Romantic Comedy

This filled a hole I didn't even know I had! Who knew I needed a little SNL inspired romcom?!? This book was witty, charming, and so much fun. Hell it made me want to start watching SNL live again (it's been years since I've done that!). Sally is a writer at TNO, a live comedy sketch show (think SNL) who is perfectly content to stay behind the scenes and write. When Noah Brewster comes on to host the show AND perform (he's a pop star) she finds herself working with him a lot. There might be sparks or she might be reading way too into it. Romantic Comedy is about trusting your gut, letting your guard down, and believing that you are worthy. Laugh out loud funny - I adored all the characters - such a fun read!

***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 show more anyone he wants. This book is exactly what it looks like: a perfectly pleasant, entertaining story that unfolds how readers will expect it to, right down to a happily ever after. 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 [b:Rodham|50253429|Rodham|Curtis Sittenfeld|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1580749557l/50253429._SY75_.jpg|75164713] two years ago and [b:Prep|9844|Prep|Curtis Sittenfeld|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386925666l/9844._SY75_.jpg|2317177] and [b:American Wife|2807199|American Wife|Curtis Sittenfeld|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1441087673l/2807199._SY75_.jpg|2833088] 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 Sally struggling to accept that someone so handsome and desirable could be interested in her. 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. show less

Sally is a writer for a sketch comedy show (obviously Saturday Night Live) and the first section of the novel covers a single week in which she works on a sketch called The Danny Horst Rule, about how ordinary-looking male comedians often end up with gorgeous stars, but the reverse never happens. She also works a lot with the week's host, a gorgeous musician. You can see where this is going, right? Yes, and also this is a great how-the-sausage-is-made look at a writer's job at SNL. I enjoyed this section enormously. Talented people doing a complicated thing and two witty people flirting? Five stars, no notes.

In the second section, all tension and interest is bled out of the novel. Sally and the hunky musician are quarantined in show more different states, he in his California mansion, she in Kansas City, living with an elderly relative. So they email. And the emails are exactly what would flow between two people who don't know each other well. Lots of do-you-have-any-pets? kind of questions, and long descriptions of their daily routines. There is no man hunky enough for me to maintain interest through a description of his work-out routine. But I made it through this section. One star, would edit down to six brief text messages.

The third section is about two people in their late thirties figuring out how to make a relationship work. It's nice enough, and who is going to complain about reading about nice people doing nice things and settling into a life of obscene wealth together? Me, a little. Happy for them, would rather read about almost anything else. Three stars, mainly because Sittenfeld is a very good writer who can make buying a shower chair at Target almost worth reading about.

So a mixed bag. show less

I strongly dislike romantic comedies, be they books or movies - but I LOVED this book. The first section, a behind-the-scenes rendering of an episode of a SNL-like TV show from the point of view of Sally, a writer, was just fascinating. Everything about it was fascinating - the writing craft, the other characters, Sally's doubts, and her overwhelming attraction to Noah, a famous singer appearing on and hosting the show. The second section, taking place during the pandemic, was interesting because of that and because it portrayed how Sally and Noah were getting to know each other, dragged just a bit (but didn't bring down my five stars!). And then the last section, where they got together and lived happily ever after, was just so show more satisfying. The only thing better would have been if Noah were real, and if this had been a memoir. show less

Romance is not my genre, and I've had mixed experiences with Sittenfeld's novels, so it was a lovely surprise to find myself so immersed in this novel that I stayed up into the wee hours to finish it. I even loved the lockdown email exchange, and I usually loathe epistolary storytelling. It's emotionally real, the friendships are jealousy-inducing, and it's so sexy when the guy is like, "I'm sorry, I said something wrong. Please let me clarify."

Curtis Sittenfeld is a fantastic writer and words can’t do justice as to how much I enjoy her books, no matter what the topic. For Romantic Comedy, she combines comedy, messy real life, the pandemic and romance in an unputdownable package. It’s not as long as some of her previous novels, but it’s just as good.

