I'm craving nostalgia for...reasons?
A retro reading challenge for 2022, The Map of Tiny Perfect Things, and Katharine Hepburn is a badass
2021. So that happened.
At the end of each year, it’s natural to want to both look back and look forward. In general, I’m a person who focuses more on looking forward. Well, normally. But as we close out yet another bizarre year, I have found myself consistently craving things from the past—and not just from the past I’ve lived through, but further back.
That’s one of the reasons I started the Romantic Movie Marathon. I didn’t just want to watch movies from current times. I printed out a pile of lists of movies from different eras—best of all time lists, best of the 80s, best of the 70s, best classics, etc. (Plus, I have a pile of books like 1000 Movies to See Before You Die and 1000 Best Movies on DVD by Peter Travers and The Best Old Movies for Families by Ty Burr because I LOVE a book of lists.)
I apparently have developed a sudden need to time travel to other eras via the screen…and via the page (we’ll get to my reading challenge in a minute.) It makes sense, I think, with what the last two years have brought us. And I’m not naive enough to think that there weren’t terrible and complicated things going on in the past eras too. But romantic movies and books focus on the good parts—or at least triumph over the bad parts via happy endings. I need that in my life right now.
This week, I had already watched the movie I’m going to review for the marathon, but I decided to watch another as well. I chose The Philadelphia Story (1940) with Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and Jimmy Stewart. I had never seen it before and had to turn on the closed captioning to keep up with the old-fashioned quick banter, but it was such a delight to get lost in a different time.
Plus…Katharine Hepburn, y’all. I mean, even in 1940, you can feel how ahead of her time (and timeless) she was. She famously chose to wear trousers during a time where women didn’t do that (and as someone who hates dresses and skirts, I thank her) but you can just feel the badass vibes coming through. Apparently, she set herself up to do this movie (someone wrote the role for her) after she was called “box office poison” because people thought she was too haughty or too big for her britches. So, she uses this role—of a haughty, too high on her horse woman—who also happens to be likable and empathetic to win back the audience. And it worked. Well played, Katharine. We see what you did there.
The opening starts with a silent fight between her and the husband she’s divorcing, and you get the feel for her character instantly. She isn’t taking any crap. That’s his (Cary Grant’s) golf club, by the way.
Of course, after watching, I ended up doing a deep dive into the history of the movie. I didn’t know remarriage comedies were a thing back then because of the Hays Code (a set of censorship rules.) People couldn’t kiss on screen if they weren’t married yet…unless they were divorced, then the rules were laxer. So, having a divorced female character gave them more leeway, hence the remarriage plots. (If you want to really nerd out about the history of movies and The Hays Code, I watched this short video and was fascinated.)
But this romantic comedy is ultimately a love triangle (square?) with Tracy (Katharine), her ex (Cary Grant), a visiting reporter (Jimmy Stewart), and the dude she’s actually supposed to be marrying in a few days. There were some great lines in it, so if you decide to watch it, I highly recommend the closed captioning so you don’t miss the verbal play.
My favorite line…
Tracy: “The time to make up your mind about people is…never.”
Can you feel her saying that to the audience with an arched brow?
And you gotta love some well-placed punctuation to change the meaning.
The guy she’s planning to marry says: “But a man expects his wife to behave herself. Naturally.”
Cary Grant responds: “To behave herself naturally.”
I thoroughly enjoyed watching the movie, and seeing something from so long ago gave me a little more insight into why I’m craving nostalgic things. I think it’s comforting to know that whatever we’re going through right now, this too shall pass. In 1940, when this film came out, World War II was happening. Polio was happening. The Olympics were canceled because of the war.
One day, what we’re going through now will be history, too. But also, it’s good to know that even when all those scary things are going on, there is still a place for movies and books that make us smile. There is still room for joy.
And taking that nostalgic joy into my reading life, I’m doing a new reading challenge this year as well…
The Romance Roots Reading Challenge
I’m doing a number of reading challenges this year, and I talk about all of them in this week’s episode of the RAD Reading podcast, but the one that speaks to this nostalgia is my Romance Roots challenge.
