Celebrating Friendship

Thanks to Amy Poehler, we have Galentine's Day (it also goes by Palentine's Day). Taking place every February 13, it's a day to celebrate friendships with the besties in your life. 

There's no pressure to buy chocolates or flowers like that other over-commercialized holiday that comes the following day (although I have seen Galentine's Day cards in stores). On G/P Day, it's all about hanging out and doing something fun with those who always have your back--watching a movie, going out to eat, playing board games, singing karaoke, or doing whatever else you enjoy together.

So in the spirit of the holiday, here are some DVDs (all available at our library) that celebrate friendships:

• The Bucket List  An average guy (Morgan Freeman) and a rich guy (Jack Nicholson), with little in common beside cancer, pair up to do various activities before they kick the bucket. 
• Hidden Figures  Three black American women working for NASA in the 1960s bond together against the sexism and racism they face.
• The Joy Luck Club  Four Chinese women become friends in San Francisco as they raise their Chinese-American daughters.
• The King's Speech  King George VI (Colin Firth) overcomes his speech impediment with the help of his speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), with whom he develops a deep friendship.
• Legally Blonde  Sorority sisters stick together through thick and thin when one of them (Reese Witherspoon) decides to go to Harvard Law School.
• The Lord of the Rings  One of the greatest bromances of all time: hobbits Frodo and Sam risk everything to go to Mordor together and defeat Sauron, the Dark Lord.
• Miss Congeniality  Beauty pageant contestants may be rivals, but they'll also stand by you...and want world peace.
• Mystic Pizza  Three girls after high school become tight-knit friends while working at a pizzeria.
• The Shawshank Redemption  Andy (Tim Robbins) and Red (Morgan Freeman) have a bromance that helps them survive a notorious prison for decades and gives them hope for a better future outside its stone walls.
• Top Gun: Maverick  You can't help but feel the close on- and off-screen friendship between Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer, who plays in his last movie role before his untimely death.

There are so many more DVDs depicting stories of friendships in addition to the ones I've included in this list. Which ones would you recommend? Share with us!

Wishing you a Happy Galentine's/Palentine's (and Valentine's) Day from the perch.