10 Badass Girl Team Movies

First, we have new videos from The Runaways! More anticipation! Firstly, about the Cherry Bomb music video, Vulture says that “while [Dakota Fanning] doesn’t seem uncomfortable in her skin, exactly, there’s a vulnerability to her red-lit motions toward brazenness — especially during the “Hello, Dad; hello, Mom” parts — that gives us a pang of parental panic. A pang of “Hannah Dakota Fanning! Put on some clothes! Someone out there could see you!”

Also, E! wants to know if The Runaways is parent-approved, hahaha no they’re not talking about YOUR parents weirdo, they’re talking about Kristen Stewart & Dakota Fanning’s parents. Anyhow, there are new trailers all over the internet by now.

So here we have a new featurette and seven clips from The Runaways.

Although the promise of girl-on-girl action draws us to this flick like bees to honey (you know all about that right, like the circle of life or whatever) it’s also ’cause we like to see girls IN ACTION. Like with each other. Making bands, playing sports, training a nun chorus, whatever.  Leading political movements (yeah, one day we’ll get a movie like that). When a girl and another girl or many other girls accomplish shit, together. Especially if they’re cute.

We’re not speaking of the shopping/romance flicks where the woman wins for standing up to her philandering husband after Eva Mendes stole him at Bloomingdales. We’re also not speaking of violent/superpower movies, ’cause that’s like a whole ‘nother list for girls who can handle seeing guns on TV.

See there are always movies about groups of guys getting together and changing the world. Political movies, movies about dude bands — hell, there are probs more movies about (male) football teams than there are movies about any girls sports team at all ever. So here’s Ten Movies About Strong Kickass Groups and Teams of Ladies that we’re looking forward to, like The Runaways (which we actually hear is more about the dude that managed them than their relationship with each other).

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10 Badass Girl Power Films

When Tough Girls Get Together With Other Girls and Do Shit+

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10. Whip It! (2009) – Ellen Page, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Eve, Kristen Wiig

This film featured so many of our favorite female actresses that we were biologically obligated to view it, like How to Make an American Quilt, which actually ended up sucking sorta.

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9. Blue Crush(2002) – Kate Bosworth, Michelle Rodriguez

Surfing makes bodies hot, and they set a goal and then achieve it, and even though Michelle Rodriguez won’t come out, you probs own this movie. To be honest I haven’t seen it, but I felt somehow it needed to be included. y/n?

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8. Bring It On (2001) – Kristen Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Gabrielle Union

It makes me feel how Glee makes me feel, except more heteronormative. Also the sequels are good fun.

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7. Troop Beverly Hills (1998) – Shelly Long

I remember this being a lot less about shopping than I realize it actually is, but they had so many montages of progress and cookie-selling and a ton of musical numbers.

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6. Set It Off(1996) – Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox, Jada Pinkett

I can’t watch some of the scenes b/c I have feelings about gun/violence, but other than that, it’s good like Bad Girls is good. Also coughlesbianenergy.

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5. Ladies And Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains (1982) – Diane Lane, Laura Dern

As mentioned in our interview with Marisa Meltzer and in a post by the best media studies graduate of all time, fourfour.

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4. The Craft (1995) – Neve Campbell, Rachel True, Robin Tunney

How many people did you put a hex on after you saw this movie. Like so many people right?

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3. Bend It Like Beckham (2003) – Keira Knightley, Parminder Nagra

Every lesbian loves this movie, right? Also there was supposed to be a lesbian element to the story, but they took it out and made it a boy-girl romance b/c mainstream media wants to ruin our lives and wants us to be unhappy.

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2. Sister Act (1992) – Whoopi Goldberg, Kathy Najimy

I have seven words for you: Montage of Remodeling and Making Musical Progress. Also, if those nuns were real and it’d come out in 2010, those nuns would be on YouTube with “My God.”

