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Sydney Morning Herald
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
A deep dive into romcoms, from 1930s screwball comedies to today
CINEMA Falling in Love at the Movies Esther Zuckerman Running Press, $42.99 There are some who seem unaware that romantic comedies were born long before Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks got together – with some help from writer-director Nora Ephron – for Sleepless in Seattle in 1993 and then You've Got Mail five years later. And even long before the 1980s, which gave rise to films such as Splash (1984), Say Anything… and When Harry Met Sally (both 1989) and when the 'chick flicks' label was yet to enter the popular lexicon. Most of the culprits can be found pounding away in the blogosphere, but some have managed to migrate into the mainstream with their blissful ignorance intact. Fortunately, however, Esther Zuckerman isn't one of them. A Millennial, she saw the light, as she explains in the introduction to her Falling in Love at the Movies, at the age of eight when her family took her to see You've Got Mail on New York's Upper West Side. It was love at first sight, but, since then, she's opened her lens wide enough to recognise that romcoms – as we now affectionately know them – have an illustrious history. As the subtitle for her handsomely illustrated book indicates, it's an overview of the genre, more or less beginning with the golden era of the screwball comedy – which includes 1930s films such as My Man Godfrey, The Awful Truth and Bringing Up Baby, as well as His Girl Friday, The Lady Eve and Ball of Fire from the 1940s – and generally tracing its development through to the present day. She's not as knowledgeable about romcoms as, say, Molly Haskell in her seminal 1974 book, From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies, Stanley Cavell in his brilliant Pursuits of Happiness: The Hollywood Comedy of Remarriage (1981), or Ed Sikov in his astute Screwball: Hollywood's Madcap Romantic Comedies (1989), although she cites them all (along with numerous magazine and newspaper articles). But she's a smart, thoughtful and often-perceptive enthusiast, concerned to make us understand that romcoms aren't just the equivalent of comfort food for needy filmgoers. She proposes connections between the old and the new. Some of them are irrefutable, like the fact that You've Got Mail is an updated remake of Ernst Lubitsch's The Shop Around the Corner (1940), with Hanks in the James Stewart role and Ryan in Margaret Sullavan's. Others grow evocatively but not especially persuasively out of her analyses, such as her identification of similarities between the flavour of Lubitsch's work and Nancy Meyers' in films such as What Women Want (2000) and It's Complicated (2009): 'Nancy, like Ernst, relishes art direction, the sparkling spaces that her characters occupy.' More successful but still not entirely convincing is her linking of Preston Sturges' wonderfully wacky 1940s comedies, such as The Lady Eve and The Palm Beach Story, and Ephron's equally wordy ones, beginning with the sparkling screenplay for When Harry Met Sally… She draws our attention to the plot details that drive romcoms. There's the 'meet-cute' that brings the lovers-to-be together for the first time, followed by the deceptions and/or misunderstandings that threaten their relationships, even if they're all eventually set aside for the unambiguous happy ending (Zuckerman allowing for exceptions, such as The Graduate and Annie Hall).
