Sally Milz is a woman in her mid-30s, living and working in New York. She married and divorced young and then started her life writing comedy for a comedy sketch show that features big guest stars and goes live every Saturday night. She’s been there for nine years, using her wit to skewer everything from whether women fart to how funny guys can win hot, accomplished women.
The week that Noah Brewster appeared as both the guest host and musical act was a week that changed Sally’s life. From the first pitch meeting early in the week, she felt a spark for the man. Which is ridiculous. She is not the type to get crushes on guest stars, and certainly not on pop music icons. But when he comes to her with an idea for a sketch, asking for her help editing it and punching up the humor, they share some genuine moments and some true laughs, partly based on Sally’s overuse of the word “actually.”
As the week goes on, there are more flirty moments, but Sally can’t figure out why. She’s not the type of woman to attract men like Noah. Under her professional competence lies an insecurity that’s been hard for her to shake. So when Noah starts talking to her at the after party at the end of the week, she panics and says something to push him away. And she immediately regretted it.
Fast forward a couple of years, and the country is shut down from the pandemic. Sally has moved back home to Kansas City, to help take care of her stepfather. Out of the blue, she gets an email from Noah, and they start emailing back and forth a lot. They talk about their lives during Covid, about music, about the screenplay she wants to write but can’t find the words for, about his working out with his trainer, about her walking her stepfather’s beagle. They apologize and explain and find ways to talk through the awkward moments. They move on to texting, then calling, then facetiming. And then Noah pops the question. Do you want to come visit?
Sally does, but she’s also worried about the logistics. Her anxiety and insecurities pop up in layers of nervousness and neuroticism. But she packs up a borrowed car and heads halfway across the country to California, where Noah’s multi-million dollar home is in Topanga Canyon. But once Sally gets to Noah’s house, will things fall into place for the couple, or will the pressure of dating as famous people, the pandemic, and their individual insecurities end the relationship before it can take hold?
Bestselling author Curtis Sittenfeld is back with Romantic Comedy, a love story between a professional comedy writer and a pop music superstar. There is a lot of humor, tons of heart, many masks, even more emails, a beagle, a bedside commode, a comedy sketch about a cheesemonger, a big breakup, a couple of new babies, some paparazzi, and a mention of Kansas City’s shuttlecocks. There is also an entire week spent behind the scenes of a television show that sounds amazingly like Saturday Night Live, and getting an insider’s view on that is exceptional entertainment right there.
I had a lot of trouble with this book. And by that I mean I had trouble putting it down to I could get anything else done. It’s amazing and fascinating and sweet and funny and full of awkward moments that make the entire journey feel so real. I worry that the title is a little deceptive because while there is certainly a romance at the center of the story, anyone who passes on this book thinking it’s only a romance is missing out on so much. So much humor, so much insight, so much humanity, and so, so, so much joy. I don’t say this often, but Romantic Comedy is a must-read. If you’re smart, you’ll pick it up and start reading it immediately. And if you’re anything like me, you won’t be able to stop until you get to the very end.
Egalleys for Romantic Comedy were provided by Random House Publishing Group through NetGalley, with many thanks.
