wave of equally bold women filmmakers (think Susan Seidelman, Martha Coolidge, Lizzie Borden) to reclaim the canon. It helps that Mayron is simply irresistible in the lead role, thrusting a character who typically would be pushed aside as the "quirky sidekick" into the centre of the narrative.
Simply put, without Girlfriends, we wouldn’t have shows like Girls or movies like Frances Ha. So, come pay your respects to the female friendship flick that started it all.