The story is told in the first person by Sally, a writer for a sketch comedy show that runs late on Saturday nights with a weekly guest host. (I’m sure you can guess the show it’s based on). She enjoys her work and the camaraderie and friendship of the cast and crew but is thinking about what to do next. She’s successful with career but not so much love, having been married and divorced in her twenties. Love doesn’t show more exist in her life, replaced with hook ups, but she’s fairly content. The first half of the book describes a week in the life of the show, from pitching ideas, writing them and performing them in an ever-shortening time frame. The week’s host is Noah, a famous singer for radio friendly hits, surfer like hair and dating models. This frustrates Sally, and based on repeated examples amongst her workmates, she writes a sketch about average looking men who attract gorgeous, accomplished women (and why the reverse is never true). But as the week goes by, Sally and Noah get to know each other and…it’s an easy friendship. Noah likes Sally’s smart sayings and Sally finds that Noah is not superficial…but the course of true love never runs smoothly, especially when you put the actual 2020 as it happened into the mix.

Despite the inclusion of the pandemic in the novel, Romantic Comedy is a really fun book. It’s messy, funny and a great insight into what goes on behind the scenes of a successful live TV show. (In fact, I would say the pandemic sections are the happiest I’ve read). The characters are sculpted with Sittenfeld’s trademark detail and wit. Both Sally and Noah are flawed, with their own annoying but not over the top traits. (For example, Sally just can’t help cracking a joke at the most inopportune times and sometimes it backfires spectacularly). Sally is comfortable where she is in life, but hasn’t really stretched out beyond her comfort zone. Noah, who has had his own addiction with alcohol, is probably a lot more ‘adult’ than Sally, being able to look things in the face and articulate what he wants.

The two main characters balance each other out well and although the romance is the main focus of the last third of the book, this is not a romance in the book shelving genre sense. Yes, it’s girl meets boy with ups and downs but there are other things focused on like work, family and friends for the majority of the book. It’s more a smart, sassy comedy of people in their thirties who just happen to get together and have cool jobs. I liked Sally’s commentary as an almost invisible part of the fame game (she doesn’t appear on camera, but she is an Emmy winner) and the inside look at how her show ran. (I can see why there’s a limited time span on the job with the late nights and all nighters!) She also has some fantastically sassy one liners, like ‘do you even know how to shop at Target’ and feminist views (such as the list of words that have and haven’t been blocked by the network sensor).

Overall, this is another wholly satisfying read by Curtis Sittenfeld, one of my favourite writers. I’m looking forward (impatiently) to her next book!

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com show less

This was fine, if a little forgettable. I did appreciate, that as a contemporary romance, Sittenfeld included the start of the pandemic. It feels weird to me when modern media that's written to be pretty much true to life, acts like the pandemic didn't happen (or that it's not still impacting us!) Sure, you could argue it's an alternate reality, but I think it's interesting to see how the characters handle it - and in this case it did impact the main character's jobs and how they interacted with each other.

Alas, I forget both their names already (no, I will not be looking them up), but I thought their emails back and forth at the start of the pandemic were charming. It reminded me of my own emails to my now partner (yes, I'm a sap.) I show more also appreciated the woman's anxiety and sometimes self-sabotaging snark (and actual mean-ness at times) because it felt very realistic, especially for a comedy writer on alt-SNL. I enjoyed the behind the scenes look at show-writing as well. I obviously have no real idea of what goes into making a show like SNL, but this book felt realistic enough for me to buy in.

I didn't find their actual relationship all the engaging. I do think the woman had some very valid concerns about dating a celebrity as a normie. But they navigated those pretty easily and I just wasn't invested in the "will-they-won't-they" in this book. And for those looking for spice, there are some sex scenes, but they're sparse and more focused on just showing what's happening than trying to get the reader hot and bothered, imo.

Anyway, it was fine. I prefer Eligible though. show less