In Front of Ira

Torsten and Sabrina are charmed by Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan (and Adam Driver and Mackenzie Davis and Megan Park…) in an indie romcom out of Toronto that more people should have seen, but also more people than we thought have seen. Ok, a medium amount of people have seen this. It’s great, be one of them.They talk about a few things you may want to check out:– Variety’s review of the movie: https://variety.com/2013/film/global/the-f-word-review-toronto-1200607906/– Another review from The Wrap: https://www.thewrap.com/what-if-review-daniel-radcliffe-zoe-kazan-adam-driver/Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching.Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.comOur music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Sabrina and Torsten have never been kissed by Michael Vartan, which is a thing they have in common with Drew Barrymore’s character in this teen movie that can’t quite decide what it wants to be, except somehow both charming and problematic. The 90s, man…They talk about a few things you may want to check out:– IFoI mainstay Roger Ebert’s review of the movie: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/never-been-kissed-1999– The cultural reckoning the movie had post Me Too: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/04/229220/never-been-kissed-anniversary-teacher-student-relationship-controversyWelcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching.Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.comOur music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Sabrina and Torsten go to Alaska with Canadian Sandra Bullock and American Ryan Reynolds so she can get a Green Card. High jinx ensue, except all jokes about the U.S. immigration system hit different these days.They talk about a few things you may want to check out:– IFoI mainstay Roger Ebert’s review of the movie: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-proposal-2009– A few more facts about the movie: https://www.movieinsider.com/m2964/the-proposalWelcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching.Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.comOur music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Torsten and Sabrina tackle another Nancy Meyers romcom in which the stars are not in their twenties. There is, of course, a kitchen, but there’s also Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin.They talk about a few things you may want to check out:– Reviews of the movie: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/its-complicated-200R– The lost art of director’s commentary: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/streaming-killed-the-video-star/Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching.Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.comOur music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Sabrina and Torsten are still in Sabrina’s kitchen, but really they're on Andrew Ahn’s “Fire Island” (2022) watching Joel Kim Booster and Bowen Yang put the Pride in “Pride in Prejudice.” They hope not to catch Lyme disease in the outdoors while looking for constellations.They talk about a few things you may want to check out:– Author/Star Joel Kim Booster on his romcom journey: https://ew.com/movies/joel-kim-booster-fire-island-pride-cover-story/– Actor Bowen Yang on the movie: https://representasianproject.com/features/bowen-yang-fire-island-interview/Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching.Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.comOur music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Torsten has joined Sabrina in her kitchen to say something about “Say Anything,” the 1989 Cameron Crowe directorial debut starring Ione Skye and John Cusack that features THAT boombox in front of the window scene. They neither want to buy anything, sell anything, or process anything as a career. As a career, they don’t want to do that.They do, however, talk about a few things you may want to check out:– Roger Ebert's review of the movie when it came out: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-say-anything-1989– Ione Skye's autobiography, “Say Everything”: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Say-Everything/Ione-Skye/9781668048269Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching.Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.comOur music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Sabrina and Torsten still sit on a couch and talk about Nia Vardalos’s one woman show turned successful indie romcom, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” Stock up on Windex and discover why every word is really from the Greek.They talk about a few things you may want to check out:– Reviews of the movie when it came out: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/my-big-fat-greek-wedding-2002 / https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2002/sep/20/artsfeatures3Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching.Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.comOur music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Sabrina and Torsten sit on a couch and discuss the first movie in the “Bridget Jones” series, 2001’s “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” certainly one of the best thirty films of the year. Starring an American with a convincing British accent (Renée Zellweger), a smarmy Hugh Grant, and a very Darcy Colin Firth. They talk about a few things you may want to check out: – Reviews of the movie when it came out: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2001/apr/13/helenfielding / https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/bridget-joness-diary-2001 – Reassessments of the fat shaming from more recent commentators: https://archive.thetab.com/uk/2020/07/14/bridget-jones-diary-is-fat-phobic-and-has-actually-aged-terribly-166036 / https://www.vogue.com/article/bridget-jones-weight-obsession Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.com Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Torsten and Sabrina visit the National LGBTQ+ museum in New York to look at the audio-animatronic bisexuals in the first gay major studio romcom starring Billy Eichner and Luke MacFarlane. They talk about a few things you may want to check out: – The discourse surrounding the movie when it was released: https://www.them.us/story/bros-movie-box-office-performance-billy-eichner – The fictional LGBTQ+ museum in the film: https://variety.com/2022/artisans/news/bros-lgbtq-museum-billy-eichner-1235392680 Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.com Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Sabrina and Torsten join in for a sing-along to “I Say a Little Prayer” at a seafood restaurant with Rupert Everett, Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, and Cameron Diaz in this unorthodox late 90s classic romcom that stars all your favorite actors who got famous later on. (Including Carrie Preston and Paul Giamatti.) They talk about a few things you may want to check out: – The likeability of the Jules character: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/my-best-friends-wedding-julia-roberts-25-year-anniversary – The “gay best friend” trope: https://www.advocate.com/media/2020/11/20/history-gay-best-friend-film-and-tv#rebelltitem15 Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.com Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

In the second low-budget independent romcom set in South London on this podcast (what are the odds?), Sabrina and Torsten follow David Jonsson and Vivian Oparah as they wander around Rye Lane Market and drink deeply from the well of London romcom lore. They talk about a few things you may want to check out: – Director of Photography Olan Collardy’s stunning cinemmatography in this movie: https://filmmakermagazine.com/118964-interview-dp-olan-collardy-rye-lane/ – Director Raine-Allen Miller’s thoughts on her film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4OmtSc9iig – The Rye Lane film locations walk: https://walkingpost.co.uk/rye-lane-film-locations-walk/ Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.com Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Crime doesn’t pay in Hope Springs, New York, where Lacey Chabert magics a hot snowman (Dustin Milligan) to life in this joyously bonkers Christmas romcom written by Russell Hainline and directed by Jerry Ciccoritti. Craig Robinson and Joe Lo Truglio co-star as scenery-chewing small-town cops. (Hallmark mainstay Chabert’s first venture into the Netflix Holiday Cinematic Universe rocketed straight to number 1 on the streamer’s charts.) They talk about a few things you may want to check out: – “Hot Frosty” writer Russell Hainline’s thoughts on the movie and its title: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/hot-frosty-writer-interview-netflix-holiday-movie-1236063597/ – The Rotten Tomatoes judgment on the movie: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hot_frosty Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.com Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Sabrina and Torsten are ready for the holidays (plural), so they’re going on “The Holiday” (singular). Join them in both L.A. and Surrey where they spend time with Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jack Black, and Jude Law in this least kitchen-y of all Nancy Meyers movies. They talk about a few things you may want to check out: – “The Holiday’s” stature as a Christmas classic: https://slate.com/culture/2023/12/the-holiday-movie-christmas-love-actually-cast.html – The rising popularity of the term “meet cute” following this movie: https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=“meet+cute”&year_start=1800&year_end=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=3 Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.com Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Don’t you love New York in the fall? Torsten and Sabrina give each other bouquets of pencils as they discuss how neoliberalism is ruining book shop owner Kathleen Kelly’s life in this Nora Ephron romcom from the late 90s (neoliberalism also goes by the name of Joe Fox, F-o-x). Of course this stars Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, and there’s a lot of Starbucks references. They talk about a few things you may want to check out: – The Ernst Lubitsch movie “Shop Around the Corner” on which this is based: https://archive.org/details/the-shop-around-the-corner-1940-ernst-lubitsch – The age of AOL: https://time.com/3857628/aol-1985-history Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.com Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

