Sabrina and Torsten have never been kissed by Michael Vartan, which is a thing they have in common with Drew Barrymore’s character in this teen movie that can’t quite decide what it wants to be, except somehow both charming and problematic. The 90s, man…

They talk about a few things you may want to check out:

– IFoI mainstay Roger Ebert’s review of the movie: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/never-been-kissed-1999

– The cultural reckoning the movie had post Me Too: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/04/229220/never-been-kissed-anniversary-teacher-student-relationship-controversy

Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching.

Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at [email protected]

Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Sabrina and Torsten go to Alaska with Canadian Sandra Bullock and American Ryan Reynolds so she can get a Green Card. High jinx ensue, except all jokes about the U.S. immigration system hit different these days.

They talk about a few things you may want to check out:

– IFoI mainstay Roger Ebert’s review of the movie: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-proposal-2009

– A few more facts about the movie: https://www.movieinsider.com/m2964/the-proposal

Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching.

Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at [email protected]

Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Torsten and Sabrina tackle another Nancy Meyers romcom in which the stars are not in their twenties. There is, of course, a kitchen, but there’s also Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin.

They talk about a few things you may want to check out:

– Reviews of the movie: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/its-complicated-200R

– The lost art of director’s commentary: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/streaming-killed-the-video-star/

Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching.

Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at [email protected]

Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Sabrina and Torsten are still in Sabrina’s kitchen, but really they're on Andrew Ahn’s “Fire Island” (2022) watching Joel Kim Booster and Bowen Yang put the Pride in “Pride in Prejudice.” They hope not to catch Lyme disease in the outdoors while looking for constellations.

They talk about a few things you may want to check out:

– Author/Star Joel Kim Booster on his romcom journey: https://ew.com/movies/joel-kim-booster-fire-island-pride-cover-story/

– Actor Bowen Yang on the movie: https://representasianproject.com/features/bowen-yang-fire-island-interview/

Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching.

Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at [email protected]

Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Torsten has joined Sabrina in her kitchen to say something about “Say Anything,” the 1989 Cameron Crowe directorial debut starring Ione Skye and John Cusack that features THAT boombox in front of the window scene. They neither want to buy anything, sell anything, or process anything as a career. As a career, they don’t want to do that.

They do, however, talk about a few things you may want to check out:

– Roger Ebert's review of the movie when it came out: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-say-anything-1989

– Ione Skye's autobiography, “Say Everything”: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Say-Everything/Ione-Skye/9781668048269

Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching.

Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at [email protected]

Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Sabrina and Torsten still sit on a couch and talk about Nia Vardalos’s one woman show turned successful indie romcom, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” Stock up on Windex and discover why every word is really from the Greek.

They talk about a few things you may want to check out:

– Reviews of the movie when it came out: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/my-big-fat-greek-wedding-2002 / https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2002/sep/20/artsfeatures3

Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching.

Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at [email protected]

Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Sabrina and Torsten sit on a couch and discuss the first movie in the “Bridget Jones” series, 2001’s “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” certainly one of the best thirty films of the year. Starring an American with a convincing British accent (Renée Zellweger), a smarmy Hugh Grant, and a very Darcy Colin Firth.

They talk about a few things you may want to check out:

– Reviews of the movie when it came out: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2001/apr/13/helenfielding / https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/bridget-joness-diary-2001

– Reassessments of the fat shaming from more recent commentators: https://archive.thetab.com/uk/2020/07/14/bridget-jones-diary-is-fat-phobic-and-has-actually-aged-terribly-166036 / https://www.vogue.com/article/bridget-jones-weight-obsession

Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching.

Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at [email protected]

Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Torsten and Sabrina visit the National LGBTQ+ museum in New York to look at the audio-animatronic bisexuals in the first gay major studio romcom starring Billy Eichner and Luke MacFarlane.

They talk about a few things you may want to check out:

– The discourse surrounding the movie when it was released: https://www.them.us/story/bros-movie-box-office-performance-billy-eichner

– The fictional LGBTQ+ museum in the film: https://variety.com/2022/artisans/news/bros-lgbtq-museum-billy-eichner-1235392680

Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching.

Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at [email protected]

Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Sabrina and Torsten join in for a sing-along to “I Say a Little Prayer” at a seafood restaurant with Rupert Everett, Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, and Cameron Diaz in this unorthodox late 90s classic romcom that stars all your favorite actors who got famous later on. (Including Carrie Preston and Paul Giamatti.)

They talk about a few things you may want to check out:

– The likeability of the Jules character: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/my-best-friends-wedding-julia-roberts-25-year-anniversary

– The “gay best friend” trope: https://www.advocate.com/media/2020/11/20/history-gay-best-friend-film-and-tv#rebelltitem15

Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching.

Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at [email protected]

Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

In the second low-budget independent romcom set in South London on this podcast (what are the odds?), Sabrina and Torsten follow David Jonsson and Vivian Oparah as they wander around Rye Lane Market and drink deeply from the well of London romcom lore.

They talk about a few things you may want to check out:

– Director of Photography Olan Collardy’s stunning cinemmatography in this movie: https://filmmakermagazine.com/118964-interview-dp-olan-collardy-rye-lane/

– Director Raine-Allen Miller’s thoughts on her film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4OmtSc9iig

– The Rye Lane film locations walk: https://walkingpost.co.uk/rye-lane-film-locations-walk/

Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching.

Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at [email protected]

Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.