| Title | : | Romantic Comedy |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0399590943 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780399590948 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 309 |
| Publication | : | First published April 4, 2023 |
Sally Milz is a sketch writer for "The Night Owls," the late-night live comedy show that airs each Saturday. With a couple of heartbreaks under her belt, she’s long abandoned the search for love, settling instead for the occasional hook-up, career success, and a close relationship with her stepfather to round out a satisfying life.
But when Sally’s friend and fellow writer Danny Horst begins dating Annabel, a glamorous actor who guest-hosted the show, he joins the not-so-exclusive group of talented but average-looking and even dorky men at the show—and in society at large—who’ve gotten romantically involved with incredibly beautiful and accomplished women. Sally channels her annoyance into a sketch called the "Danny Horst Rule," poking fun at this phenomenon while underscoring how unlikely it is that the reverse would ever happen for a woman.
Enter Noah Brewster, a pop music sensation with a reputation for dating models, who signed on as both host and musical guest for this week’s show. Dazzled by his charms, Sally hits it off with Noah instantly, and as they collaborate on one sketch after another, she begins to wonder whether there might actually be sparks flying. But this isn’t a romantic comedy; it’s real life. And in real life, someone like him would never date someone like her...right?
With her keen observations and trademark ability to bring complex women to life on the page, Sittenfeld explores the neurosis-inducing and heart-fluttering wonder of love, while slyly dissecting the social rituals of romance and gender relations in the modern age.
Romantic Comedy Reviews
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One of my favorite things about Curtis Sittenfeld is how she writes such satisfying novels. Once you start, you simply cannot put her books down. And I particularly enjoyed Romantic Comedy. For one, it gives a behind-the-scenes look at how sketch comedy shows like SNL function and the story centers around a woman and takes up the notion of the outrageously hot woman who often will choose a funny, perhaps, but less attractive man and no one will accept such a thing as anything but the norm. And so when Sally Millz, a successful, Emmy-winning comedy writer on a late night sketch show comes across handsome and charming rock star Noah Brewster, who is guess-hosting, she is reminded that women like her never get the super hot guy. And then everything she thought she knew is upturned. The first half of the novel is the week leading up to the show's broadcast and is very inside-baseball. Maybe, at times, too much inside baseball. But the work is thorough. And then the show is over and life goes on. At an awkward after party, Sally sabotages an intimate moment with Noah and goes back to her life. They are brought back together during the pandemic and that's when the novel really takes off as Sally tries to believe that maybe her true love really is also a wildly hot and famous rock star. The novel is beautifully written, charming, incredibly smart and completely engrossing. And it's nice to root for Sally to get out of her own way and allow herself to be seen and loved the way she deserves. Can't recommend this novel enough.
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Writer Sally has long given up on the search for love. Propelled by her annoyance when yet another average man gets involved with an incredibly glamorous woman, Sally writes a sketch on how it's unlikely the reverse would happen. But that may not be the case when she hits it off with a handsome, charming pop star. Things like that don't happen in real life... or do they? A must-read!
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Yes! I finally found the best Curtis Sittenfeld book! I couldn't keep my hands off it, and as soon as I finished it, I berated myself for reading it too fast!
I truly adore watching two things on TV (or at least I used to before I had a billion options to binge-watch on streaming services): smart and realistic romantic comedies, and "Live from NY, it's Saturday Night Live!" This book is like a dream come true. It offers an amazing opportunity to learn how things work behind the scenes of SNL, and at the same time, it provides an engaging, smart, sarcastic, entertaining, and powerful love story between a one-of-a-kind, quirky, intelligent, intellectual, and honest heroine and a bold, sweet, caring, straightforward, and charming hero.
I'm a fan of the "Notting Hill" theme, where a famous star falls for an ordinary hero. This book interestingly questions whether a famous woman can fall for a non-famous man by pointing fingers to real-life examples. For instance, in the story, the young comedian/writer Danny, who hosts the news section on the show, dates a famous actress, just like in real life Colin Jost, who is happily married to Scarlett Johansson. The head writer, Elliott, reminded me of Jason Sudeikis, who is married to a pop star. Thankfully, the book's character doesn't deal with the public-serving-of-custody-papers-at-Comic-Con drama, and his wife didn't leave him for a hot Brit who's on a watermelon sugar high! Of course, let's not forget that one of the young comedians dated a huge list of celebrities, including Ariana Grande, Kate Beckinsale, and Kim Kardashian. So, it seems like everything looks perfect for the men in the industry! They get the girl as the entire female population still deals with their own insecurities and distorted public shaming created by social media trolls!
The entire schedule, including the meetings with Lorne Michaels (whose name is Nigel Petersen in this book), programming, writing process of the sketches, brainstorming, brain-cell-burning creation part, the elimination process, and choosing the seven sketches that will be performed by the week's host, are written in such detail that it helped me visualize everything as if I was watching a documentary about SNL! I devoured those pages!