The Age
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
A deep dive into romcoms, from 1930s screwball comedies to today
CINEMA Falling in Love at the Movies Esther Zuckerman Running Press, $42.99 There are some who seem unaware that romantic comedies were born long before Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks got together – with some help from writer-director Nora Ephron – for Sleepless in Seattle in 1993 and then You've Got Mail five years later. And even long before the 1980s, which gave rise to films such as Splash (1984), Say Anything… and When Harry Met Sally (both 1989) and when the 'chick flicks' label was yet to enter the popular lexicon. Most of the culprits can be found pounding away in the blogosphere, but some have managed to migrate into the mainstream with their blissful ignorance intact. Fortunately, however, Esther Zuckerman isn't one of them. A Millennial, she saw the light, as she explains in the introduction to her Falling in Love at the Movies, at the age of eight when her family took her to see You've Got Mail on New York's Upper West Side. It was love at first sight, but, since then, she's opened her lens wide enough to recognise that romcoms – as we now affectionately know them – have an illustrious history. As the subtitle for her handsomely illustrated book indicates, it's an overview of the genre, more or less beginning with the golden era of the screwball comedy – which includes 1930s films such as My Man Godfrey, The Awful Truth and Bringing Up Baby, as well as His Girl Friday, The Lady Eve and Ball of Fire from the 1940s – and generally tracing its development through to the present day. She's not as knowledgeable about romcoms as, say, Molly Haskell in her seminal 1974 book, From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies, Stanley Cavell in his brilliant Pursuits of Happiness: The Hollywood Comedy of Remarriage (1981), or Ed Sikov in his astute Screwball: Hollywood's Madcap Romantic Comedies (1989), although she cites them all (along with numerous magazine and newspaper articles). But she's a smart, thoughtful and often-perceptive enthusiast, concerned to make us understand that romcoms aren't just the equivalent of comfort food for needy filmgoers. She proposes connections between the old and the new. Some of them are irrefutable, like the fact that You've Got Mail is an updated remake of Ernst Lubitsch's The Shop Around the Corner (1940), with Hanks in the James Stewart role and Ryan in Margaret Sullavan's. Others grow evocatively but not especially persuasively out of her analyses, such as her identification of similarities between the flavour of Lubitsch's work and Nancy Meyers' in films such as What Women Want (2000) and It's Complicated (2009): 'Nancy, like Ernst, relishes art direction, the sparkling spaces that her characters occupy.' More successful but still not entirely convincing is her linking of Preston Sturges' wonderfully wacky 1940s comedies, such as The Lady Eve and The Palm Beach Story, and Ephron's equally wordy ones, beginning with the sparkling screenplay for When Harry Met Sally… She draws our attention to the plot details that drive romcoms. There's the 'meet-cute' that brings the lovers-to-be together for the first time, followed by the deceptions and/or misunderstandings that threaten their relationships, even if they're all eventually set aside for the unambiguous happy ending (Zuckerman allowing for exceptions, such as The Graduate and Annie Hall).
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Parker Posey Tells Lisa Kudrow to Star in ‘The White Lotus' Season 4 as They Bond Over Sitcom Struggles and Why Phoebe on ‘Friends' Was ‘A Lot of Work'
Parker Posey and Lisa Kudrow first met making 'Clockwatchers,' a 1997 indie comedy in which they play temps in a dull office. Back then, Posey was establishing a reputation as a burgeoning legend of independent film who would soon enough cross over in projects like 'You've Got Mail' and 'Scream 3,' while Kudrow was already a superstar thanks to her role as the quirky Phoebe Buffay on 'Friends.' Both have experienced cult TV fame in the years since — Posey as Jack's nemesis on 'Will & Grace,' Kudrow as a washed-up actress-turned-reality star on 'The Comeback' — and both put their stamp on projects this past season. Posey drawled her way through the role of wealthy matriarch Victoria Ratliff on the HBO franchise 'The White Lotus,' while Kudrow delivered a sensitive, painful performance as Lydia Morgan, a grieving mother who believes her late son communicates with her through flickering lights on Netflix's real estate thriller 'No Good Deed.' More from Variety 'The Comeback' Turns 20: Lisa Kudrow