Part food movie | Renée Zellweger | Juliette Binoche | Bridget Jones''s Diary

Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) Renée Zellweger stars as the titular character, a publishing assistant who's cute, spunky, socially awkward, and caught between two men (Colin Firth and Hugh Grant) who have plenty of character flaws and a bitter feud that killed their friendship. There was an alleged controversy over Zellweger's having gained weight for the role, which was ridiculous because she looks gorgeous here. The film shines with its lively characters, saucy dialogue, and amusing fistfight between Bridget's suitors in an Italian café.


Chocolat (2000) Mmmm, chocolate. A chocolatier (Juliette Binoche) and her daughter innocently open a confectionery in a repressed French town, but their succulent temptations and associations with a band of gypsies (including the suave Johnny Depp) turn everything upside down for the leery locals. Part food movie, part love story, part comedy of errors, Chocolat is one sweet flick. You'll laugh; you'll cry; you'll crave dessert.

Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) An insecure middle-aged woman with a failing marriage (Kathy Bates) becomes empowered when she befriends a spunky elderly woman at a retirement home (Jessica Tandy) who tells her a tale of a loving friendship between two strong Southern women (Mary-Louise Parker and Mary Stuart Masterson) that survives childhood death, domestic violence, and murder. There's even a deliciously shocking revelation at the film's end. See? Just your average chick flick.