And let's talk about Sally Millz, a 36-year-old, divorced, lonely wolf. She's a lovable, realistic, and relatable heroine whose main source of life is writing and working for the show! She works on a sketch called "Danny Horst Rule," about a famous actor who gets arrested for breaking the main rule by dating a less-gorgeous, ordinary, non-famous woman. Because it's obvious when the roles change between genders, when a non-famous man can date a very famous woman just like her colleague Danny is about to get married to a famous star, Annabel Lily, an ordinary woman cannot get the attention of a famous man.
But their weekly host, Noah Brewster, a pop star of the same age as Sally, thinks otherwise, even though Sally believes he only dates models half his age, like Leo! When the two of them start working on a sketch, which is totally Noah's idea, they feel a special, close connection. Sally gets confused because, after so many disappointing experiences in her love life that have already given me too many heartbreaks, she's lost her belief in too-good-to-be-true love stories. She doesn't want to read too much into Noah's extra friendly manners around her, but things get heated at the after party and, well, Sally finds herself back at her stepfather's house, leaving NYC behind for the foreseeable future because the pandemic hits hard, changing the balance of people's lives entirely!
The book contains three different parts, and I loved each of them. The first part belongs to TNO (The Night Owls) show, also known as the fictional SNL. We learn so much about the shoe business, and we see how Sally met Noah in a modern Notting Hill love story.
The second part includes the emails exchanged between Sally and Noah during the pandemic.
The third part is about how their relationship develops. Could they have a chance at a happy ending, or is this another fairy tale? Could Sally's "Danny Horst Rule" be real, or are there exceptions, like the sweetest Noah Brewster? Read and find out!
I truly loved this book so much! Please read it and don't let it wait on your TBR list for too long. It's freaking brilliant!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.
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i feel insane😭
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To be honest, I've seen this cover bouncing around so much I could have sworn this had been released a year ago. Meaning we have not an over hyped book on our hands, but an over advertised one.
So basically, Romantic Comedy is about an ugly, divorced 40 year old woman (and at no point in the book does the MC let you forget how ugly and unwanted she is) who writes for SNL despite being the least funny main character I have ever had the displeasure of reading. Sally is convinced that men don't date her because she isn't pretty, never taking into account that she has the personality of an unsalted cracker.
This book is written in only three chapters, which gives it a lovely "trapped in a never-ending nightmare" feel. It reads like it was written by a robot who has never experienced human emotion. The first half of the book is a mundane step by step explanation of working for SNL over the course of one week, and the 2nd half is about covid. Fantastic.
If you are looking for a book with romance or comedy then you are not in the right spot. Instead prepare yourself for needless step by step explanations of the work day, the author's not so subtle, five year old political views (because 50 percent of this book takes place in 2018), and emails sent durring Covid quarantine for some reason.
This is a rare "I'd give it 0 stars if I could" rating.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review -
DNF @ 25%
By 20% I was skimming and counted 4 political statements. As I've said before, I will not read any books that pushes a political agenda, or mention real political figures, even if they align with my own beliefs. I can watch the news for that.
This was a take-off on the writers of a SNL-type show, a show I loved, so I don't know how you could make that subject boring, but the author succeeded in doing just that.
Plus the book was described as "hilarious". Um, no, not even a little bit. -
DNF @ 50%
Not a romance.
Not a comedy.
Romantic Comedy was one of the dumbest books I've read in a long time. Fundamentally, this book was a total drag. The format made me crazy. The snail pace beginning of meaningless pieces to the story. Like why why why? Sally, we get it, you have issues. No doubt. It dragged on and on and on. Finally when "chapter 2" hit at around 120 pages, the format now moved to email exchanges. For 80 pages. 8-0!!!!!! NOOOOOO!!!! Have you ever listened to email exchanges for 1-2 hours on audio?? After about 15 minutes, it felt like nails on a chalkboard.
I don't really even want to the into the plot because I'm convinced no one read this book. Absolute meaningless information for the majority of the book. No tension. No development. Nothing. There is no way that anyone in the publishing world read this and thought "YES! This is the book of summer 2023!" and there is DEFINITELY no way that Reese herself read this book and thought the same thing. But my theory behind Reese "not reading the book" isn't new around here.
And don't even get me started on the THICCCCC layer of the authors own agenda that was spread through every paragraph and page of this book. This was a HUGE miss. -
Absolutely WONDERFUL!!!!!!!
I just finished it - been on my back -under a blanket all day ….I’m swooning!!!!
BEST FEEL GOOD BOOK OF THE YEAR!!!
Review to follow in a day or two.
UPDATE:
I already mentioned how totally enjoyable this is….I’m back —(from the hospital with good news of ‘not’ having a groin hernia - but swollen lymph nodes - for which I’m suppose to see the doctor to talk about tomorrow)….
In the meantime I can’t keep putting off writing a review forever — as I’m about to start back treatments 3 to 4 days a week any day, too…..
So here goes my best effort — with still not physically perky bouncy yet….
First, and foremost…..Curtis Sittenfeld is a highly entertaining, versatile brilliant, playful, psychologically acute intimate writer —
—she not only knocked this book outside the park….but her timing is perfect—
—she and Stephen King both published books in 2022 with intentional purposes to leave readers with a happy ending — not sappy — but warm, meaningful and hopeful …..
