Episodes

I am starting the year as I mean to go on, celebrating another mainstream movie, much like Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, that is focused on womens' capabilities, wishes, desires and pleasures. And not as a subplot, but central to the action. I think it's a very auspicious start to the new year. May this tiny trend continue!

https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com

It's their job to iron and mop and give orgasms—in whatever order the customer demands. Luckily none of this is illegal. They c...

So many holiday films in my rotation every year, and my favorites tend to be classic movies: absorbing emotional stories full of romantic, platonic and familial love, redemption arcs, and endings with joy and hope. The Bishop's Wife (1947) has it all, and it's a movie I watch throughout the year when I need comfort or inspiration. And you can't beat Cary Grant as an angel in a well-cut suit.

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More about The Bishop's Wife director, writer, cast and cre...

"Yes, I'm in love. I dare." Oh this movie. I'm sobbing at the drop of a hat lately, and it turns out that a heart in love and cracked wide open is the perfect foil for Joe Wright's glorious, lush, emotional film, Cyrano. This sung-through musical makes the prettiest lovelorn cocoon, and Peter Dinklage and Haley Bennett are a revelation.

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The rich, romantic look of the Cyrano movie is just as compelling as the lyrical choreography, music and acting.

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This dramedy-within-a-sitcom show is all about settling in life, marriage and relationships, especially romantic relationships, and then waking up to who you are and what you really want and need. I can't stop thinking about it, Annie Murphy's performance, the way it's structured and written — and that manic intrusive laugh track, which can just get the f.... outta here.

Kevin Can F... Himself isn't just a PG-rated title, but a symbol of a character who struggles to express her deepest, most tr...

If you're the one person on the planet who hasn't heard: I've been on dating apps, and wow, I need to process. Let's do it together, shall we?! There's nothing more amusing than a dating romcom full of romantic disaster, then sweet gooey love at the end. Or that invigorating enemies-to-lovers story to get you in the mood to dive back into your matches. Or not.

https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com

"Not surprisingly, men were more likely than women to rate hooking up as the reason they u...

From time to time, I like to ask people about the romances they love best, the stories that changed their lives or made them think about love and connection a bit differently. After meeting Danielle and Wolfgang from the Hello, I'm Listening podcast, I immediately wanted to ask them this question. Turns out that we all love a good coming-of-age story —plus their real-life romance started out with a meet cute, too, so I liked them immediately.

https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com

Wolfga...

I'm concluding my second-anniversary celebration with another second-chance romance episode, featuring movies about finding romance later in life, especially after sadness and disappointment. This theme is one of my favorites, especially as I get older and wade back into the dating pool. It's a funny and bizarre experience at times, but these movies give me hope that my second chance is out there—if only for two hours.

Movies
The Face of Love is described as a "psychological romance" and it's h...

I'm celebrating the second anniversary of this podcast with a two-part episode on one of my favorite romantic tropes, second-chance romance. In this case, it's finding love, sex and connection at a later age or after romantic or sexual disappointment. Older and wiser has never felt more hopeful as I'm talking with retired sex therapist and erotic romance writer Dr. Donna Jennings a.k.a. Dr. J, getting her tips for navigating healthy sexuality at any age. CW: this is a spicy, explicit episode, fu...

It's a NSFW, shame-free look at relationship and healthy sexual desires to celebrate the second anniversary of this podcast! I've grown along with this show, and I fully embrace the wide range of fantasies and desires represented in sex-positive romances, romantic movies, and TV shows — like How to Build a Sex Room on Netflix. I can't say enough about how lighthearted, fun, empowering, sexy and surprising this show is.

https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com
Romance After Dark is the episo...

Apparently I'm one of the few people on the globe who enjoyed Netflix's Persuasion with Dakota Johnson :) I take a deep dive into this adaptation with Sarah Gamez, romance writer, filmmaker and host of Romancing the Story podcast. We chew over what the filmmakers got right and perhaps got wrong in this version. And I confess that pretty much any Jane Austen adaptation is a good adaptation for me as long as it's billed the right way.

https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com
Sarah Gamez hosts...

It's more fictional and real-life advice in this action-packed episode! Isabelle Popp, a contributor to BookRiot, stops by to talk about her recent essay about romance novels, and Carly Lane, pop culture critic and "romance nerd" for Collider, Vulture and Paste Magazine, explores her upcoming book A Regency Guide to Modern Life. We'll revisit the vintage romcom The Truth About Cats and Dogs, a Cyrano retelling set against the backdrop of a pet-advice show, and take a peek at The Ex Talk, a conte...

In the next couple of episodes I take a look at advice romance: fictional advice in a contemporary romance and a romcom set at radio stations, real life online advice, and a smart, funny new podcast called Romance Road Test.

https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com

What will pull these couples closer together--or push them apart? In Romance Road Test, good friends Kristen Meinzer and Jolenta Greenberg put romance hacks to the test in their marriages.

