What’s Your Number (2011)
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Transcript
Netta (00:00)
the premise of this can be very off-putting if you just kind of take it at face value,
Steph (00:05)
Yeah.
Netta (00:06)
But then you watch the actual movie and it's very crass offensive in a whole other way, potentially.
Steph (00:11)
Yeah.
Netta (00:15)
I think it kind of hits whatever the opposite of a sweet spot is,
Welcome to Popcorn Moms, the podcast for parents who love their kids most, but loved movies first. We're your cohost, Netta.
Steph (00:30)
And Stephanie, two movie lovers turned moms. Join us as we reconnect with the things that make us whole outside of parenthood, namely watching movies. Today's movie is What's Your Number? A 2011 rom-com starring Anna Faris and Chris Evans. After reading that sleeping with 20 or more men kills a woman's chance of getting married, Allie, played by Anna Faris, looks back at the past 19 men she's had relationships with. She enlists the help of her slutty neighbor Colin,
played by Chris Evans, to track down her exes so that she can re-meet them and see if any of them are actually the love of her life. But in the process, she and Colin fall in love as she learns that true love is about being yourself. So this was Netta's pick. So why did you choose this movie?
Netta (01:14)
really like this movie. I watched this movie.
I watched this movie, I don't know how long ago, like sometime in the last five to 10 years, I guess. I've watched it a few times. ⁓ And I just really like it. I think this is a really good rom-com. ⁓ It checks the two boxes that I have for what makes a good rom-com, which is that it's entertaining and that the love thesis, like the idea about love that it has is something that
Steph (01:41)
Mm-hmm.
Netta (01:43)
you're on board with. And like, I think it has a great love thesis and it's very entertaining. This is like top tier rom-com in my books. It has a very poor Rotten Tomatoes score. I don't care. I don't care. I think it's a good, I just think it's a really good movie. I think it's like ⁓ a very classical style of rom-com, which I wanted as a kind of like,
follow up for Sleep Less in Seattle. This is like your kind of very classical style rom-com, but done in its own way, which I'm sure we'll get into. So I feel like this is the rom-com for me.
Steph (02:18)
Yes.
Netta (02:21)
a rom-com for millennials in a way. I just think the sense of humor and everything. But anyways, anyways, what did you think? Okay, great. It's okay if you didn't. I mean, it's okay if you didn't, but.
Steph (02:27)
I enjoyed it very much. You can breathe a sigh of relief. No, I think
like for me, like, you know, I as we've talked about, I do not care for rom-coms in general as like a genre, but there's certain things if like those boxes are checked, I'm like here for it to give it a shot. And I think this had some of those boxes. So we'll discuss those. I would like to argue though.
that this movie is a comedy first with romantic second. Like this movie was absolutely hysterical. Like, absolutely hysterical. Way more than any, like, it's funny what you say, this is a classic rom-com. I think it follows the classic formula, but in no way is like, the characters or the dialogue.
Netta (03:04)
Yes, thank you. It's so funny. Yes.
Steph (03:22)
necessarily classic in a way. And so I would say that this is a comrom and that's why I like it. Cause I don't. Yeah. It was, it was way too funny and like, it was way too funny, but like the, the humor itself, was like extremely crass, which was great.
Netta (03:25)
Mm.
⁓ yeah, I could do that.
Too funny for a rom-com!
Steph (03:46)
the comedy style was much more like if you want a gender comedy, like that male-oriented, yeah, very bro-y, very like the things they were saying, the jokes they're making. You don't really see that comedy in classic rom-coms. I like what you said about how this is something for millennials because I think it would resonate with the...
Netta (03:54)
Bro-y.
Steph (04:10)
the female millennial crowd for sure. Like I think Sean always teases me. Like I think women are much more crass than men actually. So like that's what I really, really liked about this movie. Like it kind of put that at the forefront, ⁓ which I loved, but not typical. And I liked that. It was, my God, I was dying. Sean stayed and watched it with me. Like, yeah. yeah.
Netta (04:16)
Yeah ⁓
Yeah. Did he enjoy it?
Yeah. Yeah.
Steph (04:36)
Yeah, because we
both like Anna Faris so much. She's so charming and she's so funny. And I think within the first like two or three minutes, we were both at some really good out loud laughs. So he's like, all right, I'll stick around. And it did not disappoint.
Netta (04:40)
Yeah.
Yes. Nice. Did you,
So to your point about the humor of it
This is what I think a certain type of humor that is by women for women looks like. I don't even know who wrote it was a woman. I don't care. I think this is very much like an Anna Faris comedy, ⁓ but it just like, yeah, why don't more comedies for women have more, like, why don't they say vagina more? It's hilarious.
Steph (04:59)
I know.
Yeah.
I know. Right?
I know!
I know, but you know what's really, and maybe like my comment earlier, like I hate that I was thinking that, that this is like male comedy because like, why does comedy have to be gendered? But it's interesting because I'm watching it and like thinking about this as a rom-com, I was thinking that like majority, like a lot of women in my life would not like this style of humor necessarily in a rom-com, but in a comedy maybe, in like a more like edgy comedy. And so,
Netta (05:40)
Mm.
Steph (05:45)
As someone who doesn't love rom-coms, I love that they blended it. And that's why, that's why for me, it really, really, really resonated as a comic. It was too funny. It was too funny. And I'm wondering the poor Rotten Tomatoes score. I was wondering this. I wonder if people maybe didn't know what to do with that.
Netta (05:54)
to be a romcom.
Mm.
Maybe, I mean, I have some thoughts about why it might not have found its audience, think in terms of like the type of humor that it has, plus, you know, is it a comedy first? Is it a rom-com? Like to me, this is such a classic rom-com setup of, you know, this woman who ⁓ finds out that she
Steph (06:21)
Mm-hmm.
Netta (06:31)
or she doesn't find out. This woman who reads a magazine article in like one of these like awful women's magazines that we all kind of, many of us kind of love despite knowing that they're awful.
Steph (06:40)
Hmm.
Netta (06:46)
that tells her that like she's gonna die alone because she slept with too many men. and that kind of is like the setup for her to go back and revisit her exes. And in the meantime, of course, fall in love with this new guy who seems like he's all wrong, but turns out is right for her. I mean, this is just such a classic thing. ⁓
Steph (06:55)
Hmm.
Mm-hmm.
course he's all right.
Mm-hmm.
Netta (07:06)
But the way it takes it up, think there is a kind of like tongue and cheek-ness to it. Like she as the character, the main character, knows that this is kind of dumb to be insecure about this. The movie knows that it's kind of dumb to be insecure about this. But she's still unapologetic about being insecure about it.
Steph (07:17)
I know. Yeah. Yeah.
Yes. And like, I can't put my finger on it. So let's talk about this. Cause I think you're really onto something here. There's something about this movie that was kind of like making fun of the whole institution of like typical rom-coms in general. Cause I feel like a lot of rom-coms like may start the same way. Like, there's an article that says you're die alone, but like it takes it very seriously. And the woman like internalizes it and like the humor.
