Stuff I've Been Into Volume 2
Movies, books, podcasts, and also YouTube workouts
Not that I think anyone was checking their inbox while simultaneously tapping their watch, but yes, I did skip last week’s newsletter. Every week I’m like, “next week I’m gonna have my life so together,” and then next week comes along and guess what, I’m still me. This is why I can’t ever charge for this newsletter: I can’t be tied to a schedule. I don’t have cohesive, essay-length thoughts on one movie today, but what I do have is a lot of little thoughts on many, many things. Onward!
Movies
In September and October, I focused on watching as many scary or, more accurately, vaguely spooky things as I could. This involved watching a lot of Yuppie Nightmare movies (more on that later), like Consenting Adults (weird as hell!), Pacific Heights (not very good!), Sliver (VERY bad), and Fatal Attraction (amazing, iconic, etc.).
Readers of my scary movie post will be happy to know that I finally watched (most of) Slumber Party Massacre, the movie that haunted me for years, and guess what? It was goofy! Just really silly, cartoonish, and over the top. At one point, there were five fake-outs in a row. Also someone ate pizza off a dead body? I don’t know, there was a lot going on but I did enjoy it. This is supposedly a feminist horror classic, and far be it from me to say it’s not, but I’m not sure I personally would be like, “wow, so feminist.” I did, however, have a good time.
A couple of months after the rest of the world, I finally watched Don’t Worry Darling, the film that worried everyone. I had a good time! To be fair, I have a good time with most movies. Hollis watched it with me and halfway through, he sighed dramatically and said, “I don’t think this is for me.” He was correct, but he still watched the whole thing and I was so glad he did because this is a film you should watch with a friend so that afterward you can ask each other increasingly passionate questions like, “But why?” and “What?” I won’t give any spoilers, but I will warn you that this movie made me like Harry Styles less. Some things/hairstyles you can’t unsee, and you should go into this knowing that the images on screen may challenge your view of him. Also it’s VERY funny to me that Olivia Wilde said this movie was about female pleasure because, uh…it is very much not.
Last week one of my favorite film newsletters, The Reveal, wrote about what a bummer it is that good films are so often stuck on streamers that few people have (Apple TV, I’m looking at you) or buried deep within the bowels of Netflix. Netflix is forever recommending me stuff I have no interest in (serial killer shows) or really pushing The Age of Adaline for reasons I’m too afraid to investigate (what is it trying to tell me?). Anyway, Scott Tobias mentioned the German film All Is Well, which is pretty well hidden on Netflix. It’s a pretty brutal account of a woman who is sexually assaulted and then tries to pretend that all is well with disastrous results. This movie is not light or even hopeful at all, but I thought it was spectacular. However, the words “underrated foreign film about a woman struggling with something” are my catnip.
It reminded me that one of my favorite genres is what I like to call Men Are Useless Cinema. It’s exactly what it sounds like: movies where the men are just not the point, or even actively messing things up. The best example of this is Steel Magnolias. From the first scene, men are screwing up Julia Roberts’s wedding while Sally Field is just trying to do her best. The men are so peripheral, so unimportant, so…useless. This is why I love books that take place in convents, homes for unwed mothers, etc. Anyway, this movie is Men Are Useless Cinema but in a bad way. All of the men are either violently terrible or just blandly unhelpful.
Because I am large and contain multitudes, I also watched the Sarah Ramos Hallmark film A Kismet Christmas. I’m a longtime Sarah Ramos fan: I’m obsessed with Parenthood, I own her Autograph Hound zine, and I regret seeing her at the Rom Com Fest opening night party in LA four years ago and not introducing myself (in retrospect, probably best that I didn’t because I would’ve sounded unhinged). I’ve seen my fair share of Hallmark movies and my books frequently get compared to Hallmark movies, so believe that I know what I’m talking about when I say that this was a very good Hallmark movie! Maybe someday I’ll write a newsletter all about Hallmark movies that are about writers because so far I’ve seen three.
TV
Are we watching Bake Off? Um, do I have a deep and abiding crush on Noel? The answer is yes on both counts! My crush on Noel will never end because he is just my type (tall, big sweaters, funny, pale). I get actually mad when people lament the absence of Mel and Sue because I think it’s rude to be so ungrateful for Noel. Mel and Sue are fine. Noel is a star. I have zero thoughts whatsoever on Matt.
