10 Awesome Female Ensemble Casts
To celebrate International Women’s Day, and to honour all of the wonderfully talented women working not just in the entertainment industry but across all occupations, we’re spotlighting some wonderful largely female-led movie ensemble casts.
Let Fetch be your viewing guide to celebrate these funny, charming, groundbreaking and empowering stories this International Women’s Day.
Little Women (2019)
Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, Meryl Streep
Story: Jo March reflects on her life, telling the beloved story of the March sisters – four young women, each determined to live life on her own terms. Based on Louisa May Alcott’s novel.
Why we love it: Greta Gerwig’s second feature film (after Lady Bird) is a charming adaptation of the classic novel weaving together, across a complex array of back-and-forth timelines, the emotionally-resonant tales of the sisters. Saoirse Ronan and Florence Pugh were honored with Academy Award nominations for their lovely performances.
Buy or rent now in the Movie Store.
Widows (2018)
Cast: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Carrie Coon, Cynthia Erivo, Molly Kunz
Story: Four women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands’ criminal activities take fate into their own hands and conspire to forge a future on their own terms.
Why we love it: The inimitable Viola Davis is always a force of nature, Australia’s Elizabeth Debicki is a consistent scene-stealer, and Michelle Rodriguez fit into an against-type dramatic role perfectly here. This is a tense, hard-hitting and economically-conscious crime thriller that is given some formal panache by filmmaker Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave).
Buy or rent now in the Movie Store.
Bachelorette (2012)
Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Isla Fisher, Lizzy Caplan, Rebel Wilson, Sue Jean Kim, Ann Dowd
Story: With lovely Becky (Rebel Wilson) set to marry her handsome sweetheart, the remaining members of her high school clique (Kirsten Dunst, Lizzy Caplan and Isla Fisher) reunite for one last bachelorette bacchanal in the Big Apple. But when Becky insists on keeping the bachelorette party tame, the women proceed with an after-hours celebration of their own.
Why we love it: Bachelorette was released a year after the similarly-themed Bridesmaids, to less buzz and acclaim, but we have always had a soft spot for the more briskly-paced and anarchic escapades of these hard partying ladies. A botched hens night reveals some unglamorous qualities about the trio. Kirsten Dunst is delightfully unlikeable.
Buy or rent now in the Movie Store.
Ghostbusters (2016)
Cast: Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones
Story: Following a ghost invasion of Manhattan, paranormal enthusiasts Erin Gilbert and Abby Yates, nuclear engineer Jillian Holtzmann, and subway worker Patty Tolan band together to stop the otherworldly threat.
Why we love it: Four very funny women taking on the ghosts and ghouls of the world. For anyone that wasn’t familiar with Kate McKinnon before Ghostbusters this film served up a showcase of her talents. This franchise resurrection was a breath of fresh air – though, notably, it wasn’t appreciated by many OG fans – literally flipping the male-dominated “nerd culture” on it’s head and giving it the middle finger.
Buy or rent now in the Movie Store.
Support the Girls (2018)
Cast: Regina Hall, Haley Lu Richardson, Shayna McHayle, Dylan Gelula, Zoe Graham, Ann LeuVoy
Story: The general manager at a highway-side ”sports bar with curves” has her incurable optimism and faith, in her girls, her customers, and herself, tested over the course of a long, strange day.
Why we love it: An eccentric comedy from indie filmmaker Andrew Bujalksi (Computer Chess) that loves it’s characters and feels so true to life that the there is an infectiously endearing sense of family within this workspace. Regina Hall is spectacular in trying to maintain a level of calm and professionalism while her world is spiraling apart. Full of witty exchanges and powerful moments of emotional catharsis.
Buy or rent now in the Movie Store.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005)
Cast: Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel, America Ferrara, Blake Lively, Jenna Boyd, Nancy Travis, Rachel Ticotin, Emily Tennant, Jacqueline Ann Steuart, Sarah-Jane Redmond
Story: Four best girlfriends hatch a plan to stay connected with one another as their lives start off in different directions: they pass around a pair of secondhand jeans that fits each of their bodies perfectly.
Why we love it: A sincere and heartwarming tale of young adulthood and the bonds of friendship, adapted from a beloved novel. Full of positivity and driven by the realistic portraits of teenage life, performed by a likeable cast that includes Blake Lively in her debut role.
Buy or rent in the Movie Store.
Pitch Perfect (2012)
Cast: Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp, Alexis Knapp, Hana Mae Lee, Ester Dean, Kelley Jakle, Shelley Regner, Nicole Lovince
Story: Beca, a freshman at Barden University, is cajoled into joining The Bellas, her school’s all-girls singing group. Injecting some much needed energy into their repertoire, The Bellas take on their male rivals in a campus competition.
Why we love it: A broad-appeal studio comedy with a largely female cast is a rare thing and Anna Kendrick was just so consistently likeable through a very busy stretch in her career. The Bellas are made up of an assortment of unique personalities and voices, the songs are toe-tappers and the central romance is charming.
Buy or rent in the Movie Store.
Damsels in Distress (2011)
Cast: Greta Gerwig, Lio Tipton, Carrie MacLemore, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Caitlin Fitzgerald, Alia Shawkat, Aubrey Plaza, Aja Naomi King, Meredith Hagner
Story: A trio of girls set out to change the male-dominated environment of the Seven Oaks college campus, and to rescue their fellow students from depression, grunge and low standards of every kind.
Why we love it: A strange and unusual movie from lightly-worked filmmaker Whit Stillman (Love & Friendship) is a whimsical college comedy that delights in it’s celebration of the maintenance of innocence and upstanding behaviour in a genre that usually celebrates rebellion. While Gerwig has most recently been busier behind the camera, she delivers a complex and wry comic performance here.
Buy or rent in the Movie Store.
The First Wives Club (1996)
Cast: Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, Dianne Keaton, Maggie Smith, Sarah Jessica-Parker, Stockard Channing, Elizabeth Berkley, Marcia Gay-Harden, Jennifer Dundas
Story: Reunited by the death of a college friend, three divorced women seek revenge on the husbands who left them for younger women.
Why we love it: It has become a cult classic over time, but the dynamic trio at the heart of this satirical tale of retribution are so good together it’s worth revisiting time and again.
Buy or rent in the Movie Store.
A League of their Own (1992)
Cast: Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Madonna, Rosie O’Donnell, Megan Cavanagh, Tracy Reiner, Bitty Schram, Ann Cusack, Anne Ramsay
Story: Two sisters join the first female professional baseball league and struggle to help it succeed amidst their own growing rivalry.
Why we love it: A League of their Own tells of a rarely-documented period of history – a period during World War II when the baseball world was floundering – and is a re-watchable, feel-good classic with lovable characters and a dignified elegance to the storytelling.
Buy or rent in the Movie Store.