Netta (07:48)
Yes. Yes.
Steph (07:52)
is not as fun, maybe. Whereas in this movie, it's like immediately kind of making fun of itself in the sense that like she thinks that's really stupid. Like she's a very modern woman. want to say like modern, confident, empowered, all this good stuff. And for whatever reason, this article kind of gets under her skin. but like it's fun and knows what it's doing and it keeps her very like. Modern.
Netta (08:11)
Yeah
okay, so I think that there's a couple things. One is that I think we see good reason why it gets under her skin. I mean, clearly this is a woman who reads these articles all the time. She has these magazines around. The reason it gets under her skin now is because her little sister is getting married and she's just been dumped by this environmentalist fuckboy asshole.
Steph (08:29)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
He's so good.
Netta (08:46)
It is so good. Like she's just been dumped. She doesn't have a date to the wedding. She's like worried about what her mom is going to think and the judgment from her mom. ⁓ She's just been fired. This is a very big one.
Steph (08:59)
my God,
Netta (08:59)
And so it makes sense that she's kind of at this low point, she's vulnerable. And this idea of like, you know, she's been with 19 men, 20 by about, you know, 20 minutes into the movie, if that. Yeah, that was really good.
Steph (09:04)
Mm-hmm.
So good
Netta (09:22)
Like it gives this great kind of structure or this great like send off, like, okay, go on your journey now. Because she's looking for a change in her life. And you see why you buy why, even if like the structure she gives to this change, right? This idea of like going back to all her exes because blah, blah. Like, even if that's ⁓ kind of contrived and kind of what it like, the article is not the thing that convinces her. You have to stop.
Steph (09:26)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm. Yes.
my god, I love it.
Mm-hmm.
Netta (09:50)
sleeping with more men and find a husband from among your, like, it doesn't convince her of that. She wants a change and this gives her a kind of way to think about that change. So I think that's one element of it, is that like, this movie is not saying, actually, if you sleep with 20 men, you will die alone.
Steph (10:05)
Yes.
Yeah. You will be alone forever.
Netta (10:17)
Exactly. Like this movie has not internalized it and that is like not the moral of the story in the least.
Steph (10:22)
Mm-hmm. Yes, maybe that's it.
yeah. You're right. Like, it takes that idea. It's I love, how much she like you're right, though. It's not like she leans into it so much. But it's like, I feel like I you're right. Like, I feel like it's like a very modern thing. Like, I feel like I could see like that's like.
Netta (10:31)
You
Yes, so hard.
Steph (10:45)
If I spiral down this as well, like that's how I would act. ⁓ my friends, if they spiraled in, this is how it like we'd really take it seriously. And I love that it just leans in. Like I think it like it comes up with this premise and it leans into the premise so much in a very fun way to still be very like powerful and strong and interesting. And she still maintains like herself, like in.
Netta (10:47)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Steph (11:11)
trying to navigate like how she's going to do this, which is very fun.
Netta (11:14)
Yeah.
yeah. What else is there to say other than that it is insanely funny? Anyway.
Steph (11:20)
When she's
making the list at the beginning ⁓ my god It's so So like I just feel like I need to I don't even know who wrote it, but the writing Was just so good even when she's like talking about something and Chris Evans like like this is a crazy I cannot be a part of like I like it just sounds so real and like ⁓
Netta (11:30)
You
Yeah. Yeah.
You know what it kind of reminds me of? I've been rewatching 30 Rock. Just this thing of like, like, like just constant, constant, constant jokes in this sort of just, just in the conversation.
Steph (11:48)
Mm-hmm.
Yes. Yeah, Yes.
Yeah, there's like a flow style to it that's like you're not waiting for that like punchline It's just in the way that the characters are and the way they talk that is just so so so funny
Netta (12:11)
Yes,
yes. It's like they have their zingers. Like there's some jokes that, you know, have like a setup and a blah blah, you know, and the punch line. And then there's others where it's just like a zinger, but it just kind of like you're saying a constant flow of comedy.
Steph (12:15)
Yeah.
Yeah, it's like
one of those like I feel like you watch it and you think it's super funny and then you watch it again and you realize you missed a bunch of stuff and it's super funny and then you watch it again and things take on a certain meaning like it's just one of like that's how I've never watched a quote-unquote rom-com that's so funny and like this isn't a wrong ⁓
Netta (12:34)
Yeah.
Yeah.
⁓ I
don't, okay, maybe, hmm. I wonder if it's something where like, if you were to watch this again in like, you know, a couple years, if the ROM part of it might be more in the front, like might be more prevalent. I don't know, just because like you're saying like the, like every time you watch it, you might get a little something a little different out of it.
Steph (12:55)
Mm-hmm.
Why?
Netta (13:09)
And I wonder if the romance part of it, because I do feel like that part is really strong.
Steph (13:14)
⁓ I have a massive list as well of like all of the like prototypical romcom things. think, yeah, I think like I made a list of atypical things and typical things. And I think. Yeah, there it does veer like that formula is definitely there.
Netta (13:21)
Ooh.
Mmm.
Steph (13:34)
I was just thinking about romantic movies and like what they like exist in. And so you have like romantic movies existing in like a period piece, for example, or a romantic movie existing within a lighthearted suburban scape or a hallmark world,
Netta (13:40)
Mm.
Mm.
Steph (13:52)
It's like, where do they and this one for me very much exists in like, comedy. Like the romance exists within that like bottle, most rom-coms are like lighthearted. And so it's romantic and comedic because it's lighthearted. Whereas this one was like comedic because it was absolutely fucking hilarious.
Netta (14:09)
Yeah, I love the way you put that that like the world that the romance exists in. I love that. Yeah. Love it.
Steph (14:11)
Mm hmm. Yeah. Boom.
Netta (14:21)
Yes, let's talk about the romance. There's two things I want to say just at the outset. One, I just think this is like a great story. Like a great idea of romance and love, which is
Steph (14:17)
So then let's talk about the romance.
Netta (14:35)
Be yourself and find somebody who loves you for who you are and that you love them for who they are. Great. Perfect.
Number two, I appreciate so much that they did not have a traditional public declaration of love. They do in private. She pulls him off the stage and they do it in private.
Steph (14:52)
talking about they totally did okay
Technically...
Netta (14:59)
No, No
Steph (15:03)
⁓ Okay, yes, I will not
Yes, yes, yes, please.
Netta (15:12)
So she's at her sister's wedding. She gives a speech at the wedding that her love interest is not at that basically kind of describes that love thesis that says, you know, ⁓ you know, who you're with should make you more of who you are, not hide it. And that's a beautiful thing and blah, blah, blah. And you know that, yes, you should be with somebody that you can be yourself with. Great. And then she runs off to find him. He is not there.
Steph (15:17)
Yes.
Mm-hmm.
Mm.
