60 Movies Every Woman Should Watch Before She Turns 40

31. The Princess Bride

• Stars: Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Robin Wright
• Genre: Romance, Comedy, Adventure

While home sick in bed, a young boy’s grandfather reads him a story called The Princess Bride.

Why women should watch it:

It’s perhaps every 90s woman’s favourite movie!

“You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you.”

32. The Fault in Our Stars

• Stars: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff
• Genre: Romance, Drama

Two teenage cancer patients begin a life-affirming journey to visit a reclusive author in Amsterdam.

Why women should watch it:

This touching movie left me in tears as two young cancer-stricken lovers beat the odds.

“That’s the thing about pain. It demands to be felt.”

33. Julie & Julia

• Stars: Amy Adams, Meryl Streep, Chris Messina
• Genre: Comedy, Romance, Drama

Julia Child’s story of her start in the cooking profession is intertwined with blogger Julie Powell’s 2002 challenge to cook all the recipes in Child’s first book.

Why women should watch it:

This movie shows that dreams can be achieved with inspiration and determination.

“All I think about all day is food and then I dream about it all night.”

34. Overboard

• Stars: Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Edward Herrmann
• Genre: Romance, Drama, Comedy

A cruel and beautiful heiress mocks and cheats over a hired carpenter. When she gets amnesia, he decides to introduce her to working-class life by convincing her they’re husband and wife.

Why women should watch it:

A cute but twisted movie that will make you fall in love.

“Andrew, are you going to bring me my lemon or do I have to squeeze it from my hat?”

35. Stepmom

• Stars: Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon, Ed Harris
• Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama

A terminally ill woman has to settle on her former husband’s new lover, who will be their children’s stepmother.

Why women should watch it:

This heartwarming movie about an unusual relationship between a mum and her children’s stepmum teaches you how to accept things as they are.

“I keep telling everybody that I’m fine, but the truth is, I’m not fine.”

36. Meet Joe Black

• Stars: Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Claire Forlani
• Genre: Romance, Drama, Fantasy

Death, who takes the form of a young man, asks a media mogul to act as a guide to teach him about life on Earth, and in the process, he falls in love with his guide’s daughter.

Why women should watch it:

To meet Brad Pitt.

“Don’t wait till Death shows up before you start learning how to live.”

37. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

• Stars: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton
• Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Drama

Tells the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with bizarre consequences.

Why women should watch it:

Because it’s Brad Pitt! I just love the scenes when his age and Daisy Fuller’s (Cate Blanchett) age meet! H.O.T!

“It’s funny how sometimes the people we remember the least make the greatest impression on us.”

38. Legends of the Fall

• Stars: Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn
• Genre: Romance, War, Drama

In the early 1900s, three brothers and their father living in the remote wilderness of Montana are affected by betrayal, history, love, nature, and war.

Why women should watch it:

We just can’t get enough of Brad Pitt, that’s why!

“Some people hear their own inner voices with great clearness and they live by what they hear. Such people become crazy, or they become legends.”

39. Kramer vs Kramer

• Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander
• Genre: Drama, Legal, Family

Ted Kramer’s wife leaves her husband, allowing for a lost bond to be rediscovered between Ted and his son, Billy. But a heated custody battle ensues over the divorced couple’s son, deepening the wounds left by the separation.

Why women should watch it:

This is for every mother in the world who wants the best for herself and her child.

“There’s a lot you wish you could change but can’t.”

40. August Rush

• Stars: Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers
• Genre: Music, Romance, Drama

A drama with fairy tale elements, where an orphaned musical prodigy uses his gift as a clue to finding his birth parents.

Why women should watch it:

A story that will touch your heart to the core.

“Music is all around us, all we have to do is listen.”

41. Good Will Hunting

• Stars: Robin Williams, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck
• Genre: Romance, Drama

Will Hunting, a janitor at MIT, has a gift for mathematics, but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life.

