The Plot Sickens

🌈 Happy Pride Month! 🌈 This week on The Plot Sickens, we're discussing Freeheld (2015), the true story of Laurel Hester and Stacie Andree, whose fight for equality became a landmark moment in LGBTQ+ rights. We explore the film through the lens of cancer, caregiving, love, and the legal barriers same-sex couples faced before marriage equality. Be sure to check out our other Pride Month-worthy...

This week, we're reviewing We Live in Time, starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh. We discuss the film's romance, its honest approach to life's biggest questions, and why its portrayal of love, family, and difficult choices resonated with both of us. The movie sparked a thoughtful conversation about making the most of the time we have, the moments that matter most, and the relatio...

This week marks one year of The Plot Sickens ! To celebrate, we're reviewing Irreplaceable You (2018), a film about love, loss, and trying to prepare for the future after a terminal diagnosis. We discuss support groups, anticipatory grief, and the very real desire to know the people we love will be okay when we're gone. Thank you for joining us for a year of movies, laughter, honesty, and...

This week on The Plot Sickens , Vanessa and Deltra discuss The Farewell — the heartfelt film inspired by a true story about a family who chooses to withhold a terminal cancer diagnosis from their beloved Nai Nai. Together, they unpack the ethics of hiding a diagnosis, the emotional weight of anticipatory grief, and the complicated ways families try to protect the people they love. Plus: the return...

This week, we review Other People—and it hit hard. With a powerful performance by Molly Shannon, the film explores the reality of cancer from treatment to hospice in a way that feels raw and deeply human. We break down what it gets right—and why this one stays with you. Releasing near Mother’s Day, this episode comes with a heads up: it’s an emotional one.

This week on The Plot Sickens , we dive into The Room Next Door—a visually stunning, quietly poetic film about terminal illness and choice. It left us with one big question: what would you do if someone asked you to be in the room next door ? From an MBC perspective, we break down what hit, what missed, and the reality of dignity at the end of life. Trigger warning: discussions of end-of-life choi...

It’s Deltra’s first time watching Steel Magnolias , and it brings up a lot. As two people living with metastatic breast cancer, we talk through illness, grief, and humor—and what it feels like when the person who is sick isn’t really the center of their own story. As Ouiser would say, “If you don’t have anything nice to say… come sit by us.”

This week on The Plot Sickens , we’re discussing Me Before You —a film that opens the door to a deeper conversation about love, disability, autonomy, and end-of-life choice. We unpack this story through a personal lens. Deltra shares her perspective as a Death Doula, and together we explore the balance between valuing lives with disability and supporting a patient’s right to choose—especially when...

This week on The Plot Sickens , we tackle the 1990 rom-com Don’t Tell Her It’s Me —(also known as The Boyfriend School ),a story about a cancer survivor reinventing himself for love with a new identity, a questionable mullet, and possibly the worst toupee in movie history. We break down the film’s makeover message, survivorship, and why the real villain of this movie might just be the hair.

In honor of Black History Month, we’re discussing The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks — the story of the woman whose cancer cells changed medicine forever, without her knowledge or consent. As two women living with metastatic breast cancer, we reflect on medical racism, informed consent, ownership of our bodies, and what it means to be more than a diagnosis. Henrietta Lacks helped save millions o...

This week, The Plot Sickens revisits Philadelphia —a rewatch that hit us much harder than expected. While the story centers on AIDS, its themes of illness, fear, and stigma felt deeply familiar. An emotional look back at a film that captures its time—and still has something to say now.

In this episode of The Plot Sickens , Vanessa finally gets her wish and brings one of her all-time favorite films, Fried Green Tomatoes , to the pod. Deltra is watching it for the first time — and falls instantly in love. We talk chosen family, aging, caregiving, coded queer love, community justice, and Ruth’s cancer, all through the lens of two people living with metastatic breast cancer. Warm, f...

On this week's Episode, Deltra and Vanessa revisit the holiday favorite The Family Stone — a movie that looks like a cozy Christmas rom-com on the surface, but quietly carries themes of illness, mortality, family tension, and anticipatory grief. Full transparency: this episode was recorded during the thick of the holiday season, and we were tired . Like end-of-the-year, bodies-and-hearts-exhau...

