Welcome to Go ask Alli, a production of Shonda Land Audio and partnership with I Heart Radio as a stand up comedian, of which I am not. I tried it. When you're hilarious, I've been your fan forever. Hey, you know I should say right now, I'm married, so I'm off the table. We can do weekends. Get your bullshit detector and get it honed. Are you mad about something? Go out and seek people who are mad about related things, and also listen to them if part of what they're mad about is you. You actually look for those little colonels of hope. Yeah, well that's that's a good stuff. I think it is a good stuff, and I think we need a good stuff always. Hi, and welcome to Go ask Alli. I'm Ali Wentworth and this season I'm digging into everything I can get my hands on, just peeling back to layers and getting dirty. Okay, So this episode is about our struggling relationship with romance in movies. I'm obsessed with romantic comedies and for some reason, out there in the zeitgeist, romantic comedies seemed to have disappeared. Where have they gone? What has happened to them? And don't they still have a place in our movie going hearts. So the other day I posted on Instagram a call out to all my fantastic listeners to tell me their favorite romantic comedy films, and you did. My producer Brooke was flooded with calls. She had to wear rain boots. Hundreds of people calling in with their favorite romantic comedy, which means romantic comedies really strike a chord. People love them, and we're gonna be playing some of your calls throughout the whole episode. I remember when I was first dating my husband, George, and we went to go see the movie Moulin Rouge, which is not your typical romcom because it's got a very sad ending. But I remember at the end of the film, we were clutching each other's hands and he actually was welling up with tears. And maybe for some people that would be a red flag, but for me, I knew he was the one. Any man that can go to a movie about love and unrequited love and love with a sad, sad ending is the man for me. Anyway, I want to dig in today to what's going on with the rom coms. I actually think they're gonna have a comeback, but right now, we're a little anemic when it comes to love, which brings me to my guest. Janelle Raley is a screenwriter and a playwright, producer, journalist, and film historian. She's also the Deputy Awards and Features editor Variety Magazine. Janelle is a host of Varieties Actors on Actors, for which she has won a Daytime Emmy Award and to Los Angeles Emmy Awards. She has written her own romantic comedy, the word winning play A Kind of Love Story, which she also directed. Okay, Jeanelle Riley, thank you so much for being here and diving into romantic comedies with me. I mean, I wish I could talk, by the way about every film in every genre, but I have to stay focused and stay with the rom com because, and maybe I'm wrong, and you can tell me I'm wrong. I feel like rom comms have disappeared. Am I right? I mean it's definitely not the golden age of rom comms, but I feel like they are coming back. And actually I credit Netflix a love. They did a whole like summer of the romantic comedy and it did so well, and they're making original comedies that you know, starting with like Set It Up. I don't know if you've seen that one, But movies that like almost shouldn't work, but they do, like they are better than they have any right to be because they cast them so well, you know, they cast them diversely, they make them look great, and so I gotta get a lot of credit. Is it that they're good or is it because we've just been in COVID for so long that we'll just take anything we can get. I'm curious. I wonder sometimes there's stuff that I watched now on streaming that I wouldn't have watched four years ago, but now I'm like, I don't care, give it to me whatever. You're absolutely right. And it's a little bit of both. I would say movies like Set It Up to all the Boys I've loved before, and particularly the half of it, which was a Syrano de Bergerac but a queer version, are fantastic movies that you know, I I cover the Oscars for a living, and these are the kind of movies I actually think should be nominated for Oscars. And then there are some that like there's this movie called The Wrong Missy with David Spade. I saw it I'm not going to say it's a good movie, but boy did I enjoy it. No, it was very funny, which is my next question. So I'm I'm sort of looking back at at romantic comedies, you know, sort of. I think the first big burst was with When Harry met Sally, Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal. Yeah, it really is the one that's at the standard yep. And I think it was obviously romantic, but it was very funny. You know. For for many of them that I've seen, I go, it's not funny at all, So it's just about a boy and a girl and this and that. But then like train Wreck, Amy Schumer's movie, romantic comedy but really funny. So and and actually I think Judd Apatau did that. He started to make knocked up in the romantic comedies that are not your typical male female high I love you, how do we get to each other kind of thing. Like a romantic comedy could be a one minute short film in its you know the template of what it is. It's everything you add and to me, it's like it's got to be really really funny and then you know we know where it's going. But take me on the journey and take me on a journey I probably haven't been on before. That's sort of how I feel. It's really interesting what some people consider a romantic comedy. I saw the movie The Notebook on a lot of romantic comedy lists, and I'm like, there is nothing funny about that movie. It's actually incredibly emotional and tragic. It's a movie. But I feel like romance sometimes just gets lumped together with comedy as sort of like a lesser people don't think that they're as prestigious, whereas like, the romantic comedy genre is one of the hardest things to do right, even though there's a formula. I remember the year Matthew McConaughey won his oscar for Dallas Buyers Club. I did a lot of interviews with him where he repeatedly said, the hardest role I've ever played is the rom coms, because you are playing a role where everyone knows the outcome and you have to pretend you don't know the outcome, but also not make your character an idiot, right, And also I would think you're playing somebody close to yourself. You can't really hide in a character when you're just the good looking guy it's so true. But a lot of those a lot of those stars like Matthew McConaughey, are raced. A lot of them sort of dove into the romantic comedy genre and then left it, like abandoned it and started to do more character stuff. So I feel, is the rom com like the launching pad, and then from there you go sort of look for the more Oscar ish roles. That definitely seems to be the pattern. And again it's so frustrating for me because I love romantic comedies. I also love horror movies. These are two genres that really don't get that respect they deserve, even though like things like sci fi are starting to get more respect. You know, when it comes to awards and things like that, you look back on something like when Harry Met Sally and like, obviously that it was nominated for one Oscar for the screenplay didn't win. I mean, I doubt anyone else remembers any of the movies that came out that year. You'll remember the wagon Wheel coffee table, right, and of course the orgasm in the Delhi. I'll have what she's having. So, I mean, they're out there sometimes, you know, they're a little harder to find because they're not in theaters and they aren't talked about in the way that they should be. But you know, some of my favorite films of all time were romantic comedies and should have gotten more recognition. I think back to, you know, sixteen Candles the eighties, like that's a classic. In the seventies it was sort of you know, defined by Annie Hall, which did get some respect, and I don't know what happened after that. Um it's interesting because I I look back at the past few years, certainly the nineties and two thousand, there was lots of romantic comedies. Jennifer Lopez I think shot into the stratosphere through that. And now I feel this is personal that there's not enough of romantic comedies and I think people will always want them. And even this past Christmas, my friend Brooke Shields did a Christmas romantic Netflix movie and I remember when she was shooting it in Scotland and I was like, what are you making? And then it was a big hit, it was trending and I and I said to her, besides, you know what you say to your friends, you're so beautiful and funny, great, But also I think everybody needed it really badly. Yeah, I mean, everybody loves your romantic comedy. I don't care if they say they don't like a romantic comedy, they will go see one with you. It hits us on such a visceral level. And what do you think, what do you think that is that we all just want love? I think that's a big part of it, or we've we've been told that that is the end goal. It's also wonderful escapism. Um. I mean there are so many stories about the kitchens in Nancy Myers movies. You know how people have written a whole essays about like, yeah, the love scenes are great, but what about these kitchens. You know, it's aspirational, it's