In my opinion ….it’s ‘exactly’ what 2022 needs.
“Romantic Comedy”…..is just that : idyllic, amorous, charming, colorful, hilarious, and boisterous.
For anyone who has watched comedy-satire- sketch comedy -current political TV shows …..Sittenfeld paints a very real experience of the the preparatory measures, background details, and employment lifestyles of those involved in show. It’s ‘very cool’ and eye opening …..
With several perfectly-flawed characters we get to know, and several storylines that fix nicely together, the heart & gold of this novel belongs to - Sally Milz and Noah Brewster…..where they first meet on the set of “The Night Owls”, (TNO).
Sally worked at TNO, and Noah was the guest artist - celebrity singer-songwriter.
With many smart and savvy moments ….
Here are some samples:
TNO …..
“was one of the only workplaces in America where people who had spouses and kids were not only in the minority that were looked at with a vague pity, because how could anyone possibly manage that, too?”
“What’s it like to be so beautiful you never have to make the first move?”
“Viv laughed. Advantageous yet burdensome. Also, in my case, complicated by America‘s ongoing misogynoir”.
“There were even more staff members at read-through‘s than at pitch meetings, including from hair and make up, wardrobe, set design, and the music department. Spread over the tables with scripts of the sketches and, because we’d be there for three hours, bottles of water and scatter platters of sandwiches, salad, cut up fruit, chips (presumably not coffee flavored), and cookies. Whether you considered this meal breakfast, lunch, or dinner depending on how late you’ve been at the night before”.
“Do you know what people like me call flying commercial? I said. We call it flying”.
“I looked at myself in the mirror above the sink and tried to figure out what expression a woman driving 1,600 miles to visit Noah Brewster would make. It would be sultry, right? Which was a problem because with effort, I could do friendly, and I could always do smirky, but I wasn’t sure I was physically capable of sultry”.
“In this house, we keep things real, we give hugs, and we dance badly.
“Some of us think holding on makes it strong, but sometimes it is letting go”
—Hermann Hesse
Highly enjoyable-smart-literary……’romantic comedy’. -
I’m going to tell everyone I meet for the rest of my life not to read this book.
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✨Hey Alexa play Nothing New by Taylor Swift✨
The narrator was very good and I really liked both characters… but the trade reviews are WILD. This book brought nothing new to the genre. I liked it better than some other celebrity romances I’ve read, but wouldn’t reread it. It’s closed door (save for a few flashbacks) and wasn’t very funny. The premise was fun…but the author really just wanted to write passionately about SNL. The making money part of this passion project came from the “romantic comedy” aspect, despite no real love for the genre.
**spoilers below**
The book is called Romantic Comedy because Sally works for an SNL-esque sketch comedy show but ultimately wants to write her own “romantic comedies.” You can definitely see the Pete Davidson and Collin Jost inspo. Plus, Sally was always like “if my life were a romantic comedy it would…” Any person who actually interacted with the genre would shorten it to romcom nine times out of ten. I’m not even sure if romcom was even mentioned once in the book.
I mean imagine writing an entire book called Romantic Comedy (idc if you were just trying to be cheeky) and ONLY listing SNL episodes and cast member autobiographies as your inspiration in the acknowledgments section. Not one single romcom book or movie. Really she didn’t have even ONE romcom to recommend?? You can read her acknowledgments section here:
https://twitter.com/fringebookhan/sta... ✨
But apparently it’s a revolutionary romance novel (just read the trade reviews) bc it talks about bodily functions and references the pandemic??? It definitely tried to “not like other romance books” it. Talking about farting and pooping and bodily fluids isn’t even new lol. Congrats you went poop at a guy’s house that is not reinventing the genre. Ultimately, it was the story of a “plain” girl standing in front of a “handsome, rich, and famous” boy asking him how he could possibly love one so “normal” as her.
It also felt incredibly dated with the Trump and Pandemic references. The entire last hour of the book revolves around caring for an 80 year old family member who is COVID+ and nearly dying. He doesn’t die but mortality and explicit care details are discussed. There wasn’t even a breakup because it was all about COVID??? This is not trope subversion it’s just bait and switch. The epilogue does the majority of the relationship building heavy lifting in a very limited amount of space.
Ultimately, I’m rounding down for the false advertising (bc did anyone actually think it was gonna be a romcom?), and for the intentional othering of this “romantic comedy” from its contemporaries. Frankly, it was fun but it was also entirely forgettable and if it didn’t pander to the “romance needs to be smart or meta” people, no one would be talking about it. The book felt like it was published for the selling points, not the actual story. I’ve yet to deduce how this book “slyly dissects the social rituals of romance and gender relations in the modern age” ????? Like it was a very generic story 😭
I did love the narrator though and the audio was a very quick listen. I didn’t hate the relationship, I’m just very confused.
⭐️⭐️/5 🌶️*/5
*it’s pretty much all closed door but doesn’t miss an opportunity to make you know how GREAT it was.