Netta (15:38)
She runs off to find him. I love that whole sequence where she goes to like all the different weddings in the city. And you kind of get like the celebration of different types of weddings and She finally finds him. He's performing at a wedding. She goes on the stage to get his attention. Brings a kind of an end to the performance by saying, okay, let's get the speeches going. Pulls him off stage and then tells him in private that she loves him and gives her a little speech.
Steph (15:43)
Yeah, that was really funny.
Netta (16:05)
This avoids the awkwardness that I absolutely hate about the public declarations of love.
Steph (16:08)
Okay.
Okay. And I feel like the, when I, I'm sorry, I apologize. Yes. There is no, like, I'm going to stand on the stage with a mic and tell you, I love you. But there is the sacrifice, the grand gesture of like leaving her sister's wedding and running all over town. Like this is a big, yeah. Dumping the other guy on the spot who's like totally Mr. Right on paper.
Netta (16:22)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Yes. Dumping the other guy who's perfect. For sure.
Steph (16:35)
and running all over the city, climbing the fence, interrupting the performance. what? Like this is the grand sacrifice. And like, no, it wasn't a public in terms of, but she did like make a spectacle of herself in a slight way. But what I love so much about it and why I can tolerate this in this movie is because it makes fun of itself. And as she's journeying, she says, why didn't I just go to his apartment and wait for him? Like she says this to herself.
Netta (16:38)
Mm-hmm. I'm all for that.
She made a bit of a spectacle.
Yeah. Yeah.
Steph (17:03)
And so she realizes what she's doing is insane. And like, that's why I can tolerate it. And I think it's rather amusing.
Netta (17:06)
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, I have no problem with all of those other like tropes. Yeah, sometimes, but I can accept that. That's fine. I think and again, I just I love the whole sequence of her going to all these different weddings looking for him. I love that. ⁓ So, yeah, that that was all fine with me. No problem there. I loved it.
Steph (17:13)
Mm, okay, because I know that the the sacrifice sometimes
⁓ so good.
Netta (17:32)
that is a reason that this movie has stayed with me as a favorite movie. I think that it really is because the public declaration of love was done in private. I don't know. That just, yeah, I just find that, I just hate that trope so much. So I just really liked that that happened. But anyways.
Steph (17:42)
Hmm, interesting.
Yeah, that's fair.
So let's go back to the love thesis. The love thesis. Because that is a phrase that you introduced to me and I sometimes have a hard time, but this time I was like, love that it's so obvious. Like that is the message. And I feel like in a lot of rom-coms, that is the message that is being strived for. And I feel like this one actually shows it like so obviously like
Netta (17:49)
we couldn't
⁓ yeah.
Mmm.
Steph (18:17)
because of the way in which they meet, like not as love interests, but rather as like neighbors and then friends who are going to help each other out. It's like they're bearing all their dirty laundry, like at the front end. And so like they are really, really being themselves and like are very comfortable in being those people because they're not really interested in like impressing each other anyway. You know what I mean? And like, I think it's just like with every other guy, she is
Netta (18:30)
Yeah.
Steph (18:44)
very much pretending to be someone else. And then, and yeah, literally. And so it's like, it's so in your face. It's so literal, but it's so real in a way that like, is really, really nice to segue into a sweet moment. Marriage is hard, as we've talked about. Things are hard. Raising young children is hard. Watching this movie hit me in a way that like,
Netta (18:46)
Literally, yeah. ⁓
Mm-hmm.
Steph (19:12)
I don't know. No other rom-com, no other romance movie has done in years. I was sitting there with Sean like an afternoon. I was just looking at him like, God damn, like this, this guy's my best friend, man. Like there is a reason I married him. I am here with him. Like I am myself. I am better. Like all of these things. Meanwhile, yesterday I was like, he's going to die. Like he does this stupid thing one more time.
Netta (19:22)
Mm-hmm.
Steph (19:40)
But like, it's just it made me actually feel something and like it resonated with me like in a way that a lot of movies don't like mostly when I leave wrong comes I'm like, ⁓ that was so sweet. And then I move on with my life. But this one, like it has stuck with me like a very deep way. And I feel like that's a credit to the realness of this thesis. Like not only like, be yourself, but like they were themselves at the end when she does her.
like private declaration and said like, Oh, your number 21. And he's like, your number 300. And she's like, Oh, like it was like, they're still being themselves and they're still very much okay with that. And they both know what they're signing up for, which I love.
Netta (20:14)
Stop it. Yep.
Yeah,
totally. I'm with you all the way there. I mean, I feel like this idea of, or this insecurity of like, does this person, you know, love me for me? Or do they love me for the role I play in their lives? Or do they love me for how much of themselves they see in me? I feel like this is something that's like, definitely present in like movies, TV shows, blah, blah. I feel like
Steph (20:34)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Hmm.
Netta (20:49)
very often it's done in a way that's kind of convenient. Like we don't really see that necessarily or it's very subtle.
Steph (20:54)
Mmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Netta (20:58)
in this case, in this movie, this being a comedy and a lot of things being kind of exaggerated for laughs and just really kind of like you say, like leaning into it, it just very plain what that means, right? It's like you see her, you know, returning from, ⁓ you know, accidentally on purpose, bumping into these exes. And she's like going up this spiral staircase in her apartment building kind of
Steph (21:04)
Yes.
Yeah. Yeah.
my god, I love it.
Netta (21:26)
He's he's on the landing upstairs and she's telling him what's happening and she's going up basically in these various costumes she's put on this like Yeah Like like this Miami Beach bimbo outfit that amazing ⁓ When she comes back after pretending to be British and she's got like the Union Jack shirt on All of that and it's like it's just a very stark contrast
Steph (21:33)
Yes, yes, these rules that she has undertaken.
my God, that was so good.
Did you?
Netta (21:55)
And I just, love that they did really kind of lean into this idea and really made it the center point, right? They didn't just kind of tack it on. just like, this is what the movie is about. Yeah.
Steph (22:02)
Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Yes, and like
not only that, but like. He is aware that she's doing all of this. He is a part of it. He thinks it's great and it's funny and like because that's who she is. She's somebody who would do all of this insanity and he's there for it like loving it, right? I feel like in a lot of these like just be yourself like the love interest never actually knows the depths that the person has gone to or the center, but like this one, they're kind of.
Netta (22:20)
Yeah. Yeah.
Mmm.
Steph (22:31)
co-conspirators in her wild journey. Yeah, and he's just as wild with his board of rope pictures and trying to track down all these guys. Like, what? I did ask myself, why is he? There's so many unrealistic things about him. Yeah, rom-coms don't exist in the real world, as you said, you've said before.
Netta (22:32)
Yes, yeah, they're a team.
Yeah
you
Insane. Who cares? It's a rom-com, it's fine. No, no. ⁓
Yeah, yeah. No, it's true. And I think like, actually maybe going back to what we were seeing before, like why does the whole setup of this work, given that like, you know, the whole premise of this is potentially awful? Like, why does it work?
Steph (23:04)
Mm-hmm.
