Claire and Gav review the beloved 1992 figure skating romcom The Cutting Edge, directed by Paul Michael Glaser (The Running Man) and written by Tony Gilroy (Andor, The Bourne Identity). Harking back to the spiky banter of the 1930s screwball era, sparks fly when a spoiled figure skater and a macho hockey player form an unlikely creative partnership.
Read MoreThis week, Gavia and Morgan discuss the delightful Pre-Code romantic comedy Design for Living, directed by Ernst Lubitsch and starring Miriam Hopkins, Fredric March, and the incomparable Gary Cooper in a hopeless love triangle. Topics include the film's startling candid approach to sex, the contrasting star personas of its actors, and director Lubitsch's famous je-ne-sais-quoi.
Read MoreThis week, Gavia and Morgan discuss the French romantic comedy Populaire, set in the 1950s in the world of competitive speed typing. Topics include the film's relationship to 1950s Hollywood rom-coms, the charms of its stars Romain Duris and Déborah François, and the real-life history of speed typing competitions.
Read MoreThis week, Gavia and Morgan discuss the late Peter Bogdanovich's classic homage to old Hollywood screwball, What's Up, Doc?, starring Ryan O'Neal as a hapless musicologist and Barbra Streisand as the agent of chaos with whom he reluctantly falls in love. Topics include Bogdanovich's life and career, the film's direct relationship to 1930s and 1940s romantic comedies, Streisand's magnetic performance, and much more.
Read MoreThis week, Morgan and Gavia discuss Preston Sturges' gloriously cynical screwball classic The Lady Eve, starring Barbara Stanwyck as a con artist and Henry Fonda as her gullible mark. Topics include Sturges' unique approach to romantic comedy, this film's place within the genre of films about competent women romancing dolts, Barbara Stanwyck's dazzling career, and much more.
Read MoreThis week, Morgan and Gavia revisit the beloved romantic comedy The Philadelphia Story, starring Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and Jimmy Stewart. They place the film in the context of other romantic comedies from the 1930s and 1940s, consider the stars' public personas in conjunction with their roles in this film, discuss the movie's treatment of class and gender, and much more.
Read MoreThis week, Morgan and Gavia take a trip down memory lane by discussing the seminal classic 13 Going on 30 before assessing the current state of the rom-com. Films covered include Set It Up, Crazy Rich Asians, and To All The Boys I've Loved Before.
Read MoreThis week, Morgan and Gavia revisit an old favorite: Howard Hawks' iconic romantic comedy His Girl Friday. They discuss how it fits into the screwball genre, its radical gender politics, the transcendent appeal of Cary Grant, rom-com tropes, and more.