As a treat: There weren’t many jokes in the book but “I’m so happy that I can’t wipe the smile off my penis” was one of them??
CWs: Pandemic, death of a parent (stomach cancer), near death on-page from COVID (family member), recounting disordered eating/exercise habits, alcoholism (he’s sober).
Thanks for PRHaudio for an ALC. All opinions are honest and my own. -
I’ve had THE best reading year. So far in 2023, and this is only through the end of April, I’ve had six five-star reads. I feel like I’m handing out rave reviews left and right.
And I’m about to hand out another one – to Curtis Sittenfeld for her latest release, Romantic Comedy.
The novel is, as the title suggests, a romantic comedy. But it’s not of the fun and fluffy Christina Lauren or Emily Henry variety. Rather, it’s more Sally Rooney-esque, if Sally Rooney were to ever add a little comedy to her romance.
Oddly enough, Sittenfeld’s leading lady is even named Sally. (Hmm. Coincidental or intentional? I must ponder this.)
Sally is a sketch writer for the late-night live comedy show, The Night Owls, which is where she meets Noah Brewster, a famous pop musician who has signed on as celebrity host and musical guest. They hit it off immediately, but Sally, having sworn off love, believes she is misreading the situation because how could a man known for dating models be interested in her?!?! So instead of allowing the sparks to fly, Sally does what she does best – she acts like an asshole and out of fear, blows the whole thing up before it even starts.
What follows is an incisive, razor-sharp examination of love and dating and all its messiness. Sittenfeld attacks some of the usual tropes head on – grand gestures, musical serenades, a celebrity dating a non-celebrity, a successful woman fearful of losing her independence – and gives them a fresh spin. And through Sally and Noah, she shows how love can make us all a little neurotic and that men, too, have insecurities that take a toll on their psyches.
But Sittenfeld also shows us that love can flourish. It just takes some patience, understanding, open communication, and breathing room.
Romantic Comedy isn’t one of those mindless, easy-breezy romances that you can read in a day and then forget the next. There’s meat on its bones, and your brain will need to work in order to appreciate it.
I adored everything about the book. Not only did the story touch my heart, but Sittenfeld’s writing touched my mind – the combination of which made for a knockout read. -
first half is stronger than the second half for me, why does every novel need to remind me of covid now
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This is not a review, but rather a personal declaration.
I genuinely despise movies and TV series with dry humor. I have absolutely no tolerance for them. As I listened to this book, that sentiment echoed relentlessly in my mind, like a broken record. It became abundantly clear that this particular book was not suited to my taste. -
3.5 stars, rounded down
Curtis Sittenfeld must have been thinking of Pete Davidson when she began to write Romantic Comedy. Sally Minz is a writer for The Night Owls, a SNL style late night comedy show and shares an office with Danny, a young actor/writer on the show who has just gotten engaged to a famous celebrity. And he’s the third such male staffer to have linked up with a female celebrity. She’s furious because “such couples would never exist if the genders were switched, that a gorgeous male celebrity would never fall in love with an ordinary, dorky, unkempt woman.” But, given that this is a romantic comedy, a gorgeous male celebrity does exactly that.
This book felt like two different stories. The first part of the story was as much about the late night comedy show as a possible romance, so I really enjoyed it. I once visited the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago when they had a full exhibit explaining how SNL put a show together. This book captures the same frenetic pace of the one week time capsule. I would rate this part of the book a solid 4.
The book then skips ahead two years to the Covid pandemic when everyone is sheltering in place. Sally and Noah become pen pals via email. This section was much more standard romance fare and didn’t work as well for me. Finally, they decide to meet in person and Sally drives out to California. The second and third sections are just plain old romance storylines and quickly became boring for me. Although kudos to Sittenfeld for keeping it real with bodily functions. And Sally did come across as a fully developed character. I would give these sections of the book a three (barely).
Keep in mind I am not a fan of romances. I had really liked Eligible, as a well done take off of P&P. But overall, they come across as either too saccharine or too whiny, both of which happened in this book. While I could appreciate the whole issue about dating someone famous, Sally’s insecurity started really grating on me.
My thanks to Netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book. -
SPOILER REVIEW:
Imagine if you asked yourself “hmm, I wonder what would happen if I was super insecure and didn’t think anyone attractive or successful could like me and I worked at SNL?”
This book answers that, unfortunately.
There is absolutely nothing original in this book. The author took bits and pieces of real people who work for the real SNL and just mushed them together to create “new characters.” One example: Danny being Colin Jost with Pete Davidson’s dating history. Even the structure of SNL remains the same, just with the show runner named Nigel instead of Lorne Michaels.
Further, there is literally 0 character development. Sally begins with the mindset of “I’m not conventionally pretty and no one famous or not could ever like me” and ends with that exact same mentality. 🙄🙄🙄.
What the back of the book doesn’t say is this is a Covid romance. There is two years (wtf) between when they meet on fake SNL and when he sends her a random email out of the blue one day to be pen pals during the pandemic.