Netta (23:10)
And I think like similarly, like why does their connection work? Why does each of them work as a character? It's like, I think it's like she feels this insecurity, but she doesn't feel insecure about being insecure. Like she feels bad, but she doesn't feel bad about feeling bad, right? And I think like taking that off where she can just kind of embrace this insecurity and really go for it.
Steph (23:16)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Hmm
Netta (23:39)
And for that reason, he can also, like it leaves room in the movie for him to also lean into it with her, where he can embrace this as a thing about her to appreciate because she's embracing it about herself. This is kind of crazy.
Steph (23:47)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Yes, I was gonna say, I agree with you. And what this makes me think of is like, I feel like a lot of times in rom-coms, one of the characters, like, prototypically, the female, and we saw this a bit in Sleepless in Seattle, it's like, like quirky, unique, fun, like, oh, fuck. I tell you, Netta, I am so clumsy, and I swear to God, it's caused so much problems. It is not cute.
Netta (24:12)
She's She's clumsy. That's like...
Yeah.
Steph (24:19)
It's not cute in like a marriage when you're trying to live your lives.
Netta (24:21)
Yeah. When you when
Steph (24:26)
and so like, it's like one of those things that's like, that's so fun at first. But like, in reality, like, I don't know, I feel like movies go over the top sometimes, like that's how they make women stand out, like giving them some sort of like wacky, but like.
Netta (24:39)
It's her fatal
Steph (24:39)
I feel like this movie. She's like interesting and different, but like you believe it so much and she's not set up to be different than him in that way. he's also like doing a lot of the things that she's doing. They don't put her on some sort of pedestal as like she's different because she's quirky.
Like she does a lot of quirky things. Like she makes weird, what are those? Ioramas like. Yeah, but for some reason, like I took that so seriously. I don't know. Like how I don't know how they did this,
Netta (25:00)
Yeah, the kind of clay scenes. Yeah.
yeah!
Like it kind of takes her seriously as a full character, maybe.
Steph (25:14)
Yes,
she's very I kept wanting to say the word real. Like I see myself in her. Like I feel like everybody, every woman in like you said, like well, any woman could write like she's just so like full and like well rounded as a character.
Netta (25:18)
Mm hmm. Yeah.
Yeah, and there's that kind of internal law. It's not like, okay, here is a generic rom-com lead lady that includes some clumsiness to make her seem more relatable or add some comedy or blah, blah. It just kind of feels
Steph (25:37)
Mm-hmm.
Yes.
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Netta (25:47)
Here is a fun-loving, of ridiculous woman who is also very caring, who wants to please other people, who has a lot of love in her heart, who is pretty irresponsible in some ways, but also pretty practical in other ways. Actually, I don't know. I think she's actually a pretty responsible person on the whole. Yeah.
Steph (25:54)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Yeah,
I think I was gonna say she's real. It's like some people, like most people, like you're responsible in some ways and other ways you're a little more free or loose or spontaneous. yeah. She's balanced. She's well balanced.
Netta (26:19)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, for sure.
And I think something else that plays into this ⁓ is that there are a lot of characters in this movie, right? It's a pretty extended universe, right? All of her exes and her family, mostly. So you get a lot of different female characters and a lot of different male characters.
Steph (26:35)
Yeah, I love that. ⁓
Mm-hmm.
Netta (26:46)
one thing that can be a weak point of movies, really of any genre, is that very often you get like one female character ⁓ and like, maybe her friend,
Steph (26:55)
Mm-hmm.
Netta (26:57)
But even in rom-coms, I feel like you get your two leads and then a kind of sprinkling of people around them. Here, you get so many different kinds of people, so many different personalities, so many different approaches ⁓ to relationships, so many different approaches to marriage, different approaches to work, different approach, like just all of these things. And I think that
Steph (27:05)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Netta (27:24)
First of all, puts her in... You kind of see her relative to other well-rounded characters or more complete characters. ⁓ And it also just makes the whole world feel more real. So she does, too.
Steph (27:32)
Yeah, it's very true.
⁓
Yeah, like all the characters seem quite thought out and how they exist and like the like flashbacks, I think as well add like a my God, they're so good. They like add an element of realness because they're placing her at different points in her life with different people and the different phases like she's gone through, ⁓ which I think adds to it.
Netta (27:48)
Yes. They're so funny. Yeah.
Yeah, yes, yeah, yeah.
Steph (28:03)
Yeah, yeah, so she's very real as a character, I guess.
Netta (28:06)
Yes, totally. And then,
you know, her, the kind of journey that she goes on and the love that she finds just feels all that much more meaningful.
Steph (28:12)
Mm-hmm.
Yes, I guess so. feel like yes, I feel like the. Romcom classic things are where it like. Like, I think some of those things, they were there, but they weren't done super great. Some of them like the point of tension I thought was like a little
Netta (28:29)
Mmm.
more.
Steph (28:34)
you have the typical kind of like she does something a little off beat with her sculptures and he's like the only one who believes in her.
Netta (28:40)
Mm-hmm.
Steph (28:41)
And then they have like this basketball scene where she's really good at basketball. That's so cool. Like, you know what I mean? Like she's yeah, right. She's good at basketball. So watch out. And then like, they have the kiss, but then he just stays and it's super sweet. And then I knew the tension was coming.
Netta (28:45)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, she's not she's she's not like the other girls. Yeah.
Steph (29:08)
And you know how I feel about that. started to feel like sick to my stomach. was like, or is this movie going to sidestep it? And it went with the tension moment, but I found it to be very, very weak. she finds out that he had the number of the guy that she had been wanting to circle back with the most. Right. And she feels very betrayed that he held this number back.
Netta (29:11)
Yeah.
And also, yeah, she had been spending the scene before, she's spending time with like, the bridesmaid, like her sister who's getting married and the bridesmaids, and they're telling her, you know, this guy, like, yeah, so she and Chris Evans have like, kind of hooked up. She's super happy. And they're all like, no, this guy's, you're not gonna end up with this guy, this guy's garbage. And so she's kind of coming back.
Steph (29:38)
Yes.
isn't for you.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Netta (29:54)
And then on top of that, she finds out that he has withheld ⁓ the phone number of the ex that she really wanted to meet, to meet up with, yeah.
Steph (30:02)
Yes.
And I just, found it to be a little weak. Like it just seemed very, like it made me question the idea that like these two people would like actually stay together, like post-movie. Just like, this seems like such a fundamentally weak thing to like shatter what they had premised this whole relationship on that they had built. Like when they finally do get together, they have this wonderful night together where they're having fun and roaming the city.
Netta (30:26)
Mm-hmm.
Steph (30:32)
And then they finally do get together and it is absolutely wonderful. And like you are really there for it. Like you really buy it. And then she goes and she's with the bridesmaids and they're critical and like, that's fine. But so far we've seen her be like. Not I don't know, she like leans into things and has fun with with things around like, no, my 20 guys and whatever. But like, I don't know, there was something that bugged me. I didn't personally believe that they would get under her skin that much.
Netta (30:58)
Yeah.
