I hate the term “BFF” but how the fuck else do you describe the pals that stick around you, even when you have a nervous breakdown over something as stupid as not being able to find your favorite pair of shoes (I’m not speaking from experience or anything). The past few weeks have shown me that I have exactly the right friends in my life, and I’d be lost (like, literally, wandering around some borough of London) without them.

My friends and I are serious cinephiles, and here are my five favorite films to watch with my BFFs about BFFs.

To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything Julie Newmar

This film is quintessential for me and my closest friends from high school. Even though we’ve spread to various parts of the globe, whenever I pop in the DVD I send a text to them all saying “I’ve got more legs than a bucket of chicken.”

You either get that reference or you need to watch the film.

Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion

A good friend will begrudgingly attend your ten-year high school reunion with you, just you can show up and show off your illustrious postgraduate degrees to your ex. A great friend will coordinate outfits with you and choreograph a dance number to shock…err..wow…your classmates.

First Wives Club

Great friends will also help you get revenge on those who deserve it, and make you laugh while you do it.

Beaches

Maybe great BFF movies just star Bette Midler, or maybe I need to watch more films. Either way, Beaches is a sure bridge to tears for me. Best friends are there for you through the tough times, and hold your hand when it’s time to say goodbye. And then write beautiful elegiac songs to commemorate your life with (that will subsequently sell millions of copies).

The Lord of the Rings

I’m a Tolkienite through and through, so of course these films (although the books are preferable) end up on this list. I have a friend that I watch these films with every once in a while, and each time, about halfway through The Two Towers, she’ll turn to me and say, “I hope our friendship is as strong as [the hobbits’]. Best friends will not only help you down the road of life, help you carry your burdens (or the One Ring) and celebrate with you as you finish them (fly away with the Eagles and whatnot), but they will also celebrate with you when you succeed. A true friend is one who will not hold you back from what’s best for you (such as leaving Middle-earth), even if that means you won’t see them as much anymore.

Real friends know that “goodbye” is not the same thing as “farewell.”

“I wish we could have a Stone that we could see all our friends in and that we could speak to them from far away.” -Peregrin Took

-The Collectress

What’s your favorite BFF film? Tweet me @dearcollectress