I recently had the opportunity to watch Julia Roberts in the film adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert’s best-selling novel “Eat, Pray, Love”. I watched it with my wife, partly to redeem some movie-selection karma that I had squandered in taking her to see “Tropic Thunder”, but also with a sense of curiosity about what passes for a good chick-flick these days.

But was it really a chick-flick? The food-porn scenes in Italy would appeal to any foodie, of either gender. India was as much about the gruff and too-wise Richard as it was about Elisabeth. It is only once we get to Bali where I would say that some of the mushy stuff at the end (spoiler alert) with Javier Bardem crying (end spoiler alert), begins to really tread into chick-flickishness.

At the end of it all, I was left thinking about the different narratives that men and women adhere to in their lives. It made me wonder about how many of us are stuck, in one form or another, and what are the stories we tell ourselves that keep us spinning our wheels, or that allow us to break free.

Blanket generalization: ‘Male’ narratives are fundamentally about power, and ‘Female’ narratives are fundamentally about relationships.

Men like to fantasize that some Yoda-like character will appear, give them super-human powers and reveal that the fate of the universe depends on their taking action. “Do all this, and you get The Girl” (unless she’s your sister).

Women, on the other hand, have been told to play the role of Damsel in Distress, waiting for Prince Charming to come along, rescue them, and take them to Happily Ever After.

In “Eat, Pray, Love” Elisabeth Gilbert has given women an alternative narrative: take control of your life, do what’s best for you and ditch Prince Charming, and love on your own terms. “Do all this, and you will get The Right Guy.”

Maybe.

I couldn’t help wondering if Elizabeth had not met Philippe (Javier Bardem), whether the book would have been as successful, presumably going then by the title “Eat, Pray”. I suspect you would be more likely to find it in the Self-Help section and not amongst the Bestsellers.