Some films, like Pursuit of Happyness, Rocky, and Jerry Maguire, can work as self-help films for their motivational themes. Likewise, stories based on self-help books make inspiring films, several of which include anecdotal experiences, showing relatable solutions to real-life problems. Interestingly, self-help books-inspired films are not a new phenomenon. Sex and the Single Girl and Life Begins at 40 are early examples of how films have been interested in these books in collectively processing societal issues since the mid-20th century. In the 21st century, the genre has bent towards memoirs and spiritual journeys that provide subjective takes on personal crises.
From Mean Girls to What to Expect When You’re Expecting, here are 10 films inspired by self-help books.
10 The Secret: Dare to Dream
The Secret: Dare to Dreamis based on the best-selling novel by Rhonda Byrne, starring Katie Holmes, who plays Miranda Wells, a widow managing her new boyfriend’s seafood restaurant. She has three children and struggles to make ends meet. A mysterious man named Bray Johnson comes into their life with a letter he desperately wants Miranda to read. One day, a violent storm wrecks their house, and Bray comes to help the family fix their home.
As the plot progresses, the film reveals who Bray is, as Miranda hopes for better days. The book stresses the importance of creative visualization and positivity in achieving fulfilling outcomes from a stressful situation. This was channeled through Bray, who had a can-do spirit and warmth in his personality.
9 Eat, Pray, Love
Eat, Pray, Lovestars Julia Roberts as Elizabeth Gilbert, who goes on a journey to seek answers to her existential problems. The character of Gilbert is based on the real-life author of the book Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia. The author pens her spiritual journey across the three countries as she travels abroad with a publisher’s advance after pitching the proposal of her book.
In the film, Liz is unhappy with her job and marriage, motivating her to travel to the three countries to find balance in her personal life. She goes to India and joins an ashram to meditate and connect with her inner spirit. She meets fellow travelers who have problems of their own and feels a little less alone. She goes to Italy to experience the pleasure of simplicity, leisure, and food. At last, she goes to Bali, where she is challenged by a new person in her life. After holding on to finding balance, Liz now has to learn to let go of her inhibitions, which becomes a recurring theme of the film.
8 He’s Just Not That Into You
He’s Just Not That Into Youis a self-help book written by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, which compiles several relationships where couples are not equally invested in each other. Directed by Ken Kwapis, the film of the same name is a hyperlink film where several separate stories interconnect. The film mostly focuses on Gigi, played by Ginnifer Goodwin, who is desperate for men’s attention and ends up misinterpreting signs in her relationships. She is also the common connection between other characters.
Jennifer Aniston plays Beth, who is in a long-term relationship with her marriage-phobic partner, played by Ben Affleck. Jennifer Connelly plays Janine, who discovers her husband, played by Bradley Cooper, is being unfaithful to their marriage. Scarlett Johansson plays Anna, the other woman in the relationship. Likewise, several other stories mingle to portray a multi-perspective take on love, infidelity, commitment, and searching for “the one.”
7 How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Daysis based on the hilarious satirical self-help picture book of the same name, which ironically dictates what not to do to keep a man in a relationship.
In the film, Kate Hudson plays an advice columnist, Andie Anderson, who works on a column that would get rid of potential male partners in 10 days. In order to test her theory, she looks for a man on whom she can test her tricks. On the other hand, Matthew McConaughy plays Benjamin, a suave gentleman, confident he can make any woman fall in love with him in 10 days. His friends make him meet Andie as his next challenge, as both try their tactics to prove their point. Unaware of each other’s true intentions, both try to repel each other’s efforts. However, Andie gets on Ben’s nerves, and he almost gives up. The film is predictable to the core and was panned by the critics, but it had the necessary ingredients to make it a box-office success.
6 What to Expect When You’re Expecting
What to Expect When You’re Expectingexplores the nuances of pregnancy and parenthood through several couples who are up for the roller-coaster journey of starting a family.