funny if it's done right. Um. You know, I've had a struggle because I both love and sort of resent romantic comedies because I do feel that they set certain expectations for my life that we're probably silly for me to believe and follow. But you know, when you've been fed Disney movies and princesses, and you know stories where the two leads hate each other at first, but that just means they're meant to be together, you start to believe those things. So but having said all that and worked it out with my therapist, I am still so happy to sit down and watch any romantic comedy and swoon and cry at the end. I think you're right. So why why do I think that they've gone down? Under my guests? If I may, Janelle, and then you're the expert. But I think it's all marvel now, Like, I don't think the big studios are gonna gamble with that. They want big action superhero stuff. Or if squid Game comes along and it's an unexpected hit, now they'll do eight hundred squid games. But what do you think? I mean? I have nothing against dreaming. I'm a big fan of Netflix and Hulu and everything, but it does seem like rom coms have sort of been shuttled off into streaming, you know, and they're not opening I mean not much as opening in theaters these days anyway. But you know, Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson have a movie coming out I think on Valentine's Day called Marry Me. That is like that's I cannot remember the last time I saw ads for like an old fashioned kind of dopey set up meet cute romantic comedy. I do feel like all the good ones I've seen lately have, you know, And I don't want to say that they've been relegated to streaming because I'm so grateful for it and I get to watch it there. But you know, Netflix had single All the Way, which was, you know, a gay romantic comedy and kind of groundbreaking, and that's the lead character played by Michael Yury. His gayness is never an issue with his family. You know, he goes home for the holidays and it's about them trying to set him up with the perfect man, and it's it's really revolutionary in that way. I feel like that would have done really really well in theaters. But I think you're right, he it's it's a risk to take. But we're also seeing such a great increase in diversity in romantic comedy. Um, Billy Eichner is the first openly gay man to write and star in a gay romcom from a major studio. H Universal is doing Bros. I'm so excited for that, I have to say, there is. I am so ready and have been for a while to have that shift because for a long time, the romantic comedies, you know, the only diversity they had was like the gay best friend. Yep, you know, in My Best Friend's Wedding. I mean, in so many romantic comedies, that was as diverse as they got. And so at least now they're getting to be the leads. There's more people of color involved, and it's not just you're very homogenized love story, which thank god, didn't. Everyone kind of want My Best Friend's Wedding to really be about the Rupert every character. I mean, he was, Yes, he's sort of the most interesting one. I'm kind of surprised we never got to spin off of that. I'm surprised too. You know, people just loved him, Like people wanted Julia Roberts to run off with him. They changed the ending for him. She was supposed to end up with John Corbett at the wedding, and they re shot the whole thing, so she you know, quote unquote ended up with him. Really. Yeah, Yeah, there's a whole scene where you know, she ended up with a guy, which you know isn't the most revolutionary thing, but at the time, that was very much the standard way to end it, and and they reshot it so that Rupert Everett shows up at the wedding and dances with her well, which is much better, oh so much better, so much so much better. Yeah, and a good ending can make or break totally. Yeah. Hey, Ali, Yes, rom coms are still a sping and my wife and I absolutely love moon Struck. You know that kind of movie will never die out as far as I'm concerned. And Squid Game the rom com that I keep watching too, for the Road with Albert Finney and Audrey Hepburn. I've watched it over and over when I was young and watched it on TV because everything about it just was otherworldly and beautiful and touching. And as I got older and was in a marriage of my own, I see so many different things and now and it touches me in a whole different way. Favorite rom coms. I love Moonstruck. It's complicated and as good as a guest. Those are the movies that I watched on repeat. Hi, Ali, I just wanted to say. My favorite rom com is When Harry Met Sally. I watch it several times a year. It never gets old and we need more rom coms. My absolute favorite rom com is It's complicated. I love Nancy Meyer's films. I think they're awesome. But that's one where I every time I bump into it, if I'm channel surfing, i's got to watch it. I'm gonna say, you defend your life because there's a great romantic story between Albert Brooks and Meryl Street. Totally love this movie. You can watch it again and again and laugh and completely enjoy it. The movies I watch over and over again are complicated, and because I said so, because they're really really funny. They're very well done, and they touch on tough subjects that are hard to discuss our express I think openly or within a family system. So and I'm single, and I it's complicated. I could relate to that. Let's just talk for a second about the financial world of movie making right now, which is kind of like our country, Like suddenly the middle class is gone. So either people are making really low budget stuff or it's Spielberg J. J. Abram's kind of big blockbuster stuff, and romantic comedies are usually in that mid budget regions. So do you think a lot of it is financing right now? I do. I think that's the rom coms we are seen are fairly little budget, and you know, have a guaranteed audience. Like I said on Netflix, I will say that Marry Me. The upcoming Jennifer Lopez one looks pretty big budget, so I'm really hoping it does well. Yeah, but then again, you have a star attached, right, two stars? Yeah, you know that's why I'm thinking, where are the big fact Greek weddings, Like That's what I'm looking for, or maybe I'm going to have to make it with you, j You know, we're gonna have to make our own. That's what you have to do. Yes, but you've seen a huge shift anyway in movie business, but just purely because of COVID, we can't make as much stuff. There's a lot of backlog of things that they've already thought that they haven't made, and sets are shutting down all the time. So my question to you is do you find that studios are now just relying on green screen and the big action stuff because they don't actually have to be on a tropical island with a cast. I mean, I get it, it's it's logistical a lot. Because I had a friend who recently shot a musical rom com and he's like, I couldn't have people singing live, and I kind of had to write around the kissing scenes. But then I look at something like again, I'm gonna invoke when Harry met Sally. I don't think that movie costs very much to make. It was shot in and around New York. It's two people talking for most of the movie. Um, let me ask you this promising young woman. And I say this because you dressed up as her for Halloween and I saw a picture of it, and my listeners should go google that. Janelle Riley Halloween. Do you consider a promising young woman a romantic comedy? That's a really good question. Offhand, I do not, but I think it is skewering romantic comedy tropes, which might have been what largely intrigued me from the start because I I wrote a play that was supposed to be a parody of romantic comedies, but I'm such a sucker. It kind of became the thing that was parodying. Because of course, I was like, they have to get together in the end, and there's there's rules you have to follow, and Emerald to know what she did with promising young woman, completely subverting our expectations. I feel like it's okay to talk spoiler ish. Yes, if you haven't watched it by now, then yeah, there are people who are still so angry. That's the Carrie Mulligan character dies like. They take it deeply personally and they feel betrayed and offended. And I'm always like, you expected this movie to have a happy ending because it is using these rom calm tropes. Even my mom, who loves the movie, was like, well, I really wanted her and that guy to work it out, and I'm like, the guy is toxic and terrible, exactly, But that's what we've been conditioned to exactly. But that's exactly right, which is why the ending was so spot on. I think it was a romance. I mean, when you think of her in the let's say predominantly male role, she was the person that avenged the love of her life's death, and that to me was incredibly romantic. So yes, it's not your typical romantic comedy, but I thought it was funny and dark, and I consider it a romantic comedy. I totally do not disagree with that. I think what it does is so brilliant on so many levels. And it's interesting because there's a lot of famous romantic comedies that I really don't like I'll just use like as I really can't stand how to lose a guy in ten days. I think they're just terrible people and we never get to know the real then they're terrible people. And also the misogyny and sexism in some of