REVIEW: Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld: In a very Shakespearean two novels collide type fashion, Romantic Comedy traces two different contextual arcs that band together due to Covid, highlighting a clear picture of what life was like before, during and possibly even after type trichotomy of our recent world. Sally and Noah meet in fairly normal circumstances, albeit as host and comic sketch writer for TNO, a bit of a parody slash satire slash maybe not anything but for copyright sake re-write of SNL.

Sally, super funny and talented yet inherently self-deprecating and fairly satisfied with her life behind the scenes, and flash host musical superstar Noah, who seeks her out to get assistance writing his host scene – a mandate for the show that goes live at 10 to midnight each Saturday night. And that’s pretty much the sum up of the initial plot, until of course, our two protagonists bare witness to some sparks flying and the reality of each other is in fact a comic sketch that Sally is trying to get on the November 2018 show – that is -mediocre men can date hot women but the same doesn’t hold true for the reverse.

Sadly, for our couple, despite the evident magic that occurs between them, they seem to both cock it up, swayed by fear, insecurity, or perhaps feeling too much and opening up too vulnerably so the other becomes a potential target or indeed falls prey to the stereotype that Sally is doing her darn best to get to air.

And then we flash forward to our house-hold global pandemic. And the narrative structure and voice change, and contextually, whilst it makes sense, allows a few holes to develop given both our main characters end up sounding exactly like the other – except they shouldn’t given the whole premise of the novel. Sadly, this was the biggest fall-down. For the most part, this is an easy 5 out of 5 on every romance scale ( who doesn’t love the tension that exists in all of our insecurities in love being highlighted so openly and honestly) and yet, the all important sequel that drew our guys together turned a little bitter Rom and instead of Com.

For the most part though, juggling the gender inequities, highlighting some fairly weighty political and social injustices sat as a bit of a backbone, and whilst the ‘two novels in one’ kind of happened organically, our characters shaped up a little too similarly. And yet, it all kind of worked in the end. Arguably, this is simply because there wouldn’t be a man, woman or child on the planet that wouldn’t want our pair finding their happy ever after.

For many, this will strike as incredibly infuriating, however, there was just enough in the opening 40% to create a sense of believability that I was able to let this gorgeous and often hilarious romance slip through to the keeper. I recommend, despite the textual incongruities, because frankly, who doesn’t want to believe that a hot superstar musician could find a girl next door type loveable.

Book Info:

Publication: 4th April 2023 | Random House |

Sally Milz is a sketch writer for “The Night Owls,” the late-night live comedy show that airs each Saturday. With a couple of heartbreaks under her belt, she’s long abandoned the search for love, settling instead for the occasional hook-up, career success, and a close relationship with her stepfather to round out a satisfying life.

But when Sally’s friend and fellow writer Danny Horst begins dating Annabel, a glamorous actor who guest-hosted the show, he joins the not-so-exclusive group of talented but average-looking and even dorky men at the show—and in society at large—who’ve gotten romantically involved with incredibly beautiful and accomplished women. Sally channels her annoyance into a sketch called the “Danny Horst Rule,” poking fun at this phenomenon while underscoring how unlikely it is that the reverse would ever happen for a woman.

Enter Noah Brewster, a pop music sensation with a reputation for dating models, who signed on as both host and musical guest for this week’s show. Dazzled by his charms, Sally hits it off with Noah instantly, and as they collaborate on one sketch after another, she begins to wonder whether there might actually be sparks flying. But this isn’t a romantic comedy; it’s real life. And in real life, someone like him would never date someone like her…right?

With her keen observations and trademark ability to bring complex women to life on the page, Sittenfeld explores the neurosis-inducing and heart-fluttering wonder of love, while slyly dissecting the social rituals of romance and gender relations in the modern age.