Confessions of a Closet Romantic

Outer Limits Love: Love Me

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1322830/open_sms] I don't often read or watch sci-fi stories, but add in a romance and I'm there. I have a specific kink for stories about human-robot love, android love, any kind of machinery that takes on human characteristics and can hug. Forbidden Planet is my jam, I, Robot and RoboCop freak me out a bit, but movies that ask questions about our essential humanity by transferring our ideal characteristics – and our flaws and romantic blunders – onto machines are some of my favorite types of romances. https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com [https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com/] "In here, we can create a world just for us." [https://youtu.be/7llQHCPp1c8?si=tWZskTmuDbH6d5gR] Plus, there's a beautiful house, a dog and lots of ice cream. My episode about Love in Unexpected Places. [https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com/love-in-unexpected-places-hercity-of-angels/] If you haven't seen the movie Her, [https://youtu.be/dJTU48_yghs?si=RtAptioSmSsrMOXH] it's well worth adding to your watchlist. Forbidden Planet [https://youtu.be/HYjbn8f4PEY?si=YyyDM4OCPGKg0HUG] and other sci-fi movies from the 1950s are always good for robot action, though there's no hanky-panky with faithful servant Robby the Robot. Now Klaatu [https://youtu.be/51JoEE_znyI?si=u8j9deK_HUEtlEF5] is one of the sexiest robots ever. A Barnes & Noble round up of stories about Love and Robots. [https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/of-love-and-robots-11-stories-of-truly-science-fictional-romance/#:~:text=A%20Long%20Way%20to%20a%20Small%2C%20Angry%20Planet%20is%20very,on%20to%20more%20complex%20questions.] Reddit to the rescue: recs for romances about AI or robots [https://www.reddit.com/r/ScienceFictionRomance/comments/1jjtww5/romances_about_ai_or_robots_that_serve_humans/] that serve humans and learn to love. Smut and kinky robot sex optional. 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!

Quick Take: Nobody Wants This S2

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1322830/open_sms] (Life continues to kick my behind, so I'll be releasing episodes every few weeks or so through the rest of the year. Follow me on your favorite podcast app so you don't miss a thing. As always, thanks for listening!) Season 2 of Nobody Wants This was just released on Netflix, and it's different show runners, but equally heartwarming, sexy, touching and hilarious – if not more so. I'm only a third of the way through the latest season, but had to pop in and say: it's 100% fresh, so don't miss it.  https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com [https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com/] First comes love, then comes life. [https://youtu.be/B66w_P39wi0?si=O8SXMKgj17D0WIQc] Episode descriptions [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobody_Wants_This], in case you need to catch up. "I didn't know I wrote a romcom...I thought I wrote Fleabag." Fascinating interview with Nobody Wants This creator/screenwriter Erin Foster at the American Film Institute [https://youtu.be/0YmZjGIP8zg?si=-MNjwTnnsA2GMSnA]. 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!

Gold-Plated Romance: Gold Diggers of 1933/Pretty Woman/Materialists

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1322830/open_sms] (Had a great time on my road trip, got back – and I've been sick ever since. This year has been one endless struggle bus ride, and there's room for more, so hop on :) Materialists seems to be a polarizing movie that isn't quite a romcom, isn't quite a straight up romantic drama, while ending happily, making it one of the most interesting hybrid stories I've seen in a while. Dakota Johnson is incredible as Lucy, a smart but cynical matchmaker who treats her clients as commodities – and threatens to do the same with her ex-boyfriend until she realizes his love for her survived their terrible break up, and her honest admission that she's somewhat shallow when it comes to choosing romantic partners. When she finally decides to make a romantic choice that isn't based on statistics, shrewd calculations or dating math but what's in her heart, that's when her life turns around. And that's what makes this movie deeply romantic to me. https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com [https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com/] I change my mind about this trailer [https://youtu.be/4A_kmjtsJ7c?si=CEh7ATIRysWrX61q] – it captures the smart stylish vibe but not nearly all of the ups and downs in mood that make this such a fascinating film. Celine Song talked about her inspiration for writing and directing Materialists in a fascinating interview [https://youtu.be/k-pdK-fM_wE?si=NmAn59eYM3o4CPH-] on BBC World Service. Gold Diggers of 1933 (full movie) is currently on YouTube! [https://youtu.be/TpeN7vdQTk8?si=pFvNJy6B9O2UOiGZ] Oh and I forgot to mention – it stars a young Ginger Rogers too! The best hour and a half you will spend this week. The trailer for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes [https://youtu.be/60CM2-mFJWQ?si=ylXk3zI_Kr3Tb6lN] doesn't tell you much, but what's clear is this Technicolor 1950s movie about two show-stopping showgirls, one in it for love and the other mostly for the diamonds, is such a treat. How to Marry a Millionaire [https://youtu.be/5RkkIjXyOKI?si=bE1zmaIigzTfluUX] stars Lauren Bacall, Betty Grable and Marilyn Monroe as a stunning trio of broke but gorgeous roommates who we're supposed to believe have trouble landing super solvent guys who will love and dote on them. I love going down the rabbit hole of the related and gendered variations on the gold digger trope. [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GoldDigger] 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!

Romance Replay: Love + Taylor Swift

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1322830/open_sms] (I'm going on another road trip with my sweetie, traveling parts of historic Route 66, so I'll see you towards the end of the month!) Taylor Swift just announced her fairytale engagement (which was obvious after they appeared on that recent New Heights podcast episode — have two people ever looked more in love?!) so it seemed like the perfect time to replay the episode I recorded a while back with one of my favorite guests and fellow fangirl Mariah, examining our parasocial bestie relationship with Taylor Swift. We squeal, we gush, we analyze, and we had a blast doing it. Taylor Swift's poetry, set to the catchiest melodies, is music made just for me. And I'm sure many of you as well. So the English teacher and the gym teacher are getting hitched, and I couldn't be happier for them. 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!

Goodbye Love: And Just Like That/Bridget Jones Mad About the Boy

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1322830/open_sms] This is the year that we're saying goodbye (for now?) to some beloved big and small screen friends. Call it parasocial, call it learning through art, but tuning into these characters and their fictional ups and downs made me feel like I belonged to their charmed worlds in New York City and London, and lives full of fabulous fashion, awesome apartments, cool jobs, chosen family, hot romances — and plenty of drama. I truly feel sad saying goodbye, and I think these flawed yet fitting endings still honor these characters and the relationships we had with them. https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com [https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com/] Well this is awfully… upbeat [https://youtu.be/IEqqcJGdjCM?si=VIsWeQXVw4RdwbbY]. I don't want to say that there's a sad undercurrent to the third season that the trailer doesn't quite capture, but... Now I feel wistful for AJLT S1, so here's where we started [https://youtu.be/i_8vpYXzgdg?si=KC4x6lF8p36b76tT], after taking up where they left off. It seems years and years ago. A lengthy take down of all of the "cringe" moments in AJLT. [https://youtu.be/ksP4tBEwL5w?si=_pXlQTC7Ez1RXdTq] I would say cringe is in the eye of the beholder, but I agree with a lot of these. The scene at work is just… unlikely but hilarious. [https://youtu.be/AZr9lYz12jw?si=k0Y87VTBLVp6xYI9] It's the new Bridget, and she's nearly as daffy and delightful as the old one. 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!