those cookie cutter romantic comedies are maddening. They just are there. It's like, oh god, you know anything that's like, you can't live unless you catch a man, get a man, have a I mean, having two teenage daughters. It's always difficult because I'm like, that's not no, that's not the endpoint, that's not the end game, you know. But a lot of those movies, particularly you know, twenty years ago, if they relied on that. Yeah, And I always think, like, this movie would be five minutes long if the lead female didn't look like Kate Hudson, Like he is not going to put up with that. And that's why I think, like our best romantic comedies are are people who are relatable. That's why I love Bridesmaids, you know, just right, Queen Latife is one of the most beautiful women in the world, but there is a subset of people who would say, well, she's not the traditional leading lady, and I'm like, great, that just means I can relate to her all the more, exactly exactly. And for me, it was when all the bridesmaids, you know, got diarrhea and they shot in the street. That's what I related to. I was like, Okay, good, these are my people. I related to Willis McCarthy taking home six dogs totally. That's what I would do. The whole thing though, the whole thing. Um. I made my piece long ago with the idea that you can it's okay to criticize things you love and that's called marriage. For a long time, it became hard for me to enjoy rom coms because I was like, you know, Beauty and the Beast is probably my favorite Disney movie, and I'm like, okay, this is Stockholm syndrome. You know, he's he's imprisoning her and she falls in love with him, and there's a lot that I'm willing to look past. Um. But more and more, I feel like romantic comedies are getting it right, you know, and they're recognizing those problems and they're correcting them. And that's been such a joy to see. So Janelle, I'm curious, how how does it me to movement affect the writing and producing of rom coms. Now Oh Boy had such a good question because you know, I said, it's okay to criticize the things you love, and Bridget jones Diary is a great movie that acts like workplace sexual harassment is just a form of flirting, right, And we were all okay with it because you know, they were beautiful people that we wanted to see. I was gonna say, we're all okay with it because it was Hugh Grant. Yeah, you know, if it were Henry kiss some jer I'm sure we would have had a different reaction. Well, I have a type, so so maybe. But I mean, that's that's something that is really fascinating to navigate. And you know, just in in all forms of entertainment now where people are like, is it okay to make jokes? Is it okay, you know, to say these things or do these things. I think it's just going to be a case by case basis. Yeah. I generally say that I'm not offended by something if it's so funny that it earns the laugh. Not always true, and not everyone feels that same way. But I actually think it's a good thing that people are having these conversations, and you know, I've spoken to some female writers who were the only writer in a room on you know, they do those roundtables for for movies sometimes and they would be like, wait, nobody else sees that this is like kind of gross or problematic, and now people are at least listening. So I think it's actually going to make for better movies. Well, the workplace romantic comedy, there's going to be a huge shift just in general. I don't know what the last one was. So what was the movie that It was Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant and she started working for him. That's right, two weeks notice, right, I do like that one, But now I should go back and see how it holds up. Yeah, well she works for him. Yeah that's right. Yeah, yeah, I remember loving it at the time, but I might see it. It's it's hard to be a wrong com fan. You go back in some of these movies you're like, oh, yeah, yeah, I mean the big one is obviously Love actually, which you know, I knew how issues when I saw it, but I watch it now and I'm like, yeah, that's funny. You say that. We watch it every Christmas and we watched it this year, and it was harder to watch than before because it's so glaringly awful, you know, crazy, it's yeah. I I made a short film parody many years ago called Grand Gestures, and this was I feel that this has been overdone now, not to say that I was the first by any means, but it's a parody of the guy who shows up at the house with the cards and as you know, to me, you're perfect. And in my version, the woman comes back with cards of her own and it's like, you're a stalker. Go away. That's really funny. But some people will tell you it's so romantic, so I don't want to take away from them. So when he does the cards and then he walks away, and she runs after him and kisses him on the lips, and then he says, right, we're done or something. That's enough for something, Yeah, that's enough. Me and my daughters were having a big discussion about it because what was she doing. My daughters were like, why would she go kiss him on the lips? That's leading him on, that's making him think that there's something there. And I was saying, she was being kind and that was he knew it had gone too far, and he was what's your opinion? What was that scene about? Boy? That's that's why I think that she was just being cute. You know, it was a thank you. But yeah, it is weird that it is a kiss on the lips and it feels romantic. Um. I also think, after this guy has just said, I get it, it's not going to happen that. You know, it's maybe a mistake right right to do that. But I would actually I really like that writer director. I would actually love to ask him good, ask him for me because I I wonder if he had it to do over Yeah, hey, al I love romantic comedies primarily because I grew up in the nineties and I was raised by them. Thanks Keaton is essentially my TV mother for all I can say, so I would say something's gonna gain with my go to go to um, Harold and Maude. I can go back to Roman Holiday if that counts. Overboard would be my movie I've left over and over again. I love that movie so much. Okay, best Welcome the Holiday by Fire. My favorite romantic comedy is Bringing Up Baby with Katherine Hepburn and Carrie Grant. I don't care how many times I've seen it before. I can always watch it again. I always laugh, it always makes me feel good. So there you go. I love you, Hi, I totally adore love actually watched it at kazillion times. It still makes me laugh, it's still makes me cry, it still makes me feel good. Let's see, which may be surprising to some if they haven't watched it in a long time, but I've probably watched it at least three hundred times. It is hysterical. I can't get enough of Moonstruck. I just watch it every time it's on. I love it. It's like one of my old times favorite movies. Bridesmaid is my go to rom com that I've seen a zillion times. It's my favorite, and rom coms are not dead. My favorite is The Holiday because it combounds Christmas with a romantic comedy and it's just perfect. There's something I don't know, magical about it. It's funny and it's cute and it's beautiful. Just makes you feel good. I could watch it probably every day of the year and never get picked of it. So what's your favorite romantic comedy? Um? I have you can give me three if you want. Okay, Well, I mean, when Harry met Sally is the obvious one, even though like there are these tropes and romantic comedies that sometimes like you know, well they start as friends, but it takes twenty years for them to see each other in that way. And although when Harry met Sally was probably the first one to really do it, so I'll give it that credit. But um, I love Bridesmaids um the best. And because again and the emphasis is on the comedy. You know, there's a very wonderful romance at it, but that is not the center. I was shocked by how much I loved Will Smith and Hitch Oh wow that I was not expecting that Hitch Okay, yeah, it's it's funny. We talked about it recently on an acting podcast that I really feel he should have won the Oscar that year for that performance. It was a Cary Grants, you know, like Matthew McConaughey was saying, you know, he had to be lighthearted, he had to you know, play dumb in some scenes. He had wonderful chemistry. They have a Mendez and you know, too smart people that they have to believably keep apart, even though we all know they Belong Together. That's interesting. And then another one I Love is Just Right with Queen Lativa and Common, and it began my long obsession with my future ex husband Common. He is, oh, yes, so fantastic in that movie. He really is. But he is fantastic just all at all. Isn't he great? Yes? I feel like you guys would would be your own romantic comedy if we ever could shoot that. Um And so you don't think we've lost their appetite for it, I don't think so. I think that I actually think we've gotten more discerning. I think that, you know, I hate to keep picking on something like How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, but another Kate Hudson movie fools Gold, Things like failure to launch these romantic comedies that frankly we're fairly mediocre but did really well at the time because they had a star. I mean, I don't think those would hold up now. I think