Why women should watch it:

You’ll find different important life lessons in this movie.

“You don’t know about real loss ’cause it only occurs when you’ve loved something more than you love yourself.”

42. The Hand That Rocks the Cradle

• Stars: Annabella Sciorra, Rebecca De Mornay, Matt McCoy
• Genre: Thriller, Drama

After her humiliated husband kills himself, an embittered pregnant widow loses her child, and embarks on a mission of vengeance against a woman and her family.

Why women should watch it:

While this movie could create fear among working mothers, it’s still a remarkable film that every mother should watch.

“The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.”

43. Single White Female

• Stars: Bridget Fonda, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Steven Weber
• Genre: Thriller, Drama, Suspense

A woman advertising for a new roommate finds that something very strange is going on with the tenant who decides to move in.

Why women should watch it:

It’s a dark thriller sure to give you the creeps.

“You know, identical twins are never really identical. There is always one that is prettier, and the other does all the work.”

44. Girl, Interrupted

• Stars: Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Clea DuVall
• Genre: Drama

Based on writer Susanna Kaysen’s account of her 18-month stay at a mental hospital in the 1960s.

Why women should watch it:

It makes you understand how important mental health is.

“You changed the scenery but not the f*cking situation.”

45. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

• Stars: Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith
• Genre: Comedy, Romance, Drama

British retirees travel to India to take up residence in what they believe is a newly restored hotel. Less luxurious than advertised, the Marigold Hotel nevertheless slowly begins to charm in unexpected ways.

Why women should watch it:

As I said, life begins at 40… and there are more things to discover about yourself. This movie gives you some clues as to how.

“But it’s also true that the person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing. All we know about the future is that it will be different. But perhaps what we fear is that it will be the same.”

46. Vacation

• Stars: Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Imogene Coca
• Genre: Comedy, Adventure

The Griswold family’s cross-country drive to the Walley World theme park proves to be much more arduous than they ever anticipated.

Why women should watch it:

It teaches you that family should always come first.

“This is no longer a vacation. It’s a quest. It’s a quest for fun.”

47. Now and Then

• Stars: Christina Ricci, Demi Moore, Rosie O’Donnell
• Genre: Romance, Drama, Teen

Four 12-year-old girls grow up together during an eventful small-town summer in 1970.

Why women should watch it:

This coming of age movie is about friendships and relationships.

“Things will happen in your life that you can’t stop, but that’s no reason to shut out the world.”

48. The Family Stone

• Stars: Dermot Mulroney, Sarah Jessica Parker, Claire Danes
• Genre: Comedy, Romance, Drama

An uptight, conservative businesswoman accompanies her boyfriend to his eccentric and outgoing family’s annual Christmas celebration and finds that she’s a fish out of water in their free-spirited way of life.

Why women should watch it:

It’s about family tensions and misfits and how to deal with those.

“But, you know, I don’t care whether you like me or not.”

49. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

• Stars: Kate Hudson, Matthew McConaughey, Adam Goldberg
• Genre: Comedy, Romance

Benjamin Barry is an advertising executive and ladies’ man who, to win a big campaign, bets that he can make a woman fall in love with him in 10 days. Andie Anderson covers the “How To” beat for “Composure” magazine and is assigned to write an article on “How to Lose a Guy in 10 days.” They meet in a bar shortly after the bet is made.

Why women should watch it:

This fun and romantic movie has all the components of what and what not to do when in a relationship.

“You can’t lose something you never had.”

50. Sleeping with the Enemy

• Stars: Julia Roberts, Patrick Bergin, Kevin Anderson
• Genre: Drama, Mystery, Suspense

A young woman fakes her own death in an attempt to escape her nightmarish marriage, but discovers it is impossible to elude her controlling husband.

Why women should watch it:

Another suspense thriller movie that speaks about empowering women to stand up against abuse.

“People never really know each other.”

