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In the season finale, Sabrina and Torsten continue discovering the romantic comedy oeuvre of Katherine Heigl by watching “27 Dresses.” Reviews of the movie when it came out: – https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/18/movies/18dres.html – https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/mar/30/comedy.romance Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at [email protected] Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod. – "Night in Venice" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ –

Sabrina and Torsten are diving into both the Judd Apatow-verse and the Katherine Heigl-verse with “Knocked Up.” – The Rotten Tomatoes score for the movie: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/knocked_up – Katherine Heigl’s comments about the film that sparked a controversy: https://www.eonline.com/news/786055/seth-rogen-is-sympathetic-if-katherine-heigl-didn-t-like-knocked-up-the-birth-of-a-controversy-blown-out-of-proportion Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at [email protected] Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod. – "Night in Venice" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ –

Sabrina and Torsten pay tribute to Matthew Perry and his best romantic comedy, “Fools Rush In.” They talk about a few things you may want to check out: – Roger Ebert’s review of the movie when it came out: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/fools-rush-in-1997 – Salma Hayek’s tribute to Perry on the occasion of his death: https://www.eonline.com/news/1388965/salma-hayek-describes-special-bond-with-fools-rush-in-costar-matthew-perry – Perry’s autobiography on what happened on the set of “Fools Rush In” that made him addicted to painkillers: https://www.thelist.com/1472392/incident-fools-rush-in-set-matthew-perry-changed-everything/ Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at [email protected] Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod. – "Night in Venice" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ –

Sabrina and Torsten know this is not a romantic comedy, but hear us out! It’s the 1996 remake of “La cage aux folles,” “The Birdcage” starring Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman, Dianne Wiest, and Calista Flockhart! They talk about a few things you may want to check out: – Roger Ebert’s review of the film: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-birdcage-1996 – The BBC’s Emily Maskell on the movie at 25: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210310-the-birdcage-at-25-a-pioneering-moment-in-mainstream-cinema Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira.bsky.social on Bluesky and @infrontofira on Instagram or drop us a line at [email protected] Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod. – "Night in Venice" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ –

Torsten and Sabrina are following the adventures of religious throuple Jenna Elfman, Ben Stiller, and Edwart Norton (the latter in his directorial debut to boot!) They talk about a few things you may want to check out: – The New York Times Review of the film when it came out: https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/14/movies/film-review-religion-and-hormones-surrounded-by-a-triangle.html – Variety’s review of the movie: https://variety.com/2000/film/reviews/keeping-the-faith-2-1200460816/ Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira.bsky.social on Bluesky and @infrontofira on Instagram or drop us a line at [email protected] Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod. – "Night in Venice" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ –

Torsten and Sabrina are not writing down the title of this John Cusack/Kate Beckinsale movie in hopes that fate will let them see it anyway down by the ice skating rink in Central Park. They talk about a few things you may want to check out: – Kate Beckinsale giving an interview about the movie: https://www.vulture.com/2020/04/kate-beckinsale-answers-all-our-questions-about-serendipity.html – Director Peter Chelsom talks about the impact of 9/11 on the opening of the film: https://www.businessinsider.com/harvey-weinstein-twin-towers-erased-from-serendipity-peter-chelsom-2021-10 Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira.bsky.social on Bluesky and @infrontofira on Instagram or drop us a line at [email protected] Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod. – "Night in Venice" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ –

Sabrina and Torsten want the Dreidel Extended Universe to be a thing as they accompany Vic Michaelis and Bryan Greenberg through a holiday time travel romcom. They talk about a few things you may want to check out: – Decider’s review of the movie: https://decider.com/2023/12/10/round-and-round-hallmark-channel-review/ – Another review from NPR: https://www.npr.org/2023/12/15/1219585032/one-last-hanukkah-gift-from-hallmark-round-and-round-is-a-really-fun-romcom – Vic Michaelis’s show “Very Important People”: https://www.youtube.com/@veryimportantpeopleshow Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira.bsky.social on Bluesky and @infrontofira on Instagram or drop us a line at [email protected] Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod. – "Night in Venice" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ –

