21 Perfect Galentine’s Day Movies

Screengrab via HBO Documentary Films.

Bright Lights

This recent documentary, which was set to be released later this year but was pushed up because of the devastating and inconceivable near-concurrent deaths of mother-daughter duo Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher, is already iconic. We follow the women, who live next door to each other in shockingly opposite homes (Debbie’s is decorated in a way that’s understated and comfortable; Carrie’s is absurd and kitschy and delightful) through about a year in their shared lives. Because of the nature of the film, we do get to experience them in rare quiet moments, but what’s even more intriguing is the contrast between their private lives and their super public personas, and the way the lines between the two constantly blur.

Though the day-in-the-life aspect is meaningful enough for fans of either woman, their shared intimacy and the near-constant self-conscious analysis of their relationships with each other, with their work, and with their understanding of themselves is transcendent. The astute revelations and punchy philosophies, most frequently asserted by Carrie, paired with the honest reality of having essentially lived as legacies for most of their lives allows the movie to play like a much more actualized and deliberate modern Grey Gardens. They know who they are, they know why they are, and now they’re living with navigating both their emotional and professional existences within the context of what they’ve done and what they’ve been through. And they’re doing it- as they did with everything in life, and as it turns out, in death- together.

Best lady moment: Carrie surprises the audience, Coca-Cola in hand (as ever) with a song at her mother’s Vegas cabaret act. We understand the private resonance and importance of the very public moment, and it’s a perfect, beautiful microcosm of the way the two women have come to function.