51. Memoirs of a Geisha

• Stars: Ziyi Zhang, Ken Watanabe, Michelle Yeoh
• Genre: Drama, Melodrama, Romance

Nitta Sayuri reveals how she transcended her fishing-village roots and became one of Japan’s most celebrated geisha.

Why women should watch it:

This heartbreaking movie speaks about a woman’s determination to fight to get the love of her life.

“When life goes well, it’s a sudden gift. It cannot last forever.”

52. 10 Things I Hate About You

• Stars: Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
• Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama

A pretty, popular teenager can’t go out on a date until her ill-tempered older sister does.

Why women should watch it:

Apart from loving Heath Ledger on this one, it’s about how love can be found in the most unlikely ways.

“Don’t let anyone ever make you feel like you don’t deserve what you want.”

53. Coyote Ugly

• Stars: Piper Perabo, Adam Garcia, John Goodman
• Genre: Music, Romance, Comedy

Aspiring songwriter Violet Sanford, after getting a job at a women-run NYC bar that teases its male patrons, comes out of her shell.

Why women should watch it:

This film speaks about a woman’s drive to fulfill her passion.

“I’m not lost. Somebody just moved my street.”

54. Where The Heart Is

• Stars: Natalie Portman, James Frain, Ashley Judd
• Genre: Romance, Drama, Comedy

A pregnant 17-year-old rebuilds her life after being abandoned by her boyfriend at a WalMart in Sequoyah, Oklahoma.

Why women should watch it:

It’s a touching movie about friendships and trust.

“You tell them we’ve all got meanness in us, but we’ve got goodness too. And the only thing worth living for is the good. That’s why we’ve got to make sure we pass it on.”

55. My Sister’s Keeper

• Stars: Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin, Alec Baldwin
• Genre: Drama

Anna Fitzgerald looks to earn medical emancipation from her parents who until now have relied on their youngest child to help their leukemia-stricken daughter Kate remain alive.

Why women should watch it:

This is the story of a true love for a sister.

“You don’t love someone because they’re perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they’re not.”

56. Under the Tuscan Sun

• Stars: Diane Lane, Raoul Bova, Sandra Oh
• Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama

A writer impulsively buys a villa in Tuscany in order to change her life.

Why women should watch it:

For women who had been hurt and wanted to fall in love and love life again, include this in your list.

“Life offers us a thousand chances, all we have to do is pick one.”

57. School of Rock

• Stars: Jack Black, Mike White, Joan Cusack
• Genre: Comedy, Music, Family

After being kicked out of a rock band, Dewey Finn becomes a substitute teacher of a strict elementary private school, only to try and turn it into a rock band.

Why women should watch it:

If you’re a parent, it would make you realise that your child’s potentials can sometimes be found outside the four corners of the classroom.

“You’re not hardcore, unless you live hardcore.”

58. The Sixth Sense

• Stars: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette
• Genre: Horror, Drama, Suspense

A boy who communicates with spirits that don’t know they’re dead seeks the help of a disheartened child psychologist.

Why women should watch it:

This movie really creeped me out but it has a great twist you will never expect.

“How can you help me if you don’t believe me?”

59. Romeo and Juliet

• Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, John Leguizamo
• Genre: Romance, Drama

Shakespeare’s famous play is updated to the hip modern suburb of Verona still retaining its original dialogue.

Why women should watch it:

Because it’s the greatest love story of all time… whoever plays the role… but I especially love this one because it’s Leo!

“Under love’s heavy burden do I sink.”

60. Pretty Woman

• Stars: Julia Roberts, Richard Gere
• Genre: Romance, Comedy

A rich businessman falls in love with a prostitute after hooking up with her and hiring her to be with him for the weekend.

Why women should watch it:

This movie has to be on this list. I rewatched this over and over again and it never fails to make me fall in love over and over again!

“I’m gonna treat you so nice you are never gonna let me go.”

Which among these movies every woman should watch is your favourite?