Greta Gerwig in IFC Films' 'Frances Ha'

While bromances flourish – doctors, racecar drivers and superheroes bond regularly -- memorable movies about best girlfriends are a rare species. But in that environment, “Frances Ha,” the brilliant black-and-white comic collaboration between star-writer Greta Gerwig (“To Rome with Love”) and writer-director Noah Baumbach (“Greenberg”), is a game-changer.

Best friends since college, happy-go-lucky Frances (Gerwig) and roommate Sophie (Mickey Sumner), now in their late twenties, share the same bed and the same inside jokes. Frances quips that they are like an old lesbian couple without the sex.

Photo: HBO

Why Cannes? Because it's a mosh pit of the high-profile movies that you're going to love or hate throughout the year. In a rare turn of events, Americans have already had the opportunity to see the opening night film, Baz Luhrmann's lavish "The Great Gatsby." The buzz is all about whether the elite Cannes crowds will crow as Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan own the red carpet only to dismiss the moneymaker as an exercise in materialistic excess? Cannes audiences are notorious for their candid reactions. Boos and hissing are as common as standing ovations.

Meanwhile, stars swarm the upscale French Riviera mecca once frequented by "The Great Gatsby" author F. Scott Fitzgerald. Stars will also splash the big screen, including Ryan Gosling, Justin Timberlake, Marion Cotillard, Clive Owen and Matt Damon.

Among the high-profile participants, American director Steven Spielberg will head the prestigious jury, which includes Nicole Kidman, Christoph Waltz and Oscar-winning rival Ang Lee. They're tasked with choosing from 19 films in 12 days for the prestigious Palme d'Or. It's the ultimate networking exercise and a sweet spot for Spielberg. After last year's losses he returns to the festival that screened his debut feature, "Sugarland Express," in 1974.

Here are a dozen reasons why Cannes matters:

Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images

When Kerry Washington arrived at this week's Metropolitan Gala with punky purple streaks in her hair, she shocked some people. Not us! We know there are a lot of layers to this actress -- she has a Phi Beta Kappa from George Washington University -- who's dominating this year on screens big and small.

On TV, the aptly-named Washington owns the sexy D.C. drama "Scandal." During Oscar season, she rode the red carpet as the only major female star in Quentin Tarantino's Oscar-winning antebellum revenge fantasy "Django Unchained." And, now, with a glamorous shake of her head, the Bronx-born beauty gets laughs in "Peeples," an upscale African American meet-the-parents comedy co-starring Craig Robinson.

Must-See Movies Beyond the Blockbusters

Sarah Polley (Photo: Roadside Attractions)

Watching "Stories We Tell" feels like sharing a comfy couch beside a close friend -- who happens to be an amazing storyteller with a show-stopping secret. In her third film as a writer-director ("Away From Her," "Take This Waltz"), the Canadian actress Sarah Polley, 34, uses nonfiction to unknot her shocking family history. Because her parents, Michael and Diane Polley, were theater people, the revelations also played out on a public stage.

Tobey Maguire and Leonardo DiCaprio in 'The Great Gatsby' (Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures)

When Baz Luhrmann announced that he would helm "The Great Gatsby," with Leonardo DiCaprio playing the title character, it was a buckle-your-seat-belt moment in movie history. Could the Australian director of "Moulin Rouge" finally pull off the literary adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic about the American dream, a vision that has eluded so many before him?

Well, after much delay, fanfare, and cross-promotion, it appears that Luhrmann's $104.5 million 3-D adaptation is in serious trouble. Here are the 10 reasons why we think "The Great Gatsby" may be the summer's first great disappointment.

We have a feeling you'll be hearing lots more about Ty Simpkins after "Iron Man 3."

Starring as Harley Keener, the 11-year-old fifth-grader serves as the pint-sized straight man for Tony Stark's best one-liners while helping the fallen hero repair his badly damaged suit.

Despite Simpkins's epic Hollywood résumé -- "Insidious," "Revolutionary Road," "War of the Worlds" -- he still attends public school. We caught up with him after school and got the lowdown on his key role in the summer's first blockbuster.