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Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

1 review

thecriticalreader's review

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hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

 
Blurb: 
Sally Milz is a thirty-six-year-old sketch comedy writer with a reputation for writing about feminist issues and themes. She takes a cynical view toward her lackluster love life and frequently ruminates over the tendency of conventionally attractive female celebrities to couple up with less conventionally attractive male comedians—noting that this sort of coupling rarely occurs if the gender roles are reversed. She’s forced to reconsider her philosophy when she meets Noah Brewster, an attractive superstar who takes an interest in her. 
 
Review:
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld takes place in three stages. The first half of the book takes place during the week leading up to a late-night live show (called The Night Owls in the book, but which is VERY clearly a stand-in for Saturday Night Live, down to the smallest details). The next part is an email exchange between Sally and Noah, and the final section of the book follows the protagonist as she meets the love interest in person during the COVID-19 pandemic. The structure contributes in large part to the main issues I have with this book. The first half of the book takes place in a week span, but only a handful of scenes actually contribute to the main plot. The rest is chock full of details about how the live show works, Sally’s coworkers’ lives, and other minute details. As a huge fan of Saturday Night Live, I appreciated these details for adding a sense of realism to the story, but they are purely superfluous from a storytelling perspective. Even outside of this section, Romantic Comedy consists mainly of expository details that add to the story’s realism, but that detract from its momentum. In other words, this book is in need of editing and restructuring.
 
One thing that I appreciate about Romantic Comedy is that the romance between Sally and Noah feels much more healthy, developed, and mature compared to most relationships in romance books. The main characters communicate their feelings and expectations, and their attraction to one another forms equally out of their respect and admiration for each other as their sexual attraction. That being said, Sally is much less mature than Noah. For the first half of the book, she’s insufferable—her only real personality traits are that she likes her job and that she’s a feminist. She unfairly judges others and treats people with disrespect. Moreover, it’s unclear why Noah finds her attractive. The conceit of the book is that her relationship with Noah switches the gender roles in a common dynamic in which a conventionally attractive, female superstar falls in love with a less conventionally attractive comedian for their humor and charm. The problem with this is that nowhere in the book is Sally shown to be funny or charming. Sure, she supposedly writes hilarious sketches (although a lot of her sketch ideas sound awful on paper), but she displays none of that humor or wit in her actual personality. She’s a wet blanket of a human being, and poor Noah is forced to act as her therapist because she’s not emotionally mature enough to act like an adult in their relationship.
 
The Run-Down: 
You will probably like Romantic Comedy if:
·      You love comedy and/or Saturday Night Live, and want to read about how a show like SNL is put together AND
·      You are looking for a romance built on shared interests and communication more than raw attraction 
 
You might not like Romantic Comedy if: 
·      You don’t want to read about the COVID-19 pandemic 
·      You are looking for a traditional rom-com book (this book leans more toward literary fiction than traditional romance, contains very little humor, and is not "smutty")
·      You like fast-paced, efficient books that don’t dwell on unnecessary details
 
 
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