and Michael Patrick King on Early Criticism, Cult-Classic Status and Whether There Will Ever Be a Season 3 Seth Rogen and Jason Segel Relive 27 Years of Friendship: Smoking Before 'The Matrix,' Peeing Next to Scorsese and Harrison Ford Watching Segel Naked Dave Chappelle Joins Mo Amer for Rare Interview on Political Comedy, Fiery 'SNL' Monologues and Crying Over Netflix's 'Mo': 'I'm Not Doing This S--' If the 'Show Sucked' Parker Posey: We were both Nora Ephron ladies back in the '90s. Lisa Kudrow: I know. Posey: What did you do with Nora? Kudrow: I did 'Hanging Up,' which she wrote with [her sister] Delia. Diane Keaton directed it. We had great food every day because Nora was around. And then I did another movie that Nora directed, and John Travolta was in it — 'Was in it?' How's that? It was a John Travolta movie, and I was in it. Posey: And he was an angel or something, right? Kudrow: No, that was 'Michael,' and that was a great movie. This one was disappointing. I remember Nora called me once — I was working on 'Friends' — and she went, 'When are you finished with this show? Why do you keep doing it?' I was like, 'Well, some good reasons.' Posey: I remember she came up to me once and said, 'Just be funny,' and that was the note. Kudrow: It's a good note! Posey: I'm such a big fan of yours, and one of my most favorite things ever is 'The Comeback.' How did it start in your brain? Kudrow: There were no 'Real Housewives' yet. But there was 'The Amazing Race' and 'Survivor,' which I thought, 'Well, this is the end of civilization.' Because on 'Amazing Race' — I watched a couple — the woman is eating very spicy stuff and vomiting on camera while her husband is screaming at her. She's crying and vomiting, and I went, 'Oh, this is it.' Posey: 'How can I top that?' Kudrow: 'This is the end.' And then I thought, 'What if you don't have to feel bad for a regular person — what if it's an actress?' It was near when 'Friends' was just about done. And I just thought, 'That would be really fun,' just throwing yourself into humiliation. Posey: It's such an interesting edge to walk, because as a viewer, I felt for her, and I also rooted for her. Kudrow: For me, that was all the Christopher Guest movies you did. Posey: Chris Guest would say, 'This is not too far from the truth,' and just walk away. And then you play the scene. It's the things that you're not really thinking about that aren't planned — that's what was so liberating about those movies. I felt so spoiled: You go in and lock into the other person and just trust them. Kudrow: I know you were on some multi-camera sitcoms. How was that for you? Because there's something so much more regimented about that. Posey: It's like tap dancing and really having to make that step. It's not exactly formulaic, but it's hitting some kinds of notes. I would say stuff on 'Will & Grace,' and people would laugh, and I didn't get it. I didn't think it was funny. Kudrow: Was it a joke that they had written? Posey: Maybe. Yeah, I think so. Kudrow: That happens sometimes. Posey: It was very athletic. Kudrow: They're always throwing new things at you. All of us got new things as we were doing it. Posey: It was really fun, right? Did it feel like a sport to you? Kudrow: It became fun. It was fun the whole time because the cast had fun. Phoebe was so far from who I was as a human being, it was work — I needed to justify everything she was saying in my head so that it felt like she meant it and it was real to her. It was a lot of work. I remember Season 2 or 3, I went, 'Oh my God, I'm not doing the work.' And LeBlanc went, 'What's the matter with you? You're her. You don't have to.' Posey: You're like, 'But I want to work.' Kudrow: The worst thing was wanting to be a good student. That's what hurt me the most. Posey: I like doing my homework too. When I read 'The White Lotus' and it was so well written … I don't know how he did it, but Mike White wrote those eight episodes, and really, they just fly. We've both been doing this for 30 years, right? Kudrow: Yeah. Posey: It was such a gift to have this middle-aged woman at this time in my career — to be this Southern woman. I was reading Tennessee Williams in junior high, so I just ate it up. Kudrow: Did you have a point of reference for Victoria? Posey: My dad loved William Faulkner. He was a really big reader. He loved Flannery O'Connor and all those Gothic tales. And my mom's mother dressed like a movie star; she'd go to Neiman Marcus and look at the things she liked, and she'd go home and make them herself. Kudrow: I think my favorite thing in the whole season was asking Victoria, 'What if we didn't have anything?' And the answer was the most honest thing I'd