Somehow within those two years they’ve also gone from being a semi cool comedy writer and rockstar musician to being the most CRINGEY Facebook boomers. Their chemistry is nonexistent in their writing, and I kid you not one of the questions he asks at the BEGINNING of their pal relationship is “what’s your relationship with drugs and alcohol” and not two pages later they’re talking about favorite colors. It’s so blunt and middle-school-like.
It’s also a recurring cycle that happens maybe 10 times that Sally thinks she’s too ugly, she lashes out at Noah, Noah gets mad, Sally threatens to leave, and then he reassures her that yeah she’s not super pretty but he likes her, and then they get back together. It’s during one of these arguments that they randomly say I LOVE YOU?? Like YOU TWO CLEARLY DONT EVEN LIKE EACH OTHER.
Overall, this felt like sad SNL fan canon with weird Covid flash backs. It’s a no from me. -
QUICK TAKE: this one is up there as one of my favorite Curtis books. Loved the behind-the-scenes meet cute between our main characters at SNL, though not sure any of the skits that play a major part of the book really come across as laugh-out-loud funny. I was concerned the 70-page email epistolary in the middle would have me leaning out, but I actually found it sweet and romantic and well done. Ultimately, this is a big crowd-pleasing romance for fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid and Laura Dave.
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3.5 rounded up
Sally Milz is a comedy script writer for TV show The Night Owls and she’s fuming. Fellow sketch writer, slob and friend, is dating gorgeous Annabel Lily. How come a VERY average man gets to punch well above their weight with beautiful women?? It wouldn’t happen the other way round would it?? If so social media would invoke a torrent!! Sally channels her annoyance by creating a sketch called ‘The Danny Horst Rule’ which she prepares to present to the team for consideration. This weeks show host is handsome, hot Noah Brewster, a famous musician with a rep for dating beautiful women. The two work on a sketch together and .... well, that would be telling!
In her latest novel Curtis Sittenfeld plays with the idea (ideal?) of love as seen in RomComs such as Notting Hill and gender roles in relationships. It’s divided into three very long chapters (not sure they could be called that really), the first is script writing on Night Owls and meeting Noah in 2018, the second is July 2020 and the pandemic with Sally and Noah emailing back and forth and finally August 2020 and set in LA.
First of all, it’s a bit of a game of two halves for me. I confess to struggling in the first chapter, although it captures the frantic pace of working on a comedy show I’m sure I’m meant to find it funny but I simply don’t. There’s too much dialogue and some makes me wince, possibly intentional but I don’t know. Then my interest picks up with the emails and here we really get to know the pair and they really ‘see’ each other without actually seeing each other! The final part I really enjoy and although romcoms aren’t my favourite genre the author makes me delight in this without a plateful of gorgonzola, Brie or cheddar. Here I do actually smile! Hallelujah! The characterisation is excellent and I grow to like both main protagonists. Sally is flawed, she’s sarcastic, cynical, puts her foot in it, she’s insecure but having said all that, I like her and she feels real. Noah is yummy, he’s also smart and a really nice guy. At first you think he’s your perception of what a rock star is like but you see he is much more.
Overall, I do eventually settle in and enjoy the book but without incurring the wrath of Curtis Sittenfeld fans, can I suggest it’s a bit, er, predictable?? Maybe that’s the point so just off to ruminate on it!!
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Random House UK, Transworld for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review. -
DNF @ 50%. Sorry, but this was tedious and boring. I don’t care what happens. Bye.
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Delightful!!!!
CW: death of a loved one, alcoholism, suicide, covid, disordered eating -
I've loved all of Curtis Sittenfeld's novels, but this one was a particular joy. First of all, I savor Saturday Night Live, and the tale is set in a fictional version that is filled with details about how the real SNL functions. (And Sittenfeld's fictional sketches are a howl.) Second, the ending gave me, as we like to say, "all the feels." It's emotionally smart and each beat of the pendulous romance is moving and genuine and an absolute delight.
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Holy shit – a 5 Star read. This is not a test. Run do not walk to your local library or bookseller next Tuesday. Orrrrrrrrrr maybe only do so if you are a Saturday Night Live superfan? If you’ve been around my crap reviews at all, you should be aware that I am an SNL superfan who not only watches, but has gone on many a deep dive of the processes involved in making the weekly magic happen as well as reading/listening to celebrity memoirs of former cast members when I need something for Nonfiction November, but am too dumb to read most nonfiction. The only thing I have enjoyed more than my weekly hangouts with the Not Ready for Primetime Players for the past 35+ years was when the never disappointing 30 Rock was on the air (which, in case you live under a rock, was a fictionalized behind the scenes action of creating “The Girly Show” – an SNL knockoff). All that being said, Romantic Comedy could have been called “Liz Lemon Finds True Love” and I have no words for how much I loved it.
