Latest news with #romcom
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Review: Culture collide in rom com musical Come Fall in Love
East definitely meets West in this new production, the latest show to premiere in Manchester, inspired by one of the most successful Bollywood movies of all time. If you have never seen or even heard of Dilwale Dulhania Le Joyenge (DDLJ to its legion of fans) it doesn't matter. Come Fall in Love follows a well trodden rom-com plotline with a few twists thrown in. Essentially uptight, ultra-organised Simran is off to Europe for a final break before she goes back to India for her arranged marriage having taken an instant dislike to wild party boy Rog at university. Ashley Day & Jena Pandya in Come In Love - The DDLJ Musical (Picture: Johan PerssonHe ends up on the trip, circumstances throw them together, they fall in love. But will true love shine through in spite of the cultural and social barriers in their way? What do you think? It's a trope that's been well used from Jane Austen onwards but some times the old 'uns remain the best. Read also: 'This show's so modern and so relevant - it's good medicine' says Ashley Day The show's got an impressive pedigree. It's directed by Aditya Chopra, the man behind the original film; the book and lyrics are by Nell Benjamin, a stage musical legend responsible for Mean Girls and Legally Blonde and the composers, Vishal and Sheykhar, are genuine icons of the Indian music scene. It's also been given the big build up and that can sometimes be a hindrance. I have to say I was expecting more in terms of spectacle and the show overall wasn't as 'big' as I'd hoped it might be. Some of the set pieces hint at what might have been. The ensemble give it everything and the dance routines had the audience whooping with delight. There are also some terrific performances. Irvine Iqbal and Harveen Mann-Neary as Simran's parents have real chemistry. He's the loving father struggling to come to terms with his 'little girl' growing up; she's his perfect foil with love and charm oozing out of every pore. Kara Lane & Kinshuk Sen in Come Fall In Love - The DDLJ Musical (Picture: Johan Persson)Karla Lane as Rog's ultra-posh, sexy mum Minky and Kinshuk Sen as Simran's 'intended' Kuljit make for the most unlikely double act but heir duet Hot and Independent and Hot is one of the highlights of the show. The first half of the show could do with tightening up. It basically sets the scene for the second half when the action moves to India and which is noticeably slicker and more engaging and is a full-on assault on the senses. Ashley Day as Rog also seems to come alive in the second act. He does sound like presenter and comedian Joel Dommett but when he sings, you can see why he's been in demand for musicals in the West End and New York. He's also some dancer, coping with the myriad of styles in the show with grace and ease. The spark of romance with Jena Panya as Simran could perhaps burn brighter and she has a difficult role. She's headstrong yet vulnerable, caught between two cultures - and she certainly resonated with a large number of the audience. And it's with the audience that the show is a real success. On press night it was a very different crowd than you would normally see. It was so good - and so important - to see a truly diverse audience at a mainstream show. The Company of Come Fall In Love - The DDLJ Musical (Picture: Johan Persson) There are some lovely messages within Come Fall in Love about family, selfless love and our need as humans to realise we're all connected. And seeing such a diverse cast on stage is also a major plus. Perhaps Come Fall in Love is just trying to tick too many boxes to be truly outstanding but it does make an important statement. Come Fall in Love runs until Saturday, June 21. Details from
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
What's not to love? Dakota Johnson stars as a matchmaker caught in a love triangle with Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans in the new movie, Materialists
It's been hailed as the movie that will revive the box office rom-com. With superhero franchises dominating cinema for the past decade or two, the golden age of the Nineties and Noughties romantic comedy that made Julia Roberts, Kate Hudson and Jennifer Lopez household names was missing, and the romance genre has largely been reserved for streamers. But Materialists, starring Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal, is building so much buzz on social media, it could draw audiences back into cinemas in huge numbers. Between the combined star power of three of Hollywood's biggest players, a not-your-average love storyline, and the credentials of the film's Academy Award-nominated director Celine Song, Materialists has all the ingredients to become an instant classic. So jump in the girls' group chat, or schedule a date night, and get your ticket for the cinema when Materialists opens Australia-wide on June 12. Dakota Johnson dazzles as the leading lady in this smart modern romance, playing a New York matchmaker who ends up torn between a perfect-on-paper love interest and her imperfect ex. Her performance as the ambitious Lucy, navigating the Manhattan dating scene for her clients while wrestling with her own definition of love, is being applauded as one of her best roles to date, following Johnson's roles in the Fifty Shades franchise, as well as The Peanut Butter Falcon and Black Mass. With nine successful matches for her clients, Lucy approaches finding love through calculation. But her own values are thrown into upheaval when she meets a 'unicorn' love interest who ticks all of her boxes, at the same time the ex-boyfriend she left behind walks back into her life. Marvel star Chris Evans plays Lucy's college sweetheart and struggling actor John, while, star of The Last of Us and The Mandalorian Pedro Pascal plays the final piece in the love triangle as magnetic billionaire Harry. With acclaimed filmmaker Celine Song at the helm, cinema goers can rest assured the film will delve deeper than the average fluffy rom com romp. The film has been praised as holding a mirror up to society's values when seeking someone to spend their lives with. So many people on the dating scene show up with a superficial checklist of their dream match. But the film explores whether someone's height, job, and bank balance has any real importance in a lasting partnership built on true love. How often the expectations of dating— superficial, materialistic— are so at odds with what we know love is meant to be— unconditional, forever. 