Deltra and Vanessa dive into 50/50 , exploring its blend of humor and heartbreak through a young adult cancer lens. We break down the film’s surprising accuracy, the messy realities of caregiving, and how Seth Rogen’s character delivers the dark-humor relief we all needed. A raw, real, and surprisingly funny look at navigating cancer in your 20s and 30s.

This week on The Plot Sickens , Deltra and Vanessa dive into 2023's Sitting in Bars with Cake —a film that starts as a fun rom-com but takes a heartbreaking turn. Watching for the first time, we were caught off guard by how quickly sweetness became sadness. We unpack the friendship at the center of the story, the way cancer changes everything, and why this one left us both feeling all the feel...

Happy Halloween! This week, The Plot Sickens drops early as Deltra — our resident scream queen, Halloween lover, and proud Connecticut local — takes on The Haunting in Connecticut ! This paranormal rollercoaster is packed with jump scares, creepy moments, and, surprisingly, a few ghosts worth rooting for. Vanessa finds herself sympathizing with the poor souls disturbed from their graves, while Del...

It’s spooky season, and The Plot Sickens is serving up a Halloween treat — or maybe a trap! Deltra and Vanessa dive headfirst into Saw X , where cancer, revenge, and morality collide in a blood-soaked game of survival. This time, Jigsaw’s twisted sense of justice hits a little too close to home for our hosts, who bring their signature mix of dark humor, empathy, and sharp insight to the table (or...

Deltra and Vanessa dive into P.S. I Love You — the tearjerker that somehow makes us laugh, swoon, and ugly cry all at once. From love letters and loss to Harry Connick Jr.’s awkward charm and that very handsome Irish singer, the ladies unpack what it means to keep loving — even after goodbye.

In this episode, Deltra and Vanessa dive into the classic film The Bucket List —a movie Vanessa has long loved, but one Deltra had never seen until now. Two men from completely different walks of life facing terminal illness set out to complete their dream list of adventures, and let’s just say the tissues came out… but this time, it wasn’t just Vanessa getting emotional. Join us as we talk about...

WOOT! WOOT!- We made it to double digits! For our tenth episode, we’re diving into the unforgettable classic Beaches , starring the incomparable Bette Midler. From hilarious antics to heartfelt moments, this movie has it all—and of course, we can’t talk Beaches without celebrating that iconic theme song that still gives us goosebumps (yes, we sang along—don’t judge).Join us as we unpack the friend...

This week, Vanessa and Deltra review a fan favorite- The Fault in Our Stars —a film that still knows exactly how to break us all over again. With tissues in hand, we break down Hazel Grace and Augustus' love story, the emotional gut-punches, and why this one completely broke Vanessa.

This week, Vanessa and Deltra dive into Me, Earl and the Dying Girl —their very first time experiencing this quirky, heartfelt YA story. From unexpected laughs to gut-punch moments, we’ve got plenty to say… especially about the parents. (Seriously, what was that about?) Join us as we unpack the characters, the emotional beats, and the moments that had us hitting pause just to react.

This one got us good . In Spoiler Alert , we watch a love story unfold—and unravel—with honesty, humor, and heartbreak. Jim Parsons brings his whole heart, Sally Field steals every scene, and we cried more than we expected (and maybe more than we’ll admit). We talk queer love, caregiving, grief, and the beauty of letting someone truly see you—especially when time is short. Oh, and yes, we absolute...

This one’s sexy and sad — the kind of combo we specialize in. In Love and Other Drugs , Jake Gyllenhaal brings the charm (and the pharmaceuticals), Anne Hathaway brings the raw truth of living with Parkinson’s- Deltra brings the heat while Vanessa brings the laughs. We talk sex, shame, and what it really means to date while managing a chronic illness — including that fear of getting close when you...

Grab the tissues — in Part 2 of our Step Mom deep dive, we get into the hard stuff. This episode focuses on Susan Sarandon’s cancer storyline, how the film handles end-of-life preparation, and the raw scenes of a mother preparing her children to live without her. We talk anticipatory grief, complicated goodbyes, and how this movie somehow finds humor in heartbreak — without pulling punches. Also:...