BROADCASTS.com

b'

Something\\u2019s Gotta Give & Nancy Meyers: crying at your computer complicated

**Quick Cap Intro: We\\u2019re trying something new in this episode! Before we get to Erica Barry and Something\\u2019s Gotta Give, we dissect the New York Times Opinion piece by Brit Marling with the incendiary title, \\u201cI Don\\u2019t Want To Be The Strong Female Lead\\u201d. We couldn\\u2019t resist this teaser: \\u201cIn pop culture, women are often objectified and disposed of. But even when we\\u2019re not being victimized, the alternative leaves much to be desired.\\u201d

We unpack Brit\\u2019s fascinating journey from Goldman Sachs to Netflix darling The OA, and of course find a way to compare Brit\'s ideas of the hero\'s journey to Fleabag and Erica Barry. We also dig DEEP into what it means to have masculine and feminine traits, pulling from astrology, Chinese philosophy and Tantric tradition.

Something\\u2019s Gotta Give (starts at 22:30)

**It all comes together. We start with a discussion of the similarities this movie has with When Harry Met Sally and Always Be My Maybe, with a little Sleeping With Other People thrown in. (22:30)

**Complicated Woman Rating. Kate thinks Erica is \\u201cabsolutely\\u201d a complicated woman, citing how other characters describe her and how she describes herself; Carinn agrees that her vulnerability and who she is when she\\u2019s falling in love is where she sees the paradox in her personality, but she sees this as too much of Harry\\u2019s story as he is the one who ultimately has to change (27:45).

**Scenes. We discuss the movie\'s iconic speeches, starting with Erica Barry\\u2019s sister, Zoe\\u2019s (played by Frances McDormand) speech about dating for women over 50 (39:11); moving to the vulnerable speech Erica gives after running into Harry with another woman: \\u201cI don\\u2019t want my bearings, I\\u2019ve had my bearings my whole goddamn life!\\u201d (42:22); but then Harry\\u2019s speech at the end on the bridge in Paris, while fitting for his character, left us wanting more, with Carinn arguing that Harry needed to tell Erica why he was in love with Erica (47:50); Harry gets his unglued, emotional moment when he goes to watch her play (50:02); Erica and her daughter, Marin, have some great moments and discussions about love (51:58); Erica with Julian, the young, dashing Keanu Reeves...Kate finds it all very cringy, Carinn likes how the tables have turned (55:40); then we discuss the scene after they have sex and our thoughts on Harry\\u2019s reference to soulmates (60:10).

**What\\u2019s Your Damage, Heather? We discuss how Erica got to be the way she is. Kate finds it very relatable, by being so strong and impervious she allowed herself to be closed off \\u2014 she was content, but not open and vulnerable. She believes Erica uses her strength to separate herself and it can be isolating and lonely (61:33). Carinn laments that as a \\u201cfixer\\u201d, someone that friends come to with their deepest secrets, she sometimes feels isolated because she never gets her turn to be broken (65:00)

**What She Said - Nancy Meyers. Carinn went down the rabbit hole of Nancy Meyers\' personal life and just how autobiographical Something\\u2019s Gotta Give really is. Kate loves her perspective as a female filmmaker and how she makes movies with complicated women with real problems. Nancy Meyers is a Sagittarius, another fire sign, so of course we love her. (67:14)

**Crystal ball. Six months after the final scene, Kate has Harry and Erica still together, but it\\u2019s hard to teach an old dog new tricks and she sees him falling down a Johnny Cash hole of depression and addiction; Carinn envisions a future five years out for Erica and Julian. Erica realizes HE was the one who got away, and fate brings them together when Marin has complications during her third pregnancy. (79:50)

**Takeaways. Kate\\u2019s takeaway is that sometimes you need to cut your turtleneck off, meaning whatever is constricting you or holding you back, cut it open and let it go. Carinn ponders a quote \\u2014 \\u201cfast love expires like milk, patient love sticks like honey\\u201d \\u2014 and concludes everyone needs both (93:00). 

Stay Complicated!

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook and on Twitter @pop_women. Email us with questions, recommendations and criticism at cjadebarry at gmail.

Link to Brit Marling NYT article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/opinion/sunday/brit-marling-women-movies.html

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.