that that we've gotten spoiled by the quality. And again I pointed Netflix and all that, and I should actually throw in Hulu too, because they did Happiest Season with Kristen Stewart's which I also think probably would have lit up the box office if it had been released in theaters. Yeah. So with streaming now, it's very hard to determine what would have been successful and what wouldn't. And I would love to see these movies with an audience, yes, yeah, I would love to see anything with an audience. I'd love to not be alone on my couch watching this stuff. All right, So I'm going to ask you a fun last question, which is, of all the romantic comedy leads, who was the most exciting to interview. You've interviewed everybody review Um, you know it. It might be Ray Fines because you don't think of him as a rom calm lead. No, I died. That's not who I was expecting you to say. That's so interesting. Well, I just remember it was some very serious period piece movie I was talking to him for and like one of the first things I said, I was like, I just have to tell you I love Maid in Manhattan. You know, Oh my god. I bet he wasn't expecting that he was not, And I was like, this will be such an interesting litmus test. Yeah, like if he's offended or if he is complimented. And he left and he said something to the extent of like I don't hear that too often, and he's like, but man, that was that was pretty much a perfect movie for its genre. And I was like, Okay, I like you. Yes, despite the attentions name pronunciation, I really like you. Yes, Yes, Wow, that's great. I love that. I love that story. So, Janelle, we've been opening it up now on my podcast to have the guests asked me a question. You can ask me a question about anything, doesn't have to be about romantic comedy, So go ahead. Actually, since I always make this joke that, like, you know, the greatest rom com writers like Jane Austen died alone, you know, the the o G. In my opinion, absolutely, you know, people always talk about how like I write rom comms, but my real life I have virtually no interest in living a rom calm. For someone who's been married for so long, are there days where you wish you were single and alone and had a whole house to yourself. Yes, Janelle, Yes I do. First of all, I've been married for a long time because I got lucky and because a lot of the kind of big fundamental things we agree on. But you are living with somebody like nod Stop, so there are a few tricks to this. Um. Every year on my birthday, I go away for a weekend by myself, and I come back a better wife and a better mother. And I also know when I'm getting two inundated that I need to go take a walk or like I can feel it in my body, and I know when like okay, I need a loane time, which I think is really important. So I mean, I think there are ways to you know, there's ways to deal with it and and find a good balance. There were times when my kids were younger where I was in bed with my husband, two little kids and two dogs and I would wake up in a pool of urine and have no idea whose it was. And that's when I went, you know what I gotta There's gotta be a better way. So it's not a romantic comedy, but you know, sometimes I have a romantic comedy when I'm alone. Sometimes when I you know, go away and I'm hiking in the mountains. There's nothing more romantic than that. I'm a big fan of solo vacation, so I love that advice. UM. Can I ask a follow up question, Yes, is there one particular fight that you have over and over again? Yes, that never gets resolved. Yes, the fight is the appreciation fight. I don't feel like you're appreciating me. I don't feel like you're appreciating me. I did this for you, and then but I did this for you. It's that it's like a cyclical, like when we start sniping at each other, it's because nobody feels appreciated. But now we've got it down to a shorthand. When we were first married, this fight would take two days. Now it's like ten minutes. It's like, I love you, I love you so much, I'm really sorry, I appreciate you. Get naked, okay, and it's over. It's funny you say that because my friend of mine wanted to know if you ever had sex in the White House, and I said, I feel like that's a given. No really, no, I wasn't with George. I was sure no, of course, so I would on the Oval office desk, but I didn't know him. Then I started dating George when he was already at ABC, so there was no white House. Uh, hanky panky. I figured, once you're in, you have a pass and you get the Lincoln bedroom. No, sorry, I did steal a white house astrife. That helps, but yeah, no, no, it would be great, but no, see you. I guess I should have asked that, well you did, I did? I did. Technically, this was so fun. I can't wait to, like go to the movie theater with you with a big box, I know, and popcorn. And but the thing that just keeps me going every day during this COVID world is that right now, right this second, Chanel, George Clooney and Julia Roberts are shooting a traditional romantic comedy in Australia. Yeah. I cannot wait for that. And I think if any two people can bring the romantic comedy back, and I feel like if that does well, which is guaranteed to, that'll jump start I think the romantic comedy game again. Um. Anyway, so great to talk to you, Chanelle. Thank you, thank you so much for having me. I'm such a fan. Yeah, I mean, come on, who doesn't love a romantic comedy. They make you feel warm and good. And I think as human beings we always like our spirit lifted, especially during a pandemic. I mean I could just watch him on a loop. So we did an unofficial poll, and it seems to suggest that the top three favorite rom coms are When Harry Met Sally, It's Complicated, and Moonstruck. Well, if you can guess which one I'm in, you might get an edible bouquet not from me, but just in your lifetime. And the other thing is, I've noticed in all three movies the women have good sex, so maybe that's why we love them so much. I am a child of the eighties, so mom comes live deep, deep, deep in my heart. I will never not watch Say Anything if I pass it by Um or any of the Breakfast Club movies. But that time is special because that time you didn't have Instagram. You had to wait by the phone for someone to call. Everything took longer, so things mattered more like standing outside and holding up a boom box and playing that amazing Peter Gabriel songs The Proposal. Could watch it a million times over. Betty White, She's so good in that. Don't we all wish we had a Betty White in our lives. Four Weddings at a Funeral because it's the only vir trape I ever owned, and I have easy seen it fifty times. I have to watch When Harry Met Sally every single year, if not two or three times a year. There are such classic lines like she thinks she's low maintenance, but she's really high maintenance, or I'll have what she's having, and my daughter and I why she's thirty five years old. My daughter and I have watched it over and over. We know all the lines, we use them randomly in an inappropriate and appropriate situations. My favorite rom coms are Bridget Jones movie, and this is because even at sixty years old, I see myself as Bridget Jones and always probably will. I mean, I can watch it over and over and over again. Any of the three movie best rom com ever is The American President by far, and that Betting is just so beautiful and smart and I wanted to beat her. Who does a little Michael Douglas rom com bring us a lot of hope, not only for romantic relationships but friendships. And one of my favorites of all time that I could watch once a month at least is When Harry Met Sally. I do not watch movies over and over again, but the one that I do, and I laugh and I cry each time I do watch it is It's complicated. My favorite rom com is just go with it with Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler. But once you in Mareshka finally film a comedy, that one will be my favorite. You've Got Mail is my number one. It's just a love win over everything, even after sarcasm and business loss and all that. That just gets me any. Adam Sandler Andrew Verry Moore movie is amazing. The first one that popped into my head that I had to watch at least once a year is The Wedding Date. And the reasons why are Debor Messing and Halls and Taylor for God's sakes, and Debora Messing's wardrobe in it. That alone, the wardrobe. Okay, I gotta say I'm in my sixties, but my favorite rom com has to be the first one I ever saw bringing up Baby Catherine Hepburn Carry Grant. That was the original. They've all come out of that. It was the best. Thank you for listening to Go Ask Alli. Be sure to subscribe, rate and review the podcast, and follow me on social media on Twitter at Ali You Wentworth and on Instagram at The Real Ali Wentworth. Now. If you want to ask me a question or suggested guests or a topic to dig into, I'd love to hear from you, and there's a bunch of ways to do it. You can call me or text me at three to three four six three six, or you can email a voice memo right from your phone to Go ask Alli podcast at gmail dot com. If you leave a question, you might hear it and go ask Alli. Go ask Alli is a production of Shonda land Audio and partnership with I heart Radio. For more podcasts from Shonda land Audio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

