Film

The Year of Spectacular Men

A charming post-college comedy about a woman cycling through disappointing relationships while living with her mother and sister, all of whom are wrestling with their own romantic failures. It's warm and funny without pretension, built on the chemistry between its three female leads and their shared recognition that love is messier than you'd hoped. For anyone who's felt stuck between who they thought they'd be and who they actually are.

TMDb rating2.8

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like low-key comedy about messy young adulthood, where the jokes come from small awkward moments and a sister-and-mother bond does most of the heavy lifting.

Skip it if you want a tight plot or a steady stream of laughs; this one drifts through episodic romantic misfires and leans on mood more than momentum.

What it asks of you: It runs about an hour and forty minutes at an unhurried pace, asking you to sit with small domestic moments and wry, understated humor rather than big set pieces.

If you liked this

Forgetting Sarah Marshall2008

A romantic comedy that earns its laughs by treating heartbreak seriously. It finds humour in humiliation rather than cruelty, and its characters grow in ways that feel real. Great ensemble cast, genuinely funny.

But If you're looking for a tight plot, you'll find it meandering. Some scenes lean heavily on improvisation, which works beautifully or lands awkwardly depending on your tolerance.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall poster

Obvious Child2014

Jenny Slate's standup comedian protagonist is messy, self-centred, and wonderful. It's about real mistakes and real consequences, told with both comedy and surprising emotional depth. Genuinely moving without losing its humour.

But The situations are deliberately uncomfortable—if you prefer your comedies to feel resolved and tidy, this will feel unresolved. Some people find it bleak rather than honest.

Obvious Child poster

Girls2012

Four flawed women in New York navigating their twenties and thirties with brutal honesty. It's sharp, self-aware, and genuinely hilarious about romance, ambition, and friendship. Lena Dunham's writing is incisive.

But Some find the characters too unlikeable to root for. It's also uneven—the best episodes are brilliant, but others meander. Not everyone connects with its specific register of humour.

Girls poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Year of Spectacular Men

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Punch-Drunk Love2002

Both explore the gap between who you are and who you've been forced to pretend to be, and both locate salvation in unexpected vulnerability and honest connection with someone who sees you clearly.

Adam Sandler's character is shy, anxious, prone to outbursts—and the film treats his inner life with profound seriousness. It's about learning to be honest after a lifetime of shame. Paul Thomas Anderson brings visual poetry to emotional wreckage.

But It's strange, tonally jarring, and doesn't offer easy catharsis. The love story arrives abruptly and feels fragile. It's not comfortable—it's about discomfort becoming bearable.

Punch-Drunk Love poster
More like this (7)

Broad City2014

Two women pursuing chaotic, hilarious lives in New York. It's packed with invention and genuine affection for its characters beneath the anarchy. Fast-paced, surprising, and genuinely clever comedy.

But The style is deliberately absurd and surreal; if you prefer grounded storytelling, it veers into territory that won't land. Some episodes sacrifice character for spectacle.

Broad City poster

Ghostbusters II1989

A genuine feel-good movie about people who like each other solving problems together. Sigourney Weaver and Bill Murray have easy chemistry, and there's something deeply comforting about watching competent, funny people in their element.

But It's a '80s action-comedy, so the special effects are dated and the pacing is leisurely. If you haven't seen the original, you'll be lost at sea.

Ghostbusters II poster

When Harry Met Sally...1989

The best romantic comedy ever made about people becoming comfortable with themselves before they can be comfortable with anyone else. It's funny, mature, and deeply kind to its characters.

But If you haven't been charmed by it by now, you probably won't be. Some find it too neat, too written, too in love with its own wit.

When Harry Met Sally... poster

Trainwreck2015

Amy Schumer's character is damaged and self-aware about it. It's funny and raw, with genuine affection for people who are trying and failing. Bill Hader's performance is a master class in quiet kindness.

But Some of Schumer's material doesn't land. The romance feels a bit formulaic beneath the sharp comedy. It softens into convention by the end.

Trainwreck poster

Fleabag2016

A woman narrating her own disaster with wit, desperation, and surprising vulnerability. It's a perfect blend of comedy and heartbreak, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge is fearless. Each season is only six episodes—it respects your time.

But The protagonist is genuinely selfish and cruel sometimes, which some viewers struggle to forgive. The fourth-wall breaking and fast editing can feel gimmicky if you're not in the mood for it.

Fleabag poster

Someone Great2019

A warm road-trip movie about female friendship that doesn't mistake sentiment for substance. It's funny and unpretentious, centred on what women actually talk about. Gina Rodriguez and her co-stars have easy, genuine chemistry.

But The plot hits expected beats—there's nothing structurally surprising. If you're tired of the 'girl group goes on adventure' formula, this won't reinvent it.

Someone Great poster

The Worst Person in the World2021

Both films follow a woman through a year of romantic disappointment while she figures out what she actually wants, told with humour that never becomes dismissive of her genuine suffering.

A portrait of a young woman in her late twenties moving through relationships and ambitions without a clear map. It's funny, sexy, thoughtful, and visually inventive. Norwegian director Joachim Trier makes interior confusion look beautiful.

But It's in Norwegian with subtitles, and the narrative is deliberately episodic rather than plot-driven. If you need a clear story with stakes and resolution, this won't provide it.

The Worst Person in the World poster

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