I love a good girly-pop movie. I’m talking your Legally Blonde, your Clueless, your Mean Girls. Drop Dead Gorgeous or Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion if you want to go a little more niche. The movies full of bright colors and girls just being girls, usually throwing shade with the most cutting one-liners. I like to think of myself as an expert when it comes to the genre. So, you’ll understand that I was shook — shook, I tell you — when I discovered there was one movie missing from my repertoire. And not only had I never seen it, but I’d never even heard of it. The wildest part? It has a stacked cast.
I’m talking about 2011’s Damsels in Distress, directed by Whit Stillman. For the film school crowd, he directed Metropolitan and The Last Days of Disco. So it has indie cred and some biting social satire. It also has Adam Brody in one of his most adorable roles to date. That’s right, Seth Cohen and the Hot Rabbi himself had a movie leading man moment in Damsels in Distress, and it fell under our radar.
Here’s the plot of the movie: A trio of college girls take it upon themselves to save the campus from frat culture and depression. Oh, and they take a transfer student under their wing to try to teach her their ways. It’s very Cher Horowitz in Clueless. Except one big difference is this movie ends with an old-Hollywood-style musical number. Let’s go over everything you should know about Damsels in Distress.
Who’s In Damsels In Distress?
Okay, now we have to talk about the cast. So Adam Brody stars in Damsels in Distress as a charming guy who wins the hearts of not just one, but two of the titular Damsels. But did I mention the leader of the Damsels’ pack is none other than Barbie director and indie darling of the 2010s herself, Greta Gerwig? Yup, and she plays a girl who’s main goal in life is to create a super-popular dance craze, which is how we end up with Adam and Greta leading a musical number at the end.
The rest of the cast list of Damsels in Distress is basically a who’s who of 2011 up-and-comers. It includes Aubrey Plaza at the height of her Parks and Rec era, Zach Woods from Silicon Valley, and Alia Shawkat in between Arrested Development and Search Party.
But if you’re going to check out this movie for any one reason, do it for Adam Brody. Damsels in Distress serves as the perfect reminder that the man has always had rizz. And when you’ve run out of episodes of The OC to rewatch while you wait for season 2 of Nobody Wants This, this movie will be there waiting for you.
How Do You Watch Damsels In Distress?
Damsels in Distress isn’t included on any streamers, but you can rent it from Amazon Prime or Apple TV.
