Vogue
The top 5 most iconic girl gangs in cinematic history
By CLAIRE BEGHIN
30 July 2019
On September 12, Hustlers will release to eager fans, featuring a star-studded female-forward cast including Jennifer Lopez, Cardi B., Constance Wu, Lili Reinhart, and Lizzo. While we patiently wait for the film to hit theatres, Vogue Paris has compiled a list of some of the most memorable girl groups in cinematic history, from those who made us laugh, to those who have inspired us most.
The synopsis for Hustlers already foreshadows a movie punctuated by girl power: a group of strippers band together in order to manipulate their wealthy, and often menacing, Wall Street clientele. The fact that the film is based on a true story (told to New York magazine in 2015 by American journalist Jessica Pressler) makes it all the more exciting. However, it’s the Hustlers star-studded cast of fierce women that has us on the edge of our seats, featuring the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu, Cardi B., Lili Reinhart, Julia Stiles, Keke Palmer, and Lizzo. While waiting for the US release on September 13, 2019, rediscover some of the most memorable groups of women seen on film.
Charlie’s Angels
It’s not an easy feat going up against a trio of disciplined female spies, proficient in martial arts, marksmanship, and the art of seduction. Seeing these badass, and hilarious, women in roles, that would typically be played by men, was a welcomed sight. Adapted from the 1970s-era series of the same name, which featured Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith, and Kate Jackson, the McG directed version cast Lucy Liu, Drew Barrymore, and Cameron Diaz as the new trio of skilled spies. Another adaptation of Charlie’s Angels is headed to theatres November 15, 2019, where Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, and Ella Balinska will take over the roles of the angels, who promise to honor the leading ladies who came before them.
Charlie’s Angels (2000)
Mean Girls
Teenagers in 2005 will never stop thanking Tina Fey for Mean Girls, considered to be one of the best teen comedies of all time. The setting served as a recipe for success: A typical American high school brimming with stereotypes. The film saw Lindsay Lohan in her peak performance, a divisive Rachel McAdams in the role of popular girl Regina George, and Lizzy Caplan as a marginalized artist who plots to reveal the school’s troubling hierarchical social culture, and a screenplay written by one of the most iconic figures in American comedy, Tina Fey. As cruel as they are beautiful, the Plastics are an unforgettable group of girls.
Mean Girls
The First Wives Club
Goldie Hawn as an aging alcoholic movie-star, Bette Midler as an exhausted single mother, and Diane Keaton as a flat-out nervous wreck results – somewhat surprisingly – in a perfect trio. After their mutual friend from college commits suicide, three old friends band together to exact revenge on their former husbands, who have all left them for younger women. This memorable and hilarious movie brought together three of the most iconic actresses, who marked the 1990s with their numerous and noteworthy performances.
First Wives Club
Death Proof
After the death of the first four heroines seen in Quentin Tarantino‘s Death Proof, it’s up to Zoë Bell, Rosario Dawson, Tracie Thoms, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead to defeat an evil menace. While engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with Stuntman Mike, the murderous stunt driver played by Kurt Russell, the young women decide to chase him down and enact revenge in their newly acquired 1970 Dodge Challenger. The movie ends with one of Tarantino‘s most violent, and enjoyable scenes, where the women decidedly, and heroically, prevail, cementing them as one of the most badass girl groups to hit the big screen.
Death Proof
Grease
Let’s be honest, is there anyone out there who didn’t want to be a part of the Pink Ladies? In Grease, Rizzo, Frenchy, Marty, and Jan were able to portray the ideal 1950s era adolescence. Besides their beauty, the women are funny, liberated, opinionated, and they all happen to wear some of the most desirable jackets in cinematic history. Together, they teach the shy Sandy how to let go of her naive ways and come into herself as a woman.
Grease
