Can an average-looking girl land a gorgeous guy? That's the age-old question posed in Curtis Sittenfeld's Romantic Comedy. The "normie" heroine is Sally Milz, an Emmy-winning writer for The Night Owls, a sketch comedy so much like Saturday Night Live I wondered if Sittenfeld had once worked there. This fascinating window into the workings of SNL is sure to delight any fan. But it's the story-within-the-story of Sally herself that resonates. Brilliant but socially awkward, she's sick of seeing her schlubby male coworkers snag the beautiful women who host the show. She even goes so far as to write a sketch about it. Then Top 40 It Boy Noah Brewster gets the gig. He's not only hot but surprisingly nice, and he and Sally forge an unlikely but very real friendship. That is, until she sabotages it.
Sharp and witty and just plain fun, Romantic Comedy spans the space of three years, including the pandemic, to find out, once and for all, if men really like -- no, love -- smart women. Through the admittedly distorted lens of Sally's insecurities, Sittenfeld skewers romcoms even as she applauds what makes them great.
And that's what makes Romantic Comedy great, too -- its willingness to laugh at itself.
6 comments:
I started this one but didn't finish it. An original romcom..for sure! Such a delightful review! It made me smile! Even the author's last name reminds me of someone else🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷 which reminds me, someone in Writer's group told me my writing was playful and fun (✿◡‿◡) while everyone else was being too serious. Although, I haven't made it to the group in the last few months. But we do have an email group which I would just as soon have. Thanks for your comments..um, I am not sure anyone really gets Amy's maneuvers with her mother...first she tells her to stay home because she might get hurt and then while her mom is tipsy she finds a way for her mom to spend money on her with the violin lessons..but hopefully, it won't be all bad..especially with Dory venturing out now.💙💙💙💙💙💙 I'm doing the best that I can. Hope you have a beautiful February❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I love having this comedy with an SNL backdrop. Oh, those one liners ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ and a span of 3 years. It looks like a fun one to be on the reading list! Especially, with winter hanging around. So delightful🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉 Oh, I do wonder if I introduce too many new characters..hopefully, I can revisit some old ones this new month too! All the best to valentines and more this February🩷❤️🩷❤️🩷❤️🩷❤️🩷❤️
Oh, the perfect book for you to review. I love that last zinger you put in about the book too. So fun to read about comedy writers and such. Naturally, I think they make the best actors in the world! A great way to start the new month!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ I have a few Barbie projects going. One was finding the pink-haired curvy Barbie mermaid from the Dreamtopia line. Now I've made her a made to move and given someone a rainbow of color in her blonde hair who is now the mermaid. Finally, got to the yarn and still making my African American Barbie some yarn dreds. Of course, I still keep putting off my sewing. Maybe I'll get a dress made today..hahahahaaaaa. 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷Happy February! Here's to good sweets, great outfits and more!
I think many average looking girls (with great personalities) are with great looking guys. Often really great looking girls are so interested in themselves they are not very interesting to others. Of course that's just a generalization that I've observed but might have some truth to it. It actually sounds like an interesting book. Thanks for the review.
I really love your book reviews. This sounds like an interesting and fun one to read. I've added it to my lengthy list. I'm going to be needing more time.
What a fun read, and how perfect it is for February!!! 💘 The concept sounds really cool to explore: "if men really like -- no, love -- smart women." I like how the title calls itself out - its willingness to laugh at itself! 💞
Post a Comment