The film was based on the self-help book of the same name, written by Heidi Murkoff, and stars an ensemble cast including Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks, Chris Rock, Matthew Morrison, and others. The stories include a dance show contestant who gets impregnated by her dance partner, a woman dealing with desperate measures to have a baby, a couple stunned by a surprise pregnancy after a hookup, and another couple having second thoughts on adoption. The movie sensitively portrays the dilemmas expecting mothers go through during their pregnancy, such as opting for an epidural, hormonal changes, and birth through a cesarean section.
5 Think Like a Man
In Think Like a Man, the girlfriends of four male friends follow the advice given by Steve Harvey in his book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man. This makes Dominic, Jeremy, Michael, and Zeke read the book and stay ahead of their partners. The film is shown in four parts: The Mama’s Boy vs. The Single Mom, The Non-Committer vs. The Girl Who Wants the Ring, The Dreamer vs. The Woman Who is Her Own Man, and The Player vs. The 90 Day Rule Girl.
Each title aptly describes the conflict between each couple. The book was published in 2009 and was intended for women to know men’s attitudes towards relationships as told by a man. The film is a comic take on men’s reactions to the book, and Steve Harvey also plays a cameo in the light-hearted comedy.
4 Mean Girls
Mean Girlscaptures teenage angst, groupism, and high-school politics, adapted from the book Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman. The film stars Lindsay Lohan as Cary, a new student from Africaadjusting to the suburbs of Illinois. She struggles to fit in her new public school, where everyone seems to have found their clique. Cady is desperate to belong to her new friend group and has to abide by the ugly rules of the popular elite group "The Plastics” to be one of them.
The book was directed toward parents to help them understand aggressive teenage girls and guide them better. The focus on high-school peer pressure became the film’s premise, and the heightened but authentic representation of identity politics amongst teenagers made the film a cult classic.
3 Sex and the Single Girl
Sex and the Single Girl is a comedy film fromthe 1960s that talks about women’s financial independence and sexual liberation. The film stars Tony Curtis as Bob Weston, a tabloid magazine journalist working on his new piece involving Helen Gurley Brown, the author of the best-selling book Sex and the Single Girl. When she refuses to meet him, Weston poses as her neighbor Frank, played by Henry Fonda, to talk about her life. The two fall in love, and he has a hard time keeping his identity a secret.
The book was indeed an actual self-help book written by the author, which encouraged women to be financially independent and explore their sexuality before marriage. The book was an international bestseller, selling in 35 countries, and it is widely believed that Sex and the City is a homage to the book in its title and content. The book was also the inspiration behind several characters in the critically acclaimed series Mad Men.
2 Life Begins at 40
Life Begins at 40 is inspired by the 1932 self-help book, written at a time when life expectancy was increasing in America. In the late 1800s, life expectancy was only 40 years, which changed dramatically in the 1930s, when it increased to 60. The book was written to encourage a new generation of 40-year-olds to be optimistic about a happier life. However, the film is relatively bleak about life in the 1930s, as it tells a compelling story about integrity.
The film was released two years after the book’s successful response, starring Will Rogers as Kenesaw H. Clark and Richard Cromwell as Lee Austin. Clark, a newspaper editor from a small town, opts to hire an ex-convict accused of bank robbery. He believes the ex-convict’s innocence but is pressured by the town banker to fire him. However, Clark knows the real culprit of the robbery and takes a stand to protect the young boy. The film’s message leans towards being wise with age and standing by the oppressed as corrupt institutions continue to misuse power.
1 Wild
Jean-Marc Valleé directs Wildand borrows its imagery from Into the Wild, with a familiar protagonist who goes on a solo odyssey in the wild after personal setbacks in life. The film stars Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl Strayed, whose memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail inspired the film. Cheryl is devastated after her mother passes away, and her divorce makes it worse to look forward to the next day. She sinks into a downward spiral and engages in self-destructive behavior. However, she gets the courage to embark on a new adventure to hike the Pacific Crest Trail and find new hope in life.
Witherspoon was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for delivering a physically challenging performance with the utmost emotional depth.
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