Podcasts
As previously mentioned, I’m now obsessed with With Gourley and Rust, a podcast hosted by Matt Gourley and Paul Rust. I was already very familiar with Paul Rust because I listened to a lot of comedy podcasts ten years ago when I had an hour+ drive to work, and the 2008 Don’t Stop or We’ll Die EP is permanently tattooed on my brain. But I simply love the sweet friendship chemistry between him and Matt Gourley! It’s a cozy podcast about horror films, and although I should probably take a break from scary movies because they’re starting to affect my anxiety levels, this podcast just makes me want to watch more. Their Yuppie Nightmare series has made me so happy and I’ve watched such a wide range of films. And next week they’re talking about Fear! I’m so into it that I joined the Patreon. I know!
Books
I’m currently reading Tracy Chevalier’s A Single Thread because Stephanie Perkins recommended it on Instagram, and you guys. I can’t get enough! I guess this qualifies as a Men Are Useless book, but in this case the men are useless through no fault of their own because they’re dead. The book takes place after World War I, when so many men had been killed that the unmarried women were referred to as “surplus women.” It’s all about being a single 38 year old woman at a time when that was a horrifying prospect, and it’s also about embroidery. It’s pretty slow and quiet and I just love it. I’m entranced.
Listen, I know I’m about fifteen years late on this one, but over the summer I read Olive Kitteridge, my first Elizabeth Strout, and OMG (imagine that in Alec-Baldwin-in-It’s-Complicated voice). Where has this book been all my life (winning the Pulitzer, being made into an HBO miniseries, etc.)? I just loved it. It’s my favorite kind of book: heart-wrenchingly sad and but also funny, quiet and yet dramatic. I bought Olive, Again but haven’t read it yet.
Also, I absolutely must tell you to read the latest book by Rebecca Kauffman, who I think is terribly underrated. Chorus is about a large, occasionally dysfunctional family of seven siblings. The story begins, if I remember correctly, in the early 1900s and continues through the 1950s, giving you each character’s viewpoint at different times in their lives. This is another one that’s very sad while still being hopeful. I cried! It’s short, and the ending takes place at Christmas so it’s technically a seasonal read. I love books about the relationships between siblings, and this explores some very complicated relationships so beautifully.
Articles
I can’t stop thinking about this article about IUD removal.
It seems, for lack of a better word, weird that I know so many people who’ve had problems with IUDs, and more than one friend who’s had severe side effects from birth control pills, and yet doctors just…don’t tell you about that? Hmm! Anyway, sorry to freak you out with a horror story but I think it’s important to know!
YouTube workouts
I think people would be surprised at how dedicated I am to physical activity, probably because you would look at me and think, “THIS lady is into exercise?” Like, I don’t lift weights and I wouldn’t describe myself as fit, but I am very into the idea of exercise as a mental health necessity. Mostly I’m a big walker, but I also love YouTube workouts.
It’s actually incorrect for me to refer to Yoga with Adriene as a YouTube workout because I subscribe to the Find What Feels Good app. After ten years of working out with Adriene I was like, “maybe I could invest in an ad free version.” Now that I’m older, working out has become almost entirely about a) calming my anxiety and b) making sure my back doesn’t hurt. When I do Adriene videos regularly, I don’t have back pain. When I don’t do them, my back hurts so bad. That’s aging for you! I’m eagerly awaiting January’s 30 Days of Yoga…this will be my fifth year! But also I’ve done three 30 Day challenges this year alone because I need Adriene to give me structure.
On the other end of the spectrum we have MadFit, which I learned about from a Cup of Jo profile on Japanese Breakfast. I call Maddie my emotional support blonde Canadian because her dance workouts are intensely cathartic for me. I’ve, no joke, almost cried more than once during the Harry’s House dance party. I should warn you that, while I’ve never injured myself during an Adriene video, I’ve injured myself twice during MadFit videos, although I would never blame either instance on Maddie herself. Once was because I did a very leg-focused dance workout the day after I got my first-ever COVID shot, and my muscles became so sore that I almost couldn’t walk up the stairs. The second is because I tried to do lunges as quickly as she can, forgetting that she’s ten years younger than me and VERY in shape. Proceed with caution, is what I’m saying.
That’s it for this week! Soon I’ll be writing a post about a question that’s been plaguing me for months: what is fun? Until then, let me know what you’ve been watching/reading/listening to, and also let me know if you’re also unreasonably reliant on Adriene and Maddie to keep your mental and physical health afloat.
Love Adriene and Maddie. Also really enjoy these roundups.
Noel Fielding FOREVER and EVER, but Matt can literally go jump in a lake. I am so tired of him. Bring back Sandy or pair Noel with some other sweet, older woman. Matt is so annoying and I really want him to go away.