Torsten and Sabrina are charmed by Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan (and Adam Driver and Mackenzie Davis and Megan Park…) in an indie romcom out of Toronto that more people should have seen, but also more people than we thought have seen. Ok, a medium amount of people have seen this. It’s great, be one of them. They talk about a few things you may want to check out: – Variety’s review of the movie: https://variety.com/2013/film/global/the-f-word-review-toronto-1200607906/ – Another review from The Wrap: https://www.thewrap.com/what-if-review-daniel-radcliffe-zoe-kazan-adam-driver/ Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at [email protected] Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Sabrina and Torsten have never been kissed by Michael Vartan, which is a thing they have in common with Drew Barrymore’s character in this teen movie that can’t quite decide what it wants to be, except somehow both charming and problematic. The 90s, man… They talk about a few things you may want to check out: – IFoI mainstay Roger Ebert’s review of the movie: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/never-been-kissed-1999 – The cultural reckoning the movie had post Me Too: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/04/229220/never-been-kissed-anniversary-teacher-student-relationship-controversy Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at [email protected] Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Sabrina and Torsten go to Alaska with Canadian Sandra Bullock and American Ryan Reynolds so she can get a Green Card. High jinx ensue, except all jokes about the U.S. immigration system hit different these days. They talk about a few things you may want to check out: – IFoI mainstay Roger Ebert’s review of the movie: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-proposal-2009 – A few more facts about the movie: https://www.movieinsider.com/m2964/the-proposal Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at [email protected] Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Torsten and Sabrina tackle another Nancy Meyers romcom in which the stars are not in their twenties. There is, of course, a kitchen, but there’s also Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin. They talk about a few things you may want to check out: – Reviews of the movie: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/its-complicated-200R – The lost art of director’s commentary: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/streaming-killed-the-video-star/ Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at [email protected] Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Sabrina and Torsten are still in Sabrina’s kitchen, but really they're on Andrew Ahn’s “Fire Island” (2022) watching Joel Kim Booster and Bowen Yang put the Pride in “Pride in Prejudice.” They hope not to catch Lyme disease in the outdoors while looking for constellations. They talk about a few things you may want to check out: – Author/Star Joel Kim Booster on his romcom journey: https://ew.com/movies/joel-kim-booster-fire-island-pride-cover-story/ – Actor Bowen Yang on the movie: https://representasianproject.com/features/bowen-yang-fire-island-interview/ Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at [email protected] Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Torsten has joined Sabrina in her kitchen to say something about “Say Anything,” the 1989 Cameron Crowe directorial debut starring Ione Skye and John Cusack that features THAT boombox in front of the window scene. They neither want to buy anything, sell anything, or process anything as a career. As a career, they don’t want to do that. They do, however, talk about a few things you may want to check out: – Roger Ebert's review of the movie when it came out: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-say-anything-1989 – Ione Skye's autobiography, “Say Everything”: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Say-Everything/Ione-Skye/9781668048269 Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at [email protected] Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Sabrina and Torsten still sit on a couch and talk about Nia Vardalos’s one woman show turned successful indie romcom, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” Stock up on Windex and discover why every word is really from the Greek. They talk about a few things you may want to check out: – Reviews of the movie when it came out: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/my-big-fat-greek-wedding-2002 / https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2002/sep/20/artsfeatures3 Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at [email protected] Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Sabrina and Torsten sit on a couch and discuss the first movie in the “Bridget Jones” series, 2001’s “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” certainly one of the best thirty films of the year. Starring an American with a convincing British accent (Renée Zellweger), a smarmy Hugh Grant, and a very Darcy Colin Firth. They talk about a few things you may want to check out: – Reviews of the movie when it came out: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2001/apr/13/helenfielding / https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/bridget-joness-diary-2001 – Reassessments of the fat shaming from more recent commentators: https://archive.thetab.com/uk/2020/07/14/bridget-jones-diary-is-fat-phobic-and-has-actually-aged-terribly-166036 / https://www.vogue.com/article/bridget-jones-weight-obsession Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at [email protected] Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.