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1. A League of Their Own (1992) – Geena Davis, Rosie O’Donnell, Madonna, Lori Petty

I feel legitimately blessed to live in a world with this movie in it, even though “This Used to be My Playground” and “Now and Forever” make me cry like a pansy.


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Next:
Dead Gay Characters, Lady Gaga & The Muppets,
Girltrash vlog and 90210’s lesbian kiss ON VIDEO

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Riese

Riese is the 41-year-old Co-Founder of Autostraddle.com as well as an award-winning writer, video-maker, LGBTQ+ Marketing consultant and aspiring cyber-performance artist who grew up in Michigan, lost her mind in New York and now lives in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared in nine books, magazines including Marie Claire and Curve, and all over the web including Nylon, Queerty, Nerve, Bitch, Emily Books and Jezebel. She had a very popular personal blog once upon a time, and then she recapped The L Word, and then she had the idea to make this place, and now here we all are! In 2016, she was nominated for a GLAAD Award for Outstanding Digital Journalism. She's Jewish and has a cute dog named Carol. Follow her on twitter and instagram.

Riese has written 3159 articles for us.

35 Comments

  1. haha i feel a little young for this list, i haven’t seen a significant portion of these. maybe they weren’t big in australia. but, i did see foxfire, i mean hello angelina jolie, jenny shimizu, jenny lewis, what’s not to like?

    p.s. not criticising the top 10 list, just an addendum, that was the first film that sprang to mind when i read the title.

    • They were big in Australia but yeah, I think they were probably a little before your time. I own some of these and so I’ll lend them to you.

  2. The first thing that sprang to my mind at the mention of girl team movies was A League of Their Own and I was worried it wasn’t going to make the list, then BAM! There it was at #1 where it belongs!

    I recall watching it during my most cynical and detached phase as a teenager, where I probably hadn’t cried for three years, then I watched that film and wailed inconsolably at the end.

    Anyway, I shall have to append the films in that list that I haven’t seen to my ever lengthening list of must-watches.

    Also, that article about the cliché of always killing off the gays in afterelton made some really good points. It’s like the gays are always the sacrificial red-shirts and never captain kirk.

  3. Also, Ashley from South of Nowhere is in this (exceptionally awesome) fix. Twice. She’s pretty. I could only love Bend it like Beckham more if it was actually gay and the girls actually knew how to play soccer. But I still love it a bit too much. And Keira Knightley.

    • Not only is she here twice, but she’s gay twice! It’s like Christmas. Or Christmahanukwanzakuh.

      • Not gunna lie, Mandy Musgrave was my second girl-crush. Right behind Sarah Michelle Gellar *cough* Buffy *cough*

        • I had the biggest buffy obsession!!! I just moved and found a box full of SMG posters and memorabilia haha

  4. I LOVE a Leage of their Own! After Kit and Dotty have the really big fight and Anne Ramsey saunters in and breaks the silence with ‘Has anyone seen my new red hat?’ is one of my favourite moments ever captured on film. To this day, my sister and i hit out with that line to alleviate any awkward or tense situation. Try it. It always wins.

  5. Ah so many good movies! & defo YES to blue crush! & also, “Look at that, look at how they’re lookin at me, Eyes all sticky like honey on bees”– the Great Lady Gaga (in Chillin’-Wale)

  6. I have seen 9/10 of these, and a few were old favorites. I probably saw blue crush 10 times.

    I am excited about the runaways like I am for any KStew flick, because any movie with her is a gay movie.

  7. -Common is very handsome/sexy. I first took note in Wanted. I like the poster. Queen Latifah has cute romantic comedies despite her being a lesbian.

    -90210 is grasping, a semi-lesbian scene, prime time and still can’t pull over 1.25 mil

    -The latest gay character to bite the dust and raise the masses was Barca & Pietros on Spartacus Blood & Sand. Who were together. It hit me hard. I litterally yelled NOOOOO! I teared up and only watched it 1.5 times.
    However the one thing that made it easier was that it had NOTHING to do with there sexuality.

