Someone Great & Lizzo
If you're a romcom fan like me, who feels like the best friends never get enough screen time, then you're in luck. Jennifer Kaytin Robinson has penned the ultimate romcom that is amazingly not about a relationship between a boyfriend and a girlfriend, but instead functions as a love story about friendship. In fact in Someone Great (**kind of spoiler alert**), the main character Jenny (played by Gina Rodriguez) is actually out of a relationship for the duration of the film. Instead, she's processing a break-up and trying to spend one last night with her two best friends, before she moves across the country for her dream job. And let's talk about those two best friends! While Jenny does the bulk of the emotional lifting in the film (portraying all the break-up stages in various states of drunkenness), DeWanda Wise (Erin) and Brittany Snow (Blair) get to have all the fun, while also navigating through their own humorous and touching arcs. Blair is the type-A friend who learns to embrace her wild side, after her friends show up at her office and force her to leave and hang out with them. Erin is a commitment-phobe who won't take the next step and meet her girlfriend's friends, so she uses the events of the movie to escape. Together, the friends help each other tackle their troubles, while still having fun together. The entire movie is a love letter to the people in your life who are there through all of the ups and downs -- the best friends. It's full of fun and humor, and it will make you want to call up your best friends and plan a fun evening of your own. With a woman at the helm of this film (both in the director's chair and in the script), ladies on Twitter have pointed out many unique moments in the film that only a female touch could have created. For example, the women in the movie are often seen in their homes not glammed-up (often not wearing bras -- a sisterhood secret), all the women in the film have storylines and personalities, whereas most of the male characters are on the periphery and many of the conversations pass the Bechdel test, even in a movie that starts with a breakup. Some special recognition to some of my favorite moments in the film: Any time the three friends sing and dance together (it happens a lot!), an epic comic moment from Brittany Snow that involves watering plants, Jaboukie Young-White (and the line about Lady Bird), the entire soundtrack and Jenny writing her letter on the train. If you haven't watched yet, Someone Great is on Netflix now. Give it a view and keep your eye out for what Jennifer Kaytin Robinson does next!
Bonus Pick: Looking for more information about Someone Great? You can read more about the inspiration behind the incredible scene featuring Lorde's Supercut, the inspiration behind the rest of the songs in the film, Jennifer Kaytin Robinson's journey to writer and director, the importance of creating a diverse romcom world, skipping female-character stereotypes and the fact/fiction that made up the Someone Great universe.
Haven't You Heard?
Is it too early to declare a song of the summer? Is the song of the summer allowed to be a January release? I'm hooked on Lizzo's new album, and this week I'm listening to Juice nonstop. Let's start with the full album. Cuz I Love You was released a little over a week ago and there are several songs that I've been jamming to since, including Better in Color, Heaven Help Me and the title track. Lizzo's voice is incredible and her self-confidence drips from every song, and by relation you feel self-confidence flow through you as you listen. On Juice it all comes together in a fun bop that makes you want to dance: "If I'm shiny, everybody gonna shine (Yeah, I'm goals) / I was born like this, don't even gotta try (Now you know)." It's the perfect song to get you in the weekend mood! It's almost the weekend right?? Plus, Lizzo features prominently on the Someone Great soundtrack! How's that for newsletter content that flows together?
Required Reading
I love to read, so in life I'm often faced with the problem that most bookworms come across: I love to browse through brick-and-mortar bookstores, but because my love of books runs deep, I can't afford to purchase every book I want from the local bookshop that I frequent. If You've Got Mail taught us anything, it's that you have to support your local businesses (and that Tom Hanks is so damn charming that even when he put Meg Ryan out of a job, we still wanted them to be together). Mary Schmich wrote a piece that perfectly encapsulates this struggle and discusses the value that local bookstores (and local used bookstores and libraries, for when the sticker price isn't doable) add to a community.
