Posts Tagged ‘romance’

“stepping” into the unknown

I never was a Neil LaBute fan before. Never-ever. I even gave away my NLB play tickets at the Geffen. He was too misogynistic for me, too cruel in his POV.

So imagine my surprise when I got sucked into the trailers for Billy & Billie. Yep, Neil LaBute tempted me with his half-cracked ROM COM about step-siblings who try to navigate their taboo romance. Awkward.

Yep, it’s Awkward. meets Modern Family —

And everything about it is Awkward! and Modern. It’s very real and really good,  starting with the casting and acting.  Adam Brody is the grounded, cool-but-hot Billy. If he were my brother, I’d be attracted to him too! Oh yeah!

Raunchy & Romantic —

Lisa Joyce is his sexy-but-slightly-insane step-sister, Billie. Joyce’s Billie reminds me of almost all of my friends right before they get their period. She blurts out uncensored thoughts constantly, never stopping to process. Billie is crudely charming, protectively daring and infuriatingly adorable.  So far B&B have been keeping their relationship a secret, but that’s about to change… Read the rest of this entry »

basic instinct

Yes, I saw FIFTY SHADES OF GREY and yes, I read the books – all three of them.  Now I’m reading the email alerts and headlines about the almost 70% female audience helping to break records and movie-success-myths.

I’m no movie mogul, but my advice to you if you are is: If you’re “scouring best-seller lists looking to find the next Fifty Shades of Grey,” consider the fact that the “almost 70% Female Audience” might be flocking to the film not because it’s about SEX but because it’s about ROMANCE.  (Wouldn’t the Audience be a higher percentage of Males if the main focus was SEX?)

HOPELESS ROMANTICS

As a female (who likes sex, btw) in the target audience, it seems pretty obvious to me that at the core Fifty Shades is really about a shy, smart girl trying to get a handsome, unattainable guy so she can have her happy ending (the old-fashioned kind, ahaha.)  It’s wish-fulfillment we all can relate to.  I can! Read the rest of this entry »

Shall I tell a “certain doctor” when he checks my pulse?

If you have someone special in your life you feel PRESSURE to do something ROMANTIC on Valentine’s Day, right?  Well, there’s nothing more UNromantic than forcing romance. It’s counter-productive, feels fake and well, it is a little fake. Try going out to dinner on February 14^th and you’ll see what I mean. Expensive prix fixe meals, dumb decorations, loud crowds. Romantic? Me no think so.

Overplanning is NOT Romantic —

February 14^th like New Years Eve tries too hard to be important. Think of it as life’s “Annual Prom” — it never lives up to expectations. Never-ever! You over-spend, under-enjoy, feel let-down after. Even the sex is overrated. Bummer!

EXPECTATION is the leading killer of romance!

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rom with real com!

Perhaps it’s due to the afterglow from my summer fling with Jorgen, or maybe it’s the best comedy of the summer, but either way I find myself totally into Greg Poehler’s fresh fish-out-of-water half-hour, WELCOME TO SWEDEN.  Sweet, charming and understated so it actually feels real, it’s a welcome relief from those loud, actor-y, in-your-face comedies that hit you over the head trying too hard to be funny. (It’s exactly the kind of project I relate to — would love to be called in for a guest spot, hint-hint!)

A Sweet Set-up —

In this sweet summer treat, single-camera comedy, successful Accountant, Bruce (Greg Poehler) leaves his self-absorbed celebrity clients (like Will Ferrell) and his narcissistic boss (sister and co-producer, Amy Poehler) in the dust as he impulsively moves to Sweden to live with his hot girlfriend Emma (Josephine Bornebusch) without exactly working out the details. The relationship is tested as he navigates his way through foreign everything, while trying to prove his worthiness to doubting potential in-laws, Emma’s parents: Therapist/Mother-without-filters, Viveka (the wonderful Lena Olin who steals every scene),  and stoic, hard-working Dad, Birger (Claes Mansson.)

Pushing Boundaries —

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sweet memories

Still feeling jet-lagged and a little devastated after my tearful adiós (well actually adjö) to my summer fling,  Jorgen. Yep, my gorgeous Swedish Architect was just what I needed to temporarily block out unrealistic thoughts of closed-off Dr. Crush, memories of ER screamy-meamies with yucky bodily fluids, and the drought of summer auditions, ugh.

Jorgen taught me about art at Madrid’s Reina Sofia Museum, 70’s architecture and hippie style in Ibiza, and toured me through the Gaudi Cathedral and Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona.

Sipping Spanish wines in between sweet kisses, we dined by candlelight under a gazillion stars in Ibiza, and ran barefoot through the sand under the moonlight (ahhhh…)  And though my stomach had a few issues (I’ll spare you the details) the Spanish food was ultra-fresh in that European way, beautifully assembled and muy delicioso.

First stop, MADRID —

Bar Tomate – Open from 8:30 am till midnight (2 am Thursday, Friday and Saturday) is casual hip and hopping, serving maybe the yummiest tapas I had the entire trip. Maybe my senses were intoxicated because Bar Tomate was where Jorgen and I met (on my first night in Spain.) Then… every night that followed was absolutely dreamy… yes, DREAMY! Read the rest of this entry »

flowers aren’t even allowed

L.A. Pandemic! Yikes! L.A. Guys are coming down with the infectious slug that KILLS Romance! It’s devastating… DEV.A.STATING! Beeeeeeyond! I can’t even read the obits. Like young women everywhere — from Santa Monica to Burbank — I’m mourning silently… Say it ain’t so! But it is so — it’s sooooo so. The signs — they’re there…

SOB-SOB!

The 5 Signs of Death in Romance

1. Loss of Appetite –

The GUY: “I’m not that hungry, wanna share something?”
The Girl (silent): “Too stingy to pay for two meals, huh?”

2.  Labored Breathing –

The GUY: “Hey babe, wanna hook up?”
The GIRL (silent): “And why do I already feel fucked?” Read the rest of this entry »

taking the leap

FATE: Are we in the hands of fate or is fate in our hands?

Are we meant-to-be or are we meant-to-make-it-happen? Some people and moments-in-time feel unexplainably meant-to-be. But what about the thousands that don’t?

Sticking Your Neck Out —

One of my author faves, Allison Winn Scotch explores choice vs. fate in THE THEORY OF OPPOSITES, a modern day love story about losing a safety net and learning how to jump anyway. Yikes! It’s about going in the opposite direction of your comfort zone (not my favorite direction) — creating a “Life Map”, then owning it/living it fearlessly and intensely, regardless of how vulnerable, inadequate, and totally freaked-out you might be. (I’m freaked out just thinking about it!)

Last month real life “Air-Traveler” Erica Domesek (@psimadethis) decided to edit her own Fairy Tale via Twitter after she sat next to her “future husband” but didn’t get his full name on a flight. (Don’t you just hate when that happens?) Erica tweet-begged the airlines to help her track him down and when that failed, she rallied the universal Twitter Nation. Erica took destiny into her own hands after her possible true love had been seated in “2B.” Read the rest of this entry »