    • I am soo glad I am not the only one watching Spartacus, I was upset when he died too. That show is my guilty pleasure tv, I am really only watching for Lucy Lawless.

      • Its totally my guilty pleasure. It is so terribly awesome! It is getting good! I was watching for Barca/Pietros and Crixus. Now I am shipping Crixus/Navia. I grew up on Xena, literally, I was 8 when it came on. I love Lucy Lawless, she drew me to the show. But its hard to watch Lucretia. It like watching your cool bad ass fun aunt become a whorish malicious bitch. It is tainting my memory.

        • yea the hair throws me off and the male full frontal is kind of assaulting, like OH HELLO THERE. Xena is awesome and will always be awesome to me. Lucy lawless drew me to the show now I am staying for the blood and politics.

  8. The crying during A League of Their Own? Every single time without fail. What an absolutely wonderful movie.

  9. You forgot Tatum O’Neal & Kristy McNichol, in Little Darlings (1980) I know, I’m probably the only one who remembers it. Plus they had a kissing scene… and were bad ass little tom boys on summer break :)

    • haha, no i remember that movie! they were just friends though like trying to lose their virginities right? it wasn’t a team or band or nun choir or club/gang? kissing scene! i forgot that!

  10. the day i got laughed at for saying my favorite movie EVER is ‘a league of their own’ was the day i realized there were far too many straight people/boys in my life.

  11. Yay, Set It Off!

    As much as I hate Twilight, I’ve begun to find Kristen very very hot, and I’m excited about the Runaways, not only because she’s hot, but because it looks like it’ll be good.

    Oh Girltrash! I’m excited. They all look so good in that pic. And Michelle Lombardo as Tyler was probably my fave character, cause you know, I like them badass. But then I found out the Michelle is nothing like that, NOT A THING LIKE THAT, in real life. She’s all girly and shows her boobs and I was like WHOA. So I have a crush on Tyler and not on Michelle. And ROSE ROLLINS, I’d lick the sweat off of her.

  12. omg rumer willis!

    I feel like such a jackass for saying this, but I honestly had no context for her other than from when I still read perez hilton and his deep misogynistic hatred of her.

    However, in that clip she seems like a competent young actress, has a sexy voice, and seems really nice!

    Either that or I’m easily won over by girls in flannel and hats.

    • 1- Love your name.
      2- Rumer Willis is really good in the short film Streak (directed by her mom) and was pretty good/cute in House Bunny. And she has a song on the Streak soundtrack and sings backup (all the girls do) with Kat McPhee in The House Bunny, which almost always wins me over.

      • Thanks! Your name is awesome too. I may have clicked through to your website and clicked play on your ukulele video. My internet creeping aside, you clearly are very cool.

        And thanks for the rumer willis tips! I’m googling Streak now.

  13. I’m so excited about The Runaways, howevs I just discovered it’s not being released in Australia until JULY. Which is bs.

  14. what about Tank Girl? according to science, 4 out of 5 lesbians recommend Tank Girl for getting your friends out of the closet.

  15. ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-CHERRY BOMB! I’m excited about the Runaways now.

    Would Alice in Wonderland qualify for a movie about a badass chick?

  16. Haha, I totally saw A League of Her Own and Sister Act with my mom when my dad and brother were out of town hunting. XD

  17. I have been reading these sites since way back when it was just L word recaps and Riese’s blog, but today is my first comment day for this reason:
    you included Troop Beverly Hills.
    hell muthertrucking yes.

    • also, what is this auto-picture that comes with my comment? I suppose I should join or something

    • thank you TaraShea I feel like everyone who said they’d watched all but one of these movies was talking about Troop Beverly Hills as the one they hadn’t seen, and that’s unfortunate for everyone, because it was such a triumphant film.

      if you go to http://www.avatar.com you can pick your own avatar! otherwise everyone is taylor swift.

  18. There’s certainly been an explosion of girl team/lesbian movies in the last couple of years – a good thing!

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