How I love a romance set aboard a luxury cruise ship or ocean liner, especially classic movies set on ships in the early to mid 20th-century, a heyday of ocean travel. The coziness, the leather luggage with a separate toiletries case, the cute staterooms and cabins, the service, people dressing for elegant dinner and dancing, the endless ocean views, and falling asleep rocked by waves...of course, in this dream, I'm on the Cunard Line in a massive luxury suite with full balcony, and my sweetie is right by my side as we sail to some exotic location. Shhhhh — don't wake me up. https://www.confe ..read more

It's Halloween week, and time to confess that I'm strangely attracted to Gothic horror stories and creepy "romance," especially the many interpretations of the fascinating classic 19th century novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Each filmmaker and writer present different themes in their Jekyll and Hyde adaptations, from gender and sexual politics, personal ethics and morality, to abusive patriarchal structures and class and power inequities. The original story featured only men, but that hasn't stopped many modern adaptations of the story from featuring women as a romantic plot poi ..read more

Is it Halloween yet? If it's getting cooler where you live, too, let's brew some tea or pour some hot chocolate or hot cider and snuggle on the sofa with two of the most atmospheric, painterly, creepy yet oddly feminist and romantic movies I've ever seen. CW: brief references to marital physical abuse and graphic 19th century medical techniques. https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com A ghostly figure, an escapee from the local asylum, a forced marriage to a violent lunatic, and an intrepid woman who insists on wearing trousers while she's solving the mysteries: this creepy limited seri ..read more

I'm a huge fan of the films of Nicole Holofcener, and her latest is another lo-fi, funny, thoughtful story for anybody who's ever tried to make a romantic, platonic, sibling or parental relationship thrive. Is it ever okay to tell a little white lie to the people we love to spare their feelings? When is it okay to fib a little? Do blunt honesty, the unvarnished truth, or our brilliant but unsolicited opinions make people feel appreciated and loved, or is the truth a little more complicated? confessionsofaclosetromantic.com The intense intimacy, affectionate humor and heartache of You Hurt My ..read more

Ever since I first saw 1959's Gidget rerun on TV, I thought surfing and beach culture looked like the most fun you could have all summer. I might be an outsider still but my surf crush continues with every surfing movie or documentary that comes along, and the crazy-sexy fictional or real-life characters who make riding multi-story ocean waves look like a beach picnic. How could you not fall in love? https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com Movies The one and only Gidget, the story of the "beach generation." Moondoggie's right: there is no next best thing to love! For many, Point Break ..read more

Summer is kicking my butt, and I desperately need to chill. Let's celebrate Christmas in July and enjoy a replay of one of my favorite episodes, about one of my favorite classic holiday movies: the romantic and spiritual The Bishop's Wife, starring my movie boyfriend, the dashing and debonair Cary Grant.  This story is the gift that keeps on giving: what if a gorgeous angel came down to earth to answer a bishop's prayers for guidance, giving him not what he wants, but what he needs, while falling in love with his earthly wife, making her feel appreciated, and charming the whole community ..read more

This minor Woody Allen film asks a really pertinent question for a romance podcast: do we fool ourselves by looking to the stars, horoscopes, psychics or fortune tellers to comfort and convince us that love is out there waiting for us? Or does this harmless belief in destiny help us survive a harsh and often cruel world?  While possibly making us very annoying to friends and family? Gemma Jones is the sparkling center of this quietly humorous and often emotional movie about holding onto your own brand of spirituality and belief in unseen forces that just might influence your romantic futu ..read more

I'm taking a closer look at two emotional and exhilarating romantic LGBTQ love stories to celebrate Pride Month. These movies are very different in tone, but are equally heartwarming and visually exciting, with incredible performances. I laughed, I cried, I danced and sang along, and you can't ask for a better celebration than that. https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com Supernova has a quiet confidence that lulls you to its poignant, inevitable conclusion, but its melancholy sadness doesn't detract from the grace and beauty of its love story. "We're from Broadway!" Enough said. An in ..read more

What more could be said about witty, gorgeous George Clooney? For a long time now, George has been a worthy modern day Cary Grant, with all of the bantering sexy suave of that classic film icon. But I've noticed in more recent roles that George is moving into his rumpled cargo shorts phase (with just the slightest potbelly, still ridiculously attractive) as he adds more and more father figure roles to his hot little filmography. https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com Movies This vintage trailer makes Room for One More sound like a sexually charged romp with the parents of a family of ..read more

Warning: major gushing ahead! In this episode, I'm taking a look at the new two-part documentary Pretty Baby, all about the life and career of Brooke Shields. I think it's safe to say she was my first girl crush, and I still adore her. She's had a charmed but often difficult life, full of exploitation and some abuse, and has come out on the other side with her intelligence, sense of humor and groundedness intact. She's a survivor, and for that I admire the hell out of her. CW: emotional trauma, abuse of power, alcoholism, sexual assault. http://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com The traile ..read more