Confessions of a Closet Romantic

The Romance of Ride or Die

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1322830/fan_mail/new] Deep loyalty, love, and devotion – even beyond reason – is a familiar romance trope. But right now I'm loving this trope applied to female friendships and relationships in action-packed stories about fearless women in dangerous jobs or pinned down by bad choices. Brave and sometimes foolish, they're backed by a ride-or-die chum who knows where the bodies are buried and where to get the best diner pancakes at 3 AM. And most importantly, how to be there for someone who's important to them. CW: explicit film clips, plenty of spoilers "I jumped from a moving train and I'm alive!" [https://youtu.be/QFGAxkTRAG8?si=xxlGQjjQKHMSztrs] Fasten your seatbelt Deb, the adventure has just begun. Excellent interview [https://youtu.be/40uVLO1flk4?si=I4UinBB9FT_AdwTd] with Ride or Die creator Tessa Coates and showrunner Matt Miller. If you haven't seen Hannah Waddingham as a football club owner in Ted Lasso [https://youtu.be/zmIgLg2BtGc?si=IGF97LLF5msAG8wC], do that right away, because she's spectacular, and so is the entire cast. When the perp says you better run from a crazy funny but dysfunctional cop, you better run. [https://youtu.be/1O3iRdiplB0?si=Es3SuzPKr2uZWuIp] This Melissa McCarthy blooper reel. [https://youtu.be/Rmy88SnnAn0?si=j7sa7SXm07HwOvFD] Skeery Marvel [https://youtu.be/nWHUjuJ8zxE?si=qzjd-Rue6Fcy-AqJ] even in cartoonish form, can be too much for me. But there's something about the abrasive loner Jessica Jones and her whole story that I find extremely compelling.  Support the show [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/poppyconfesses] If you enjoyed this episode, please click share in your podcast app and tell your friends! Thanks for listening!

Longbourn Revisited: The Other Bennet Sister

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1322830/fan_mail/new] (This episode contains spoilers). I only have a few more episodes to go, but this series so far is refreshing, delightful and vicariously quite healing. As a middle child, Mary Bennet has never been the star or even costar of any Pride and Prejudice adaptation, rather an outcast and object of ridicule. But in this reimagining of the story, Mary finally emerges as swan from her oppressive existence at Longbourn, becoming the main character in her own life as she takes a new job in London. Turns out she's a smart, sweet thoughtful woman with tons to offer the world, and desires of her own, and I can't wait for her happy ending. "We should sweep away these old tired rules..." [https://youtu.be/5SGJcafcSKo?si=wv9OErly6NfPr9Cp] This scene could easily turn the most hardened heart into a poetry lover. [https://youtu.be/pGgQfODuyXU?si=FVnaRglu9D3-5jj2] "What if Mary Bennet’s life took a different path from that laid out for her in Pride and Prejudice? What if the frustrated intellectual of the Bennet family, the marginalized middle daughter, the plain girl who takes refuge in her books, eventually found the fulfillment enjoyed by her prettier, more confident sisters?" [https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/45186556-the-other-bennet-sister] This sounds like a great idea for a book and a show. Brief but interesting interview with Ella Bruccoleri on playing Mary Bennet [https://youtu.be/GN5zCDTdGOM?si=61Fjm0A8HShcau8z] Support the show [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/poppyconfesses] If you enjoyed this episode, please click share in your podcast app and tell your friends! Thanks for listening!