Steph (30:58)
And then, sorry, yes, she comes back. He has the number. just for the night that they spent together, the the foundation they'd built, I felt like that was kind of weak. Like he didn't give the number because he was falling for her. Like and she was falling for him. Like I just. I don't know, I didn't buy it. I thought it was weak.
And then when they were fighting and stuff and she kind of calls him out like, if I had slept with you, you would have been gone because that's your M.O. like, I believe that, like because they built him as that character. then I was going to say the other thing.
We talked about the grand gesture and the sacrifice, but the other thing that was very prototypical or typical is when she does the speech at the sister's wedding and she is talking about like real love and true love and it's people that make you feel better and where you can be yourself. Like, and then she gets down. Like that's of course, when the guy that she thought was going to be your guy turns into an asshole. Like, ⁓ you don't want to do your stupid sculptures anyway. Those are silly. And come with me and do this. Like
Until then, he was a very nice guy, but they got to make him gross. They got to make him yuck so you can buy into the fact that she's going to find her true guy.
Netta (32:05)
Let me start by responding to the thing about the last thing you said about ⁓ the guy who seems perfect that she dumps in order to be with Chris Evans. I think you do see in the kind of montage leading up to the wedding of them dating, I think you do see her fulfilling a role that is not
Steph (32:09)
Mmm.
Yes. Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Netta (32:28)
Authentic to her as we have come to know her like this is now near the end of the movie Yeah, we we know her we see like we know who she is. We know this isn't her But it's clearly a role that she can do and there's like even that little scene where she takes throughout like some kind of gala Event and she takes a little like hamburger like a mini burger appy Yeah, and then he doesn't take it and she kind of puts hers down and you I think you see these kind of little things here and there
Steph (32:30)
Yes. Yeah. Like she's playing.
yes, take the bait.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Netta (32:58)
so to me, when he kind of goes around and says, ⁓ you know, there's nothing really keeping you in Boston other than me and you know, your freaky little sculptures art thing that you make, you know, those can wait. I don't know. To me, it, didn't make sense in terms of his character and their relationship as you see it. I also think that like, it makes sense that.
Steph (33:06)
Yeah.
Mmm.
Netta (33:23)
that would come up at a point where, like he's proposing that they go travel for his charitable work for six months together. It makes sense that like cracks start to show at a point of like a big change, potentially. I have no problem with that. In terms of what you're saying, in terms of like why the Anna Faris and Chris Evans kind of like break off.
Steph (33:31)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
their
moment of tension. Yeah, it's weak.
Netta (33:48)
their moment of tension. Yeah, I'm with you. It is weak.
It is weak. think. Yeah, I don't know. I think maybe if like. I almost feel like if the mom had been involved because her mom is like. Yes, and is like this big source of. Insecurity and tension and kind of this thing of like.
Steph (33:55)
Like, sorry, you go.
Ooooo
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Netta (34:15)
You know, she tries her best to maintain her sense of self, even with her mom's, you know, criticisms and nitpicking and all this kind of stuff. ⁓
Steph (34:23)
Hmm
Netta (34:27)
But, you know, maybe, I feel like, yeah, there had to be maybe something a bit more as to why it is that she would listen to this group of bridesmaids and let that get under her skin so much, right?
Steph (34:38)
Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Sorry, I was
gonna say a group of bridesmaids too, who at the beginning of the movie, we see her kind of comparing and contrasting their sexual histories and she's already kind of set herself apart from them. So like why all of a sudden does she care so much about their viewpoints when she seems to be quite an independent thinker?
Netta (34:55)
Yeah. Right.
Yeah, and you know what, it's the fact that throughout this whole experience of going back to these exes, after each experience with each of these exes, she goes back and talks about that with Chris Evans, not with these bridesmaids. So it would make more sense if she was getting feedback from these bridesmaids all along the way, and she was kind of...
Steph (35:15)
Mm-hmm. I know.
Yes. ⁓
Netta (35:25)
trusting them and what you know if if they were involved in this process somehow so that when they say this about Chris Evans it means More to her. She's kind of feeling yeah
Steph (35:36)
I know,
like you said, and I completely forgot about it because it's like, why would her sister's friends hold so much bearing when she's already established, they're kind of on different pages around things? So I thought that was weird. And I was going to say, too, this idea of like the love proclamation, like in other rom-coms, this idea of like, you held their number for me. Why'd you hold their number for me? Because I was falling for you.
Netta (35:43)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Steph (36:03)
Like in many movies, that is the thing that brings people together. And in this one, it just, seems a little more unrealistic. Like they both care for each other a lot. They've hooked up. They've established they like each other a ton. Like why wouldn't he hold back that phone? It just is, ⁓ it bugs me. I know.
Netta (36:05)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
No, this I yeah this
though like I think if like I held back the number because I like I think that would be a worse rom-com to be on like I think the fact that I think I Know but a lot of rom-coms are bad Yeah, yes
Steph (36:31)
That is what a lot of romcoms are. They are bad. I'm not saying this one should have done that. I'm saying like it's taken the thing that romcoms use to bring people
together and tried to make it as the thing that's more than perfect. And I don't buy it.
Netta (36:45)
Right,
right, yeah, I can see that. I mean, I appreciate that like at the end when, you know, she makes her, she declares her love to him and he says, I love you back. And he apologizes for withholding the number, which I really appreciate because I think that was wrong. I, you know, I don't think he should have done that, but that's okay. It's forgivable. Let me, you know, it's forgivable. It's fine.
Steph (36:49)
That's all.
Mm-hmm.
It's like ridiculously forgivable.
Netta (37:15)
Yeah. ⁓
Steph (37:15)
Like, I kind of feel like she should have saw that and been like, hey, when do you get this? And he could have said, ⁓ after we were starting to fall in love with each other and she would have been like, OK. Like. Yeah.
Netta (37:25)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah,
I guess there or if there was maybe something about like how, you know, this is the first time she's really herself with someone and kind of freaks her out. And this is her kind of excuse to get an out. But that's not what it builds to the whole movie is building up to
Steph (37:40)
BLEH
Netta (37:43)
them being really happy that they can be with people who that they're themselves with. So yeah, no, I'm I'm with you. I think the other the weak part of this movie for me I think is Chris Evans's character.
Steph (37:46)
Right? I know.
Ooh, say more because you know what? I agree with you.
Netta (38:02)
Yeah,
really like Chris Evans. But I think just like the smugness and the arrogance of that character. So smug and it never drops. I guess this is part of this thing where, you know, he really is his authentic, like he really is himself all the time. And I guess the smugness is part of that. But it's like even when they're hooking up
Steph (38:07)
Yee sts sts stow smuh
Mm-hmm.
Netta (38:23)
he doesn't drop it, which really bothered me. It was just like kind of icky.
Steph (38:27)
Really
to me, it was like, this is who he is. This is... And you're like, and I don't like him.
Netta (38:29)
Yeah, and I didn't like it.
And it's it's fine in the sense of like, okay, so this character likes him. And that's okay. That's okay. ⁓ But I remember, especially like the first time I watched it, that was like the big detractor was his smugness and his character. But watching it now, I still don't love his character. But I it didn't bother me as much.