I’m really wanting to dig into where the romance genre has been in the past decades and follow the trail to how it got to where it is now. There are many ways I could go about this, but what I decided on was a combo of, you guessed it, lists!
My goal is to read at least 12 romances that relate to romance novel roots. I’m going to be pulling from the Fated Mates season 2 podcast list of “Books That Blooded Us” because they listed a number of books that were important in the genre, both old and new. I’m also going to be using the list 15 Old School Historical Romances That Revolutionized the Genre by Sweet Savage Flame. If I stumble upon a book that isn’t on one of these lists but fits the criteria, that’s game too.
Since I didn’t grow up a romance reader, I’m hoping to get a richer understanding of how the genre has evolved over time.
Feel free to join me in the challenge or to create your own retro challenge for what you like to read!
Alright, well even though I snuck in a bonus movie above, I also have an official one for the marathon this week, too. And it’s very much not retro. But it does play with time!
The Romance Movie Marathon
Title: The Map of Tiny Perfect Things
Release date: Feb. 12, 2021
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime
Starring: Kathryn Newton and Kyle Allen
Official description (from Amazon): Quick-witted teen Mark (Kyle Allen) is contentedly living the same day in an endless loop when his world is turned upside-down by the mysterious Margaret (Kathryn Newton), also stuck in the same loop. What follows is a love story with a fantastical twist, as the two struggle to figure out how – and whether – to escape their never-ending day.
My description: Mark, a teenager, is stuck in the same day a la Groundhog Day. At first, you see him taking advantage of it, but one day a girl who doesn’t fit the script shows up. He follows her and finds out she’s stuck in the same day too. She’s reluctant at first to hang out with him, but then they decide to make a map of “tiny perfect things” in their town, first to pass the time and then for other reasons. They are both trying to figure out the science of the time loop (Margaret is a science lover, Mark is the artist) but Margaret has a secret and may not want out of the loop after all.
Also, this was based on a short story by Lev Grossman in the anthology Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories.
My Review
1 . Is it actually a romance?
Yes, a YA romance
2 . Romantic tropes
time loop, cinnamon roll hero, someone has a secret, grumpy/sunshine (but he’s the sunshine)
3 . Sweet or steamy?
sweet
4 . Swoonworthy love interest?
Mark was very lovable and earnest, Margaret was an interesting, complex heroine
5 . Would I want to be friends with the main characters?
Well, they’re teens, but I’d be happy for them to be friends with my teenage son. :)
6 . Does it show its age?
new
7 . Would I rewatch?
probably not, really enjoyed it but I don’t know if it has a high rewatchability factor for me (maybe one day I need to determine what makes something rewatch material for me.)
8 . Favorite moments:
There are a lot of fun scenes because what would you do if you could get away with anything, knowing the day will reset at midnight? They have a lot of fun adventures, but they also do a lot of kind things, which gives the movie extra sweetness.
9 . Thoughts:
I must be in a time loop mood since I just reviewed In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren last week, but this definitely was an enjoyable watch. It had that perfect balance of sweetness where it wasn’t saccharine or sappy, but it made me want to press my hand to my chest and say aww. There are also some poignant moments (that I can’t reveal because of spoiler reasons) that gave this extra heft. If you’re not into YA stories, this may not be for you, but I really had a good time with this one.
10 . Rating: 4.25 stars
RAD Reading Podcast
It’s one of our favorite times of the year—time to set new reading goals and challenges for 2022! I’m sharing the many nerdy reading challenges that I’m tackling this coming year, and Dawn is firmly anti-challenge but has chosen some goals to enhance her reading year. Also, as always, we have our RAD reading recs of the week!
Listen in your favorite podcast app:
Or add to your favorite podcast app with their “Add by URL” feature and paste this link there: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/rad-reading
That’s it for this week and this year! I wish you all the best in 2022. See you on the other side! ;)
Roni
*Book links are affiliate links (Amazon, Libro.fm, and/or Bookshop.org), which means I earn a small commission if you buy through my links. Also, I receive advanced listening copies of some audiobooks through Libro.fm’s Influencer program. However, all reviews and opinions are my own.