'The math is never going to work when it comes to love, and the contradiction of that is what's at the heart of the film,' Song says. 'The film is meant to be about this impossible, contradictory, mysterious thing.' Song was nominated for two Oscars for her debut feature Past Lives, including Best Motion Picture, which she wrote and directed. Like Past Lives, Song drew from her own experience for the premise of Materialists. The storyline is based on Song's time working at a prestigious New York matchmaking service while trying to get her break as a playwright. Song would help Manhattan's private equity managers and business elite find love with an eligible match who ticked off all the items on an often lengthy and demanding checklist. 'I feel like I learned more in those six months about people than I learned from any other period of my life,' Song says. 'The things that are in the movie came from the truth I learned: that there is a very funny, very dark objectification of each other's humanity, and therefore a very real commodification of each other, as we go through this thing that we call dating. But it's supposed to be in pursuit of love.' 'The whole idea was about trying to get as big a value as you can in your market— I was acting like I was a stock market trader,' Song recalls. 'It shouldn't actually have anything to do with who we're getting buried with, but the way that everybody was talking about what kind of a partner they wanted was as if they're talking about a car or a house they want to buy. The language is exactly the same. I was so stuck on the dissonance of it.' Song examines all of this as Lucy interviews clients and their potential matches, then wavers over the clash of chemistry versus math in her own love life. Materialists opens in cinemas on Thursday, June 12. To see it first, visit the website to find a special preview screening on Wednesday, June 11, near you.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Lena Dunham admits to 'wrecking herself on male attention' as she reflects on her 'last affair' ahead of new Netflix series Too Much
Lena Dunham has candidly reflected on her 'last affair' ahead of her semi-autobiographical Netflix series Too Much. In a story for British Vogue 's July issue, the writer and producer, 39, admitted to 'wrecking herself on male attention' before finding love with her husband Luis Felber. The 10-part rom-com follows a New Yorker (Megan Slater) who heads to London in the wake of a breakup - much like she did herself - and is co-produced by Luis. Lena and Luis, 38, met in January 2021 on a blind date - after being set up by friends - and tied the knot in September 2021. But before meeting her husband and finally getting her 'happy ending,' the actress recalled her 'boy craziness' that led her to 'stop trusting herself.' From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. She explained: 'Even now, I can't be sure. It's not that I don't trust my husband or our life – I do, very much. 'It's that at some point along the way, wrecking myself again and again on the rocky shores of male attention, I stopped trusting myself.' Lena revealed how two weeks before she left for London, she met a man with 'Brad Pitt facial features' in a yard in Los Angeles, named Craig. She and Craig went on throw away her 'hard-earned peace' after vowing to stop with her 'boy craziness', in favour of a steamy two week affair. Arriving in London, Lena admitted she was left in tears over the man she 'had sex with fives times a day' after his messages dried up. She continued: 'Two weeks after quarantine ended a friend would encourage me to get back on the horse and send my number to a man who he swore was 'not your husband or anything, just a fun times guy'. I didn't know that man would, in fact, be my husband. 'Craig's immaturity made me feel less old and his beauty made me feel more beautiful. I wanted, too badly, to be both of those things – and so I saw very little. 'It took longer than I'd like to admit to realise he hadn't awoken me – I was waking and he walked by.' Lena previously explained why she cast Megan Stalter instead of herself in her semi-autobiographical series Too Much. 'I was not willing to have another experience like what I'd experienced around [my HBO series Girls] at this point in my life,' the producer-star explained to the New Yorker. 'Physically, I was just not up for having my body dissected again. It was a hard choice, not to cast Meg — because I knew I wanted Meg — but to admit that to myself. I used to think that winning meant you just keep doing it and you don't care what anybody thinks. I forgot that winning is actually just protecting yourself and doing what you need to do to keep making work.' Lena continued: 'I remember looking at Meg and being, like, "You are my muse. You inspire me every single day to go home and tap out pages upon pages." I definitely don't want to be my own muse.' She gushed over how 'inspiring and unbelievably talented' the Hacks star is as her thinly-veiled character Jessica, who falls in love with a British musician called Felix (Will Sharpe) after moving from New York to North London.