Steph (38:38)
Mm-hmm.
⁓ interesting.
And see, it's interesting because I feel like the fact that he is kind of smug and kind of like bro-y and like this, like the whole time. Like I think for me, it added credence to this idea about being yourself. And like, I don't like him per se, but I can see how like they are a match in the confines of this movie. And I don't think they would last though, by the way.
Netta (39:04)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
No way. Why? Ooh.
Steph (39:21)
No, have a like, think a lot
of rom-coms, like if you played them out, like some you can see how the couple would stay together and some you could see, well, like this is a couple I think that would crash and burn.
Netta (39:32)
Mm-hmm. Say more. Why?
Steph (39:34)
I just. Because I think because he's a smug bro and like I think. I don't know, like I think for him like. Character development and like revelations like. We don't see and maybe it's just because he's not the focus, but like none of that is happening for him, right? We see her go on this really good arc of like realizing she just needs to be herself and like.
finding someone who loves her for her great. And like he is, as you just said, like one note. And that adds credence to the idea of like, this is who he is. But like who he is is like a womanizing maniac. And so what what is supposed to give the audience any sort of solace or trust or I can't think of the word confidence that he will not get bored.
Netta (40:13)
Yeah.
Steph (40:27)
And move on as soon as she's not as fun.
Netta (40:30)
Yeah, yeah, I think that's possible. mean, the one thing you do see is, ⁓ so throughout the movie, Chris Evans is encouraging Anna Faris to take her art more seriously and to try and pursue it professionally. He's a musician, a struggling musician. She encourages him to be more practical to like, you know,
Steph (40:42)
Mm-hmm.
Netta (40:53)
play at weddings and bar mitzvahs and whatever else. And at the end, he's very resistant to it. He's like, no, I want to play my music. I'm not going to be one of these like, you know, kind of lame sellout, you know, ⁓ wedding bands. But then at the end, he is playing at a wedding. Like he does take that advice. So there is I think that's our one kind of hint that he is also growing as a person.
Steph (40:55)
Mm-hmm.
Sellouts.
But is that good personal growth?
Netta (41:20)
You tell me you have thoughts. Clearly.
Steph (41:24)
I don't know. I feel like I'm bringing in my personal.
Netta (41:27)
Say more! Of course! That's how we watch movies!
Steph (41:30)
know it is so funny because like halfway through or maybe a little more than halfway, Sean's like, is the point of this? Is it trying to tell women that it's good to be with unemployed musicians? I love this. This is a good love thesis. It'll all work out. I just think this idea of like artists, like musicians, artists, and all those, whatever.
Netta (41:39)
Hehehehehe
you ⁓
Steph (41:55)
Like this idea of like staying true to your art versus selling out is very divisive. And I think as you said, he is encouraging her to pursue her like passion for art. And yes, it's different and interesting. While she is saying music is music, just go make money making music or playing music, not even making per se. I just, I don't like in a lot of movies.
Netta (41:59)
Mmm.
Steph (42:18)
It's the reverse. It's a guy who is a cover band artist and secretly is writing his own songs. And the love interest says, you should really write your own music. Like, why aren't you playing your own music? So it's the other way. And so. I don't know, he also has this insane skill set of detective skills. ⁓ like, it's funny you say that because I didn't even really.
Netta (42:38)
Yeah.
Steph (42:42)
pick up it's okay. No, this is how I took it. This is really interesting. So I was going to say I like how when they do have their tension and they split, he kind of spirals downward and I saw him quote unquote selling out and playing weddings as part of his spiral downward.
That's so funny. You're like look. He's having a good character. I can take your advice. I'm like he's spiraling down the drain This
Netta (43:06)
Is it just dark time?
Yeah, no, that's not how I take it at all. my God. No, I am. No, because I think they're just like they're finding a balance. Like, right. She's moving more towards his. He's moving more towards hers. And ⁓ Exhibit A. Earlier, like the first, the first X that she goes and sees is the magician. The magician bartender. So good.
Steph (43:22)
I know, I think you're right.
Yes.
my God, I love that so much. Yeah.
Netta (43:41)
The magician
bartender. ⁓
But she doesn't actually talk to him. Like Chris Evans finds him, they go to the bar. It turns out he's still working at the bar. He's still doing the same magic tricks, all of that. She storms out. She's like, no, I'm not even gonna talk to this guy. It's not worth it. He's like, why? You don't wanna date a bartender. And she's like, no, I don't wanna date a guy who's still a bartender, right? Who's still doing the same old tricks, who's still in the same place he was before. I'm trying to grow and change. I'm trying to move forward, right? And I think that's more the spirit.
Steph (43:46)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Still doing the same tricks.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah. Yeah.
Netta (44:13)
that
Like I think that's more the spirit that it's in in terms of Chris Evans, you know, doing the the wedding gig. But I could be wrong. But I think it's more that I will also say I do think that like, ⁓ I mean, he's he's not, you know, he's not making any money from his music is what's implied. So how is he affording a a place like it just it's clearly
Steph (44:38)
I know.
Netta (44:41)
He has some, think, up to do in terms of adult responsibilities. ⁓ I don't think it's a bad thing to do that. I don't think you want him to abandon his art, but I think you do want him to grow up a bit. This is my take.
Steph (44:56)
I know he's definitely
portrayed as a bit of like man child in the beginning, right? Like, running across the hall, lying. He can't even like face them. he's like, I think, you know what it is for me? It's not necessarily that that is the direction it took. It's that we didn't get to learn more about like the idea that he is a, I was gonna say magician, musician. Like.
Netta (44:59)
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
Steph (45:20)
I feel like what would have been a little stronger for me is if we got to learn and maybe I'm not remembering, but like if we got to learn a little bit more about it and he like just said he was a musician but was doing absolutely nothing about it, that would have been interesting because that is like forward momentum or like this is musician related, but he was like playing weddings, but he has this crazy skill set for like like.
Netta (45:32)
Right, right.
Steph (45:45)
detective work and tracking people down, but he always thought he'd be laughed out of like a private investigator office or he's so stupid or he doesn't have the credentials. And so like maybe the direction is that he like goes to do that instead. I just I feel like we don't know enough about where he was to see the idea that he's playing weddings as personal growth.
Netta (45:53)
Mmm.
Mm. Yes.
Yes, that's a great, yeah. Yeah, I think, mean, it is kind of wild that this movie is so strong, given that the male lead character is not that strong of a character. Yeah.
Steph (46:06)
Yes.
I love about it. I was just
going to say, I really feel like this movie flips, not flips, but like it, the focus is so much on her as like a very strong female character. And it really like takes you on her personal journey. I love that so much. Like even like after they have their tension and they go their separate ways, we follow her only and she continues to date and she's not
Netta (46:26)
Yes.
Yes.