The first half (46%) is a breakdown of how “The Night Owls” (again *cough SNL cough*) comes together each week in order to appear live on your television. Like I said above, this is the make it or break part that will determine if this is your idea of a good time or not. I was practically crapping myself and most definitely Googled “did Curtis Sittenfeld work at SNL????” because it was so accurate. “Chapter 2” takes place a couple of years later and is epistolary format told via text messages (let me double down on my love and say epistolary when done well is also my jam). Then there’s Chapter 3 and an Epilogue but I ain’t a spoiler, so you’ll have to read it for yourself to find out what happens. Just now that unlike nearly every writer over the course of Covid, Sittenfeld didn’t shit the bed with her take on the pandemic.
The basic premise here is a potential love story revolving around “The Danny Horst Rule” – Danny being a fictionalized version of a The Night Owls writer/actor who somehow bagged an A-List babe who on paper would be considered way out of his league. (see Dan Akroyd/Carrie Fisher; Emma Stone/Dave McCary; Fred Armisen/Elizabeth Moss or Natasha Lyonne; Jason Sudakis/Olivia Wilde; Pete Davidson/pretty much everyone he’s ever fucked if you doubt this is a real-life thing – and note I’m excluding Colin Jost from this answer because he’s just as hot as ScarJo so the only thing that doesn’t add up with the two of them is the number of zeroes in their respective bank accounts.) Romantic Comedy turns the tables by featuring Noah Brewster, a superhot male rock star, possibly falling for the hilarious, but average TNO writer, Sally Milz.
I thought every single second of this was perfection. The only gripe I have is that my request for an early copy sat pending so long before I finally got approved, but since I got my greedy mitts on it a week early all is forgiven.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!!!!! -
This wasn’t for me - I should’ve DNFed but had FOMO.
It’s for you if you love SNL and want to know all the behind-the-scenes details, are interested in Colin Jost and Pete Davidson’s relationships, like Sally Rooney books, and are fine with a woman who thinks she isn’t good enough repeating how unattractive and unworthy she is over and over. This wasn’t really a romance until over halfway through, and I didn’t think it was funny. -
Will they or won’t they?
The abiding pleasure of romantic comedy is that we can worry that they won’t while knowing that they will. The genre acts as its own spoiler alert while somehow never lessening the suspense. For centuries, we’ve been trained by the cupid-spinning reversals in Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing.” The moment Benedick declares he’ll never get married, we know he’s a goner. Two hundred years later, when Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet clash, we can order a wedding present and snuggle in for a lifetime of rom-com knockoffs. It is, after all, a truth universally acknowledged that we’ll never tire of watching sparring antagonists fall in love.
Curtis Sittenfeld is one of the many authors who has commuted on this route from the heart to the funny bone. In 2016, she published “Eligible,” a modern-day retelling of “Pride and Prejudice.” Now, after publishing a collection of short stories and a starkly unromantic novel about Hillary Clinton, she’s back with “Romantic Comedy,” which has a lot going for it, starting with truth in advertising.
The story’s romance is appropriately spring-loaded with improbability. What really energizes the story, though, is its setting in America’s most venerable comedy factory: “Saturday Night Live.”
Sittenfeld’s version of the show is called “The Night Owls” — TNO for short — but anybody who’s ever demanded “more cowbell!” will recognize the general dimensions of the immortal sketch show broadcast from 30 Rockefeller Plaza. The man in charge of this band of merrymakers is Nigel Petersen — a thinly disguised Lorne Michaels — an inscrutable star-maker whose whims have shaped late-night comedy since the early 1980s.
But “Romantic Comedy” isn’t another exposé or roman à clef about the founding SNL cast members during their coke-fueled heyday. Sittenfeld sets her action in 2018, decades after that paroxysm of genius has passed. By the time her novel opens, the show has settled into a jeweled collection of skits, tropes and catchphrases, if not subversive then at least reliable.
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I can see how this book would NOT be for some readers, but DANG it worked for me. Although it's a very different book, the vibe reminded me strongly of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow (which I also loved).
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***SPOILERS HIDDEN***
Maybe Curtis Sittenfeld just needed a break. That’s the only thing I can think after finishing this cutesy book by an author who can, and often does, write such incisive, multi-faceted literary fiction. Romantic Comedy is about thirty-six-year-old Sally Milz, who has a plum job writing sketches for a Saturday Night Live–type show called The Night Owls. She hasn’t had a serious romantic relationship in years when one day she meets Noah Brewster, a heartthrob musician who’ll be hosting that week’s show. She feels instant chemistry with this man, someone she’s always dismissed as brainless and vain, but doubts the chemistry because she’s an unglamorous “commoner” while he’s alluring enough to date anyone he wants. This book is exactly what it looks like: a perfectly pleasant, entertaining story . It will easily satisfy those wanting a happy, non-taxing read. It can't hold a candle to many of Sittenfeld’s other books, but I did like it.
