In defense of a good chick flick

Another chick flick, my husband grumbled as I settled into the couch to watch a romantic comedy, a fistful of Kleenex in one hand, a glass of wine in the other. Im going to read a book. Let me know when its over.

Its no surprise we dont agree on movies. My informal poll suggests most couples struggle over finding common ground when it comes to popping in a DVD on a Friday night. My husband puts it this way: You like movies where people die slow, agonizing deaths; I like movies where they die quickly, preferably with a little bloodshed.

He favors anything that stars Steven Seagal, Jean-Claude Van Damme or Bruce Willis. I like all the classic chick flicks, movies like Steel Magnolias (he mockingly calls it Iron Dogwood), Beaches and Fried Green Tomatoes.

His eyes glaze over if I mention watching a foreign film. I fall asleep during war movies.

It turns out this schism over movies has a scientific explanation. A study done at the University of Michigan found that chick flicks and guy movies can send hormone levels in completely different directions.

Researchers played scenes from The Godfather: Part II, a bona fide guy movie, and The Bridges of Madison County, a tried-and-true chick flick. They found that watching a romantic movie can boost womens progesterone levels more than 10 percent, bringing couples closer together, researchers maintained. The guy movie boosted testosterone levels.

The study results were pretty interesting. In the group of men and women who watched Bridges of Madison County, womens testosterone levels were unchanged, but it had a dampening effect on mens testosterone levels.

The reaction was completely different when the group watched the killing of a despised foe in the Godfather movie. Researchers found that the testosterone level in high-testosterone men jumped as much as 30 percent. Their power motivations increased, while their need for affiliation dropped. High-testosterone women experienced a decrease in testosterone, and low-testosterone women became extremely uncomfortable watching the violent scene.

So it all boils down to hormones. Its nice to know this cinematic tug of war can be explained in some scientific way.

In an interview by the University of Michigan news service, Oliver Schultheiss, the psychology professor in charge of the study, had this to say when asked what the best date movie for a couple would be: They should definitely see the romantic movie and if the guy is high-testosterone, he should just clench his teeth and in exchange, it will help promote the relationship.

There you have it: The chick flick wins.

Actually, there was one other interesting element of the study. The group of men and women also watched a documentary on the Amazon rainforest, and there was no change in hormonal levels. So if youre looking for complete equality when it comes to watching movies or television, geographical documentaries are apparently your best bet.

Me? Im sticking with chick flicks.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com