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Steph (46:47)
pining away like she's doing the thing. She's meeting the guy that she had hoped to meet. Although, yes, she starts to realize it's like a bit of a facade, but she goes away and we only get these little snippets going back to him and he is unhappy. And I love that. It's like she is the main character. Like she is the main character of her life. She's the main character of this movie. And I think it like not flips, but like
Netta (47:00)
Mm-hmm.
It's not about him.
Steph (47:12)
It really puts her in the spotlight. And I love that because I think a lot of rom-coms like as it's about both and this one is about her. And I think that I did like that. It's one of the things that I wrote down as being a little more atypical. Like she's so strong and it really follows her and it's a story about her and he's also involved in a story about her realizing like what, you know, true love is and stuff. And it's so focused on her and he is, he is kind of weak. I guess a character is kind of like, yeah, whatever.
Netta (47:12)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah,
feel like yeah, they didn't get as much as they could have out of Chris Evans because I think Chris Evans is capable of doing much better than what he'd acting. Yeah, like I don't think this is because he was limited.
Steph (47:48)
Like acting?
I haven't really seen a
I don't know when he became like Chris Evans famous after this, right? ⁓ Same with like Chris Pratt, ⁓ who makes a delightful little cameo.
Netta (47:57)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, I mean, I feel like yeah, Anthony Mackie.
Steph (48:05)
my God, yeah. So is the moral here that Anna Faris has slept with the entire Marvel universe is what's going on here. Yeah, the like, OK, can we just talk about for a second the I called it a parade of men in my notes. I love that so much. Like, I don't know what it's called when movies do things where it's like.
Netta (48:07)
So good!
all of the Avengers. Yep.
Yep. Mm-hmm. Yes.
Steph (48:30)
We're going to assemble a team. Here is a list of people we need to visit and like, let's go down this road of like all these different characters and like revisit and all the different ways that we get to know each character and then we're all assembling. I love that. What is that called? I don't know.
Netta (48:35)
I love that.
Yeah.
Yes.
I don't know. I don't know either.
Steph (48:52)
It's just like
it's like it's I don't want to say it's ensemble. Yeah, it's episodic. Maybe it's not really ensemble because they're not on screen together. It's like a checklist style like my favorite. I love when it's in sports movies and sports movies are assembling teams like we needed this. We needed this. I got the guy for that. And then they go watch him. Yeah. Yeah. Like they like a very Ocean's Eleven like we need this. We knew I love movies like that. And this is one of those.
Netta (48:55)
episodic?
It's like a checklist.
Like a heist movie.
Mmm.
Yeah. mean, this is...
Okay, but they're not together as a team, these different Xs. But it has kind of that feel, I think, because each of the Xs are so different, maybe?
Steph (49:30)
Yeah, it's this
idea of like, it doesn't always have to end in a team, but it's this idea of like, we are going to meet many different characters and it's going to be very entertaining and take us on quite a journey and keep things very interesting and each one is going to bring something different to the table.
Netta (49:37)
Mm-hmm.
Steph (49:47)
It's a list thing. And like, yeah, like, and then it's like, I feel like movies when they do this, they can really lean into different stereotypes and archetypes and stuff like that. So it's like,
Netta (49:47)
Yeah. Yeah.
Steph (50:00)
there's the politician guy, and then there's the artsy guy, and then there's emo guy, like, they get to really play with all of that?
Netta (50:02)
Yeah.
See you.
Steph (50:08)
I think the fun of it was watching her like morph all the time you know
Netta (50:11)
Mm-hmm. Yes. Yes. Yeah.
Steph (50:14)
and I do feel like it's interesting because I don't feel like her going like us seeing her through all those stages. I don't feel like it's her like not knowing who she is. Like I think that's a natural part of like that phase of life. You know, you're experimenting with different things. You're taking interest in different things. And then I feel like it's interesting because then she like is trying to relive a lot of those things. And it's so inauthentic for her.
Netta (50:31)
Mmm.
Mmm, ⁓ that's so good!
Steph (50:39)
Because I
know, right? Because like she had her time probably in her twenties, trying all these different things out, having a good time leaning into them. And they felt right for her at the time. I love how she comments that she was always the one getting dumped. That was hilarious. Because they did feel right for her at the time. And then they feel very, and it's very obvious, very inauthentic now because she's done all of that. She's been there. She knows who she or she is different.
Netta (50:53)
Yeah.
She knows, yeah.
Steph (51:06)
now and she has to learn like, like I'm not those people anymore. Like, I love that.
Netta (51:11)
to your point earlier about, you know, this, this resonated emotionally for you. I think it's because it's like, even though this is pretty absurd, it feels, I think it feels grounded in, in like a kind of
Steph (51:16)
Yes, deeply!
Yeah.
Netta (51:25)
Like there's true things about life experience and relationships here, right?
Steph (51:29)
Mm-hmm. Yeah,
it's so true like under it ⁓
Netta (51:33)
Yeah. And it just like,
yeah, it just kind of built around those things. Yeah.
Steph (51:37)
Yes, it's very interesting. was going to say one thing, sorry, when we were talking about how it was funny and rom-coms is now jumping back. ⁓ I find one of the things that I, that kind of like puts me off a lot of rom-coms is that they're a lot funnier in the front end as the premise and everything is being set up. And then it like romance kind of takes over. And I feel like this movie definitely, I could pinpoint like a specific like
Netta (51:39)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Mm.
Mmm.
Steph (52:03)
from this time to this time where the laughs definitely diminish. But in the end, they do do a really good job of making it very humorous again and bringing it back. So I did appreciate that.
Netta (52:13)
Mm-hmm.
Bravo to this movie.
Steph (52:16)
I know this
movie with a terrible rotten tomatoes rating and just, but it's so great. So many layers. I should have like, ⁓ no, I didn't Google anything about it, but I'd be curious what people didn't like.
Netta (52:21)
my god. ⁓ yeah.
don't know. so my theory is that, so I think the premise of this can be very off-putting if you just kind of take it at face value, think for people looking for a more progressive kind of take on the rom-com or even just people looking for ⁓ something like that's not horribly offensive,
Steph (52:33)
Yes.
Yeah.
Netta (52:53)
Like, right? Like it has that potential to just be horribly offensive and like slut shaming and blah blah blah, right? right? Like if you are looking, right? I mean,
Steph (53:03)
No, I was
gonna say what's so funny is I have a note that I was like, ask Netta, is this a bad look for women? Is this premise actually bad?
Netta (53:06)
Yeah.
No, for all the reasons we talked about, I don't think so. But I think at face value, think it is, I think for sure. So I think there's that aspect of it. But then you watch the actual movie and it's very crass crass. It's offensive in a whole other way, potentially.
Steph (53:16)
No, but face value, it could be taken as such,
Yeah.
Netta (53:40)
I think it kind of hits this, whatever the opposite of a sweet spot is, like it kind of lands in this space where it kind of alienates both sides.
