Review of Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

I like Rom Coms (both Rom Com books and movie Rom Coms). I like Curtis Sittenfeld’s books. A rom com seems a little bit out of her typical scope, but I HAD to try this one. Find out what I thought in my Review of Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld.

Written and edited by Jen Ryland. Last updated on:

Review of Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

This Review Contains:

• A brief synopsis of the book
• A list of other Curtis Sittenfeld books you may have read
• My thoughts on whether Romantic Comedy really IS a rom com (NO)
• What I thought were the book’s strengths and weaknesses
• Is Romantic Comedy really an issue-driven women’s fiction book with a romance (YES)
• Since the book was obviously based on Saturday Night Live, what real stars were the books’s characters based on? I have my theories and want to hear yours.

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

To be published on April 4, 2023 by Random House

Romantic Comedy is the April 2023 pick for Reese’s Book Club!

Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review.

I do freelance work for Underlined (part of Random House Books) who are the publishers of this title.

Brief Synopsis of Romantic Comedy

Sally Milz is a sketch writer for “The Night Owls,” the late-night live comedy show that airs each Saturday. She’s long abandoned the search for love, settling instead for a close relationship with her elderly stepfather and his dog.

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?

What Other Novels Has Curtis Sittenfeld Written?

I’ve been fan of Curtis Sittenfield since her very first book, the popular Prep (2005). She followed that with The Man of My Dreams (2006), American Wife (2008), Sisterland (2013), Eligible (2016), You Think It, I’ll Say It (2017), and Rodham (2020).

So far, she’s stayed in the women-centered fiction lane and has never really written a romance or a rom com. Until now.

Did I Like Romantic Comedy?

Romantic Comedy was a very interesting book to me. As a professional reviewer, I think a lot about how books are marketed vs. how they actually read. So…

IS Romantic Comedy actually a romantic comedy?

Romance books have (thankfully) changed a lot over the years from the days of the Harlequin romance (seemingly modeled on Jane Eyre) that featured an inexperienced young woman who falls in love with a rich, aloof guy who treats her like sh!t but secretly adores her.

In the last ten years so so, issue-driven romance has become a thing.

I’m all for it, until the issues overtake the romantic plot. And rom coms require comedy! As I’ll discuss below, books with issues plus a side of romance are nor romance, just … books!

So, I’ll talk about how Romantic Comedy read to me, both as a romance and just a book.

The first half of Romantic Comedy was by far my favorite and I would have kept reading that part forever.

The book starts as Sally Milz is working as a writer on The Night Owls, a sketch comedy show on Saturday Nights. The show is very obviously based on Saturday Night Live, and as a person who has been watching the show since the 80s, I will talk about that aspect separately.

Perhaps not surprisingly, I LOVED that part of Romantic Comedy with all my heart. Watching Sally do her job was a lot of fun and I could have read about it forever.

I loved hearing how Sally and her colleagues came up with sketch ideas, pitched them to the producers and show runners, wrote them, held table reads, found out if their sketches would be put in to rehearsal.

I loved reading about the costuming, the sets, the quirks of the guest hosts and musical guests, and the adrenaline rush as a live show was filmed.

I loved all the behind-the-scenes details on the wrap party and the after party. Loved!!!!

I also loved reading about the sexism in sketch comedy.

I didn’t love the second half of the story nearly as much. I won’t give too much away, but the book took (for me) a weird turn. There was a fight (typical for romance).

Then there was a middle part where the couple reconnects via email, and I don’t love epistolary stuff. (But I suspect that the main character was named Sally Milz just so her email address could be “smilz.”)

I found the last third of the book very talky and not as emotionally grounded as I’d hoped, between the emails and the endless long conversations that the two characters had to try to resolve the main conflict. ENDLESS!!!

I’m not one who loves long explicit love scenes, but at some points I was just like, “please, just take off your clothes and do something to break up all this talking.”

So. I did love the first part of Romantic Comedy with all my heart. I appreciated the feminist bent of the story and the fact that it talked (though perhaps a bit too much) about the double standards of male and female attractiveness. That it made a female character attractive not for being conventionally pretty, but for being funny and good at her job.

Then the book turned into more of a romance, in which the couple talked a lot about the issue that was driving them apart.

COULD ordinary Sally really be loved by a “cheesy pop star?” Could she get past the fact that Noah was (as some famous guy once got called) a “serial modeler?”

I appreciated the fact that the book made Noah (the cheesy pop star) kind of washed up and with some insecurity about his looks. But the central conflict seemed to question the very idea of the celebrity romance trope.

Because of this, I found the end of the book very dialogue-heavy and that it went around in circles a bit.