Welcome to Go ask Alli, a production of Shonda Land Audio and partnership with I Heart Radio as a stand up comedian, of which I am not. I tried it. When you're hilarious, I've been your fan forever. Hey, you know I should say right now, I'm married, so I'm off the table. We can do weekends. Get your bullshit detector and get it honed. Are you mad about something? Go out and seek people who are mad about related things, and also listen to them if part of what they're mad about is you. You actually look for those little colonels of hope. Yeah, well that's that's a good stuff. I think it is a good stuff, and I think we need a good stuff always. Hi, and welcome to Go ask Alli. I'm Ali Wentworth and this season I'm digging into everything I can get my hands on, just peeling back to layers and getting dirty. Okay, So this episode is about our struggling relationship with romance in movies. I'm obsessed with romantic comedies and for some reason, out there in the zeitgeist, romantic comedies seemed to have disappeared. Where have they gone? What has happened to them? And don't they still have a place in our movie going hearts. So the other day I posted on Instagram a call out to all my fantastic listeners to tell me their favorite romantic comedy films, and you did. My producer Brooke was flooded with calls. She had to wear rain boots. Hundreds of people calling in with their favorite romantic comedy, which means romantic comedies really strike a chord. People love them, and we're gonna be playing some of your calls throughout the whole episode. I remember when I was first dating my husband, George, and we went to go see the movie Moulin Rouge, which is not your typical romcom because it's got a very sad ending. But I remember at the end of the film, we were clutching each other's hands and he actually was welling up with tears. And maybe for some people that would be a red flag, but for me, I knew he was the one. Any man that can go to a movie about love and unrequited love and love with a sad, sad ending is the man for me. Anyway, I want to dig in today to what's going on with the rom coms. I actually think they're gonna have a comeback, but right now, we're a little anemic when it comes to love, which brings me to my guest. Janelle Raley is a screenwriter and a playwright, producer, journalist, and film historian. She's also the Deputy Awards and Features editor Variety Magazine. Janelle is a host of Varieties Actors on Actors, for which she has won a Daytime Emmy Award and to Los Angeles Emmy Awards. She has written her own romantic comedy, the word winning play A Kind of Love Story, which she also directed. Okay, Jeanelle Riley, thank you so much for being here and diving into romantic comedies with me. I mean, I wish I could talk, by the way about every film in every genre, but I have to stay focused and stay with the rom com because, and maybe I'm wrong, and you can tell me I'm wrong. I feel like rom comms have disappeared. Am I right? I mean it's definitely not the golden age of rom comms, but I feel like they are coming back. And actually I credit Netflix a love. They did a whole like summer of the romantic comedy and it did so well, and they're making original comedies that you know, starting with like Set It Up. I don't know if you've seen that one, But movies that like almost shouldn't work, but they do, like they are better than they have any right to be because they cast them so well, you know, they cast them diversely, they make them look great, and so I gotta get a lot of credit. Is it that they're good or is it because we've just been in COVID for so long that we'll just take anything we can get. I'm curious. I wonder sometimes there's stuff that I watched now on streaming that I wouldn't have watched four years ago, but now I'm like, I don't care, give it to me whatever. You're absolutely right. And it's a little bit of both. I would say movies like Set It Up to all the Boys I've loved before, and particularly the half of it, which was a Syrano de Bergerac but a queer version, are fantastic movies that you know, I I cover the Oscars for a living, and these are the kind of movies I actually think should be nominated for Oscars. And then there are some that like there's this movie called The Wrong Missy with David Spade. I saw it I'm not going to say it's a good movie, but boy did I enjoy it. No, it was very funny, which is my next question. So I'm I'm sort of looking back at at romantic comedies, you know, sort of. I think the first big burst was with When Harry met Sally, Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal. Yeah, it really is the one that's at the standard yep. And I think it was obviously romantic, but it was very funny. You know. For for many of them that I've seen, I go, it's not funny at all, So it's just about a boy and a girl and this and that. But then like train Wreck, Amy Schumer's movie, romantic comedy but really funny. So and and actually I think Judd Apatau did that. He started to make knocked up in the romantic comedies that are not your typical male female high I love you, how do we get to each other kind of thing. Like a romantic comedy could be a one minute short film in its you know the template of what it is. It's everything you add and to me, it's like it's got to be really really funny and then you know we know where it's going. But take me on the journey and take me on a journey I probably haven't been on before. That's sort of how I feel. It's really interesting what some people consider a romantic comedy. I saw the movie The Notebook on a lot of romantic comedy lists, and I'm like, there is nothing funny about that movie. It's actually incredibly emotional and tragic. It's a movie. But I feel like romance sometimes just gets lumped together with comedy as sort of like a lesser people don't think that they're as prestigious, whereas like, the romantic comedy genre is one of the hardest things to do right, even though there's a formula. I remember the year Matthew McConaughey won his oscar for Dallas Buyers Club. I did a lot of interviews with him where he repeatedly said, the hardest role I've ever played is the rom coms, because you are playing a role where everyone knows the outcome and you have to pretend you don't know the outcome, but also not make your character an idiot, right, And also I would think you're playing somebody close to yourself. You can't really hide in a character when you're just the good looking guy it's so true. But a lot of those a lot of those stars like Matthew McConaughey, are raced. A lot of them sort of dove into the romantic comedy genre and then left it, like abandoned it and started to do more character stuff. So I feel, is the rom com like the launching pad, and then from there you go sort of look for the more Oscar ish roles. That definitely seems to be the pattern. And again it's so frustrating for me because I love romantic comedies. I also love horror movies. These are two genres that really don't get that respect they deserve, even though like things like sci fi are starting to get more respect. You know, when it comes to awards and things like that, you look back on something like when Harry Met Sally and like, obviously that it was nominated for one Oscar for the screenplay didn't win. I mean, I doubt anyone else remembers any of the movies that came out that year. You'll remember the wagon Wheel coffee table, right, and of course the orgasm in the Delhi. I'll have what she's having. So, I mean, they're out there sometimes, you know, they're a little harder to find because they're not in theaters and they aren't talked about in the way that they should be. But you know, some of my favorite films of all time were romantic comedies and should have gotten more recognition. I think back to, you know, sixteen Candles the eighties, like that's a classic. In the seventies it was sort of you know, defined by Annie Hall, which did get some respect, and I don't know what happened after that. Um it's interesting because I I look back at the past few years, certainly the nineties and two thousand, there was lots of romantic comedies. Jennifer Lopez I think shot into the stratosphere through that. And now I feel this is personal that there's not enough of romantic comedies and I think people will always want them. And even this past Christmas, my friend Brooke Shields did a Christmas romantic Netflix movie and I remember when she was shooting it in Scotland and I was like, what are you making? And then it was a big hit, it was trending and I and I said to her, besides, you know what you say to your friends, you're so beautiful and funny, great, But also I think everybody needed it really badly. Yeah, I mean, everybody loves your romantic comedy. I don't care if they say they don't like a romantic comedy, they will go see one with you. It hits us on such a visceral level. And what do you think, what do you think that is that we all just want love? I think that's a big part of it, or we've we've been told that that is the end goal. It's also wonderful escapism. Um. I mean there are so many stories about the kitchens in Nancy Myers movies. You know how people have written a whole essays about like, yeah, the love scenes are great, but what about these kitchens. You know, it's aspirational, it's