3. The Shop Around the Corner
I think it only fair to pay respects to some of the greatest chick flicks that have ever existed before the term "Chick Flick" was coined. This one takes the cake. The Shop Around the Corner stars my favorite actor, Mr. Jimmy Stewart. It's actually the original film (based on a Hungarian play) that would later inspire the remake You've Got Mail with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. (An important tip of the hat here, Ryan's character's bookstore in You've Got Mail is called "The Shop Around the Corner." Love it when respects are paid!) You know the story, Jimmy Stewart's Alfred is having a mail correspondence (Yes, snail mail. Remember that?) with a mystery girl that he knows he's head over heels in love with. But the problem is, he doesn't know that this mystery girl is actually his new coworker Klara (Margaret Sullivan) whom he does not get along with. And that's an under statement. So what happens when they realize the person they've fallen in love with is actually the person they also can't stand? Sweet sentiment, comedy, and heart, that's what. The Shop Around the Corner is a very cute film that makes you feel warm and fuzzy all the way through. It doesn't hurt that it takes place at Christmas time as well, but the build to the moment of realization for these characters is both touching and a little painful. You know who these two are at their core, that they should be together, but when they are they just don't click. But of course that's only because these two don't truly know who the other is at that core. Jimmy Stewart is probably the most likable actor that has ever lived. That guy could charm the wool off a sheep just by being that semi-bashful, aw shucks type of fella. Because of that, guys can find common ground with him. The good majority of us aren't hulking towers of muscle and man like Ryan Reynolds or Ryan Gosling. (Though we wish we were.) Most of us are just your regular, every day, kind of awkward but charming and sweet when you get to know us kind of guy. That's Jimmy Stewart. Lanky and uniquely handsome because of his personality. So because of this, the movie becomes very personal and, much like When Harry Met Sally, many of us know how troublesome it is to have a friend we care about but bicker endlessly with and then suddenly realize we bicker because we love them, that without them we couldn't exist, that we love the bickering and the frustration they cause us because love is actually crazy. Most of us. This film is the original. Because of what it did, what it began, what it inspired, and that it's still perfectly effective and relevant, it earns a top three spot hands down.