Nothing scratches that romcom itch for us better than a slightly absurd but well-executed comedy about two hotties who are just pretending to date… or are they? And while “Marry Me” fell completely flat, and “I Want You Back” was delightful but sizzle-free, Netflix has a new movie that truly delivers on the promise of a fake relationship romance: “Wedding Season.”

The premise, in brief: microfinancier Asha and startup guy Ravi are set up by their pushy parents, who long for each of their children to finally marry. To avoid matchmaking pressure during a summer of weddings, they agree to pretend that they’re an item… only to slowly fall for each other. There are yearning eyes, misunderstandings, secrets that come out at the most inopportune times, and above all, a happy ending.

What is it that makes Fake Dating the ideal romcom trope of our time? Why do we crave it? There are obvious advantages to the construction: It requires the leads to spend a lot of time onscreen together, enabling plenty of flirtation and doe-eyed wistful looks. It seamlessly transitions from a way to enforce togetherness between people with no other reason to hang out into a psychological barrier to starting a real romantic relationship (e.g. “we already agreed this is just pretend”). It’s also perfectly ludicrous, the kind of thing that pretty much never happens in real life and yet constantly happens in this specific genre. Like a superhero leaping over a skyscraper with a single bound, it assures us that the humdrum disappointments of every day life won’t be holding us back in this fictional escape.

But maybe it’s also a trope well-suited to a time when courtship seems more confusing than ever before and the process of dating to find a relationship is Sisyphean and baffling — swiping endlessly on the apps, going on promising first dates that go nowhere, getting ghosted, getting funneled into situationships. The Fake Relationship echoes another form of courtship, one that “Wedding Season” also considers: arranged marriage. Asha’s parents had one, and in a heart-to-heart late in the movie, Asha’s mother admits that she was heartbroken to be married to a man who wasn’t her choice. At first, she says, she pretended to love him. But then she realized it had become real. Asha’s mother wanted her daughters to choose their loves, but in the end, Asha also finds love by, at first, pretending to love someone. Overburdened by freedom, we have to imagine ourselves into romantic prisons in order to find our way to a person worth choosing freely.

In this episode, we talk about those parallels, break down all the absurd plot details, and revel in our favorite swoony details. Hope you enjoy! xo

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We’ve been reading…

“The Rabbit Hutch” by Tess Gunty, a buzzy debut novel poised to meet a moment when the Catholic aesthetic and the slow decline of a capitalism-ravaged country are in the zeitgeist. It unfolds over a week in the fictional Indiana city of Vacca Vale, which is decades into a long decline after the bankruptcy and closure of the automobile company that made the town prosperous. Our heroine Blandine Watkins, an eccentric teenager obsessed with female Catholic mystics, has been spat out by the foster care system and left to cope with the end of an emotionally consuming affair with her high school theater director. The alienated, abandoned characters inhabit an alienated, abandoned city. Everyone is seeking an escape.

I actually picked up this book because of a personal connection: Gunty’s mom was my (wonderful) art teacher, and her brother was my elementary school classmate. The book is deeply informed by the pervasive Catholicism and post-Studebaker travails of our shared hometown, South Bend, and it’s fascinating to see how she grapples with them in her work. Also noted: a fair amount of jabs at the plans to revitalize Vacca Vale as a tech industry hub (*cough* Mayor Pete). Putting aside my indisputable hometown bias, “The Rabbit Hutch” sometimes strains a bit harder for showy prose than it needs to, but it’s an ambitious, imaginative, compelling meditation on the search for meaning in the wake of despoliation and decline. -Claire

I’m still making my way through “The Arc” (I am not on vacation, so I’m reading at a much slower clip) and I’m still really enjoying it. Excited to see if this thoroughly modern/app-dating-centric romantic novel sticks the landing. -Emma

We’ve been watching…

The upcoming Netflix reality show “Dated & Related,” which sounds more incestuous than it is. A modern mash-up of family-matchmaking cable reality shows like “Parental Control” and the new generation of villa-based, IG-model-populated, teeny-bikini-clad dating competitions like “Love Island,” this show features sibling pairs who are challenged to wingman and wingwoman (wingperson?) each other to true love. We’ve often advocated for more reality daters to come in paired with preexisting BFFs or confidants, and so it’s interesting to see this play out in the ensemble format! While it actually seems to help tamp down drama (hardly a reality TV producer’s goal), the relationships between the siblings (both same and mixed-gender duos, all pursuing hetero relationships) are genuinely sweet to watch. Please let me know if I should make Emma watch this for a pod! I’m ready!! -Claire

“Look Both Ways,” Netflix’s updated, much more rosy spin on “Sliding Doors,” starring Lili Reinhart as a young woman graduating college. In one life path, she has a one-night stand with her friend and gets pregnant. In the other, she doesn’t. It isn’t anything revelatory, but it’s a sweet movie and Reinhart shines. The lack of exploration of abortion as a viable option to an unplanned pregnancy feels really weird given where we are post-Roe, but otherwise it’s a lovely watch. -Emma

We’ve been listening to…

I’ve been in catchup mode lately. For a while, I wasn’t in the mood to listen to “Know Your Enemy,” Matt Sitman and Sam Adler-Bell’s podcast on the intellectuals of the right, and I’m getting back in the groove with their most recent episodes on the terrifying Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters and the historian Christopher Lasch and his cooptation by the new right.

Also, my favorite short-lived indie band of the aughts, Voxtrot, is reuniting for a small tour and putting out some new songs, so I’ve been reconnecting a bit with my angsty 20-year-old self. -Claire

The Kardashians episode of our bud Amanda Montell’s podcast “Sounds Like A Cult.” I love a sharp, smart conversation about traditionally low-brow fare, and this really delivers. -Emma

We’ve been buying…

This swingy prairie-girl minidress in the Madewell pre-fall sale. I essentially quit above-the-knee dresses cold turkey after my toddler was born, but now that he is a nimble walker and I’m rarely called on to bend all the way over in public anymore, I hear the siren song of the short skirt again — especially with the approach of fall and cozy tights. -Claire

This versatile black midi skirt from Pixie Market that a fashion influencer I follow who specializes in showing you how to remix classic pieces in your wardrobe #influenced me to buy. (I know, I know, I’m weak.) At least it was on sale? -Emma

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