funny if it's done right. Um. You know, I've had a struggle because I both love and sort of resent romantic comedies because I do feel that they set certain expectations for my life that we're probably silly for me to believe and follow. But you know, when you've been fed Disney movies and princesses, and you know stories where the two leads hate each other at first, but that just means they're meant to be together, you start to believe those things. So but having said all that and worked it out with my therapist, I am still so happy to sit down and watch any romantic comedy and swoon and cry at the end. I think you're right. So why why do I think that they've gone down? Under my guests? If I may, Janelle, and then you're the expert. But I think it's all marvel now, Like, I don't think the big studios are gonna gamble with that. They want big action superhero stuff. Or if squid Game comes along and it's an unexpected hit, now they'll do eight hundred squid games. But what do you think? I mean? I have nothing against dreaming. I'm a big fan of Netflix and Hulu and everything, but it does seem like rom coms have sort of been shuttled off into streaming, you know, and they're not opening I mean not much as opening in theaters these days anyway. But you know, Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson have a movie coming out I think on Valentine's Day called Marry Me. That is like that's I cannot remember the last time I saw ads for like an old fashioned kind of dopey set up meet cute romantic comedy. I do feel like all the good ones I've seen lately have, you know, And I don't want to say that they've been relegated to streaming because I'm so grateful for it and I get to watch it there. But you know, Netflix had single All the Way, which was, you know, a gay romantic comedy and kind of groundbreaking, and that's the lead character played by Michael Yury. His gayness is never an issue with his family. You know, he goes home for the holidays and it's about them trying to set him up with the perfect man, and it's it's really revolutionary in that way. I feel like that would have done really really well in theaters. But I think you're right, he it's it's a risk to take. But we're also seeing such a great increase in diversity in romantic comedy. Um, Billy Eichner is the first openly gay man to write and star in a gay romcom from a major studio. H Universal is doing Bros. I'm so excited for that, I have to say, there is. I am so ready and have been for a while to have that shift because for a long time, the romantic comedies, you know, the only diversity they had was like the gay best friend. Yep, you know, in My Best Friend's Wedding. I mean, in so many romantic comedies, that was as diverse as they got. And so at least now they're getting to be the leads. There's more people of color involved, and it's not just you're very homogenized love story, which thank god, didn't. Everyone kind of want My Best Friend's Wedding to really be about the Rupert every character. I mean, he was, Yes, he's sort of the most interesting one. I'm kind of surprised we never got to spin off of that. I'm surprised too. You know, people just loved him, Like people wanted Julia Roberts to run off with him. They changed the ending for him. She was supposed to end up with John Corbett at the wedding, and they re shot the whole thing, so she you know, quote unquote ended up with him. Really. Yeah, Yeah, there's a whole scene where you know, she ended up with a guy, which you know isn't the most revolutionary thing, but at the time, that was very much the standard way to end it, and and they reshot it so that Rupert Everett shows up at the wedding and dances with her well, which is much better, oh so much better, so much so much better. Yeah, and a good ending can make or break totally. Yeah. Hey, Ali, Yes, rom coms are still a sping and my wife and I absolutely love moon Struck. You know that kind of movie will never die out as far as I'm concerned. And Squid Game the rom com that I keep watching too, for the Road with Albert Finney and Audrey Hepburn. I've watched it over and over when I was young and watched it on TV because everything about it just was otherworldly and beautiful and touching. And as I got older and was in a marriage of my own, I see so many different things and now and it touches me in a whole different way. Favorite rom coms. I love Moonstruck. It's complicated and as good as a guest. Those are the movies that I watched on repeat. Hi, Ali, I just wanted to say. My favorite rom com is When Harry Met Sally. I watch it several times a year. It never gets old and we need more rom coms. My absolute favorite rom com is It's complicated. I love Nancy Meyer's films. I think they're awesome. But that's one where I every time I bump into it, if I'm channel surfing, i's got to watch it. I'm gonna say, you defend your life because there's a great romantic story between Albert Brooks and Meryl Street. Totally love this movie. You can watch it again and again and laugh and completely enjoy it. The movies I watch over and over again are complicated, and because I said so, because they're really really funny. They're very well done, and they touch on tough subjects that are hard to discuss our express I think openly or within a family system. So and I'm single, and I it's complicated. I could relate to that. Let's just talk for a second about the financial world of movie making right now, which is kind of like our country, Like suddenly the middle class is gone. So either people are making really low budget stuff or it's Spielberg J. J. Abram's kind of big blockbuster stuff, and romantic comedies are usually in that mid budget regions. So do you think a lot of it is financing right now? I do. I think that's the rom coms we are seen are fairly little budget, and you know, have a guaranteed audience. Like I said on Netflix, I will say that Marry Me. The upcoming Jennifer Lopez one looks pretty big budget, so I'm really hoping it does well. Yeah, but then again, you have a star attached, right, two stars? Yeah, you know that's why I'm thinking, where are the big fact Greek weddings, Like That's what I'm looking for, or maybe I'm going to have to make it with you, j You know, we're gonna have to make our own. That's what you have to do. Yes, but you've seen a huge shift anyway in movie business, but just purely because of COVID, we can't make as much stuff. There's a lot of backlog of things that they've already thought that they haven't made, and sets are shutting down all the time. So my question to you is do you find that studios are now just relying on green screen and the big action stuff because they don't actually have to be on a tropical island with a cast. I mean, I get it, it's it's logistical a lot. Because I had a friend who recently shot a musical rom com and he's like, I couldn't have people singing live, and I kind of had to write around the kissing scenes. But then I look at something like again, I'm gonna invoke when Harry met Sally. I don't think that movie costs very much to make. It was shot in and around New York. It's two people talking for most of the movie. Um, let me ask you this promising young woman. And I say this because you dressed up as her for Halloween and I saw a picture of it, and my listeners should go google that. Janelle Riley Halloween. Do you consider a promising young woman a romantic comedy? That's a really good question. Offhand, I do not, but I think it is skewering romantic comedy tropes, which might have been what largely intrigued me from the start because I I wrote a play that was supposed to be a parody of romantic comedies, but I'm such a sucker. It kind of became the thing that was parodying. Because of course, I was like, they have to get together in the end, and there's there's rules you have to follow, and Emerald to know what she did with promising young woman, completely subverting our expectations. I feel like it's okay to talk spoiler ish. Yes, if you haven't watched it by now, then yeah, there are people who are still so angry. That's the Carrie Mulligan character dies like. They take it deeply personally and they feel betrayed and offended. And I'm always like, you expected this movie to have a happy ending because it is using these rom calm tropes. Even my mom, who loves the movie, was like, well, I really wanted her and that guy to work it out, and I'm like, the guy is toxic and terrible, exactly, But that's what we've been conditioned to exactly. But that's exactly right, which is why the ending was so spot on. I think it was a romance. I mean, when you think of her in the let's say predominantly male role, she was the person that avenged the love of her life's death, and that to me was incredibly romantic. So yes, it's not your typical romantic comedy, but I thought it was funny and dark, and I consider it a romantic comedy. I totally do not disagree with that. I think what it does is so brilliant on so many levels. And it's interesting because there's a lot of famous romantic comedies that I really don't like I'll just use like as I really can't stand how to lose a guy in ten days. I think they're just terrible people and we never get to know the real then they're terrible people. And also the misogyny and sexism in some of