Greetings from London! We are here, somehow mostly unjetlegged (pro tip: fresh air and cappuccinos upon arrival to Europe to power through, and then take that Benadryl the first night and just force a full night of sleep). We’re staying in Notting Hill, like good American upper middle class tourists, we had Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes (casually) walk by us while we were having a night cap in Holland Park last night, and hanging out with my Brother (and then flying to Montenegro together for his wedding) which involves a lot of fancy spots around Mayfair/Marylebone that I feel mostly unprepared in terms of personal grooming for (how much contouring and shimmer bronzer is my body missing out on?), as well as a decent amount of texting about pubs to go watch the Euro Cup in.
Aside from that, we’re going to movies.
I am very lucky that my life partner is on the same page with me on this - checking out old, amazing theatres in cities is a life highlight on par with checking out new, buzzy restaurants - we very famously went and watched a bunch of non-subtitled Godard in Paris on our honeymoon, which I know makes us sound like nightmares but at least we found each other - and on the list this trip are:
The Gate Picturehouse (London’s oldest at 112 years)
and the Curzon (where we will get to be in the same room as - STOP THE PRESSES - Andrew Scott (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) at a preview of his latest movis, thanks to a kind invite from my one friend in England (but also obviously, the only one I need), Rebecca
Now, what does this have to do with the title of this newsletter, I hear you ask? Well, I’m getting to it. I PROMISE!
The film we saw at The Gate was La Chimera (recommended, if a little long - Alice Rohwacher is a very special filmmaking brain with a vibe that lands confidently somewhere between Kusturica and The Darjeeling Limited era Anderson) w/ Josh O’Connor swanning about miserably yet elegantly in increasingly soiled linen suits and robbing graves in rural-ish Italy, and I was reminded of a show Joshy was in that happens in equally beautiful settings, that happens to be one of my most comfort watching recommendations. AND NO - I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT THE CROWN.
The show in question is “The Durrells (in Corfu)” a 4 season mini PBS masterpiece in which Keeley Hawes, freshly widowed and penniless packs up her many children and takes on a crumbling palazzo in Greece (sorry, I don’t know the Greek word for palazzo and I don’t feel like looking it up). It is glamorous, and funny, and has just the right amount of “Under the Tuscan Sun” crossed over with classic British character comedy to really work. Just a mini spa for the brain. Pre-Crown/Challengers/Hot Rodent Summer Josh O’Connor is the intellectually snobby oldest son and there’s a lot of great linen sweater inspo in the mix. Highly recommended.
And then, what we are seeing at Electric Cinema is “All About My Mother” which is, in my humble opinion, Pedro Almodovar’s first real masterpiece and a movie I have seen a minimum of 7 times, but possibly many more.
And! (future BFF) Andrew Scott is in a number of my favorite recent British re-watches - from Sherlock to Fleabag to the much-recommended-in-this-newsletter adaptation of Nancy Mitford’s “In Pursuit of Love” (which I’d describe as “Saltburn” during its most charming moments, but without the Sophie Ellis Baxtor revival / Sexy Rodent Summer element in the casting)
All of which got me thinking about how much I love re-watching things I LOVE. There is a minor guilt involved in it on account of there being so many new things to consume/enjoy ALL.THE.TIME, but so many of the new things are not that great (I feel we could all be producing a thing for Netflix any day now if we applied ourselves even a little - the bar is pretty low) and a guarantee of something good is too tempting.
So, here, as a quick dispatch while traveling - a handful of 150% Very Breezy approved and certified summer rewatches (but please don’t forget the ones from this very long intro either). In no particular order:
Derry Girls (NETFLIX) - before Bridgerton, Nicola McLaughlin was Clare, the wee lesbian, on this set-in-the-mid-90s ensemble teen comedy. I have watched the entirety of this show (there’s 3 short seasons) a minimum of 5 times which is saying something since the last season came out last year - but it is just PERFECT. The jokes, the cast chemistry, the 90s pop culture reference! The joy of watching people at the start of their careers who you know will be working forever! Also, the writing is Veep level sharp and fast, which paired with Irish accents - actually rewards repeat viewing because you could just watch a different character each episode and be satisfied. One note: subtitles ON for this one. BONUS ROUND: the cast did a special Christmas appearance episode on the “Great British Bake-off” and it is worth checking out too.
Girls - True story: “Sex and the City” is the particualr asylum I was raised in and how any of us survived it / made it out of it, I will never know. Having tried to watch the first episode of “And Just Like That” 4x and never making it to the end (if you did, I want to know HOW!) I attempted to rewatch it and made it through three seasons (mostly yelling at the screen) because it was so toxic and terrible. But then I watched “Girls” which, frankly, I appreciated but didn’t connect to that much in its initial reiteration (being just old enough to feel removed, but just young enough to still feel the scarring of that era of my own existence) and on second viewing I loved it beyond compare. The writing is so funny, the casting (and I am specifically talking about beyond-lead level) is NBC-must-see-sitcom good (Bob Balaban as Hannah’s shrink! Jake Lacey as Fran! Gaby Hoffman as Adam’s sister! (I’d love to see her and Driver in something again), Richie from The Bear as the most toxic/perfect match for Marnie!, Andrew Rennals stealing not moments but EPISODES, Jenny Slate as Hannah’s nemesis!, Rita Wilson as the asylum Marnie was raised in! Riz Ahmed as the surf instructor baby daddy! Chelsea Perretti just popping in for coffee! Katherine Hannah as Jessa’s first boss! Patti Lupone as herself! Patrick Wilson just there to play semi nude table tennis in that episode everyone hated on but you will LOVE now! I COULD GO ON!) and there is actually a lot of love in here for the characters and relationships I and now being FULLY removed from it, I can say it really stood the test of time and offers many new pleasures. For example, when Hannah’s mom reports from a conference that she “never knew she’d be in a room full of women who feel the same way about Ann Pattchett as me”, my newly middle-aged-ish self fist pumped to the new era of (loving) stereotypes I have reached in my life. Totally worth it.
Obvious Child - Somehow, I blinked, and Obvious Child is 10 years old. Which means I have probably seen it a minimum of that many times (maybe 2x as many even). Some may say that an abortion rom com is not a natural choice for a comfort rewatch, but I beg to differ - Jenny Slate is such a star, the whole Williamsburg-in-2010s world feels realistic in a way that it has no right to be, and it is a great pairing with the aforementioned Girls rewatch (not only because of the Gabby Hoffman/Jake Lacey/Jenny Slate cross-over, but a natural extension of the times and places they occupy. Bonus: “I peed in every pool I’ve ever been in” is a perfect line.
Plus, I have more but yet again … I have been informed this post is almost too long for email. TYPICAL! It must have been all those Girls guest stars I listed.
So - Leave some of your rewatch suggestions in comments (and I promise, we’ll do a PT. 2 of this - mostly involving cozy-ish murders, probably)
p.s. I almost forgot - this Louis Armstrong cover by M.Ward on repeat after watching Girls (which should have received some sort of a music supervision award somewhere). Add to your weekend playlist.