Episode 1: City of Angels

The Big Sick is a fun based on a true story, but how does it deal with melding reality with a watchable film?

In the tenth episode of Mandatory Happy*, we travel back in time to when Patrick Dempsey was a nerdy teen and Seth Green was so young he barely existed to discuss and explore this teenage tale of love and telescopes. Renee debunks a few myths about American teenage life, and Rae tells how her life is similar to Michael C. Hall's new show, SAFE. It's all in good fun, and you'll have the titular Beatles' song stuck in your head for a week even though we don't even mention it on the show!

*We're in the double digits! Whee!

What happens when a film splits into two timelines, but forgets to make one or both of them matter? Can Rae & Renee get over the obnoxious public transport behavior of the romantic lead, or is he doomed to be a harasser? Exactly how bad can a man be at having a secret affair? All these questions answered and more on this week's episode of Mandatory Happy.

Leap Year holds space as the movie that made Renee want to start a podcast picking at romcoms. A film somehow both absolutely boring and completely infuriating, Rae and Renee pick at the dozens of bad tropes, the strange filmmaking choices, the Irish stereotypes, and the times they were both, individually, held hostage by the band Flogging Molly.  This episode is a cornucopia of heavy sighs, swift subject changes, and dinosaur sounds.

Consider this our Mark Ruffalo appreciation episode. We talk about the positive messages in the film, why it's great to watch with kids, Mark Ruffalo, women's magazines, Mark Ruffalo, why mean girls suck, Mark Ruffalo, and more!

For the first time, Renee and Rae fundamentally disagree on the film! Is Sleeping With Other People a complete disaster of a movie with a heavy undercurrent of misogyny or a look at how purity culture hurts people? Do the leads have chemistry? Do the jokes work? Rae and Renee find a couple of things to agree on, but spend the majority of the episode presenting and defending two entirely different points of view on this Allison Brie/Jason Sudeikis indie rom com.

In Episode 5 of Mandatory Happy, Rae and Renee take on Notting Hill, the surprisingly charming English love story featuring a surprisingly tolerable Hugh Grant, a very weird take on the song "When You Say Nothing At All", and a realistic portrayal of the misogyny famous women face. Listen as Renee's life changes upon realizing Hugh Grant can be enjoyable, and Rae recounts the moment in her life quite like William Thacker's.

Rae & Renee discuss why High Fidelity is the saddest romance, the top 5 reasons Rob & Laura's relationship is toxic, and explore the theory that Laura is just as bad as Rob.

There are 25 tropes,  27 Dresses, 3 chemistry-less love stories, and enough eye rolling to last a lifetime in this week's episode of Mandatory Happy! Listen while Rae & Renee discuss everything from 90s brows to how to overcome the damage this film does to Elton John. Remember to rate us on Apple Podcasts and enter our giveaway on Facebook!

Rae and Renee delve into the romantic comedy to which all romantic comedies are compared. Is Harry actually a dick? Is Sally too obsessed with marriage? What is WITH Jeff Goldblum getting so hot now that he's old? And why does being in your 30s suck so much? All these questions (and more!) answered on the second episode of Mandatory Happy!