Spoiler alert: This episode contains plot descriptions for each movie discussed. Don’t listen if you don’t want to find out how these (hint) romantic comedies end!
After bathing our brains in intense reality TV drama for the past few weeks — from devouring “Love Is Blind” to taping our eyelids open to make it through the four hours of “The Bachelor” this week (with four more to anticipate this coming week) — we both felt the irresistible urge to retreat to the warm embrace of scripted romantic comedies. The predictability of the formula, and the comfort of being able to expect some human connection and kissing, soothes the soul in troubled times. (In the podcast, Claire refers to “the consolation of genre,” a reference to this great LARB piece on romance novels by Cailey Hall.)
So, this week: a streaming rom-com double feature! We watched “Marry Me,” the glitzy Jennifer Lopez-Owen Wilson vehicle on Peacock, and “I Want You Back,” a cozier romance starring Jenny Slate and Charlie Day on…
