Episodes
Long Distance Romance: Going the Distance/What Happens Later
I'm meeting my LDR sweetie for the first time this week, after more than a year of online dating, and excited doesn't begin to cover it. Humans are spread out all over the globe yet hyper connected, so many of us will experie...
Spirituality and Desire: Black Narcissus
I'm a classic film nut, and there's no better example of overblown, dramatic and romantic Hollywood storytelling than the movie Black Narcissus, starring Deborah Kerr. Based on the 1930s Rumer Godden novel, it’s a story that ...
Think Pink: Barbie Part 2
In this episode, I'm joined by my romance friend Mariah to gush, giggle, get deep and then frothy again about the Barbie movie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, directed by Greta Gerwig. It was the most mega of mega m...
Hotter Than Ever
My favorite shows, books or movies feature women over the age of 40 finding sensuality, romance and connections of whatever type they desire. Unfortunately, society likes to pretend that women — especially older women —don't ...
Boss in Pink: Barbie
I'm one of the last remaining people on planet earth to see this amazing movie, and it still managed to surprise me, even after all the hype. I love Greta Gerwig, I love her courage in telling a story about feminism and patri...
Hanukkah Hijinx: Round and Round
It's a holiday miracle: I've finally watched one of the most perfect Hallmark holiday movies I've ever seen, with stellar writing, directing, editing, and acting. The story is heartfelt, it has relatable stakes, it's romantic...
Hanukkah Hijinx: Round and Round
It's a holiday miracle: I've finally watched one of the most perfect Hallmark holiday movies I've ever seen, with stellar writing, directing, editing, and acting. The story is heartfelt, it has relatable stakes, it's romantic...
Darkly Funny Connection: Shiva Baby
There's no way to exactly describe the dark and hilarious debut dramedy Shiva Baby except to say: you giggle at what should be sad, feel heartbroken for what should be exciting, become annoyed with the emotional meddling, and...
Shipboard Romance
How I love a romance set aboard a luxury cruise ship or ocean liner, especially classic movies set on ships in the early to mid 20th-century, a heyday of ocean travel. The coziness, the leather luggage with a separate toiletr...
Gothic Romance: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde/Mary Reilly
It's Halloween week, and time to confess that I'm strangely attracted to Gothic horror stories and creepy "romance," especially the many interpretations of the fascinating classic 19th century novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyl...
Romance in the Buff: Naked Attraction
Selecting potential mates based strictly on physical attributes is definitely a vibe —as seen on the UK dating show Naked Attraction, which has recently started streaming in the US. As expected with a TV show that features fu...
Romance Replay: Love Over 40
I just saw Book Club: The Next Chapter, a frothy, fun and flirty sequel to Book Club, a movie I talked about in this episode, and I'll feature the sequel in an upcoming episode. This time, the besties end up in Italy and it'...
Quick Look: the Trope-y Romcom Goodness of Love at First Sight
I'm not a snob when to comes to romantic tropes. I don't discriminate: the more outlandish the better, and I love them all. Every beat might be as familiar as the back of my hand, but my attitude is: bring it on again. It's e...
Romantic, Painterly Psychological Thrillers: The Essex Serpent/The Beguiled
Is it Halloween yet? If it's getting cooler where you live, too, let's brew some tea or pour some hot chocolate or hot cider and snuggle on the sofa with two of the most atmospheric, painterly, creepy yet oddly feminist and r...
Love Bomb: You Hurt My Feelings
I'm a huge fan of the films of Nicole Holofcener, and her latest is another lo-fi, funny, thoughtful story for anybody who's ever tried to make a romantic, platonic, sibling or parental relationship thrive. Is it ever okay to...
Surf's Up: the Sensual Romance of Surfing
Ever since I first saw 1959's Gidget rerun on TV, I thought surfing and beach culture looked like the most fun you could have all summer. I might be an outsider still but my surf crush continues with every surfing movie or do...
Romance Replay: Year Round Holiday Magic: The Bishop's Wife
Summer is kicking my butt, and I desperately need to chill. Let's celebrate Christmas in July and enjoy a replay of one of my favorite episodes, about one of my favorite classic holiday movies: the romantic and spiritual The ...
Reunited in Love
It's almost reunion season — translated into stories, that theme seems to always include unrequited love and crushes, frustrated ambition, embarrassing attempts to impress, reliving lost youth, and shattered dreams. Some are ...
Quick Take: You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
This minor Woody Allen film asks a really pertinent question for a romance podcast: do we fool ourselves by looking to the stars, horoscopes, psychics or fortune tellers to comfort and convince us that love is out there waiti...
LGBTQ Love: Supernova/The Prom
I'm taking a closer look at two emotional and exhilarating romantic LGBTQ love stories to celebrate Pride Month. These movies are very different in tone, but are equally heartwarming and visually exciting, with incredible per...
Raunchy Medieval Romcom: The Little Hours
It's difficult to describe the tone of this bawdy, outrageously gigglesome medieval romcom: it's played straight, for laughs, while deeply subversive, satirical and quietly hilarious, just like its 14th century source materia...
Bros-mance
Bros was a bit of a box office disappointment, but it's a fabulously funny, honest and sexy gay romcom. Fire Island may have gotten there first by also showcasing an entirely LGBTQ cast, but when it's about romcoms this good,...
Sexy Dad Bod: the Evolution of George Clooney
What more could be said about witty, gorgeous George Clooney? For a long time now, George has been a worthy modern day Cary Grant, with all of the bantering sexy suave of that classic film icon. But I've noticed in more recen...
Breakups and Makeups: High Fidelity/Rye Lane
The only romantic breakups I "enjoy" are fictional ones, especially if the couple makes up after learning something valuable about themselves and their partner. Nothing better than romantic reconciliation, but sometimes the h...