Weekend watching: rom-coms beyond the U.S.

Love should be tariff- and discrimination-free

I don’t know if it matters, but I won’t be travelling to the U.S. for at least the next four years (give my regards to Broadway, SOB). Not an original move, but it did make me rethink about how much American storytelling I consume, and so I am making a conscious effort to ensure that my rom-com watching travels beyond that border, too.

Rye Lane (2023, U.K.): Guys, I am completely in love with this movie! It’s funny, cool and after one viewing earned its place on my regular rotation. David Jonsson (Industry) plays heartbroken Dom, bawling over his ex in a gallery washroom when he meets Yas (Vivian Oparah), who, on the surface, has all the emotional strength that Dom lacks.

The film mostly takes place over the course of one day, a la Before Sunset, as the two travel through Peckham in southwest London, its neighbourhood shops, houses and parks shot lovingly by director Raine Allen Miller. A backyard barbecue scene had me rolling as did the most hilarious, surprising rom-com cameo ever (wait for it)! I read that Hollywood has been courting Jonsson for awhile and he has turned down offers because he prefers playing roles that explore the lives of Black men in Britain. This one is the whole stack of sandwiches. 🥪🥪🥪🥪🥪

Smothered (2023, U.K): If I am honest, U.K. rom-coms are my favourite, and not just because of a certain floppy-haired stuttering leading man. Bonus: This series has a Canadian connection. Written by Monica Heisey, one of our funniest exports (Schitt’s Creek, Baroness von Sketch and the novel Really Good, Actually, which you should pick up), this fresh take on an opposites-attract rom-com stars Danielle Vitalis as free-spirited Sammy, who meets Tom (Jon Pointing), a few years older and nerdier. Tom also happens to be a single dad.

The story is really just about relationship compromises, which doesn’t sound fun, but this is a couple worth rooting for. Bonus #2: Totally crush-worthy Aisling Bea. If you haven’t watched the Irish actor’s show This Way Up, I highly recommend it for a humorous and humane exploration of mental health.

It’s a perfect quick binge for a snowy afternoon and so I give it 🥪🥪🥪🥪.

Double Happiness (1994, Canada): If Cancon was a drinking game, you’d get hosed, hoser. Baby-faced Sandra Oh and Callum Keith Rennie! Soundtrack by Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet! Genie Awards! Seriously though, this movie still holds up years later, and represents one of the best decades of Canadian film. This was the era of The Sweet Hereafter, Whale Music, Dance Me Outside, Hard Core Logo, Last Night and New Waterford Girl.

Oh’s career has been so fascinating to watch. In Double Happiness, there’s a sweetness and vulnerability that is only ever hinted at in her starring roles in Grey’s Anatomy and Killing Eve, where she plays hard-to-crack emotionally tough women. Here, she plays with softness as aspiring actor Jade, who is struggling to be the perfect Chinese daughter while desiring a future that she isn’t even sure of yet. It’s beautifully shot with whimsical details and I always appreciate lingering shots of food on film. This nostalgic trip is 🥪🥪🥪🥪.

The Spanish Apartment (2002, France): There was a time when I existed solely on a rom-com diet of Romain Duris films. The charming French actor could hold his own film fest, but if you’re looking for a primer, I recommend the Spanish Apartment trilogy: L’Auberge Espagnole, Russian Dolls and Chinese Puzzle. First off, he plays Xavier, a French university student who moves to Barcelona to learn Spanish.

Xavier ends up living in a house with other young attractive people of various nationalities, and falls in love with a friend’s wife. Uh-oh. If you’re not familiar with this era of French film, Xavier’s girlfriend is played by Audrey Tatou, shortly after her breakout as quirky Amélie. How can you go wrong with sharing a Sunday afternoon with a bunch of beautiful people in Barcelona?

Once you’re finished the trilogy, move on to Heartbreaker, in which Duris’ character is hired to break up bad relationships, co-starring Vanessa Paradis. That should get you through the February blues. 🥪🥪🥪

Namaste Wahala (2020, Nigeria): I am not familiar with Nigerian filmmaking, but thanks to Netflix, we have access to a lot of the country’s rom-coms and so I am digging in. I’m starting with Namaste Wahala, which is the first cross-cultural collaboration between Nollywood and Bollywood.

Set in Lagos, Raj (Ruslaan Mumtaz) and Didi (Dima-Okojie) run into each other (literally) on the beach and fall in love. And there’s a song to mark the occasion! Cue the family conflicts! First-time director Hamisha Daryani Ahuja wanted to capture the whimsy and nostalgia of 1990s Bollywood, which is so fun. It’s also a cosmopolitan view of Lagos rarely seen on film. The story itself is fine, there’s nothing exceptional in the narrative, but does there have to be? I say this after watching hundreds of Hallmark movies. Sometimes you just want the formula, gorgeous people and places, and some song and dance. For that, and for my first foray into Nollywood, I give Namaste Wahala 🥪🥪🥪.

The Worst Person in the World (2021, Norway): Who would have guessed that one of the best romantic films of the decade would come from Oslo? I’ve always wanted to travel to Norway and the way that director Joachim Trier lovingly shoots the city, it’s moved higher up my travel list.

On the surface, the film follows Julie (Renate Reinsve) through two relationships: there’s older graphic novelist Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie) and barista Eivind (Herbert Nordrum). Julie is messy (we love messy protagonists!) and, okay she’s nasty, perhaps she is even the worst. But aren’t we all pretty self-absorbed as we try to sort out who we are, professionally and personally?

Reinsve won an acting award at Cannes, and she carries this film to its inconclusive conclusion. If you’re looking outside the formula, The Worst Person in the World is the best. 🥪🥪🥪🥪