Confessions of a Closet Romantic

Send us Fan Mail 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's a sweet and sexy exploration of long-term friendship, shared adventures, and finding your romantic bliss by taking a chance with the help of frien...

Send us Fan Mail 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 even better when there are little refreshing updates to beloved romcom plots, like in the new Netflix movie Love at First Sight. This unimaginat...

Send us Fan Mail 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 romantic movies I've ever seen. CW: brief references to marital physical abuse and graphic 19th century medical techniques. https://www.confessi...

Send us Fan Mail 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 tell a little white lie to the people we love to spare their feelings? When is it okay to fib a little? Do blunt honesty, the unvarnished truth, or...

Send us Fan Mail 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 documentary that comes along, and the crazy-sexy fictional or real-life characters who make riding multi-story ocean waves look like a beach picnic. How co...

Send us Fan Mail 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 Bishop's Wife, starring my movie boyfriend, the dashing and debonair Cary Grant.  This story is the gift that keeps on giving: what if a gorgeous an...

Send us Fan Mail 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 dramedy, some straight-up drama, but reunion movies have one thing in common: characters whose pasts collide with the present in endlessly fascinating wa...

Send us Fan Mail 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 waiting for us? Or does this harmless belief in destiny help us survive a harsh and often cruel world?  While possibly making us very annoying to friends and famil...

Send us Fan Mail 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 performances. I laughed, I cried, I danced and sang along, and you can't ask for a better celebration than that. https://www.confessionsofaclosetromant...

Send us Fan Mail 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 material, The Decameron. The brilliant comic acting and directing maximize the satire, connecting ancient social norms with current religious, sexual and g...

Send us Fan Mail 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, everybody's a winner. We're finally hearing different voices in Hollywood (not enough), and seeing a diversity of people (not enough, but...

Send us Fan Mail 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 recent roles that George is moving into his rumpled cargo shorts phase (with just the slightest potbelly, still ridiculously attractive) as he adds more and m...

Send us Fan Mail 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 healthiest outcome is going our separate ways, and we often discover that our best romance is with ourselves. Romcom realizations like these are much...

Send us Fan Mail Warning: major gushing ahead! In this episode, I'm taking a look at the new two-part documentary Pretty Baby, all about the life and career of Brooke Shields. I think it's safe to say she was my first girl crush, and I still adore her. She's had a charmed but often difficult life, full of exploitation and some abuse, and has come out on the other side with her intel...

Send us Fan Mail You know what would be fun? A trip to a planet where women's pleasure is a priority, and the fluidity of relationship styles, sexual orientations and identities is embraced at all times! In other words, let's journey into the candid documentary series Planet Sex with Cara Delevingne, hosted by the supermodel turned actress and LGBTQ+ icon, documenting her personal and ed...

Send us Fan Mail It's part two of our exploration of sad romances. This time, we look at the Tony award-winning Broadway musical Hadestown, which is--like Moulin Rouge--based on the ancient myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. I look at another ill-fated Depression-era love story, Ironweed, and another tragic art vs. romantic love story, The Red Shoes. And Oz, The Relationship Coach, stops by to giv...

Send us Fan Mail Sometimes all you want is a good cathartic cry, especially if it's over love and heartbreak. In this two-part episode, I'm joined by romance writer and fellow heartache aficionado Mariah Cotnoir to explore two tragic love stories full of romance, beauty and much-needed personal growth. We've all been there —if we're lucky —and despite the pain, romance is still...

Send us Fan Mail I'm back with fresh episodes featuring slightly offbeat romance, just in time for Valentine's Day :-) First up, a conversation with Jennifer Howell, the producer and cohost of the Every Rom Com podcast about the romance, drama and fun of reality dating shows. She's obsessed with them and I'm not at all, so exploring the format and culture of these shows was fas...

Send us Fan Mail My final rerun this month is one of the spiciest episodes I've ever done — it's story time for adults. So if you like your romance sizzling hot and kinky, put the earbuds in and enjoy! Support the show If you enjoyed this episode, please click share in your podcast app and tell your friends! Thanks for listening!

Send us Fan Mail I'm taking a tiny break this month to plan ahead and I'm re-running some of my favorite episodes from last year. First up, Bedroom Therapy, featuring the sexy and heartwarming movies Good Luck to You, Leo Grande and The Sessions (check out the original episode for more information on my guests and show notes). https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com Support the show...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail "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. https://www.confess...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail 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...