ever seen and made me respect her. Not respect her — Posey: I know what you mean. When I read the line, that hit me the most out of the eight episodes, and I knew exactly how to say it. There's such a cadence. A lot of people like to improvise and add things. But when things are really tight, I love how it sounds. Would you enter the 'White Lotus' world? Kudrow: Work with Mike White? Yes. I love Mike White. I've hung out with him at a party. Posey: He gets around. Kudrow: He's social. And 'Brad's Status' was my favorite movie that year. I emailed him to let him know, because I had to — it was so good, I had to. I don't do that a lot. Posey: Oh, Lisa, you should be in Season 4. If there's a big enough TikTok campaign, then it'll happen. Kudrow: Because that's how it works. No, it doesn't. Posey: It doesn't. Because who knows what Mike White is writing or where these stories are going to go? Kudrow: And I might not be his cup of tea, which is allowed to happen too. But I do get nervous about inhabiting things that are too dark; I try to avoid that. But you didn't really have to, except for the scenes where your head's blown off. But it's pretend. Posey: I really felt for mothers when I played this role. Kudrow: Right. It's a whole other dimension. Posey: I realized that mothers are shaped by their family and shaped by the man. So I got to go into the patriarchal system of women who are not being authentic. She has a distorted point of view of her life, and it's been enabled. Kudrow: A family has its own culture. We all grew up in one. Posey: And that's what's so great about good writing is that it doesn't judge, and it expands the way you look at — Kudrow: It didn't feel like it was judging so much this time — except of course it was, because they were at a White Lotus. Posey: Mike is an actor too. He's a really interesting guy. He was on 'Survivor.' And 'The Amazing Race' twice. Kudrow: Oh, twice on 'Amazing Race'? Wow. Likes to punish himself. Posey: And then he decides to do a season in Thailand. It felt like an experiment, to work that long so far away in an exotic place. It was such a gift when you're out of your element, you know? Kudrow: We worked on 'Clockwatchers.' Posey: That's where we first met. Jill and Karen Sprecher … Kudrow: They wrote it, and Jill directed it. So Jill would come over and whisper a note to you; they've got their secrets. And the whole thing was about not trusting each other and trust and secrets. Posey: Well, she was very shy. Do you remember the first day of work, she said 'Cut!' instead of 'Action!' Kudrow: She was fantastic. But I thought everyone was smart and knew what they were doing more than I did. So when she would whisper, I would think, 'Oh my God, she's creating the same atmosphere.' Because you're like, 'What's she saying?' 'Clockwatchers' had a certain culture on the set. Does Mike do that, consciously or unconsciously, also? Posey: Oh, I think every director does that. That's the whole mystique: You have to be a puppet taking shape by the projections that are happening around you. Kudrow: I always feel that there are a lot of different levels that are happening that you're not even conscious of in the choices you make as an actor. And then you see it. It feels like, 'Oh, I wasn't even aware that I was doing that.' Posey: It can be really slippery. And then some people, you try to make sense of it, and you're just in it. With Victoria, I was like, 'Is Tim taking those pills?' Does she know that he's taking pills? I'm playing denial, and that took me a while. I even talked to Mike: 'Does she know?' Kudrow: How does she not know? Posey: She does know. Of course she knows. She's been married to him for 30 years. Kudrow: Did he say that? Posey: No. But they give that room for you to be in that state. I really love denial — what people are picking up on in their instincts, what they choose to reveal to their loved ones. Which is what you're doing in 'No Good Deed.' Kudrow: I don't think she wanted to poke at how her marriage is going. She knew who her husband was; he wasn't a big talker about emotions. But then they've suffered a real tragedy where talking would've been good. And the whole time I was so keenly aware that she couldn't do grief counseling. Posey: No. Kudrow: She couldn't talk to a therapist about it. She was on her own. And it's so destructive. Posey: A dark night of the soul. Kudrow: My first question when I met Liz Feldman, who created the show and wrote it, was 'When the lights flicker, is that real? Or are you saying it's not real?' And she said, 'I do think that happens.' I went, 'OK, then I'm in,' because I fully think that happens. Posey: It does happen. It happens in my house. Kudrow: I've seen it happening. My big, important question was 'Are you going to call bullshit on …' Posey: On spirit? Kudrow: And Lydia needs it. And that was my first question because I was going to, honestly, think twice. Posey: We don't need glib. Kudrow: We need magic. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Animated Program — Can Netflix Score Big With 'Arcane,' 'Devil May Cry' and the Final Season of 'Big Mouth?' What's Coming to Netflix in June 2025