However, I’ve seen friends of mine on Goodreads that said that they found the first half kind of slow and loved the second half. Maybe because it felt more “romance-y?” That’s what makes discussing books so fun!

I definitely recommend this book to fans of SNL, fans of feminist women’s fiction, and fans of a more realistic kind of celebrity romance.

Read Romantic Comedy and tell me what you thought!

IS Romantic Comedy a romantic comedy AND what is a Romantic Comedy?

Back on my post on Romantic Comedies I have reviewed, here are MY criteria for a romantic comedy:

1. A Rom Com is first and foremost, a romance. The romance needs to be the main focus of the book, not a side plot. There IS a HEA.
2. Tropes! As I discussed in this post, trope is NOT a bad word. Meet Cutes, Hate to Love, Friendship to Love, Fauxmances…. bring them all on!
3. Some humor. This does NOT mean a rom com can’t incorporate and address serious issues, but see rule 1: the seriousness can’t take over the book and make it all sad and dark.

Yes, this book WAS structured as a romance.

The first half of the book was all about the growing attraction between the couple. There’s a lot of “does he like me” and “could he like me,” but all rooted in Sally’s belief that attractive women date average-looking guys, but that an attractive guy does not date an average-looking woman.

The book did have the Dark Moment/Great Misunderstanding that pushes the couple apart. It wasn’t as dramatic as in most romances and again, is completely tied to Sally’s insecurities and how she uses humor as deflection from them. (Fun fact: Sally finds out a secret about the love interest and I was certain that the Great Misunderstanding would be that it gets out and he thinks she blabs it, but nope.)

Yes, Romantic Comedy had tropes.

Despite the fact that one of my most popular posts is about Celebrity Romance books, I’m not the biggest fan of them. They seem so unlikely and (apologies to fans of them) a little like teenage wish fulfillment. But YES, Love with a Celebrity is a trope, so Romantic Comedy fulfills criteria number two on my list.

YES, there was humor.

Or at least the book was about humor. But yes, there were light-hearted moments. For me, the second half of the book, which should be about the couple overcoming their obstacle and getting closer, did feel more analytical and less emotional than a typical rom com.

For SNL Fans: Let’s talk Saturday Night Live vs. The Night Owls

What real people were The Night Owls staff and guests based on in Romantic Comedy? Here are my guesses and I’d love to know yours!

Who was Sally Milz in Romantic Comedy based on?

I mean, Sally has to be inspired by Tina Fey, right? I couldn’t picture her any other way. Tina was head writer for SNL from 1997-2006.

Who was Danny Horst in Romantic Comedy based on? Danny was the butt of the joke in the skit about average looking or unattractive TNO stars dating gorgeous women, based on? Danny is described as a “pasty-skinned” writer who does a lot of drugs and loves watching x-rated videos at work.

Who was Elliott Markovitz in Romantic Comedy based on? Elliott was the “average-looking” head writer of TNO, and married to a multi-platinum pop singer

Who was Josh Beekman in Romantic Comedy Based on? Josh was a TNO cast member known for his recurring character Backne Guy, who married an Oscar-winning actress.

The real-life suspects:

Pete Davidson, who dated Kim Kardashian, Kate Beckinsale, and Ariana Grande.

Colin Jost, who married Scarlett Johanssen

Bill Hader, who was an SNL cast member from 2005-2013 and dated Anna Kendrick and Rachel Bilson.

Fred Armisen, who was cast member on SNL from 2002-2013. He married (then divorced) Elisabeth Moss

Jason Sudekis, who was both a writer and cast member of SNL in the 2000s. He dated (and is currently in a child custody disputed with) Olivia Wilde.

John Mulaney, who was a writer on SNL from 2008 to 2013 and dated (and had a child with) Olivia Munn.

Sally’s “Blabbermouth” skit was obviously based on Kelly Clarkson and The Voice, in which the male judges spend a huge amount of time telling her she talks too much.

Who did you think Noah Brewster in Romantic Comedy is based on? He’s described as thirty-six, “a cheesily handsome, extremely successful singer-songwriter who specialized in cloying pop music and was known for dating models.” The career description really fits John Mayer. I hope not.

Uh… Cody Simpson? Joe Jonas? As I read the descriptions of Noah, I kept picturing Keith Urban, though he doesn’t fit the profile in other ways.

Callie, in the comments, mentions that she pictured Billy Ray Cyrus (on the left, above) and I am laughing so hard. (Just not with the mullet, please!) He does look a bit like Keith (on the right) and both of them fit Noah’s physical description.

I’d love to know your thoughts and hope you will chat with me in comments!

Who/what is YOUR favorite SNL player and skit? So many choices!