A brief rom-com review

Good afternoon!

Last night, I started watching Beverly Hills Cop, thinking I’d do a few sudokus while tuning in and out of the action. A few minutes in, I realized I wanted something that appealed more to my emotional side, and switched to watching Sleeping With Other People after the first action scene, while Eddie Murphy’s character is holding on in the back of a veering cigarette truck. Imagine my surprise when Jason Sudeikis’s character in Sleeping With Other People later references that exact scene toward the end of the movie! I love serendipitous moments like that.

Sudeikis is a delight in Ted Lasso, and it’s fun to see his and Alison Brie’s chemistry in Sleeping With Other People, a bit of a raunchy rom-com. I always enjoy rom-coms that end with the two characters not together, though they’re pretty rare—only Prime comes to mind—since I think it’s an important counterpoint to the “all’s happy in the end” narrative most rom-coms promote. (Though maybe my views on that differ depending on whether I’m in or out of a relationship at the time….) This movie could easily have ended that way, and I thought it was going to, though the twist bringing us to the proper end was good fun. (I’m thinking, too, of Lasso’s support for “rom-communism”, from the season 2 episode “Rainbow”. While we’re on the topic of Ted Lasso, I enjoyed this—spoiler-filled—discussion of the shows themes and storylines.)

The only non-rom-com link I have to share this week is an insightful analysis of the equalization referendum currently unfolding in Alberta. While I don’t take a particularly strong view on the question itself—other than that I’m glad the authors debunk some common misconceptions about equalization—I really enjoyed the authors’ discussion of Alberta’s current ability to secure a different bargain, and how this referendum may or may not affect it.

I’m off to tend to some sauce and bake biscuits for a Thanksgiving gathering with friends. I hope this weekend finds you happily wandering or spending time with loved ones, be they family, friends, or otherwise. All the best for the week ahead!

Lucas