Time of India
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Lisa Kudrow said ‘No Thanks' to the White Lotus? 'I might not be his cup of tea,' explains the actress
Parker Posey pitched White Lotus to Lisa Kudrow, but the Friends alum isn't too keen to join the show. Among the many recognisable TV stars are the two most famous actresses, Parker Posey and Lisa Kudrow. In a recent interview with Variety, the two talked about the sharp social satire, 'The White Lotus,' and '1994 'sitcom Friends, in which Lisa starred as the quirky Phoebe Buffay. While conversing with the No Good Deed star, Posey suggested that she should star in the upcoming season 4 of the 'White Lotus' series. Although Lisa expressed her desire to collaborate with Mike White, she believes that she would not be the creator's cup of tea. The Comeback star also commended White, saying she thought some of his projects were fantastic. 'Would you enter the White Lotus world?' the You've Got Mail actress continued to press Kudrow during their conversation. In response, the sitcom star went on to say, 'Work with Mike White? Yes. I love Mike White. I've hung out with him at a party.' Additionally, Kudrow mentioned that she emailed White to let him know how much she liked Brad's Status. She continued saying that 'The White Lotus' showrunner is quite outgoing. Posey yet again pitched to the actress. She said, 'Oh, Lisa, you should be in Season 4. If there's a big enough TikTok campaign, then it'll happen.' To which she replied, 'And I might not be his cup of tea, which is allowed to happen too. But I do get nervous about inhabiting things that are too dark; I try to avoid that. But you didn't really have to, except for the scenes where your head's blown off. But it's pretend.' Lisa Kudrow rose to fame after ten years of playing the witty Phoebe Buffay on the NBC comedy Friends, alongside famous actors like Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, and the late Matthew Perry. As for Posey, the actress played Jack's rival in a number of Will & Grace episodes. In addition, the actress played Victoria Ratliff in the series' debut season.
Pink Villa
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
Parker Posey Pitches The White Lotus Season 4 to Lisa Kudrow; Here's How Friends Star Responds
Posey Parker and Lisa Kudrow are two of the most popular actresses on television. The duo got together for the Variety interview, where they discussed The White Lotus as well as the 1994 sitcom, Friends, where Kudrow played the role of Phoebe Buffay. While speaking to the actress, Posey went on to propose that the No Good Deed star should star in season 4 of the HBO show. While Kudrow claimed that she would love to work alongside Mike White, she thinks that she would not be the creator's cup of tea. Moreover, The Comeback star praised White, stating she loved some of the projects created by him. Would Lisa Kudrow star in The White Lotus season 4? While in talks with Kudrow, the You've Got Mail star went on to ask, 'Would you enter the White Lotus world?' In response, the sitcom star went on to say, 'Work with Mike White? Yes. I love Mike White. I've hung out with him at a party.' Kudrow also added that she had seen Brad's Status and emailed White to let him know that she really enjoyed the film. She also claimed that The White Lotus showrunner is quite social. Posey yet again pitched to the Mad About You actress. She said, 'Oh, Lisa, you should be in Season 4. If there's a big enough TikTok campaign, then it'll happen.' Kudrow replied, 'And I might not be his cup of tea, which is allowed to happen too. But I do get nervous about inhabiting things that are too dark; I try to avoid that. But you didn't really have to, except for the scenes where your head's blown off. But it's pretend.' Meanwhile, Lisa Kudrow gained popularity after portraying the witty character of Phoebe Buffay for 10 years in the NBC sitcom Friends. The actress stars alongside Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, and the late Matthew Perry. As for Posey, the actress appeared in several episodes of Will & Grace, posing as Jack's nemesis. Moreover, the actress starred in the first season of the HBO show as Victoria Ratliff.