those cookie cutter romantic comedies are maddening. They just are there. It's like, oh god, you know anything that's like, you can't live unless you catch a man, get a man, have a I mean, having two teenage daughters. It's always difficult because I'm like, that's not no, that's not the endpoint, that's not the end game, you know. But a lot of those movies, particularly you know, twenty years ago, if they relied on that. Yeah, And I always think, like, this movie would be five minutes long if the lead female didn't look like Kate Hudson, Like he is not going to put up with that. And that's why I think, like our best romantic comedies are are people who are relatable. That's why I love Bridesmaids, you know, just right, Queen Latife is one of the most beautiful women in the world, but there is a subset of people who would say, well, she's not the traditional leading lady, and I'm like, great, that just means I can relate to her all the more, exactly exactly. And for me, it was when all the bridesmaids, you know, got diarrhea and they shot in the street. That's what I related to. I was like, Okay, good, these are my people. I related to Willis McCarthy taking home six dogs totally. That's what I would do. The whole thing though, the whole thing. Um. I made my piece long ago with the idea that you can it's okay to criticize things you love and that's called marriage. For a long time, it became hard for me to enjoy rom coms because I was like, you know, Beauty and the Beast is probably my favorite Disney movie, and I'm like, okay, this is Stockholm syndrome. You know, he's he's imprisoning her and she falls in love with him, and there's a lot that I'm willing to look past. Um. But more and more, I feel like romantic comedies are getting it right, you know, and they're recognizing those problems and they're correcting them. And that's been such a joy to see. So Janelle, I'm curious, how how does it me to movement affect the writing and producing of rom coms. Now Oh Boy had such a good question because you know, I said, it's okay to criticize the things you love, and Bridget jones Diary is a great movie that acts like workplace sexual harassment is just a form of flirting, right, And we were all okay with it because you know, they were beautiful people that we wanted to see. I was gonna say, we're all okay with it because it was Hugh Grant. Yeah, you know, if it were Henry kiss some jer I'm sure we would have had a different reaction. Well, I have a type, so so maybe. But I mean, that's that's something that is really fascinating to navigate. And you know, just in in all forms of entertainment now where people are like, is it okay to make jokes? Is it okay, you know, to say these things or do these things. I think it's just going to be a case by case basis. Yeah. I generally say that I'm not offended by something if it's so funny that it earns the laugh. Not always true, and not everyone feels that same way. But I actually think it's a good thing that people are having these conversations, and you know, I've spoken to some female writers who were the only writer in a room on you know, they do those roundtables for for movies sometimes and they would be like, wait, nobody else sees that this is like kind of gross or problematic, and now people are at least listening. So I think it's actually going to make for better movies. Well, the workplace romantic comedy, there's going to be a huge shift just in general. I don't know what the last one was. So what was the movie that It was Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant and she started working for him. That's right, two weeks notice, right, I do like that one, But now I should go back and see how it holds up. Yeah, well she works for him. Yeah that's right. Yeah, yeah, I remember loving it at the time, but I might see it. It's it's hard to be a wrong com fan. You go back in some of these movies you're like, oh, yeah, yeah, I mean the big one is obviously Love actually, which you know, I knew how issues when I saw it, but I watch it now and I'm like, yeah, that's funny. You say that. We watch it every Christmas and we watched it this year, and it was harder to watch than before because it's so glaringly awful, you know, crazy, it's yeah. I I made a short film parody many years ago called Grand Gestures, and this was I feel that this has been overdone now, not to say that I was the first by any means, but it's a parody of the guy who shows up at the house with the cards and as you know, to me, you're perfect. And in my version, the woman comes back with cards of her own and it's like, you're a stalker. Go away. That's really funny. But some people will tell you it's so romantic, so I don't want to take away from them. So when he does the cards and then he walks away, and she runs after him and kisses him on the lips, and then he says, right, we're done or something. That's enough for something, Yeah, that's enough. Me and my daughters were having a big discussion about it because what was she doing. My daughters were like, why would she go kiss him on the lips? That's leading him on, that's making him think that there's something there. And I was saying, she was being kind and that was he knew it had gone too far, and he was what's your opinion? What was that scene about? Boy? That's that's why I think that she was just being cute. You know, it was a thank you. But yeah, it is weird that it is a kiss on the lips and it feels romantic. Um. I also think, after this guy has just said, I get it, it's not going to happen that. You know, it's maybe a mistake right right to do that. But I would actually I really like that writer director. I would actually love to ask him good, ask him for me because I I wonder if he had it to do over Yeah, hey, al I love romantic comedies primarily because I grew up in the nineties and I was raised by them. Thanks Keaton is essentially my TV mother for all I can say, so I would say something's gonna gain with my go to go to um, Harold and Maude. I can go back to Roman Holiday if that counts. Overboard would be my movie I've left over and over again. I love that movie so much. Okay, best Welcome the Holiday by Fire. My favorite romantic comedy is Bringing Up Baby with Katherine Hepburn and Carrie Grant. I don't care how many times I've seen it before. I can always watch it again. I always laugh, it always makes me feel good. So there you go. I love you, Hi, I totally adore love actually watched it at kazillion times. It still makes me laugh, it's still makes me cry, it still makes me feel good. Let's see, which may be surprising to some if they haven't watched it in a long time, but I've probably watched it at least three hundred times. It is hysterical. I can't get enough of Moonstruck. I just watch it every time it's on. I love it. It's like one of my old times favorite movies. Bridesmaid is my go to rom com that I've seen a zillion times. It's my favorite, and rom coms are not dead. My favorite is The Holiday because it combounds Christmas with a romantic comedy and it's just perfect. There's something I don't know, magical about it. It's funny and it's cute and it's beautiful. Just makes you feel good. I could watch it probably every day of the year and never get picked of it. So what's your favorite romantic comedy? Um? I have you can give me three if you want. Okay, Well, I mean, when Harry met Sally is the obvious one, even though like there are these tropes and romantic comedies that sometimes like you know, well they start as friends, but it takes twenty years for them to see each other in that way. And although when Harry met Sally was probably the first one to really do it, so I'll give it that credit. But um, I love Bridesmaids um the best. And because again and the emphasis is on the comedy. You know, there's a very wonderful romance at it, but that is not the center. I was shocked by how much I loved Will Smith and Hitch Oh wow that I was not expecting that Hitch Okay, yeah, it's it's funny. We talked about it recently on an acting podcast that I really feel he should have won the Oscar that year for that performance. It was a Cary Grants, you know, like Matthew McConaughey was saying, you know, he had to be lighthearted, he had to you know, play dumb in some scenes. He had wonderful chemistry. They have a Mendez and you know, too smart people that they have to believably keep apart, even though we all know they Belong Together. That's interesting. And then another one I Love is Just Right with Queen Lativa and Common, and it began my long obsession with my future ex husband Common. He is, oh, yes, so fantastic in that movie. He really is. But he is fantastic just all at all. Isn't he great? Yes? I feel like you guys would would be your own romantic comedy if we ever could shoot that. Um And so you don't think we've lost their appetite for it, I don't think so. I think that I actually think we've gotten more discerning. I think that, you know, I hate to keep picking on something like How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, but another Kate Hudson movie fools Gold, Things like failure to launch these romantic comedies that frankly we're fairly mediocre but did really well at the time because they had a star. I mean, I don't think those would hold up now. I think