In Front of Ira – Details, episodes & analysis

“This is called flirting, Amelia!” Sabrina and Torsten welcome Marisa Kabas to a special episode about a viral real-life romcom: the “Chicken Shop Date” of Amelia Dimoldenberg and Andrew Garfield.

They talk about a few things you may want to check out:

– Amelia and Andrew at the Golden Globes: https://youtu.be/E6O0wq6GNn8?si=OJ0hcR0IXDlTDtvr

– The titular Chicken Shop Date: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFS5vxYlfY8&pp=ygUkYW1lbGlhIGFuZHJldyBnYXJmaWVsZCBmaXJzdCBtZWV0aW5n

– Nicholas Quah at Vulture on the Andrew Garfield Chicken Shop Date: https://www.vulture.com/article/amelia-dimoldenberg-will-chicken-shop-date-forever.html

– Andrew Garfield kissing Stephen Colbert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbyhbLR0u0A

Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of romcoms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching.

Find us @infrontofira on various social media apps and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.com

Find Marisa at @marisakabas on Bluesky and Threads, and at https://www.thehandbasket.co

Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Torsten and Sabrina join Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney for a destination wedding in Australia featuring butt-grabbing and Shakespearean hijinks. Hopefully, no one needs to send a helicopter to save them from drowning in a movie that should work so much better than it does.

They talk about a few things you may want to check out: – The fake dating rumors surrounding the movie’s leads: https://www.teenvogue.com/story/sydney-sweeney-admits-to-actively-fueling-glen-powell-dating-rumors – The Netflix show “Everything Sucks” featuring Sweeney: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7078710

Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of rom-coms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching.

Find us @infrontofira on social media and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.com

Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Sabrina and Torsten meet up with Nora Ephron, Meg Ryan, and Rob Reiner again all the way across the country in this movie podcast referencing a movie that references a movie, “Sleepless in Seattle.”

They talk about a few things you may want to check out:

– The floating home of Sam, Tom Hanks’s character: https://www.dwell.com/article/how-the-sleepless-in-seattle-houseboat-gave-the-hit-rom-com-a-dose-of-realism-3138a4ea

– Rita Wilson’s monologue about “An Affair to Remember”: https://ew.com/movies/2018/06/25/sleepless-in-seattle-rita-wilson-affair-to-remember-monologue/

Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of rom-coms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching.

Find us @infrontofira on social media and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.com 

Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Torsten and Sabrina encounter a one-handed Nicolas Cage in the basement of a Brooklyn bakery and it’s not what you think. Well, okay, it is, it’s “Moonstruck,” Norman Jewison’s 1987 romantic comedy that won Oscars for Cher’s and Olympia Dukakis’s performances.

They talk about a few things you may want to check out:

– The recent death of “Moonstruck” director Norman Jewison: https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/norman-jewison-obituary-director-heat-night-moonstruck-thomas-crown-affair

– John Patrick Shanley’s screenplay for the movie, which reads like a play: https://www.rogerebert.com/tributes/he-stood-on-a-firm-piece-of-earth-john-patrick-shanley-on-moonstruck-director-norman-jewison

Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of rom-coms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching.

Find us @infrontofira on social media and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.com 

Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Torsten and Sabrina join the assortment of odd people stumbling into Lena Headey’s London flower shop in Ol Parker’s “Imagine Me and You,” a romcom about which the BBC says: “If you see only one movie this year about a bride falling for her florist during her wedding day, make sure it’s this one.”

They talk about a few things you may want to check out:

– Adrian Hennigan’s original BBC review of the movie: https://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2006/06/13/imagine_me_and_you_2006_review.shtml

– The Richard Curtis cinematic universe, in which this film appears to be set: https://www.brightwalldarkroom.com/2020/10/23/the-richard-curtis-cinematic-universe/

Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of rom-coms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching.

Find us @infrontofira on social media and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.com 

Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Sabrina and Torsten aren’t ready despite having set a dozen alarms and now have to run to attend “Four Weddings and a Funeral” with Hugh Grant and Andie McDowell. F**k!

They talk about a few things you may want to check out:

– Richard Curtis’s screenplay for the movie: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/465999.Four_Weddings_and_a_Funeral

– Elizabeth Hurley’s safety pin dress at the movie’s premiere: https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/liz-hurley-versace-remember-when/index.html

Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of rom-coms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching.

Find us @infrontofira on social media and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.com 

Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Torsten and Sabrina try to follow all of the 14 storylines in Gary Marshall’s take on “Love Actually,” the 2010 ensemble romcom “Valentine’s Day.” Five, Six, Seven, Eight…

They talk about a few things you may want to check out:

– Sady Doyle’s snarky review of “Valentine’s Day,” “Worst. Movie. Ever”: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/feb/14/valentines-day-movie-worst

– Taylor and Taylor and Taylor, “The internet is obsessed with Taylor Swift's friendship with Taylor Lautner and wife, Tay Lautner”: https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/taylor-swift-lautner-dome-friendship-rcna93321

Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of rom-coms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching.

Find us @infrontofira on social media and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.com 

Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Torsten and Sabrina hope they get into the prestigious Heidelberg Christmas market (fingers crossed!) with Hallmark heroine Heidi Heidelberg and discuss the phenomenon of Hallmark movies. And yes, that’s a quote from Ted Lasso at the beginning.

They talk about a few things you may want to check out:

– Andrea Braithwaite’s “From Brand to Genre: The Hallmark Movie”: https://doi.org/10.1177/15274764231171070

– Alyssa Hirose and Stacey McLachlan’s “How Hallmark Movies Get Made”: https://www.vanmag.com/city/arts-and-culture/how-hallmark-movies-get-made

– Willie Versteeg’s “Early Draft of Hallmark Movie Screenplay”: https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/early-draft-of-hallmark-movie-screenplay-christmas-for-christmas

– The Hallmark film “Christmas at the Plaza”: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10921042 which Torsten live-tweeted: https://bsky.app/profile/kathke.com/post/3ke6bnjgxdk2r

– The ‘Ted Lasso’ episode “(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea”: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19655878

Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of rom-coms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. 

Find us @infrontofira on social media and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.com 

Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Torsten and Sabrina controversially don’t hate “Love Actually” but have some thoughts about several of its storylines on the occasion of the beloved and bemoaned Christmas classic’s 20th anniversary.

Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of rom-coms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching.

Find us @infrontofira on social media and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.com

Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.

Sabrina and Torsten watch Natalia Tena and Brett Goldstein fall in love in this British superhero take on the rom-com also starring Catherine Tate and Laura Haddock.

Sabrina has dreamed about discussing a sequel to this film with its star, and also written a review: https://www.thespoilist.com/a-super-late-review-of-superbob-2015/ Welcome to “In Front of Ira,” the podcast in which historians, friends, and lovers… of rom-coms Sabrina Mittermeier and Torsten Kathke discuss how the romantic comedy genre has evolved, what it can tell us about society, and whether this movie is worth watching. Find us @infrontofira on social media and drop us a line at infrontofirapod@gmail.com Our music is “Night in Venice” by Kevin MacLeod.