However, Sittenfeld is one of my top-ten favorite fiction writers because she goes the extra mile. Even though she could get away with skimming the surface of her themes--her books could still be enjoyed, even admired--she just can’t not explore deeper. She surprises readers who may expect something straightforward but get that added something that gives a story wow factor and makes it memorable. I read
Rodham two years ago and
Prep and
American Wife years before that, yet they’re well alive in my mind and are books I recommend often because their plots travel in unexpected directions and go there in probing emotion. Romantic Comedy risks being unmemorable because it doesn’t venture out or probe--at least not totally. When the plot thickens, Sittenfeld can’t resist being Sittenfeld with some scenes showing . These scenes briefly comment on both the strange celebrity-commoner divide and the idea that, looks-wise, society wants couples to be on the same par. But aside from these small smarter parts, Romantic Comedy feels like Sittenfeld pretending to be superficial and breezy. And in the end, she did accomplish that. Her newest book is only another trivial romance in a swelling sea of trivial contemporary romances, its bubblegum-pink cover art mutely acknowledging its bubblegum plot.
Nevertheless, one Sittenfeld signature is all over this book: the extensive research she put in. Before writing, Sittenfeld researches her topics to death, and she did that for late-night comedy programming by reading (articles and numerous books), listening (podcasts), and viewing (a documentary and Saturday Night Live’s YouTube channel). All that work comes through overwhelmingly. Chapter one--which, at nearly 120 pages, is more like “Part One”--is devoted entirely to Sally’s career and feels like an excuse for Sittenfeld to show off all that her research taught her. She treats readers to the nitty-gritty of the job, right down to the hour: The chapter is divided into sections headed by a timestamp. Her dedication to researching is admirable, and all the behind-the-scenes information is interesting, but her presence is acutely felt in this chapter, while the romance is neglected until Part Two (chapter two, technically). The storytelling is lopsided and the pacing off. She so obviously overdid chapter one that I’m surprised she didn’t notice the need for restraint.
Chapter two is better, but romance-writing isn’t really in Sittenfeld’s wheelhouse. Her plot lacks romance and passion, and interaction between the leads involves too much hyperactive, buddy-ish bantering. Nevertheless, lots of readers will love this book, and that’s understandable: It’s uplifting, a pure fantasy escape read offering a vivid and true-to-life depiction of a unique career. The male lead is one-dimensional but a perfect gentleman, saintly to a degree that isn’t laughable only because the genre forgives it; in romance, realism isn’t the point. And Sally is a character who can be rooted for, despite really needing to dial down her exhausting exuberance. I went with the flow of all this, but unfortunately, I could never feel more than like for this novel because Sittenfeld followed the unspoken rule that romance books can’t be smart or hard-hitting. Except when it comes to research, this book doesn’t do full justice to her talent--and it could have. Romantic Comedy is worth reading, but to really know and appreciate this author, it’s not the best choice. -
*BOTM Hardback
Rating: 🌟 (1/5)
This. Is. Not. A. Romance. Novel.
This. Is. Not. A. Comedy. Novel.
This. Is. Not. A. RomCom. Novel.
I wish this one got off to more of a romantic comedy start…what a misleading title. I had a hard time getting into it but then when the political commentary started I wanted to DNF…like don’t we have enough of overly politicized stuff in our day to day lives?! It contributed nothing to the story, so if the author has a certain political affiliation and it fits with the story, fine include it but this was just saying it for the sake of saying it and it was unnecessary.
Then there was the heavy “this is a very politically correct” book vibe. Nothing wrong with being PC but this book IMO was doing too
much and it just didn’t add anything to the story.
I also didn’t like the format. There were “parts” but not what I would call chapters…100+ pages for a single chapter isn’t going to work for me especially with a story I’m not feeling.
The story didn’t peak my interest at all and seemed like it went on and on forever.
Then toss in COVID too. I give up. I wanted to like this but it was just not at all interesting and was full of characters I couldn’t care less about. I didn’t even like Sally.
For as funny as shows like SNL are, this book had not one part that even made me smile.
This was the opposite of a romantic comedy. If you like hearing about a sketch show schedule, reading about people with bland personalities, reading books with have a political agenda vibe and rehashing parts of the last couple years that caused immense stress (COVID), then you might enjoy this one. -
2.5 stars rounded up.
Ok, so in this premise, I think there's a lot to love, and I anticipate a lot of readers enjoying this book, certainly if the current 5 star reviews are any indication. This book is a romance, but given the author and style, it's being billed more as a literary romance, which is a tricky (non) genre. The main character, Sally Milz, is a successful writer on a fictionalized version of SNL, where, when the novel opens, the show is about to be hosted by an aging but extremely handsome and successful male musician (let's say an older Harry Styles - I know we can't make every fictional musician Harry Styles...but at the same time...can't we though?).
What follows for over 40% of the book is an extremely detailed look at the week leading up to the weekly performance, and when I say the detail is painstaking, I mean PAINSTAKING. We learn every part of this process, we walk through it, we hear about every skit. We hear about skits that don't make it on the show. We hear about past skits, relevant bits, and we meet a lot of the staff. Of course, over this week, Sally and our host, Noah, meet and hit it off, Sally impressing Noah with her humor and capability, Noah impressing Sally with his charm and likability (and hotness let's just be honest).