The show is a spin-off of their long-r...

Sometimes what you need is a deeper connection, some bedroom therapy, a sexual experience full of healing. And sometimes that means going to the experts — at least those skillfully played by actors. I'm joined by friend of the podcast Diana and former sex worker John S. to help break down fantasy vs. reality and explore these fictional journeys to sexual fulfillment.

https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com

I think anyone over a certain age who still desires healthy sexual experiences will...

Happy Pride Month! Squeaking just under the wire with a quick take on this frothy, fun gay retelling of Pride and Prejudice, set in that historic LGBTQ+ summer destination, Fire Island in New York. What a sunny, cute, romantic romp of a romcom this is!

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There's more than a touch of Boogie Nights in the look of Fire Island.

Joel Kim Booster talked to Variety about how the movie was developed. His favorite romcoms are My Best Friend's Wedding and Clue...

School's out for summer! I was a nerd and school and libraries were my happy places. Intellectualism, books and words were my religion. So it's no surprise that I'm a sucker for romances set in academia. The age gap and power difference tropes can be difficult to handle well but some romances manage to walk that fine line while bringing all of the absurd humor and steamy romance.

https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com
MOVIES
Passionflix ("we find the most passionate content to satisfy our...

I'm tired of the grown-up world! Give me whipsmart, funny teens having adventures, falling in love and exploring how to navigate young adulthood — teaching the grown-ups in their lives a few lessons along the way. They're the inspiration I need right now.

https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com
Along for the Ride is the most warm-hearted, tender story about one of the biggest milestones in a teen's life. It's based on the best-selling novel by Sarah Dessen and written by screenwriter Sofia...

An announcement, and a quick take on the BBC/HBO co-production Gentleman Jack. This show is regency-adjacent romance reimagined, reflecting sexual identities hidden at the time, turning the period into an era where all love stories were represented and accepted. From the production and writing to the ensemble acting, it's thrilling delight.

If you'd like to leave a review or support the show with a tip, visit the top menu at
https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com

I'm only partway through...

We're going way back to ancient myths in this episode, taking a look at some books and movies that reimagine these eternal, compelling stories in a sexy-modern, romantic and exciting way.

Thanks to my special guest--listener and writer Mariah--for gushing with me yet again on this episode. You're the best!

https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com
Books

Neon Gods is the spectacular Book 1 in the Dark Olympus series by Katee Robert. Electric Idol is the fabulous Book 2, and the third book o...

Richard Curtis romcoms are canon, and I've touched on them before, but now I'm joined by a special guest, Joe of the Right in the Schoolies podcast, to try to tease out why they work so well, and talk about the differences in UK and US romance and romcom humor. Let's dig in!

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Joe is a complete delight. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook and listen to his fabulous podcast Right in the Schoolies here.

I first fell in love with Catherine Cohen'...

My favorite costume dramas of last year are back with sophomore seasons, and they're the slowest of slowburns. Will Charlotte get over the loss of Sidney and finally find someone in Sanditon who appreciates her? Will Anthony Bridgerton marry for love or family? I've thrown in one of my favorite slowburn screen romances, inspired by the love of poet John Keats for artist Fanny Brawne. This is slow but incendiary love — the opposite of instalove, but sexy and romantic all the same. (CW: film clips...

To celebrate Women's History Month, I'm highlighting favorite real and fictional badasses. Warning: I mention the word badass many, many times in this episode. Clearly I love me a bit of badassery. Women worthy of official biographies and iconoclastic female characters in historical romances all provide ready-made inspiration. I need as much of that as I can get.

https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com
Virginia Woolf's house on Gordon Square (4th picture in right sidebar). She had many gat...

I'm celebrating International Women's Day with a round up of comedy badassery by Ali Wong, Amy Schumer, Jenny Slate, Rose Matafeo, and Iliza Shlesinger. Whether it's a romcom movie, TV show, blog, book, or live special, these writers are funny, raunchy, honest and real when talking about their lived experiences. They're badass inspiration. (CW: lots and lots of profanity, mentions of body image, brief mention of drug use, and lots of juicy sex talk.)

I'm really starting to feel that cultural and romantic invisibility cloak that covers women of a certain age. Luckily, there are a few aspirational, sometimes inspiring TV shows and movies that feature people over the age of 40 romancing each other and getting it on — even if it seems that you need to have a beautiful face, well-placed wrinkles and a near-perfect body to deserve the same.
CW: talk of anti-body positivity and toxic Hollywood and cultural beauty standards.

A distilled, potent, curated, intensely romantic relationship might not always be possible in life, but it's certainly a staple of classic and modern romantic stories. The exquisite romances in today's episode happen through love letters, physical disguise, and boyfriends for the night--or the moment. They're sexy, passionate and all about the heart's deepest desires that emerge only when love is in disguise.