“This is called flirting, Amelia!” Sabrina and Torsten welcome Marisa Kabas to a special episode about a viral real-life romcom: the “Chicken Shop Date” of Amelia Dimoldenberg and Andrew Garfield. They talk about a few things you may want to check out: – Amelia and Andrew at the Golden Globes: https://youtu.be/E6O0wq6GNn8?si=OJ0hcR0IXDlTDtvr – The titular Chicken Shop Date: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFS5vxYlfY8&pp=ygUkYW1lbGlhIGFuZHJldyBnYXJmaWVsZCBmaXJzdCBtZWV0aW5n – Nicholas Quah at Vulture on the Andrew Garfield Chicken Shop Date: https://www.vulture.com/article/amelia-dimoldenberg-will-chicken-shop-date-forever.html – Andrew Garfield kissing Stephen Colbert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbyhbLR0u0A Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.com Find Marisa at @marisakabas on Bluesky and Threads, and at https://www.thehandbasket.co Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Torsten and Sabrina join Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney for a destination wedding in Australia featuring butt-grabbing and Shakespearean hijinks. Hopefully, no one needs to send a helicopter to save them from drowning in a movie that should work so much better than it does. They talk about a few things you may want to check out: – The fake dating rumors surrounding the movie’s leads: https://www.teenvogue.com/story/sydney-sweeney-admits-to-actively-fueling-glen-powell-dating-rumors – The Netflix show “Everything Sucks” featuring Sweeney: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7078710 Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of rom-coms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira on social media and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.com Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Sabrina and Torsten head to Seattle (or is that Tacoma?) to join an all-star teen heart throb cast from the late 1990s take on Shakespeare. Plus, Allison Janney is there. Yes, they watched “10 Things I Hate About You,” counted all the things and noticed… hey… your eyes have a little green in them. They talk about a few things you may want to check out: – The soundtrack for the movie: https://www.discogs.com/de/master/171251-Various-10-Things-I-Hate-About-You-Music-From-The-Motion-Picture – The death of Heath Ledger: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/lifestyle-news/heath-ledger-death-stephen-gaghan-script-blink-bed-malcolm-gladwell-book-1235838795/ Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of rom-coms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira on social media and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.com Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Sabrina and Torsten go back to a time in which people have jobs at print magazines. No it’s not a historical fantasy, it’s a romcom from the early 2000s! They are not on board with Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey being mean to each other in boring ways, but maybe it’s all for the best since there is a Marvin Hamlisch cameo. They talk about a few things you may want to check out: – The inspiration for the movie: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/02/how-to-lose-a-guy-in-10-days-oral-history – Carrie Bradshaw and the question how 2000s era magazine writers could afford things: https://thoughtcatalog.com/stephanie-georgopulos/2011/06/carrie-bradshaws-budget-in-real-numbers/ Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of rom-coms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira on social media and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.com Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Torsten and Sabrina encounter Gregory Peck carrying a watermelon and Audrey Hepburn hitting a violin over a man's head while Eddie Albert takes photos. It’s not as weird as it sounds. It’s weirder. Welcome to Rome, the eternal city, where even princesses have gelato. They talk about a few things you may want to check out: – The life of screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, who was forbidden to work during the era of McCarthyism: https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/dalton-trumbo – Audrey Hepburn’s career and later life: https://www.biography.com/actors/audrey-hepburn Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of rom-coms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira on social media and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.com Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Torsten and Sabrina watch Meg Ryan and David Duchovny get stuck in an airport during a bomb cyclone. Wait—is that a thing? They talk about a few things you may want to check out: – Meg Ryan’s dedication of the film to Nora Ephron: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/meg-ryan-acting-hiatus-what-happens-later-rom-com-nora-ephron-160655136.html? – Steven Dietz’s play “Shooting Star,” on which the movie is based: https://books.google.com/books/about/Shooting_Star.html?id=yJ_pPUsv4AcC&redir_esc=y Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of rom-coms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira on social media and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.com Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.