The Lush Romantic Fantasy of Bridgerton S4

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1322830/fan_mail/new] (This episode contains spoilers) I have been in the worst romance novel slump for ages, but Bridgerton Season 4 has restored that glorious, lush fantasy feeling from all of my favorite romance books. We know the destination of romantic tropes, but we don't know how each journey is going to go, which is part of the fun. Luckily, the Bridgerton production team knows at this point just how to spin a romantic story to stir our anticipation and our hearts in the most delicious way. Bridgerton S4 is based on An Offer from a Gentleman by Julia Quinn. [https://bridgerton.fandom.com/wiki/An_Offer_from_a_Gentleman_(books)] "I'm charting an adventurous course! You're a rake!"  [https://youtu.be/IqaXNwAzSmQ?si=kc4eUffp1x1zohBi] A scene by scene breakdown of all the instrumental pop covers in S4. [https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/bridgerton-season-4-soundtrack-pop-song-covers] And a tease about S5. [https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/bridgerton-season-5-news-photos-premiere-date#:~:text=Is%20there%20any%20more%20Bridgerton%20on%20the,5%20was%20confirmed%2C%20so%20was%20Season%206.] Fun interview with Bridgerton S4 writer/showrunner Jess Brownell [https://www.talkhouse.com/288-bridgerton-showrunner-head-writer-jess-brownell-on-the-dazzling-season-4/] on The Screenwriting Life podcast (talk of the show starts approximately 23:00). Support the show [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/poppyconfesses] If you enjoyed this episode, please click share in your podcast app and tell your friends! Thanks for listening!

Romantic Replay: Romance Road Test

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1322830/fan_mail/new] Life continues to throw a lot at me (I'm sure we can all relate) but I did get to take another road trip to the mountains with my sweetie. We were road tested on a few issues including broken down rental cars and hotel accessibility and I started thinking about what you learn about yourself when you travel. That inspired a new episode (coming soon) about romantic movies featuring characters who leave home to explore new horizons, and in between the ice cream, sightseeing, luxury hotel beds, Tuscan villa renos and arguments with companions of all sorts, learn something important about themselves. Meanwhile, enjoy this revisit with Kristen Meinzer and Jolenta Greenberg of the Romance Road Test podcast, now hosts of How to Be Fine, a spinoff of their podcast By the Book and their book of the same name. Support the show [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/poppyconfesses] If you enjoyed this episode, please click share in your podcast app and tell your friends! Thanks for listening!

Bookish: Wuthering Heights/People We Meet on Vacation

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1322830/fan_mail/new] I survived a bad winter storm that knocked out my heat and electricity for almost a week, so it's good to be back! Speaking of drama, Wuthering Heights is one of my favorite books of all time, so I've been following the crazy anticipation for the Emerald Fennell film adaptation of the story that just opened this weekend. Adapting beloved classic stories for the screen isn't easy – filmmakers will never manage to perfectly interpret the story for every fan of the source material, and they have to earn attention in ways that books don't. Some filmmakers really get it right, though, despite the challenges, and when they manage to honor the original story while staying committed to their own version of it, beloved characters live another day. Classic books have survived for a reason, and I think they can handle all of the red latex corsets thrown at them. https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com [https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com/] It was certain that this movie [https://youtu.be/3fLCdIYShEQ?si=Z1k5GjxkOOzxJ-eB] was going to be hot and look stunning, no matter what. I think this is the ultimate review of the film and I haven't even seen it yet. A Tale of Two Hotties. [https://slate.com/culture/2026/02/wuthering-heights-movie-2026-review-margot-robbie-jacob-elordi.html] Is this the greatest love story of all time [https://youtu.be/XmuMd4FnnYo?si=fcakBZViD7tMuWFS]?! Or is that our trauma talking? The 1939 adaptation of Wuthering Heights is full of romance with a R and scenery-chewing, and resembles the book only a little, but it's glorious. I will watch the whole 1939 movie just for this scene [https://youtu.be/x5itUuxq5HE?si=bdJJPV6GUD5Aa_sd]. I think they got everything I loved about this book exactly right [https://youtu.be/m1C9DTOUH5s?si=VRZkc-HiaB_2pzaA]. "Based on the timeless love story by Jane Austen" and after that, they need to sell us on it because we are Fans. Well, personally I bought everything this version of Persuasion [https://youtu.be/Fz7HmgPJQak?si=DIPlq_nyBKfB3iEL]was selling. It's far from a perfect movie, and I haven't read the book, but the casting and direction of Which Brings Me to You i [https://youtu.be/5cK7nSZlebY?si=SDGUE5-0YiGpgtw-]s perfection, and I was glued to the screen from beginning to end. The Pop Culture Happy Hour [https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510282/pop-culture-happy-hour] from NPR is a podcast and newsletter that covers the "buzziest" movies, TV, music, books, video games and more.     Support the show [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/poppyconfesses] If you enjoyed this episode, please click share in your podcast app and tell your friends! Thanks for listening!