that that we've gotten spoiled by the quality. And again I pointed Netflix and all that, and I should actually throw in Hulu too, because they did Happiest Season with Kristen Stewart's which I also think probably would have lit up the box office if it had been released in theaters. Yeah. So with streaming now, it's very hard to determine what would have been successful and what wouldn't. And I would love to see these movies with an audience, yes, yeah, I would love to see anything with an audience. I'd love to not be alone on my couch watching this stuff. All right, So I'm going to ask you a fun last question, which is, of all the romantic comedy leads, who was the most exciting to interview. You've interviewed everybody review Um, you know it. It might be Ray Fines because you don't think of him as a rom calm lead. No, I died. That's not who I was expecting you to say. That's so interesting. Well, I just remember it was some very serious period piece movie I was talking to him for and like one of the first things I said, I was like, I just have to tell you I love Maid in Manhattan. You know, Oh my god. I bet he wasn't expecting that he was not, And I was like, this will be such an interesting litmus test. Yeah, like if he's offended or if he is complimented. And he left and he said something to the extent of like I don't hear that too often, and he's like, but man, that was that was pretty much a perfect movie for its genre. And I was like, Okay, I like you. Yes, despite the attentions name pronunciation, I really like you. Yes, Yes, Wow, that's great. I love that. I love that story. So, Janelle, we've been opening it up now on my podcast to have the guests asked me a question. You can ask me a question about anything, doesn't have to be about romantic comedy, So go ahead. Actually, since I always make this joke that, like, you know, the greatest rom com writers like Jane Austen died alone, you know, the the o G. In my opinion, absolutely, you know, people always talk about how like I write rom comms, but my real life I have virtually no interest in living a rom calm. For someone who's been married for so long, are there days where you wish you were single and alone and had a whole house to yourself. Yes, Janelle, Yes I do. First of all, I've been married for a long time because I got lucky and because a lot of the kind of big fundamental things we agree on. But you are living with somebody like nod Stop, so there are a few tricks to this. Um. Every year on my birthday, I go away for a weekend by myself, and I come back a better wife and a better mother. And I also know when I'm getting two inundated that I need to go take a walk or like I can feel it in my body, and I know when like okay, I need a loane time, which I think is really important. So I mean, I think there are ways to you know, there's ways to deal with it and and find a good balance. There were times when my kids were younger where I was in bed with my husband, two little kids and two dogs and I would wake up in a pool of urine and have no idea whose it was. And that's when I went, you know what I gotta There's gotta be a better way. So it's not a romantic comedy, but you know, sometimes I have a romantic comedy when I'm alone. Sometimes when I you know, go away and I'm hiking in the mountains. There's nothing more romantic than that. I'm a big fan of solo vacation, so I love that advice. UM. Can I ask a follow up question, Yes, is there one particular fight that you have over and over again? Yes, that never gets resolved. Yes, the fight is the appreciation fight. I don't feel like you're appreciating me. I don't feel like you're appreciating me. I did this for you, and then but I did this for you. It's that it's like a cyclical, like when we start sniping at each other, it's because nobody feels appreciated. But now we've got it down to a shorthand. When we were first married, this fight would take two days. Now it's like ten minutes. It's like, I love you, I love you so much, I'm really sorry, I appreciate you. Get naked, okay, and it's over. It's funny you say that because my friend of mine wanted to know if you ever had sex in the White House, and I said, I feel like that's a given. No really, no, I wasn't with George. I was sure no, of course, so I would on the Oval office desk, but I didn't know him. Then I started dating George when he was already at ABC, so there was no white House. Uh, hanky panky. I figured, once you're in, you have a pass and you get the Lincoln bedroom. No, sorry, I did steal a white house astrife. That helps, but yeah, no, no, it would be great, but no, see you. I guess I should have asked that, well you did, I did? I did. Technically, this was so fun. I can't wait to, like go to the movie theater with you with a big box, I know, and popcorn. And but the thing that just keeps me going every day during this COVID world is that right now, right this second, Chanel, George Clooney and Julia Roberts are shooting a traditional romantic comedy in Australia. Yeah. I cannot wait for that. And I think if any two people can bring the romantic comedy back, and I feel like if that does well, which is guaranteed to, that'll jump start I think the romantic comedy game again. Um. Anyway, so great to talk to you, Chanelle. Thank you, thank you so much for having me. I'm such a fan. Yeah, I mean, come on, who doesn't love a romantic comedy. They make you feel warm and good. And I think as human beings we always like our spirit lifted, especially during a pandemic. I mean I could just watch him on a loop. So we did an unofficial poll, and it seems to suggest that the top three favorite rom coms are When Harry Met Sally, It's Complicated, and Moonstruck. Well, if you can guess which one I'm in, you might get an edible bouquet not from me, but just in your lifetime. And the other thing is, I've noticed in all three movies the women have good sex, so maybe that's why we love them so much. I am a child of the eighties, so mom comes live deep, deep, deep in my heart. I will never not watch Say Anything if I pass it by Um or any of the Breakfast Club movies. But that time is special because that time you didn't have Instagram. You had to wait by the phone for someone to call. Everything took longer, so things mattered more like standing outside and holding up a boom box and playing that amazing Peter Gabriel songs The Proposal. Could watch it a million times over. Betty White, She's so good in that. Don't we all wish we had a Betty White in our lives. Four Weddings at a Funeral because it's the only vir trape I ever owned, and I have easy seen it fifty times. I have to watch When Harry Met Sally every single year, if not two or three times a year. There are such classic lines like she thinks she's low maintenance, but she's really high maintenance, or I'll have what she's having, and my daughter and I why she's thirty five years old. My daughter and I have watched it over and over. We know all the lines, we use them randomly in an inappropriate and appropriate situations. My favorite rom coms are Bridget Jones movie, and this is because even at sixty years old, I see myself as Bridget Jones and always probably will. I mean, I can watch it over and over and over again. Any of the three movie best rom com ever is The American President by far, and that Betting is just so beautiful and smart and I wanted to beat her. Who does a little Michael Douglas rom com bring us a lot of hope, not only for romantic relationships but friendships. And one of my favorites of all time that I could watch once a month at least is When Harry Met Sally. I do not watch movies over and over again, but the one that I do, and I laugh and I cry each time I do watch it is It's complicated. My favorite rom com is just go with it with Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler. But once you in Mareshka finally film a comedy, that one will be my favorite. You've Got Mail is my number one. It's just a love win over everything, even after sarcasm and business loss and all that. That just gets me any. Adam Sandler Andrew Verry Moore movie is amazing. The first one that popped into my head that I had to watch at least once a year is The Wedding Date. And the reasons why are Debor Messing and Halls and Taylor for God's sakes, and Debora Messing's wardrobe in it. That alone, the wardrobe. Okay, I gotta say I'm in my sixties, but my favorite rom com has to be the first one I ever saw bringing up Baby Catherine Hepburn Carry Grant. That was the original. They've all come out of that. It was the best. Thank you for listening to Go Ask Alli. Be sure to subscribe, rate and review the podcast, and follow me on social media on Twitter at Ali You Wentworth and on Instagram at The Real Ali Wentworth. Now. If you want to ask me a question or suggested guests or a topic to dig into, I'd love to hear from you, and there's a bunch of ways to do it. You can call me or text me at three to three four six three six, or you can email a voice memo right from your phone to Go ask Alli podcast at gmail dot com. If you leave a question, you might hear it and go ask Alli. Go ask Alli is a production of Shonda land Audio and partnership with I heart Radio. For more podcasts from Shonda land Audio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.