Steph (53:52)
Yeah, this is okay. It's there's parts of it that are like, okay, at face value, what is this thing about women? What does this thing about men? Then the style of humor is also like not everyone's cup of tea. And how do those things come together to meet, to find the audience that would be pleased with this? Because
Yeah, I think if someone's going to sit down and watch a rom-com and you read the description, that's not really what you want. So you're not going to pick it. like, I don't think like no one knows how hilarious this is and how enjoyable it is. So if you're in the mood for a really good comedy, you probably wouldn't pick this. Like, you know what I mean? Sometimes I think about movies in that way, like what would take you to this movie? And I feel like
Netta (54:26)
you
Mmm.
Yeah.
Steph (54:37)
There's a weirdness in how it was like marketed or how it's described that doesn't really direct you to who is supposed to be four.
Netta (54:46)
I think that the kind of satire element of it is...
Steph (54:49)
Hmm.
Netta (54:50)
is a bit weird because like, okay, I think the thing with satire is there is a kind of love hate relationship or it's like you love the thing that you're making fun of, right? Yeah, but you're still taking it down. And I think, yes, yes. is a roast of like women's magazines.
Steph (54:56)
Mm.
Yes. Like it's an appreciative type thing. Yeah. It's like a roast.
Netta (55:11)
is a very hard thing to convey. And like, how do you, because it's also a very sincere rom-com. think it's, it's very sincere in the romantic part of it. It's also, I think very.
Steph (55:18)
Yeah, it's trying to be, yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Netta (55:26)
Again, kind of appreciative, but also a takedown of women's kind of pop culture stuff. So yeah, I don't know exactly. I don't know how you market this. I can see why it would be challenging. ⁓
Steph (55:34)
Hmm.
Netta (55:42)
But I think maybe something like Bridesmaids hit that a bit later by making it more about like, this is a lady comedy.
Steph (55:47)
Yeah, like
Ha ha. I hated so much that it was marketed that way, by the way. Yeah. I want I'd have to watch it again, to be honest, but when the first time I watched it, I was not super into it like. At all. And I there was just something about it that I was like, ⁓ and I don't know, maybe it was like how I watched it or my mood at the time.
Netta (55:54)
Yeah. really? Did you hate the movie?
Okay.
Mmm.
Yeah.
interesting.
Steph (56:16)
But it was marketed as like this is a comedy for women, but it's like this is comedy, like this is comedy for everyone.
Netta (56:16)
Yeah.
Mmm.
Steph (56:23)
like this idea of like male comedy and female comedy, I think is like really weird. Like women find brass things absolutely hysterical also. And but it feels like we're not allowed to unless it's branded as like this is a female comedy. It's like what?
Netta (56:29)
Mm-hmm.
This is really just like a comedy that takes place in the world of women.
Steph (56:44)
Yeah!
of women.
Netta (56:48)
but is not like, yeah, but is for everyone.
⁓ but I guess to bring it back, like the challenge of marketing, what's your number is like, I think what I'm hearing is that had they marketed this like bridesmaids, you would not have been super into that because marketing it as like women's comedy really kind of
Steph (56:57)
Yes.
weird.
Netta (57:11)
really just misses the point that actually like what women find funny and what men find funny is very similar. Not like this is not like it's not like a meaningful distinction in a movie like this and in most comedies.
Steph (57:20)
Yeah, like I can, and to be honest with you.
No, no.
I do think to like the. Though the comedy was like. Frontier, a G or whatever you want to call it, like identifying with her as a female character, like although Sean Sean find it very funny, we were identifying with the different things in a different way because he's not a woman like the bank situation. He was like, I don't get why that. I was like, I am feeling myself laughing right now because that is so funny.
Netta (57:43)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah.
God, just so many. Like you're saying, like it was just impossible to keep up with all the funny things, like all the jokes. And not all of them were like lines, like in the very first scene where she's sneaking out of bed to like put on her makeup and she brushes her eyelashes with a comb. My God, that was so good. Yes. And they
Steph (57:57)
Mm-hmm. I know.
Oh my God, I rather to... It's her eye! Oh my God. Mm-hmm. Like that physical comedy was very well done. And then
she like slides in bed and he's like, wow, you always look so good in the morning. She's like, thanks.
Netta (58:20)
Yeah, that's
a thing. He's the butt of that joke in the end. He's the butt of that joke. And, like, there's all this physical comedy without her being a klutz.
Steph (58:22)
Yeah.
Yes. Yes, I love that.
Netta (58:37)
the relationship between her and her sister, between Anna Faris and her sister, I really loved that.
Steph (58:41)
Yes.
Yes, like many things in this movie quite well rounded and real as well, like the way they interact, the way they kind of throw each under the bus to kind of like detract from each other's like failures or missteps in a way. ⁓ Yes, it seemed very sweet.
Netta (58:52)
Yes. Yes. Yeah.
I feel like,
yeah, it's like they're both, like they're very generous with each other and they also use each other to a great extent. Like they have this kind of push and pull that feels very true to sister relationships. And yeah, that it wasn't like antagonistic. Like I feel like so much of this could be like, oh, my younger sister's getting married before me and I kind of resent her and she's a.
Steph (59:06)
Yeah.
Yes.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, and like that's a huge problem and yeah. ⁓
Netta (59:25)
jerk and blah blah blah and it's
not that at all. Yeah.
Steph (59:30)
No, I
was going to say to a lot of times in these movies as one relationship is coming together, another one is failing to like demonstrate kind of the dichotomy of things. And so I kept waiting, not waiting, but like another version of this movie, like the sisters relationship falls to shit and or like something comes out like, my God, at the toast at the engagement party, which slams the champagne. my God.
Netta (59:45)
⁓
Yeah.
Yes.
Steph (59:55)
When she's talking about how like, and this guy, and then he dated her, I was waiting for her to say something like he'd been sleeping around or something and ruin.
Netta (1:00:03)
Which you kind of get, right? That he's
like, he broke it off in high school by sleeping, by hooking up with this other girl who's also there. Yeah, wild, wild that that doesn't become like a huge source of drama. It's great.
Steph (1:00:13)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, I was just.
thing. Yeah. And like, I
think like that's how a lot of rom-coms work, right? To show like that some relationships work and some relationships don't. And this is why. And I kept waiting for it to be like, and the sister's not being herself. And that's why her relationship is failing because she's being with an inauthentic man. But it didn't do that at all. It like really played up that the sister has found someone that she loves. They have a good loving relationship. It is like. Good. It is fine. So I like that. And yeah, they're very sweet.
Netta (1:00:24)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
yeah, yeah, it doesn't take every opportunity for drama.
Steph (1:00:50)
No, and I like that a lot. Like I think I was thinking like about the rom-coms in general and how like it's very typical a lot of the ways and the things that kind of get me are things that like don't go the way you expect. And this movie, I think, has a couple points of which it doesn't go the way you expect.
Netta (1:00:52)
Yeah.
Mm.
Yeah.
Steph (1:01:06)
which I think is very fun.
Netta (1:01:07)
Yeah. Cool. Great. Great. So it's your pick next.
Steph (1:01:13)
⁓ It is what are you in the mood for?
Netta (1:01:27)
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