The Review Geek
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Review Geek
Second Shot at Love Episode 9 Preview: Release Date, Time & Where To Watch
Second Shot at Love Episode 9 Second Shot at Love is another exciting K-drama from tvN which is known for fun rom-coms like Lovely Runner, What's Wrong with Secretary Kim and True Beauty. Said to be a wholesome rom-com, it has everything from small-town chaos and drunken mistakes to first love and comedy. The K-drama follows Han Geum-ju, a genius mechanic and bubbly woman who loves drinking. But after her engagement falls apart, she loses her job and her apartment, her mother tries to get her to stop drinking. As she is forced to move back to her home town, she struggles to come to terms with her alcoholism and the need to get sober. It doesn't help that her former best friend and first love, Dr. Seo Ui-joon hates alcohol and constantly preaches the treatment of alcohol abuse. Despite having a successful practice in Seoul, he moves back to their home town and is more than happy to ignore Geum-ju, much to her annoyance. The cast includes Choi Soo-young, Gong Myung, Jo Yoon-hee, Kang Hyung-suk, Kim Sung-ryung and Kim Sang-ho among others. It is created by writer Myung Soo-hyun who is known for comedies like Monthly Magazine Home and Drinking Solo. If you've been following this K-drama, you may be curious to find out when the episodes are releasing. Well, wonder no more! Here is everything you need to know about Second Shot at Love Episode 9, including the release date, time and where you can watch this show. Where Can I Watch Second Shot at Love? Second Shot at Love Season 1 will be shown on the tvN channel and airs at 8.50pm (KST). It is also available to stream on Viki for international fans. Second Shot at Love Episode 9 Release Date Second Shot at Love Episode 9 will release on Monday 9th June at approximately 11.50am (GMT) / 7.50am (ET). English subtitles will be released immediately. The episodes are expected to be roughly 1 hour long each, which is consistent with the time frame for the usual tvN dramas. How Many Episodes Will Second Shot at Love Have? Second Shot at Love is a 12-episode show. With 2 episodes dropping every Monday and Tuesday, it will run its course till 17th June. Is There A Trailer For Second Shot at Love? There is indeed! You can find an exciting trailer for Second Shot at Love below. What Happens in the Previous Episodes? We've covered the entire episodes with a lengthy recap that touched on all major plot points and discusses the chapter with an accompanying review. You can find that link below. Read More: Second Shot at Love Episode 7 Recap & Review What Happens in the Next Episodes? In next week's teaser, Hyeon-ju and Seon-wook head to the beach for their next date. They run into Geum-ju and Ui-joon and have a group hangout. Geum-ju doesn't seem happy that Hyeon-ju and Seon-wook may be a thing. Hyeon-ju calls her out. Geum-ju is on the verge of liver failure and a transplant doesn't seem possible. Ui-joon comforts Geum-ju. What do you hope to see as the series progresses? What's been your favourite moment of Second Shot at Love so far? Let us know in the comments below!
Gizmodo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie's New Rom-Com Looks Like a Mind-Bending Trip
The resurgence of the big-ticket romcom is well and truly under way amidst the wax and wane of the box office spectacle we usually cover here at io9. But sometimes a little movie magic comes along and makes even the most simple of meet-cute premises something surreal and mind bending–and that's definitely the case in Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie's new movie, Big Bold Beautiful Journey. Directed by Kogonda, Big Bold Beautiful Journey follows two strangers, Sarah and David, who cross paths at a mutual friend's wedding. Moving on from their brief connection, they suddenly find themselves thrust back into each other's lives when the GPS system in David's car suddenly gets a bit 2001: A Space Odyssey and asks David if, well, he wants to go on a big, bold, beautiful journey. But this isn't a more whimsical Her situation going on here–a suddenly sentient car system is the least surreal thing David and Sarah find themselves facing, when they find a magical doorway that lets them journey through time and space, and into pockets of their own histories alongside each other. It's certainly makes for a trippy visual, and a fascinating way for Sarah and David's blossoming relationship to unfold as their histories, and all the joy and grief that comes with discovering someone's past, begin to replay out in front of them. That gag about the car exploding at the end being a bit too dramatic for two people who've just fallen through a gateway in time and space to play out the love story of a life-times is pretty good, too. Big Bold Beautiful Journey hits theaters September 19.
