RomCom Killjoys

If it works on stage, will it work on screen? This month we're discussing plays adapted into romcom films. To kick it off, Jonelle and Eliza sit down with noted theatre person and mom Esther Cohen to discuss Steel Magnolias (1989) for Mother's Day, including how the screenplay successfully remodeled the play for film; how our conversations around disability have changed in the last 30 years; and how much they adore the late Olympia Dukakis

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Jonelle and Eliza close out travel month with an honest-to-god road show. This week they discuss Road to Morocco (1942), including 19th century Orientalism in the World War II era; physical comedy bits that work; and the history of passing and racial masquerade in Hollywood. 

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As William Shakespeare once said, we were both young when I first saw you ... Jonelle and Eliza begrudgingly discuss Patreon-pick Letters to Juliet (2010), including painfully forced exposition in beautiful Italian settings; Romeo and Juliet in the popular imagination; and the real life romance on set that you didn't know about. 

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It's our date with the President's daughter. Our date with the President's daughter, oh yeah. Jonelle and Eliza sit down with romance novelist Kate Kerns to discuss Chasing Liberty (2004), including the underdiscussed Presidential daughter subgenre; surprisingly nuanced vacation love stories; and why this movie doesn't deserve its 18% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 

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When the movie is so offensive, you need a mega episode ... Medha joins Jonelle and Eliza for an unholy smackdown of Eat Pray Love (2010), including the history of Hinduism and Western counterculture; (un)ethical tourism; and why the specificity of your operatic music cue matters. 

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Do you hear that? It's Jamaica calling. Eliza and Jonelle kick-off our vacation month with iconic How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998), including fantasies of a younger man; how Hollywood limits the success of Black-led romantic comedies; and the immortal question ... *did* Stella get her groove back? 

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Medha joins Jonelle and Eliza to discuss Always Be My Maybe (2019), including the importance of Asian-American representation from Asian-American creators; the right way to write successful career women; and why that Keanu Reeves sequence works so damn well.

Some resources we want to highlight this week:
Asian Mental Health Collective https://www.asianmhc.org/
Red Canary Song https://www.redcanarysong.net/
Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Atlanta https://www.advancingjustice-atlanta.org/

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Jonelle and Eliza dive into Jon Favreau's vanity project Chef (2014) -- which we promise is a romcom -- including empowering female characters to do all the work; the cultural politics of street food; and toxic masculinity in the restaurant industry. 

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Jonelle and Eliza snuggle up to the West Coast dream world of It's Complicated (2009). Discussion includes wealthy retirement fantasies; societal pressure in your 20s and romantic journeys through your 60s; and getting warm Nancy Meyers-Williams & Sonoma scented hugs (which we could all use right now). 

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Bom apetite! This month Jonelle and Eliza are talking about food and the people who make it. First up is Mystic Pizza (1988) -- discussion includes inappropriate relationships for smart girls; the naive hopes of 80s empowerment feminism; and one of Jonelle's favorite topics -- Spicy Whites (TM). 

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