While this section was perhaps a BIT too indulgent and detailed (especially because this is a blatant ripoff of an existing TV show, so at a certain point, the cultural recognition should kick in and perhaps eliminate some of the extraneous details here), I did enjoy reading it. I read this section largely in one day, so while I have some criticisms (did we really learn much about Noah beyond "he's hot and charming? No. Do we really witness Sally being humorous at all? No), I found the character dynamics likable enough, the situations just awkward or human enough to be interesting. At this point I was considering this a solid 4 star read.
Then the second section happened. And for 20% of this book, I read through pages and pages (and PAGES AND PAGES) of emails between adults. I mean...not like the cute little emails sometimes used in romance novel plot devices. I am talking 10 paragraph emails responding back to side notes in the previous email, point-by-point playback of where they stand on each individual issue (some of this was admittedly charming; some of it was incredibly cringe and perhaps a bit forced and performative regarding a few social issues). I honestly wanted this to end on every single page. I almost skipped ahead to see when it would, and worried that if it didn't, I would have to DNF. I found it incredibly hard to buy chemistry via email in such lengthy and over-detailed fashion, particularly when the characters hadn't had much interaction before this. I also was just pretty bored.
By the time the characters actually meet up again, it becomes clear why these emails were needed (and not just for the obvious plot reason given, as I assume that could have been altered if needed quite easily. Rather I assume the emails were chosen as a way to get the characters back in contact, and then the plot reason was given afterward). These two don't really seem to discuss much. When they're together, while there are physical moments in the book, the actual on page chemistry is largely missing. I felt ultimately just a bit disappointed that I had read up to this point for so little payoff and such a rushed ending, even though it was fine in terms of how it played out.
I do want to note just briefly: one of my biggest struggles with this book was the character of Sally. We're in her head, and she's certainly our sympathetic viewpoint character. I liked her descriptions of her part in her show, and I bought why she would be interested in Noah. I also understood the point of exploring her insecurities (not a perfect model, size 2 woman, dating an internationally recognized sex symbol), but WOW I got sick of the way their conflicts played out. I personally did not find it feminist, unique, or "literary" to watch a woman have the exact same issue at start, middle, and end of novel with being with a man, primarily her own insecurities. There are more details of how this played out that bothered me that I will skip for the sake of time, but while I think feelings of insecurity are certainly relatable, I ultimately just found these characters largely flat and two-dimensional, and a large part of it was the insane way that these insecurities and the ensuing conflict became perhaps the centerpiece of their relationship. I read this book two days ago and truthfully can't remember much else.
Finally, I want to say up front I doubt any of what I'm about to say is Sittenfeld's fault or intention, but I think it's worth mentioning in my review of this book for other romance readers, and this is super preachy/soapbox Hillary, so feel free to skip:
I'm very very open to literary romances, or literary "romantic" books without traditional HEAs (not my implication either way with this book). I am a big fan of Sally Rooney, and I take no issue with playing with tropes or writing books that perhaps feel like genre crossover. At the same time, I won't lie: when I see a bunch of reviews saying "I don't read much romance, but I loved this because it wasn't cheesy," I do get really wary. Not because we shouldn't allow books to push genre boundaries or follow formulas or writing styles we don't expect, but because I'm suspicious of books that are branded and marketed as "not like other romances" where the push is to set them apart as their own superior brand, and where many many early reviews are not from traditional romance readers. In this case, I have to say this worked against the book for me. I expected extremely elevated character dynamics and writing. I expected a story that played deeply with human emotions. I am not sure this book delivered on those expectations. I am not sure it was originally intended to, but that is sometimes what happens when "traditional romance" is branded as cheesy, and certain books are marketed as being somewhat above it. Again...not Sittenfeld's fault, and not something that should necessarily impact your enjoyment of the book, but it is something that bothers me. I've read many great traditional romances with character depth, sparkling dialogue, and deep emotional centers.
Anyway, ultimately Sittenfeld is a strong writer, and the TV part of this book is really fun in a lot of ways. I think many will love this book. Unfortunately, it did not live up to the hype for me. -
ALL THE STARS!! I always have enjoyed Curtis Sittenfield’s work, and this may be her best one yet! Capitalizing on the current zeitgeist of SNL's male writers hooking up with female celebs way more attractive & famous than them (think Pete D. & Colin J.), she flips the gender switch so well here & makes lots of very insightful points about our current gender views. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!
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I’m a big and long time Curtis Sittenfeld fan, starting with Prep and having read all but one of her books so far, so I was thrilled to receive an advance copy of Romantic Comedy through NetGalley, out 4/4/23!
Sally is a writer for the late night comedy sketch show, The Night Owls (think SNL), and after some mediocre relationships, has accepted a life focused on her work with an occasional hookup and a standing weekly check-in call with her stepfather. When musician Noah Brewster is tapped to host TNO, he and Sally collaborate on sketches and she can’t help but wonder if she’s imagining things or there really is an attraction there. Noah, who could have any woman, anywhere, wouldn’t be into someone like her though, right?
Romantic Comedy was cute, set in modern times starting in 2018, and had good dialogue between many of the characters. It was a bit predictable and one point, began to feel long, but bounced back. I didn’t always love Sally’s decisions but overall liked her and Noah and enjoyed this story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
